Beyond the DJ Booth
Brian B and Joe Bunn tackle questions about the private event DJ industry, share music, gear/gadgets, and stories from their events.
Beyond the DJ Booth
When DJs Should Raise Their Rates (And When They Shouldn’t)
Raising your rates isn’t about confidence — it’s about capability.
In this episode, Brian B and Joe break down exactly what it takes for a DJ to step into a higher price tier and stay there.Using a real New Year’s Eve wedding that booked at $26,000, we pull apart every ingredient behind a premium fee: travel costs, gear decisions, prep time, performance structure, and the expectations that come with working at that level.
We start with the numbers behind the headline. First-class flights for a family of three, extended lodging, car rental, meals, and local rentals: your net rate only makes sense once you understand the true COGS. But the real value isn’t logistics. It’s the show. Brian breaks down his “mini-set” strategy: prebuilt, 60-minute routines across genres that can be sliced, stacked, and rearranged so the dance floor never dips. That’s how a DJ turns four hours into a controlled surge rather than a slow fade.
We also get honest about pricing psychology. Small bumps keep you in the same client sphere. A true leap requires a different circle entirely: new planners, new expectations, and a more sophisticated discovery, communication, and contract process. When your prep is deeper, your sequencing sharper, and your delivery consistent, the rate starts to make sense to you first…and then to your clients.
On the wellness side, we share a simple recovery tool every DJ (especially the traveling ones) should carry: a non-elastic stretch strap that undoes flight stiffness and load-in fatigue in minutes. Your body is part of the rig so you should maintain it like one.
If you’re a private event DJ ready to charge more or trying to decide if you should, this episode gives you the blueprint: upgrade the work, articulate the value, understand the math, and build a performance that earns the tier you want.
Follow the show, share it with a DJ friend, and leave a review so more Booth Heads can level up alongside you.
RESOURCES & LINKS
Our website. Please leave a review! - https://www.beyondthedjbooth.com/
To book Joe Bunn: https://bunndjcompany.com/
To book Brian B: https://djbrianbofficial.com/
Joe’s Gear Finds on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/shop/djjoebunn
Brian’s Gear Finds on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/shop/djbrianbofficial
DJ Event Planner free demo: https://www.djeventplanner.com/signup.php
Brian B's Coaching Options: Https://www.thdjscreativeedge.com
What's up, everybody? Welcome back to Beyond the DJ Booth Podcast. And we are coming to you from Raleigh, North Carolina. And this is the podcast for private event DJs. My name is Joe Bunn. That right there is my boy Brian B. And welcome. Thanks, Boothheads. So we call our super fans. Yeah, welcome to you guys. If you want to be even more of a fan of the show, support the show, get all of the goodies that we don't get to on the show, which I'm super proud of. You want to be a member of our Patreon, patreon.com slash beyond the DJ Booth Podcast. And shout out to some of our new people back there.
SPEAKER_02:We call them the back room members. Yeah, there's two tiers. So if you're looking just to dip your toe in the experience, it's like$5.99. Yeah, I mean, low risk. Low risk. Low risk. Low commitment.$19.99 gets you in the back room, though. Okay. And so we want to shout those folks. Uh, we got Michael Copen. Yeah. Is that right? Why are you talking sexy?
SPEAKER_01:You were kind of talking sexy, like talking about going in the back room. It sounded like strip club or something. I don't know. Michael Copen, yeah. Shout out Michael Copen. Baxter. He's out in isn't he in North Carolina?
SPEAKER_02:Baxter DJ services. I think so, yeah. I think he's in Carolina. I think you're coming. Well, he will have come to the collective.
SPEAKER_01:Right, okay. What about DJ B? Do we know?
SPEAKER_02:No idea. No idea. DJ B. Keep it real simple.
SPEAKER_01:One letter.
SPEAKER_02:I love that. Yeah, these guys have all joined. I'm just assuming DJ B and Baxter are males here, but and Michael. But anyway, they've all joined the Patreon recently. So shout out to them. Yeah. Thank you guys. Appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Everybody should be on the Patreon. Oh, a thousand percent. So many goodies there. Unlike some Patreons I've been a member of, we are never ghosting you. We are always on there. At least a couple of things a week go inside, whether it is lists or maybe something else. Maybe other tasty treats that you could play. So our giveaway for the month of December, which will be done on the 31st. So this is from a company called Soundbox, S-O-U-N-D-B-O-K-S. They call this the light box. And this thing is basically a battery-powered house party light. It goes along with the music. Have you used it at a gig? No, it's not gig worthy. It's not gig worthy. This is straight up like that was like 1995 Joe Button. No. No, like set it on the table though. And like when you play the music, it you know, it kind of goes off. It looks cool. It's cool for like a house party.
