Continuing Education – Page 4

Looking back at the Calgary CDJ Show 2014

On the road now. And during the nearly 1200 KMs we’ve got to drive over the next 12 or so hours, a lot of details of yesterday’s CDJ Show were discussed.

I’m travelling with Bryan Podworny, Dale Kerik & Cory Gulenchin and we’ve all enjoyed our trip to Calgary for the show and found it very worth while. As a regional show, it was very successful at bringing together a series of worthwhile seminars and good product demos and displays. The DJs that attended were also eager individuals that wanted to up their game and work towards bettering what we all know and love about our industry. Very inspiring. It was a pleasure meeting all of you!

Showroom Floor — American DJ booth, CDJ Show showroom floor

The exhibitors had great product displays, knew what they were talking about and were happy to provide well thought out answers. A definite plus for a smaller, regional show, is that everyone has lots of time for everyone (think Disc Jockey News Conclave November 9 – 12, 2014). It may have even resulted in this guy purchasing a new toy for himself… very eager to now learn Serato DJ from the ground up and try out my new Pioneer DDJ-SX (now wish I wouldn’t have missed the Serato DJ seminar at this show)!

The friendly hospitality and welcome of those in the Calgary community of mobile disc jockeys was also outstanding. Huge thanks to the great team of people that really sweated really hard over the last 3 months to pull this show together.

In addition to the presenters I wrote about yesterday, here is a sampling of what we learned about and picked up this past weekend at the CDJ Show:

– The pros & cons to placing your booth in a variety of difference places at a wedding show.
– Don’t “schedule” an “appointment” or a “meeting”, rather, plan visits (thank you Scott Faver).
– Being told what the fines are for improper use of lasers (depending on their classification) was really educational. Being informed of what the unique classifications are in Canada was helpful too.
– Scott Faver really is up for a phone call anytime if you need help brainstorming an idea for a party (for FREE too, thanks Scott!).
– Listening to Vickie Musni talking about the 4 different personality types is a lot of fun! It can be very helpful for not only understanding the people already around you, but also those who you have yet to meet, those that might one day become clients of yours. (I’d witnessed Vickie present this seminar once before and it’s still as good as ever!)

To sum up, it was an absolute pleasure making the overnight trip to arrive just in time for the start to the first Calgary DJ show. About shows and conferences like this in general, Bryan Podworny said it best today as we were cruising along the pavement under a cloud-filled prairie sky…

“Nothing beats the reinforcement of meeting other people in the industry who want to succeed. These shows are a great place to come together as a group and bounce ideas off each other.”

That, my friends, is the truth. And it’s worth something. It’s worth a lot.

Next conference stop? Well I can’t make ARMDJs this year (but you should!) so it’ll have to be sunny, Las Vegas, Nevada for the Las Vegas DJ Show this September. See you there!

~ Dave T.

(By the way, in preparation for a “RESOURCES” page on this blog, what DJ shows are you aware of in addition to these? Mobile Beat, Midwest DJs Live, the CDJ Show, ARMDJs, the DJ Expo, The Las Vegas DJ Show, Disc Jockey News Conclave. Let me know here, thanks!)

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Scott Faver opens the CDJ Show!

With his popular, likeable and well known high energy, Scott Faver opened up the May 2014 edition of the CDJ Show in Calgary, Alberta this morning!

Scott Faver at CDJ Show May 2014

Scott’s presentation “Promotion is not Devotion” spoke at length about methods through which he “promotes” his name and his company. “Promotion” though, as he sees it, isn’t exactly what you might think in this case. Through an unparalleled devotion to his clients, Scott demonstrated how he stays top of mind with not only clients, but past clients, wedding vendors, etc. In order to accomplish this, Scott insists that proper and real relationships must take place before, during and after any event. This translates, when done efficiently, to a service that requires little to no advertising which is what Scott has enjoyed for many years.

As it seems to have been a common thread in materials that I’ve been reading and listening to over the last few weeks, something else Scott also shared really stood out to me, “If you are everything to everyone, you are nothing to all. FOCUS.”

