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Topic: Purchase Vs Rental (mobile service owners) - Page: 1

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OKay I'm Currently in the process of opening a mobile service. I'm getting out of sub-contracting and possibly out of the club (provided business is good).

Too mobile owners.....

When first starting did you rent P.A. and lighting or did you purchase right off the hop?

I'm kinda wishy/washy when it comes to going $15000.00 in the hole at start-up.

The day job pays well enough that I could handle the licencing issues and subcription services. The big ones would be video projectors and Powered speakers and lighting.

There are rental services in Edmonton for Video Projectors and obviously for P.A. and Lighting.

So share for me your thoughts, those who have been down this road.

DJ Marcel
 
Posted Mon 26 Feb 07 @ 6:59 pm
i would start off slow, purchase the best equipment that you can afford and rent what ever you need to fill out your set. I would buy a pair of powered speakers (tops) and cd players, mixer etc. the lights I would suggest the intimidators 1.2 just get two for now and add more later.
just get the basics to do most parties and then add on as time and your clientele grows.
 
I'm going to forgo even having a cd player as back-up. I've been using VDJ at the Club now for over a year and I don't even turn on the cd players in the booth anymore. So far (knock on wood) I've not had a single glitch other than automix.

I've put together a DJ Rack (see my blog) I have a back-up mixer. So far this set-up works like a rock (it never goes online.)

The main thing I was wondering was P.A. and lighting

I was thinking along the same lines as you Bigmark, and just getting the basics.

Still would like more input and suggestions
 
Marcel
Good luck in going mobile.
You will find out that in the long run you will make a lot more money doing mobile gigs than working the clubs. It will take time to build up your client base. Most of your business will come from previous clients whom already has hired you or guest of clients that have attended their event. When going mobile you want to demostrate that you are a professional and that you take pride in what you are doing. So appearance it a big first impression.
In regards to you question about equiptment it can get extremely expesive in buying everything at once. You may just want to purchase what you budget allows for now. But ulitmately you will be best of by purchasing the equiptment instead of renting. Until you able to have the complete set I will suggest concertrating on your sound equiptment first then look into purchasing lights. I highly reccommend looking into powered speakers for quick set up. Also I know you mentioned that you are not looking into having cd players as back up. When doing mobile gigs you have to prepared yourself for the worst case sceenario. This means having back up equiptment of some sort. Doest have to be cd players, it could be a ipod, dvd player, laptop something cue up in the event of virtual dj crashing on you.
You will hate to be in a weddings, sweet sixteen, and have a crash at the most critical part of the event.
So having reliable equiptment and or software is a must in going mobile. I wish you a lot of success in making this big leap of faith of going mobile.
DJ Angel S
 
First do a market analysis, to see what the going rate a DJ gets for the market you are targeting; corporate, wedding, etc. Then find out what it cost to rent a system, for varying amounts of people. Don't think about lights yet, unless your competitors include them in their packages. In most cases, lights are an up sell, and you can charge them 10 to 20% over your rental cost. Let's say you get a 100 person wedding reception, for 5 hours. I don't know what the going rate is where you are, but in my area it's $800.00 to $1200.00. Some get more, but most charge a lot less. To do this gig, it will cost you $300.00 to rent the equipment. If you charged $800.00, you make $500.00 for 5 hours. Not bad you say. But wait, there's more. You really didn't make $500.00 for 5 hours. You had to go pick up the rental equipment, and take it back. When I was renting, you picked it up on Thurs. and returned on Mon. Your gig is on Sat, so you have to unload on Thur., and reload on Sat. How far is it to the rental place and the gig? You may not think like this, but my price reflex setup, breakdown, distance, and even the return postage I provide for the contract. Figure everything in, and decide how much you will be comfortable making. This sounds like a 10 hour gig, minimum. Remember, you can't make it all, when you just start out.
 
I agree with Man and His Music
great advice
DJ Angel S
 
I have a problem with getting what you can afford. Save your money and get what you want. I wish I had known this when I first started out. It is hard to get rid of cheap shit, and the good stuff you won't have too.
 
Personally, I wouldn't go with powered speakers - they seem disproportionately expensive compared to the price of a separate amp and speakers... And as much as I love VDJ, I'd still carry CD players as well, you never know when something might go wrong! It's also handy at the wedding disco when the bride hands you a disc and asks you to play it for the first dance...
 
djsherz wrote :
Personally, I wouldn't go with powered speakers - they seem disproportionately expensive compared to the price of a separate amp and speakers... And as much as I love VDJ, I'd still carry CD players as well, you never know when something might go wrong! It's also handy at the wedding disco when the bride hands you a disc and asks you to play it for the first dance...