SPEAKER_02:Wasn't there the place called Claire's? Spencer's. Spencer's.
SPEAKER_01:Anyway, shout out to Soundbox. And looks like you could charge a phone on the side of USB C this shit's got multiple uses. These things are like$300. Jeez. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:That's insane. Anyway, I made a video on it. Does it have a place to put it on a stand, or how do you hook it up?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, you just kind of set it on the table, man. You can see it's like that. Okay. Wow. Okay. Oh, there.
SPEAKER_02:That's I think that's a yeah, that's right up your alley. Yeah. Give it to your kids. But that's still a quite a quality giveaway.$300? I thought so.
SPEAKER_01:Jeeze. Okay. Check it out, Saquon. See what it was. So we lightbox L-I-G-H-T-B-O-K-S.
SPEAKER_02:We throw all the names of our back room members into uh the Wheel of Names and we do it live, so you know it's not rigged.
SPEAKER_01:That's true. That's true.
SPEAKER_02:And check it out.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. We're getting close to the holidays. It's like gonna be in a Christmas will. This will come out on the 17th. So we're still about a week out. Okay. What's your holiday plans? You got anything for Christmas? You guys going to the beach?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. We are going to the beach. My sister's coming from Montana. We're going to the beach the week before Christmas. Be back, I think, the 24th soiree at my house. Boys are coming down, obviously. Boys will be here. Ashley will be here. Her girls will be here. My mom. Little Christmas Eve dinner, presents on Christmas Day. I think my sister leaves the 26th. No gigs. Nah. That week. Got the New Year's Eve, though. Oh. Where it's New Year's wedding? I've been I've been off for a few New Year's Eve. Same as I.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Uh it's a wedding.
SPEAKER_02:Where at?
SPEAKER_01:Merriman Wynn House. Oh.
SPEAKER_02:Quality control on the on the volume, huh? It can't be like that hardcore on New Year's Eve, though, I wouldn't think.
SPEAKER_01:To be fair to them, the entire reason they are getting complaints now is literally the historic home next door has filed a petition with the city to become a venue as well. When that happens, all neighbors are notified. This venue has folly petition. They don't want two venues side by side going three, four, or five nights a week, blasting their heads off. And so now they're revolting against it. And therefore calling the police on Merriman Wynn and like making them have a guy walk around with a sound meter and blah blah blah. I think that once this other place gets shot down and doesn't get permitted to be a venue, they're gonna be just fine.
SPEAKER_02:You think?
SPEAKER_01:I do. I've been playing there for 10 years. Yeah. And the only time it was a problem was at the very beginning, there was no carriage house, right? Which was a tent. Was a tent. And that was problematic.
SPEAKER_02:Have you talked to this couple uh yet?
SPEAKER_01:As far as I'm sure you did at the sales call, but like we haven't done our like our final planning or anything like that. I'm not sure where it's gonna go yet. Why?
SPEAKER_02:It's just interesting. I think New Year's Eve weddings are interesting in general.
SPEAKER_01:I would rather play a New Year's Eve wedding though than something open to the public.
SPEAKER_02:You interesting. No, I think I'd be the other way. Interesting. Well, and most of my weddings that are on New Year's Eve are destination, so they're wanting to get the photos done early before the sun goes down. Okay. That's how long set to make it to midnight because people aren't going to want to turn down, they want to bridge the two together and not have people driving or whatever. You're right. So there's just this weird energy of like people waiting till midnight and they feel like obligated to stay till midnight. Like they may have left before or whatever. And you're just talking about, like, for me, in a lot of my cases, I'm dealing with guest counts of 100, 150. We're starting at five o'clock, bro. Like we're going seven hours. You know what I mean? Like it's just a long night to get to midnight. I see what you're saying.
SPEAKER_01:So I've always felt like the dance set is too long or just too long. Way too long.
SPEAKER_02:Well, and the whole day. I would think it would be better if they just said, okay, the ceremony's at four to get the pictures. Then there's a long break, like we did at Jani's wedding. You know, go to a bar, come back, we'll see you at seven o'clock or eight. Yeah, we did do that. That to me would be the way to do it because then you're you're hyped up, you're ready to go, you haven't been at a place and stuck in a room all day for five or six hours. I don't know. I just I've never been able to really take that whole energy for a extended period of time because we always start so early.