Wes Straub at CDJ Show May 2014

Later that morning, Wes Straub, DJ and Website designer, spoke under the seminar heading “Power up Your Brand and Business”. Wes’s DJ background has taken him all over the map from clubs in North America to across the Atlantic in Ibiza. He also currently works as a user experience, interaction and graphic designer, technical development and project manager for Inspire Studios Inc.

The information and presentation Wes shared on creating an online presence for you and your brand was very well polished and delivered in a manner that was engaging and easily understood for even the most novice marketing individual. When discussing your brand and the idea of taking it online, his approach to that conversation requires answers to 2 very specific things about you and your business. Before you go online… define who your customers are and define who you are. All you’ll do is waste your time and everyone else’s time if you go online before defining both of those things.

I’ll also share 4 rules here that Wes gave us for creating and maintaining meaningful online content:

#1 Less noise, more voice. Be human online and make it count.
#2 It’s for your audience, not the entire world. You know who your audience is right?
#3 Be original, be unique, be inspiring. Create conversation, whether it’s about what you actually do or not.
#4 Audience first, SEO second. Search Engine Optimization is important, but never forget that your content needs to be written for your audience first.

Near the end of his presentation, Wes brought up a topic that I’ve written briefly on before and am very passionate about: How you represent yourself in every public face is your brand. Your brand is everything you do. Your brand is you.

That sums up this write up for the May 2014 edition of the CDJ Show in Calgary. If all goes according to plan, I’ll put together one more write up tomorrow.

Now… to go and find some sleep…

~ Dave T.

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All content is © Dave Ternier but sharing of blog content online (Facebook, chat groups, etc.) is strongly encouraged provided the following two conditions are met: 1) Direct URL to the blog post must be shared and any part of blog quoted must be attributed to Dave Ternier or aDJthought.com and 2) Copying and pasting an entire blog post in it’s entirety is not permissible, but if quoting, please quote no more then 1 – 2 paragraphs.

Learning? Pff! Who needs it?!

Much will be said about two things on this blog… My passion for continuing education and my love for some really great and inspirational people outside of the DJ world.

I hope that by introducing you to the people that have so inspired me (from outside our direct industry), you might also be inspired by them in some way. Today, I introduce the first of those people to you due to some of the words in her blog this week.

I had the pleasure of witnessing Liene (pronounced Lynn) speak at the 2013 Business of Weddings conference in Toronto. Prior to that, I had followed her blog, Think Splendid for a couple of years and was often invigorated and inspired by what she wrote.

Liene is also the source of some great wedding market statistics if you’d like to learn more about current wedding purchasing trends. That information is available through her Splendid Insights which are collected, assembled and released annually. Much can be learned in those reports such as, “When hiring wedding professionals, how important is their personality in your decision making process”. 65% of couples reported that being VERY IMPORTANT in the 2013 global report.

I highlight Liene and her work today because of what she wrote this week and how it ties into plans I have this coming weekend to attend the May 2014 edition of the CDJ Show in Calgary, Alberta (from which I plan to write one or two segments on). In addition to networking with fellow DJs, I go to learn and also to unlearn. From a post titled “A Not-So-Secret Secret” Liene writes:

“The people who commit to constantly learning, unlearning and who check their bias and ego at the door are the ones who will succeed.”

I couldn’t agree more.

See you in Calgary?

For more great words of wisdom from Liene, see her short and simple write up from this past Monday called “Successful Storytelling”.

~ DT

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All content is © Dave Ternier but sharing of blog content online (Facebook, chat groups, etc.) is strongly encouraged provided the following two conditions are met: 1) Direct URL to the blog post must be shared and any part of blog quoted must be attributed to Dave Ternier or aDJthought.com and 2) Copying and pasting an entire blog post in it’s entirety is not permissible, but if quoting, please quote no more then 1 – 2 paragraphs.

Mobile Beat 2014 re-cap

The Mobile Beat conference in Las Vegas has once again come and gone. This was my 4th consecutive year attending and the overall experience once again met, and at times exceeded, my expectations.