Everything is relative. I use to think like that. However, when you have to go up a flight of stairs, can you carry an 400w a channel amp, and 2 speakers, at the same time? I can with 2 Mackie 450's. And I charge extra for stairs. Even if I bring subs, it's one trip per sub. It would be an extra trip if I had an amp. I count every step when I have to use them.
 
Some good Advice happening here.

I've been making phone calls during work here at the shop - It's slow today; Funny how people have no money to fix their car but the bar is full every weekend. (but I digress)

Rental is reasonable
Financing is even more reasonable

Both fees are tax deductable(not really relevant)

Still not convinced about carrying a cd player, Just haven't had any problems. And I can ripp a track off a cd while playing music in VDJ - do it every Wedsday Night when the Local Classic Rock Station does a remote broadcast from the Club

Guess I really need to flip a coin.

Any further advice would be apreciated
 
My moto:

"Never promise more then you can deliver, but always deliver more then you promise".
 
I aggree with Man and His Music about Mackie 450s.

I started out with them then I sold them when I got a chance to acquire the EViForce speakers with custom 15" Eminence Kappa Pro 15As. I have 4 of them that I drive with QSC amp.
4 of them can look like an overkill but they eliminated the need for the subwoofer. Mackies are increadible.

The point is not the speakers specs etc. but to have a decent set of equipment that you can do parties under the following conditions;

1- At the end of the negotiations you may not have a deal that gives you a decent profit, in that case you can do the gig with your equipment. I give my clients a choice actually, up to 300-400 people, I offer 2 packages. One with my equipment, one with lights and supped up sound system package that I call a service for. The difference is $600. All of a sudden, price goes from $1200-1500 to $1700-2100.
But if someone has a bugdet of $800 for a short quick party. I don't have to worry about shelling 400-600 for the sound system. Yes it is an investment but, if you think about it, it really is not in the tens of thousands of dollars.

2 - You may not get the rental in time for an emergency party. It happens. 3 weeks ago, someone called me for a wedding 2 days prior to the date. I took my equipment and went and did the party.

I also want to add something about the backup and CD players. I use VDJ as my main source for my club gigs and mobile gigs. But I carry cd players as well. I purchased pair of iCDXs so I can function in a total crash situation. Not only for the crashes but, if they have some songs that they pick that you need to play etc. In my opinion, if I need to choose between having a total crash at a club packed with 700 people or a wedding, I choose to have the crash at a club anytime. If you know what I mean. To have a crash no backup on some one's most important day of which they had been preparing for months and monts, is a death sentence. :)


 
Definately some folks in here that have quite a bit of experience. Great advice... even for an old guy like me to read again. At some point or another over the past 10 years I have had just about every type of technical glitch that could happen. The important part though is the clients NEVER knew about them. I have back ups for my back ups. Computer fails? I switch to my laptop. Laptop Not working well enough? I still have all my CDs and a trusty Denon DN1800. In fact I just did a gig where I had a comedy of errors and I ended up doing the show from CDs. The feedback form? All categories rated excellent - and they just booked another party.

As for rental - you may be able to find a shop that does monthly rental at reasonable rates. That way, you have the best of both worlds. Save a bunch of trips to the shop, keep the gear close by, and you don't break the bank. Depending on where you live you may be able to rent a decent amp and speaker system for about $100/mo or so and some places will let you buy the gear at greatly reduced rates.

And yes - save up for what you WANT... if you settle for less you ultimately end up spending more. Works OK for cash flow but not for P&L. Do your research and buy the right gear - you won't regret it.

 
I completely agree with getting good gear. It's worth it in the long run. Same goes for everything you buy.

I run VDJ only on two of my systems with no cd backup, just a spare laptop. I've never used the spare. So if you are confident with Vdj then stick to it. It would not be bad to pick up a dual cd player for backup, I'd get a good used one since you only need it for backup you can actually cut cost there.

The moblie business is also a competitive one. How many DJ's are in your area and what do they provide for what they charge? In my area anything less than a set of sual 18's with four tops is considered budget.

You give me 15K and you could run with the big boys.

Video I would put off until later, it's an expensive part of Djing and projectors and screens you could rent for the first few shows until you know what the demand for them is.

Another note on the going mobile is transportation, weither it be trailer, suv, van, or anything else, a new vehicle may be required.

Having myself dropped 5k overnight on my first system I got sound and lights. Since you have the music and laptop all you need is gear. and that makes things easier.

I would spring for a decent truss that's expandable in the future, some intels, led pan cans, a set of tops, and a sub or two. Again it's easier to buy one top of the line dual 18 than it is to buy seperate subs. The weight is a factor but later on when(not if) you expand it'll be much easier to keep the gear you got and double it.