SPEAKER_01:So, what time are you starting there? Are you Oh, it's probably around the same. I just didn't even think about it like that. I mean, it's been a while. Like, I don't intentionally take New Year's Eve off. I just haven't gotten booked in the last probably three years.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I think the last time I was on it was probably a wedding. And I think you and I had even talked about doing something in public. Yeah. And it just didn't work out. I think we probably could have made something successful. I think if you and I had done something like 9 to 12, 30 with heavy hors d'oeuvres, literally advertise it as like grown and sexy party. Like this is like a 40 and up, you know, come dance. We're gonna play your music, the shit that you know, right, that you're gonna enjoy, and maybe do some desserts or something around 11, a couple of you know, heavy hors d'oeuvres, yeah, champagne toast, and it was whatever,$100,$150 a ticket. I think we could have done something with that.
SPEAKER_02:I do feel like it's one of the most overhyped holidays.
SPEAKER_01:Well, a thousand percent. Right. I I I don't I think the last three I've sat at home. I'm not even kidding. Like and even that is because you know what you know what really fucks it up on the TV? They're off. Well, there's three broadcasts. Right. There's a country one, Dick Clark, there's there's Secrets, yeah, and then there's um those idiots, uh Andy Cohen, and and what's the name? Which is probably the funniest one. But then they made them stop drinking. Right. Well, I thought they brought it back. Really? I they they definitely made them stop one year. Then they started letting them like take one shot an hour at the top of every hour. Anderson Cooper. Anderson Cooper, that's right. But then it goes off the air at 11. Oh. The news has to come on. That's weird. I never and then it comes back at 11:30. So you're sitting there watching and you're enjoying, you know, and you're flipping through the three or four different broadcasts, yeah, and then all of a sudden they all go to the news. You know, uh war, death, president. Uh I'm like, what the fuck is that? This is no good. Like there's nothing positive about that. You know what I mean? Like, I hate the news.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I also hate the fact that like they cut it off. As soon as it's over, it's like it's over.
SPEAKER_01:And you're like, that was the biggest inflating, yeah, you know, hyped up thing, and then it's like, oh, we're done.
SPEAKER_02:And it's and also the performance are always bad too. I've like the micing. I don't know if it's the sound or whatever, but they're just it's not great.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's not too many people out there. Yeah, like I heard like Times Square is disgusting. It is. You get to get there. They don't go to the bathroom. Yeah, no, they wear diapers, they wear diapers, yeah. What is going on?
SPEAKER_01:They shit himself. Piss himself. Yeah, not good.
SPEAKER_00:It's crazy. You never did that, did you? I didn't know it was like that. I didn't know it was like that.
SPEAKER_02:We didn't, oh yeah. We did do Macy's, but we never were on the street. The Thanksgiving parade. Yeah, we would.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah, because your wife's office was above all the house.
SPEAKER_02:So they had the catered like a whole deal. That's dope. That's the move.
SPEAKER_01:I like the parade. I mean, I wouldn't want to stand out there in the cold and watch it. No.
SPEAKER_02:But New Year's, you gotta get there so early. Little John's gonna be on there this year. Is he?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. T Pain was on last year and killed. Right. I do remember you saying that. Anyway, okay, so let's talk about New Year's. Yeah. So you're going to Napa.
SPEAKER_02:Going to Napa, bringing the family. So leave it on the 26th.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:We are doing four days. Okay. Sixth, seventh, eighth. Well, no, longer than that. All the way till the second.
SPEAKER_01:Why? Why there? And why the family on this trip? So you've been all around the world. Yeah. Left them behind thousands of times. Yeah. Um, the man has literally seen like six of the seven wonders. Yeah. His wife's just sitting.
SPEAKER_02:Well, and to be fair, like, you know, this isn't really a vacation, right?
SPEAKER_01:Like it's I do a anybody that's dumb enough to call a trip with a child a vacation, you're using the wrong word. Right. It's not a vacation.
