Time to raise rates?

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rickryan.com

DJ Extraordinaire
ODJT Supporter
Dec 9, 2009
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Hendersonville, TN
www.rickryan.com
I've had 2 leads in row who made mention that my DJ price is "very reasonable". The one yesterday was about $100 lower than others and the day before my competition was $2k and the guy actually asked me, "Why such an extreme difference?" The $2k is a long-time competitor and frankly, he over-charges (most of his money is made from casino nights). Still, it's a signal and if this continues then it's time to raise rates. How many times do you have to hear it before you push rates? Funny, at the start of the season I was hearing that I was too expensive and seemed that most guys had gone down to the $500 price point.
 
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Just as you don't jump to LOWER your prices based on what a few people say...
don't rush to raise your rates for the same reason.

True dat. I usually see 2 or 3 occurences as a fluke. If it hits 5 or 10 in a short period of time, then it's probably time to react and make a change. By the way, just for discussion sake, I just got off the phone with a girl that said she's already booked her DJ and wants 1 photographer, engagement, photobook and lighted monogram. Total - $3045. Boy, the photography game is sure different in terms of revenue.
 
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Yeah, who would have thought that walking around taking pictures yields more money than being the entertainment for the evening and having to bring in all this equipment/set up/tear down, and back out.

...The only thing they need to figure out for photographers is creating a program that automatically edits all the photos for the photog. Just upload the photos...Click the edit button, and wait a half hour while the machine edits, and your job is done! LOL.

As far as raising rates...I think the question depends on a couple of factors.

1. WHEN WAS YOUR LAST PRICE INCREASE?
2. SINCE YOUR LAST PRICE INCREASE, HOW MANY DATES PER YEAR ARE YOU BOOKING?

I raised my rates like 5 months ago? And it has felt like a slower crawl to booking dates this year. Things are coming together it seems though...sort of. The later booking this year could also be due to other reasons...It seems brides are waiting longer to book a DJ this year than previous years.

I JUST booked May 20th, and just sent out a quote for Sunday May 28th! It is almost as if things are reverting back to 10+ years ago where most brides/grooms would book the DJ 2 to 5 months before the wedding instead of how it became over the last few years where they were generally booking 6 to 12 months out.
 
Keep in mind that Consumer Confidence IS THE HIGHEST IT HAS BEEN IN OVER 10 YEARS!!!! ...Trump Effect.

The DOW is over 21,000 points. The Day that DOW decides to have a massive correction, and the after effects of it, we will also realize our higher prices won't be working. Everybody will be looking to go cheap again with wedding vendors. It happened in 2009/2010...it will happen again...probably during Trump's presidency unless he works some kind of magic from preventing a big correction on the market. Can't keep the market propped up like this real long term.
 
Keep in mind that Consumer Confidence IS THE HIGHEST IT HAS BEEN IN OVER 10 YEARS!!!! ...Trump Effect.

The DOW is over 21,000 points. The Day that DOW decides to have a massive correction, and the after effects of it, we will also realize our higher prices won't be working. Everybody will be looking to go cheap again with wedding vendors. It happened in 2009/2010...it will happen again...probably during Trump's presidency unless he works some kind of magic from preventing a big correction on the market. Can't keep the market propped up like this real long term.
I am glad I don't live my life looking at the glass as half empty for me it's always half. The economic slowdown of 09 10 had no effect on my income in fact they were two of the most profitable years of have ever had in both car sales and DJing you just gotta work new sources for leads and leave no stone unturned
 
Keep in mind that Consumer Confidence IS THE HIGHEST IT HAS BEEN IN OVER 10 YEARS!!!! ...Trump Effect.

The DOW is over 21,000 points. The Day that DOW decides to have a massive correction, and the after effects of it, we will also realize our higher prices won't be working. Everybody will be looking to go cheap again with wedding vendors. It happened in 2009/2010...it will happen again...probably during Trump's presidency unless he works some kind of magic from preventing a big correction on the market. Can't keep the market propped up like this real long term.

It won't be a correction it's going to be a crash likely 6 or 7000 points. there are far too many bubbles holding the market right now.
When it does crash the interest rate from the Fed should be 2% or more causing inflation and a nice little recession....I figure by September of this year
 
It won't be a correction it's going to be a crash likely 6 or 7000 points. there are far too many bubbles holding the market right now.
When it does crash the interest rate from the Fed should be 2% or more causing inflation and a nice little recession....I figure by September of this year

Technically, we were due for a recession last year, and it did not happen.

Car Sales have been slowing in recent months. Home sales are slowing down a bit. Job creation is moving north which is a good sign, and overall wages are just starting to climb SLIGHTLY. How long all of this will last...who knows, but you could be right. Or we could just keep on trucking well into 2018 with a ever slowly growing DOW. There needs to be a strong catalyst to set off a big correction, or worse a Crash. Not sure what that bubble will be. Yes, it will happen though at some point.
 
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You said your competitor isn't worth 2k. That's your opinion. You could be right though. The thing is he is getting paid 2k. That means somebody thinks he's worth it or they wouldn't pay it.
 
Let me say this as well. For that DJ to be able to sell themselves for that rate must mean they are good at selling themselves and their services. The big thing is are they consistently getting paid that much or more? That's the big hit. Anyone can do an event once and get paid 1k. That doesn't make them a 1k DJ. It's consistently if they get paid that or more can they be called a 1k DJ.
 
Since this topic has come up I got some questions. If you do when do you raise your rates? How much do you raise your rates? Either percentage or dollar amount wise? What will have you stay at your current rate or increase it? Has increasing your rates cost you business or gotten you more business or did things remain the same?