As you’ll come to learn by reading what I write, there are many layers of satisfaction that can be found by attending any training, networking or conferences. Mobile Beat is no exception to that. What the conference itself might lack, is more then made up for in the after hours dinners and conversations between DJs that take place. Some of the highlights of the conference itself were presentations on personality types, lighting design, personal growth and wedding performance critique.

Vickie Musni’s presentation “Speaking Her Language: The 4 Dialects of Speaking Bride“ was incredibly insightful. Vickie’s insight into the 4 basic different personality types and how to use that information to better communicate with prospective brides & grooms was spot on. I’m really looking forward to having better conversations with those that I speak with as a result of this seminar. Of course this won’t only help when dialoguing with just brides & grooms, but also DJ colleagues, friends, family and yes… even my wife!

Producer of the 1% Solution DVD series, Randy Bartlett, gave a very honest critique of much of what holds wedding DJs and truly entrepreneurs of all types back. His presentation “7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Wedding DJs” was delivered with Randy’s signature humour, honesty and straight up great advice. One very memorable line from the presentation was “When we believe our own hype, we cease to move forward.” A fantastic challenge Randy offered in order to encourage personal performance growth was “Try to do one NEW thing at EVERY event… at EVERY EVENT.” This should — in theory — be easy to do as I came home with countless new ideas that I can’t wait to implement at the next wedding I’m a part of. In practise of course, it will be much more difficult. It’s so easy for us to slip into “routine”.

The most powerful and dynamic speaker (that I’ve ever, ever seen!) was Bryan Dodge. His presentation “How to Build a Better You” was over-the-top incredible. The inspiration he filled the room with was so infectious it’s impossible to describe. I’ll simply say that in one moment he had us laughing hysterically and 30 seconds later we’d all been moved nearly to tears. His speaking ability was truly amazing. And to think he had everyone glued to him for over an hour and a half without using a PowerPoint or a single sheet of notes! His presentation alone was worth the price of conference admission.

The morning breakfasts were of course very insightful (for a variety of reasons!) and the night after night dinners with DJ colleagues from around the world payed off in spades. I was truly lucky to have my wife Kathryn attend the entire conference with me for the very first time as well.

Lastly… Chauvet DJ planned their own educational seminars to take place alongside Mobile Beat in one of the Riviera Skyboxes. Of the seminars they hosted, “Wedding Lighting Tips and Techniques” by Jeremy Brech & “1% Solution” by Randy Bartlett were two of my favourites. Compliments of Chauvet DJ and Disc Jockey News TV, you can actually watch everything Chauvet DJ hosted by clicking here!

To sum up… the trip was well worth it. As with any conference though, what you get out depends entirely on how much you put in. There is usually very little downtime for me while attending any conference. Every moment of every day is spent visiting, networking, learning and building with colleagues, both new and old. I have so much more to learn.

While I might be attending the ARMDJs conference in Tennessee this coming June, I am really looking forward to the Las Vegas DJ Show in September. Over the last few years, their content has been truly exceptional (many say the best) and I can’t wait to experience what the 2014 edition is going to bring.

Chat soon and as always, call or email with feedback or questions about anything anytime.

As originally written for the CPDJA via their weekly memo to their membership in February, 2014

Searching outside for inspiration

If you want to experience growth unique to your peers, search outside our immediate industry for inspiration.

Sean Low’s blog post from yesterday shared the following (among many other wise words):

“What you do from the moment a client contacts you until the project is finished matters. Everything from how you answer the phone, to what your contract says, to how you set your deliverable schedule. Details, details, details. Why? To identify each moment for what it is and to let your client know the value they are receiving for that moment. Too many creative business owners think process is about figuring out how to get to the end. It is not.”

It would seem like I’m a paid spokesman (I’m not) but the opportunity to listen to Sean speak is coming right to your front door (if you live out East, Toronto). The early bird deadline is coming up on September 15th for The Business of Weddings. This is your chance to save yourself a hundred bucks! Save that $100 so that we can all head out to dinner on the Sunday night!