SPEAKER_02:But my wife wanted to do like an all-inclusive thing, you know, beach. And I'm like, Wait, what beach? Like just in general. Like, oh, I'm like, there ain't a beach out there. No. And I'm like, I can't do that right now. Like, I like if we want to go in the next two months, it's gonna have to be tied to an event. Yeah, right. And, you know, lately I've been trying to stay home for these holidays. You know, I haven't been taking holiday gigs, so it has to really be worth it for me to take it. Yeah. And this planner who I love to work with, I've done many events with, and she always has the right clientele, pairs it perfectly. And I told her, I said, listen, if I'm gonna do New Year's Eve, I'm gonna have to bring my family. It's gonna have to be part of the equation because I can't leave them on New Year's Eve, come back New Year's Day. It's just not gonna work. Yeah. So they're coming. Yeah, that's gonna have to be part of the price of what we charge to do this.
SPEAKER_00:You've been out there?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, I've been out there many times. Uh I did one earlier this in in October for an afternoon. You're not a you're not a wine guy though, are you? I mean, I can do it. I don't really like go hard on it. Tara? She loves it. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. She gets not come back. We know that. So yeah, so I was like, I could bring Tara by myself, get a babysitter, but on New Year's Eve, who's gonna want a babysitter? You know? Yeah. So I did a Google search, San Francisco, down the coast and around for four days. Okay. And then the other thing was like, do I really want to leave on the first? You know, after the gig's over and be on a plane the very next day when there's football on, probably. Premium, yeah. You know, it's like, nah. So I we're staying an extra day and leaving on the second. And that way we can enjoy the games, not have to be out of the hotel, yeah, run out of there. And that was all part of the equation for me was thinking about all of that when I decided to take it on.
SPEAKER_01:Well, this episode, we'll we'll leave the gear for last on this episode, but we're gonna talk about selfishly, I'm gonna be the question asker this time. Okay. So we don't have questions from the viewers because I have two. And one of them I posted yesterday, which this would have been a month ago once you're listening to this, or the day before, and got an overwhelming resounding absolutely. And the question was all right, booth heads, we made a move, and it's a bold one.
SPEAKER_02:We officially launched a Patreon. We've got two tiers, one for$5.99 and one for$19.99. Basically, the cost of a coffee or a cocktail, depending upon how you roll.
SPEAKER_01:Listen, this isn't some support us or we disappear kind of thing. You actually get some things that are useful that we think that you're gonna need to run your DJ business.
SPEAKER_02:Like early access to batched episodes, bonus episode that we couldn't post publicly, maybe, and our weekly top 10 banger lists, songs that absolutely crushed at our events this week. You know, the stuff that you really want to steal from us anyway. But if you want to go deeper, jump into the booth backroom at$19.99 a month.
SPEAKER_01:That's where the extra love lives. Monthly prize drawings like headphones, merch, coaching calls. We've got Serato exports of our history, discounts on exclusive merch, and record pool hookups.
SPEAKER_02:Backroom members aren't just listening, they're actually shaping what this podcast is going to become and probably making your DJ sets better in the process.
SPEAKER_01:So stop texting us asking what remix was that and get in the booth for real.
SPEAKER_02:Patreon.com forward slash beyond the DJ Booth Podcast. Choose a tier, grab your spot, and let's keep building. Boothheads, you know where to go.
SPEAKER_01:Question of the day. So I texted Randy. I go, if anybody calls for New Year's Eve from this day forward, not necessarily this year, but fuck it. Yeah, this year. Charge them a thousand dollars more or something. I don't care what it is, but like I think we are in the minority. Now, I don't know if catering's doing this, I don't know if the limo company's doing this. I don't know, but you said you do it, right? I do. I guess my rationale is it's still just another day like any other day.
SPEAKER_00:Nah.
SPEAKER_01:No, nah. It's not, okay.
SPEAKER_00:Because the Lady He stay in his family, like I mean, you may not necessarily do a whole lot, but I feel like majority of the world kind of would rather be home.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. You know what I mean? Or at a party or a party. What is your rationale?
SPEAKER_02:I mean Well, the whole thing was when you posted that question, everybody's answer was yes, charge double. But my whole retort back would be I love that word, retort. That's a great word. Um, is why?
SPEAKER_01:That's what I'm gonna get. So I'm I'm asking you to give me the answer to give a couple.
SPEAKER_02:So most people will say yes because of the fact that, oh, it's just supply and demand. You haven't worked the last how many New Year's Eve, right? Probably three. So it's just kind of like this thing that's out there, like, oh, well, you can do it. So let's see what we can get away with. It's kind of like the tenor of that, is the way I feel about it. That's shitty. And I'll be honest with you, I I um never felt good about it. I would do it, but I never felt good about it. What can I get away with? Yeah, can I go double? Can I go triple? I don't know. Right. Over the last two or three years, I've really kind of thought about the holidays as like those are and even the summer. Summers for me are tough for me to take on gigs because that's when Annie's out of school. You know what I mean? And like we need to do family stuff. So my deal with my couples on the summer is if I'm going out of town, I'm have the option to bring my family. So my rates go up in the summer. And that's my rationale. It's like, listen, this is a holiday. I don't have very many of them with her. 18, you know, is gonna be here before I know it. No, you trust me. Right?