Please when answering these questions think of us as a whole on here and not about just me asking these questions.
 
You said your competitor isn't worth 2k. That's your opinion. You could be right though. The thing is he is getting paid 2k. That means somebody thinks he's worth it or they wouldn't pay it.

There is a DJ at the agency I am with who now charges $1,950. He owns his own small insurance firm now. The only reason he upped his rates is because he is busy with his insurance firm. Nothing changed with what he offers to his clients. He just wants to work less, and earn more money if he has to go and DJ a wedding.

He was charging $1400 to $1550 just a year ago. ...I actually received an inquiry from prospects through the agency because HIS PRICE WAS TOO HIGH. ....They saw him at a wedding, and liked him a lot, but just don't have the budget to afford $1950 on the DJ. The agency pitched me at $1,400+ additional money for up lighting. ...The bride/groom liked my bio, and wanted to schedule a phone chat. I talked with them for not even 15 minutes, and the next day they requested an agreement on booking me.

Had that DJ kept the same pricing he had last year he would have been booked, but instead I'm getting the work. ...Of course he likely doesn't mind it because he is busy with his new insurance business now, and probably wants more of his Saturdays off.

$2,000 Wedding DJs are often charging that much because they really don't NEED the money. They have a well paying job during the week, or already have a solid source of income. Not all of them, but that goes for a lot of $2,000 DJs out there.

Others like DJ Taso are charging $2,000, and it's their sole income. He is in the circles with a lot of higher income clientele out there, and the video marketing he does keeps that clientele coming to him.
 
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Since this topic has come up I got some questions. If you do when do you raise your rates? How much do you raise your rates? Either percentage or dollar amount wise? What will have you stay at your current rate or increase it? Has increasing your rates cost you business or gotten you more business or did things remain the same?

Please when answering these questions think of us as a whole on here and not about just me asking these questions.

You're the one that asks this the most.
 
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You're the one that asks this the most.
I'm asking now because this may help someone out. I was told to increase rates slowly over time. In other words don't jump from being a $300 DJ to a $800 DJ in one big swoop.
 
...In other words don't jump from being a $300 DJ to a $800 DJ in one big swoop.
I suppose it depends on how you get gigs... if your business is practically all based on referrals, like mine, the prospect generally knows what you charged the client who referred them to you. If you give them a significantly higher quote than the referring client, it could be a deal killer. If you get all your clients from advertising or places like WeddingWire, then it doesn't really matter much if you increase your rate by a large amount. Who's gonna know? Your rate is simply what your rate is.




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$2,000 Wedding DJs are often charging that much because they really don't NEED the money. They have a well paying job during the week, or already have a solid source of income. Not all of them, but that goes for a lot of $2,000 DJs out there.

Others like DJ Taso are charging $2,000, and it's their sole income. He is in the circles with a lot of higher income clientele out there, and the video marketing he does keeps that clientele coming to him.

Always circles of excuses around this topic. Why not just say, you charge what you do because you're comfortable with that spot in the market?

To say literally that some people charge higher rates because it doesn't matter to them, and other do it because they've built a business around it... is totally contradictory.

Having a diversified income stream doesn't mean that one of those income streams doesn't matter. If you choose to be happy where you're currently positioned, that's fine. But, to always point to external factors on why you shouldn't or couldn't be in a different spot in the market is silly. One of the higher volume vendors in the area charges $400+ an hour for weddings, easily pushing towards that $2K number regularly. Not because it is a hobby business, but because the market will support it if you're marketing correctly to the right people.
 
I'm asking now because this may help someone out. I was told to increase rates slowly over time. In other words don't jump from being a $300 DJ to a $800 DJ in one big swoop.

I think you should increase your rates if your demand goes up
 
Always circles of excuses around this topic. Why not just say, you charge what you do because you're comfortable with that spot in the market?

To say literally that some people charge higher rates because it doesn't matter to them, and other do it because they've built a business around it... is totally contradictory.

Having a diversified income stream doesn't mean that one of those income streams doesn't matter. If you choose to be happy where you're currently positioned, that's fine. But, to always point to external factors on why you shouldn't or couldn't be in a different spot in the market is silly. One of the higher volume vendors in the area charges $400+ an hour for weddings, easily pushing towards that $2K number regularly. Not because it is a hobby business, but because the market will support it if you're marketing correctly to the right people.
Very well put before I semi retired I was doing gigs from $200 to $3000 depend on day, time, type of event , a lot of different factors. All income matters
 
Always circles of excuses around this topic. Why not just say, you charge what you do because you're comfortable with that spot in the market?

To say literally that some people charge higher rates because it doesn't matter to them, and other do it because they've built a business around it... is totally contradictory.

Having a diversified income stream doesn't mean that one of those income streams doesn't matter. If you choose to be happy where you're currently positioned, that's fine. But, to always point to external factors on why you shouldn't or couldn't be in a different spot in the market is silly. One of the higher volume vendors in the area charges $400+ an hour for weddings, easily pushing towards that $2K number regularly. Not because it is a hobby business, but because the market will support it if you're marketing correctly to the right people.

I don't think it's an issue of any portion of income that doesn't matter, it's an issue of the law of diminishing returns. That final piece of income sometimes doesn't hold as much personal value to the individual over things like, stress or time with family or free time. If all income has exactly the same value to the individual then wouldn't we all be working 23.5 hours per day? Instead, we all have a limit to the time and energy we're going to expend on trying to attain income. Granted, some of us are go-getters and will hustle more while others are content to just do enough to "get by".