I would start out with good sound gear. Maybe rent the lights. See what stuff you like and go from there. I recently bought a new mixer, DBX driverack, crown amps, and JBL speakers. They are all make by Harmon companies and all interface very well. It would all be pretty top notch. You could do that for under 5k and be set for sound for quite awhile.
Lights and video would follow.


In summary, do the research, see the prices people get paid, then advertise and spend 5k. It may take a little while but gigs will come and word will spread. Good luck and post anymore questions, I just rambled but specific questions I can answer a lot easier.
 
Some really good advice here. I have just signed up to do 2 mobile gigs (a small 21st and a Paddy's night work do - both in local pubs approx 100 people) and my set up is as follows:

2 x Peavey ST-15 speakers
1 x Peavey PV-900 Power Amp
1 x Hercules DJ Console MK2
1 x Compaq Laptop running VDJ 3.4 (think I'll be actually using winamp though because I need a laptop upgrade)
1 x AKG D880 MS EMOTION SERIE microphone

I am going to bring an iPod as back up.

I plan to rent a pair of Chauvet lights (€30 for 2) for both gigs in order to avoid the expense of buying them up front when I don't know exactly what I want just yet.

Am I taking too many risks?

Do I really need sub woofers at this stage?

Should I fork out the money for a CD deck - can anyone recommend a few? Numark? Denon?
 
don't bother w/ the cd players, unless you want high end units to use tccd.....

get decent sound setup to start, not cheap......

in a year the cheap stuff will get you 0 to MAYBE 20 cents on the dollar......
the good stuff will get you 20 to 30 cents on the dollar ,plus you won't have hated it for a year
i reccomend self powered and so does my aching back...lol

if you can lease with a good company with great service and flexibility that might be a good way to go

you need a marketing plan ,advertising , and customers first

your vehicle has to be reliable and able to hold it all......put your spare tire in easy reach
 
radiofc wrote :
Some really good advice here. I have just signed up to do 2 mobile gigs (a small 21st and a Paddy's night work do - both in local pubs approx 100 people) and my set up is as follows:

2 x Peavey ST-15 speakers
1 x Peavey PV-900 Power Amp
1 x Hercules DJ Console MK2
1 x Compaq Laptop running VDJ 3.4 (think I'll be actually using winamp though because I need a laptop upgrade)
1 x AKG D880 MS EMOTION SERIE microphone

I am going to bring an iPod as back up.

I plan to rent a pair of Chauvet lights (€30 for 2) for both gigs in order to avoid the expense of buying them up front when I don't know exactly what I want just yet.

Am I taking too many risks?

Do I really need sub woofers at this stage?

Should I fork out the money for a CD deck - can anyone recommend a few? Numark? Denon?


I forgot to say is upgrading to Pro version really essential right now? I intend to keep things fairly simple for these gigs where the audience won't be expecting too much beatmatching or effects.
 
The key is to give them more then they expect. If you just give them the bare minimum, there will be another DJ, like me, ready to give them more. It's not personal, just business. And I will never say a bad word about you, just all the benefits that I bring to the table.
 
Well I seem to have a 50-50 split about the cd players.

I think I'm gonna stand on that one no back-up if something dies it doesn't matter if its a player or a comp - either way it's bad.

Funny you mention about the reliable vehicle, - I'm a automotive mechanic by trade right now, I DJ at a club 3 nights a week. I don't worry about a relaible car - I can make 'em run. I use a mid eighties Station wagon BTW - Big , cheap parts and easy to repair. Less down time compared to waiting for parts from the dealer on a newer model.

I'm quite happy with my DJ comp right now - never hic-ups, playes good quality sound and the DAC2 is a freaking tank, No problems with that peice of gear whatso ever (other than the one bit of soldering I had to do)

But I run a very basic set-up
comp, 5.1 motherboard sound
external mixer
DAC2
No timecodes

Runs great; Only fidling with the Dual monitor output and I've almost got that down.

Untill I get a lot of video's built up I plan on bringing a cheap digital camera and using a DLP projector like a lightshow with the sonique plugins and aslo setting up on the spot slideshows via the slideshow plugin.

I thank you all for the advice.

I've decided on getting a B52 self powerd sub/satilite set-up to start, I liked the way they sound at the music store.And extremely portable

Next year I think I'll get some Makies towers.

DJ Marcel
Purple Onion NightClub
 
B52 is a great concept, but you can not carry the three pieces strapped together, up stairs or even in the van, by yourself. What is your back up plan, if something happens to the sub, because the satellites won't work. I liked the idea, and almost bought the setup, but had second thoughts. Oh, and I still have a Denon dual player in my mobile rack. Until I build my new machine.
 
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