SPEAKER_01:By the time she turns about 14, she's gonna think you're not cool anymore.
SPEAKER_02:I want to have those moments now, and I'm not willing to give it up unless, like, there's uh a cost. So, what is that pain point for me? You know, would you verbally say that? Yeah, I'd have no problem saying that. And this is what it's gonna take for me to get off my couch, you know, to go do it.
SPEAKER_01:So I asked you if it was okay to ask you this. Yeah. People know you, and people that listen to the show now know you for over a year, and you're not a braggard, you're not uh you don't really have an ego. You really are kind of against the norm of most DJs or a lot of of some DJs that are just kind of uh the ego, you know, leads before they even walk in the room. Yeah. You told me the other night it was Halloween. We were talking about I think you started talking about oh well, I had a seven to eight topos, but we were talking about I guess going forward the next two holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's Eve, I guess. And you know, we were what are we doing? Blah, blah, blah. And you told me about the NABA gig, and and you go, I gotta be honest, man, this is the biggest payday I've ever gotten for a gig. So it's this gig coming up this New Year's Eve. Yeah, and what is it all in, and what does it include? Give us the number. And before you say the number, I want to tell everybody. I actually I fell off the couch. Like, I actually like was like, but it made me not being funny, it made me like proud. I was like, God damn, man, like think about how we started, even you, right? Me and you and been doing this so long. In my wildest dreams, I never thought that a a mobile DJ, which is what we are. Yeah, somebody that goes, sets up gear, and plays at a party would ever get that kind of money. Right. What is that number and what does it include? Let me give you the backstory first. I'll take the backstory.
SPEAKER_02:So, you know, I think in general, when I was building my multi-op, at the most I was getting like 3,500, you know, average ticket. That's still comparable to what's in that market. I'm not embarrassed by that number,$2,000 more. Like most people are getting$1,500 on average. On average. Wow. You'd have a couple people who get some pops every now and then, but$3,500 was where I was kind of going. Sure. So I did the my first big jump was to$5,000. And I thought I'd made it. You know what I mean? I'm like$5,000. This is I'm doing it. I'm doing it. And I and I'm like, I started doing the math, like, you know, I still think that's doing it. I think that's great. Okay. And what that typically included was, you know, standard lights, sound for any space. Ceremony. Up to three spaces typically. Sure. Um, if it's an after party, I wouldn't include it in that. And then time, you know, all the prep, all the it doesn't matter. I don't charge overtime, whatever. It was all part of that 5k package. And then I got to a point where it was like I couldn't get over that number. Anytime I tried to creep up 5,500, 6,000, even it was like, nope. Cricket. And I'm like, is this the cap? Is this it? You know? And that's when I took on a business coach and I was like, I gotta figure out how to like break this ceiling. Yeah, Sean. Yeah, Sean Lowe. Shout out Sean Lowe. And he goes, Man, you are at the top end of the clientele that you serve in that market, and you're pissing people off. That's why they're revolting. Not just the clients, but also these planners who have put you out there, and now you're just like, what else can I get? Let's add another 250 just to test the water, dip my toe in. He's like, You got to get out of that sphere of people and move on. And the only way you can do that is he encouraged me to double my price, 10K. I'm like, my heart like basically fell out of my chest. I'm like, there's no way. At the same time, there was also a guilty part of me that was like, I feel like I'm robbing just to get a money grab. So, and he's like, Absolutely, if you feel that, then you shouldn't raise it. He's like, You need to figure out how to be worth that. And I was like, ooh. All right. So let me go back and think, rethink this stuff. And so started rethinking my planning process and also realizing that if I'm charging that much, let's just call it 10K, at the very minimum, half my gigs can go away. And I can give more to a client because I'm not working two events every weekend or whatever the case may be. So I that kind of went into the calculation of kind of moving to that 10K level. And for about, I don't know, it's called maybe two or three years, maybe longer. I was at that number at 10K and I made the jump. But I felt like it wasn't a month. What great year would that have been? Pre-pandemic? Yes, just before it 2019. Okay. Or maybe 18, 2018, 19. Okay. I made the jump. Crickets, bro. But the problem was I hadn't I hadn't moved into the new sphere yet. I was still dealing with the old sphere of planner, referral sources, same venues, and all this stuff, and I wasn't getting it. And I had to move into the new tier. And there is a transition that happens when you do that. And but once you make the jump, you can't go back because then it was like you really weren't serious. You were like just thrown out of hello. So you guys say this is why it's worth it. And I felt like I had the reasons behind it. And during the pandemic, I even full throttled it. And I basically said, okay, I'm gonna spend my time putting together not just a 30-minute set where I can feel like I can crush it for 30 minutes and it's just balls to the wall. I want it to feel like that for four hours. So can I put together some mini sets that will have that punch throughout? And now I think I told Trago recently that I think I'm up to like 10 of these like mini sets. And the great part about how long would a mini set be? If I were to run it in full, 60 minutes. Oh, so it's not really a mini set at all. Well, I the reason why I call it that is because I never play them the whole 60 minutes, number one. Now that I have so many of these, I jump from like four or five songs of a mini set into another mini-set from a different thing. Okay. So it's constantly moving. I never play it the same way twice. Yeah, right. Yeah, they're gonna be the same four or five songs in a row. Sure. But the whole 60 minutes I would never play in its entirety.
