[Jim Casey]

OMG Erik...

So your mom owns a pre-school and from that you conclude you know how to run a business?

Far from it.

So I want to place my child in your mom's preschool. What is the cost? Is she willing to negotitate her price? I bet the answer is no.

What you do not seem to understand is that she was VERY happy to pay what was triple her original DJs price. Her original DJ ($400) simply put dropped the ball. He didn;t bother to contact her until six weeks prior, only to say that he booked someone else.

DO you believe that is professional?

Unlike the amateur you are Erik, I am a professional and demand a professional rate for my services. You may think that $1200 for the six hours of service (including the ceremony, three different setups in three different locations, etc) is high, I do not. She did not.

I visited her three days after signing the contract to become familiar with the wedding site. I drew out a plan for the three locations and spent about two and a half hours with them, along with the two hour drive up and two hour drive back.

Count 6.5 hours of service plus the one hour phone call for the contract. I have spent 7.5 hours working on their wedding already.

Add to this another 1.5 hour conversation to plan her wedding, INCLUDING setting the order of the processions, etc.

We are up to 9 hours, BEFORE the big day.

Add another two hours to drive to music stores, purchase music, etc

Now we have 11 hours.

She continued to need help with some of the planning aspects right up through the final week. I have at least another hour plus of phone time I spent with her.

That's 12 hours.

THEN, I coordinated all of this with her other vendors. This took another 2 hours.

Count to 14 now.

Day of the wedding. 2 hour drive, 1 hour of setup time (this was 3 setups total), 1/2 hour breather time before the start of the ceremony, 6 hours of performance time, 3/4 hour breakdown, 2 hour drive home.

12 1/4 hours the day of in addition to the 14 BEFORE = Total of 26.25 hours spent on ONE wedding.

1200 / 26.25 = $45.71 per hour

Now...take 35% off the top automatically for taxes, federal and state (more than normal becuase business owners pay both the employer and employee payroll taxes at the end of the year)

Now we have $29.71 an hour. Still very respectable, but nor the $200 an hour that many seem to think $1200 for a six hour DJ package is.

Erik, you obviously do not get it. You are only 17 years old and should not begin to think you REALLY understand what business people go through on a day to day basis. Because you really do not.

You do not have ANY perspective on business at all. Once you become a small business owner, pay your own way, do not live with mommy and daddy, and more, talk to me.

Otherwise do not presume to give advice or think you know what professional DJs are worth.

This BTW was the email I received in Oct 17th from that client:

"Jim,

We thought you might want to take a look at these. Thank you again for all of your help. People are still talking about how wonderful you were on our wedding day. It wouldn't have run as smoothly as it did if not for you. b You had mentioned about sending us an evaluation form for you. I haven't gotten it but would be glad to fill it out!"

I hope to receive the evaluation form very soon.

Gee, looks like I truly ripped her off.

Think like a professional, get professional rates. Think like an amateur, remain an amateur.

Getting a MLM book is still a strange gesture no matter how you look at it.