SPEAKER_01:I got you.
SPEAKER_02:And because some songs aren't on their list, you know. Yeah, the the ones we've w ran through in today's taping of batches uh stuff, we you know, the promiscuous. I got five different versions of that with something else over it, and I will swap it out if a new song comes in and change that routine around. So it still feels fresh. Yeah you know what I mean? And so from the pandemic, I think I got three or four of those routine sets down in that year and a half, or call it two. Now, since then, I keep building on it. So whenever I have downtime, I have weekends off, I'm building these routines so that literally I can walk into space and I feel like for four hours, there's never gonna be a lull. It's gonna be like, how in the world does this guy keep doing it? Or I can do three or four parties in specific days with the same couple, and they're gonna be like, dude, you keep crushing it like every night. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And because of that work and pairing it with the process piece of the planning and all of that, that's huge, yeah. I felt like I was worth it. You know, and so since then I've jumped another five. So I've been at 15 for a while. And again, that jump was paired with okay, I've gone from four routines to now 10. I can walk into pretty much any space and like I can hold it down for six or seven hours. Other than Latin. Yeah, Latin, though. Yeah, yeah, that one's that's on the list. And so I've been at 15 for a while. Now, for holidays, and this has only happened two times, I think. I've gotten close to or over, actually, over 20K. And that was been all in with travel. So I don't want it to make it sound like it's just the the extra 5k has been like additional bringing my family or whatever. So this New Year's Eve, I was like, you know what? I need to set a new threshold. And so uh this one all in is 26 uh for 26,000. And um that was my first time hitting that number, you know.
SPEAKER_01:So that's but but okay, but what does that include? Yeah, what does it include? I mean, what do you put in the bank on January 2nd? For clarity, yeah, so everybody listening.
SPEAKER_02:I mean part of that equation was listen, if I'm bringing a kiddo, we're driving, we're flying six hours direct from Raleigh to San Francisco. Correct. Three of us, yep. It was like about three thousand dollars or maybe a little less, two thousand five hundred something around there because of the time of year. I was like, listen, I am gonna bump this up to first class. That ticket was not cheap. Five years for three of us. Annie chilling first class. And she does that because I she with my status, she gets it anyways, right?
SPEAKER_00:Okay, Brian B status.
SPEAKER_02:But like her. I was telling Jenna the other day, I was like, listen, like I'm a United fan now because I've taken it. I did this one in October. Yeah, I upgraded my ticket, cost me 700 extra bucks, but I wanted to experience it to see if it was worth it. Yeah, it was like two meals, like it's just like super solid. The food's good, they treat you well, it had to lay flat, all that. So that cost me 5,000 out of that 26, is just the flights. Okay. Okay. Then I told her, I was like, listen, I want to be able to be there for a couple days. I don't want to be in and out. So we're having an extended hotel stay. So that I let's call it a thousand dollars, I think is uh was what it ended up being. Okay. Then rental car. Yeah, right? Yeah, meals. I'm factoring all this stuff in. I think we did it like um 200 bucks a day basically in meals. So and then gear, that's gonna run me probably 2,500. Any musicians or anything? No. Okay. So the rest is talent, okay, basically. Which ended up being about 15.
SPEAKER_01:17, 18,000 you put in the bank.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. For New Year's Eve.
SPEAKER_01:So I don't know. I I'm telling you, man, that it's it is very inspiring. I never feel jealous about it. I feel like inspired. I text you like the next day. Yeah. And I was like, man, I I let's have a serious conversation about how I can get a better rate for myself because I do feel like I am worth more than$4,500. I agree. And to be fair, like I'm not, that's the first time I've ever hit that number. I know. I'm not going out that way. And you do have to get on a plane and you have been to 20 different engaged conferences and you have parlayed these investments into networking with people that are doing five weddings a year max. Right. I taught Andrea Apollito about something the other day, and she was like, Yeah, I only do four weddings a year now. But they're all million dollar plus. Yeah, yeah, totally. She wouldn't, if you say your budget's less than a million dollars, she's gonna tell you to go find somebody else. I guarantee it. Yeah. So you're dialed in with these people, right? And if they say we want a DJ, you're on the very short list of people to call. Yeah, I'm not saying you're gonna get every one, but you're gonna be on a short list of uh less than five people that they're gonna call.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and I think the biggest takeaway from this is like you have to make sure that you're not fishing for what you think you can get. You should believe that you are worth this. Commit. And there should be a significant difference. Your show should totally feel different than anybody else in the local market. Like, there should be significant uh differences in that stuff, and that's in everything. And that's why you know I am so big on like with we've gone through all these music episodes before where we're talking music. Like, I spend the time to put those things together.
SPEAKER_01:You know what I mean? You spend the time on the music, you spend the time on the pre-planning, you spend the time on researching the couple, where you're going, the culture there, like it is uh an art, and it does make sense when you say, okay, I'm doing less shows for more money, so I have more time to spend on your show.
SPEAKER_02:Right. And then the other thing with that too is I think we feel like, oh, we've been doing this for at this rate for so long, we are deserve this. But if the show doesn't dramatically improve and you've been charging this for the last year, well, why all of a sudden are you gonna go up? There's a disconnect there. Yeah, and people need to feel the difference. And my other takeaway would be I think it's a mistake, and you and I have I may have differing opinions on this. It's an inflection point where the incremental jumps have to stop at some point. You're right. So, like when I hit that 5k, that was for me. In my local market, I couldn't get above that. I had to make a clear distinction that we're going way up. Now, my business coach told me to go 10K up. He wanted me to go to 15 immediately. And I'm like, I had to believe it for myself. And I said, I don't think I am worth that. And I'm really was being transparent in saying that. But I said, I think I can get to 10K and I will feel confident when I get this system in place. So my contracts changed. When we meet, changes, how we meet, the questions I'm asking. None of it is anything I did when I was at 3500 or even 5K. And I think that's like super important because some people just jump up and then people are like, Well, what are you doing differently? Well, I've been doing it for 10 years, I've been da-da-da. And people are like, It doesn't matter. Yeah, you're like, Well, yesterday you were 5K where you've been undercharging the whole time. Like, it doesn't make any sense, right? And you were okay with it. Right now, all of a sudden I'm taking on the hook for this. So you really have to spend the time to think about like how can I retool this that it makes me worth that, and I can believe selling it and it doesn't come off as salesy.
SPEAKER_01:Great shit, man. Let's hit the gear real quick and and and put a bow on this. The gear's here. The gear, gear is here.
SPEAKER_02:What you got over there? Well, we're completely gonna go lighter. Being on planes or doing doubles, and again, this is maybe an age thing. I feel like I'm tight. Like my body is just like I'm like tore up. And it's mainly like just the stretching. Like I didn't realize like I work out all the time, and I know you do too, but like stretching is underrated. It is, I agree. Super underrated. I went to that stretch lab. Trash lab place. Yeah, you used to love that place. I used to go, and and because I was just so tight, like it took me like three or four months to going. I don't go uh anymore. Yeah, and I'm like, I need to figure out a way to do this on my own. Yeah, and where I noticed is like literally getting on off planes or driving long distances. When you get out of the car, you just kind of feel like everything's tight. Okay. Then you're standing in a DJ spot for another three or four hours, right? Getting back in, you're just like locked up.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So I found this strap. Okay. It's kind of a stretching strap. Okay. And what's great about it, I'm gonna have you give us a demo, actually. This is gonna be, I gotta lighten this episode up somehow. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I'm I'm I'm enlightened.
SPEAKER_02:So the cool thing about this is that it's not elastic, like it's hard. Okay. I see.
SPEAKER_01:I thought it was straight.
SPEAKER_02:It's not gonna be like one of those bands. Yeah, no, that's what I thought it was. That's why it's a strap. Okay, right. So you can see it's numbered if you're watching this on video. If you're not, it's got levels to the closer it is, the harder it is. That's why that number four is there. Okay. And it really stretches out your hamstrings and things like that. So you actually kind of just grab it on one end, okay. Hold it in your hand. You probably need to take your shoes off for this, though. Yeah, oh yeah. Yeah. You're gonna be on the floor, buddy. Oh yeah. We're getting real with it. And what you're gonna do, lay on your back. Put this in one hand, put this in the other hand.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:And then I would we can try a three or four, whatever you feel comfortable with. All right. Just on the actual thing there. All right. Laying back. All right. And then you'll just pull it back as far as you think you can go. And you can feel it in your hammies. So that's right. But isn't that like a great stretch?
SPEAKER_00:Everybody's gonna make fun of those on the sock. Like ballet slippers.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. But like, can you feel that?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So like every time I get off the plane, I will use this at the hotel room, and I feel so much looser just doing that a little bit at a time. So I mean well, you gotta get back. You have to get back on the mic and after a minute, but but try that on the other side. Okay. And the closer you get to the middle, the harder it is. Joe, you could even try bring it. Okay, but go go to a side, maybe with it. Pull it to a side or like yeah. You can do it with the strap, you can do it better than you can do by yourself without it. Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_00:Absolute. Yeah, that's what uh when I had uh all right, so you have to get on the mic.
SPEAKER_02:I want to hear your your uh take on it. It's good for your science.
SPEAKER_01:But if you are over 30 years old, I suggest you get one of these because that's I I literally have this thing called a chirp wheel. Do you know what these things are? No, it looks like um a tire. It goes under my, there's a drawer that pulls out under my bed. There's three different sizes, it's just a ring, and you lay back on it in the morning, try and kind of correct your posture. Yeah, and I am super, super tight. Yeah, I mean, I actually can get on it and her head touches the ground. Oh, geez, of course. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02:Like I can see her doing that.
SPEAKER_01:But me and you, like you said, I mean, and guys are just tight in general, especially hamstrings, things like that, hips, hamstrings. That thing is a solid piece of equipment. I'll buy that and just stick it under my bed.
SPEAKER_02:I put it in my bag, yeah. It doesn't take up any room, it's like super thin. Yeah, what do you think it goes for on Amazon? It's probably$28.99.$19.99. Okay. I think it's a game changer. Yeah. I feel so loose when I especially, you know, the other time I use it is actually when I get back to the hotel room after the gig. I'll do it for five or six minutes afterwards. And now like I've been doing it so long that like I can go further back with my leg.
SPEAKER_01:It's not like I will say, in terms of fitness, um, that is my weakest link is stretching. Same.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. A hundred percent.
SPEAKER_01:That it that is that is the one probably piece that I'm missing more than anything, right? Especially after this post-sugar thing.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. So anyway, it might be worth grabbing this wrap. I'll have the link on the episode.
SPEAKER_01:Let's wrap this one up, my boy. This is like a marathon marathon. But I I feel very seriously, I feel inspired, man. Thank you for sharing that. You're gonna look back on this episode and be like, that thing has a lot of gold in it. A lot of gold.
SPEAKER_02:Cool.
SPEAKER_01:Wrap it up.
SPEAKER_02:So if you want to get your ticket to the DJ Collective for 2026, we would encourage you to get it before the end of the year. It's a good tax write-off, number one. Yep. And most likely the price will be going up, is my guess on January.
SPEAKER_01:It's gonna go up as we approach uh November 2026.
SPEAKER_02:So and a lot of this stuff, this candid combo that we're having, like I would never go on a normal. I mean, I'm doing this because of you asked me, but like this isn't stuff I would just volunteer out there. This is stuff I would only share at places like the DJ Collective where I feel like safe that it's not gonna be, you know, yeah, yeah, um used against you or something. Well, and just helping out other DJs who kind of get to know who you are and you can do this stuff. So if you haven't thought about going, encourage you to make it. It's gonna be right here on Raleigh. Go to the DJ CollectiveOfficial dot com and register before the end of the year.
SPEAKER_01:Yep, and then shout out the sponsor one time.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, DJ Eventplanner.com. Thanks, y'all.
SPEAKER_01:See you next Wednesday
