Overlooked Challenges of Being a DJ

We love the DJ business, but there are an estimated 700,000 + worldwide DJs so hidden challenges exist. Being a DJ may seem glamourous on the surface but dig deeper and you will find the path is anything but easy. If you have been thinking about whether you should start a career as a DJ or not, there are some important considerations worth noting:

It Is a Long Road

Many DJs claim the road to success takes anywhere from five to ten years of hard work, networking, and performances to really take off. Most DJs in the beginning have another full- time job while building their business and working with other DJ companies to get the skills, experience, and confidence to go full time.

You Will Start Small

If you think your DJ business will skyrocket instantly, you may be mistaken. Take DJ Forrest Houston as an example. Forrest Mitchell Crump, a.k.a. DJ Forrest Houston, started performing small parties while still in high school while training and working as a contractor for a few multi-op companies. The confidence, experience, and knowledge to perform can only be crafted from reading many different crowds in a variety of performance situations.

Get Ready to Play Politics

Once you enter the nightlife DJ scene, you will quickly recognize that there are many great performers in line waiting for their 15 minutes of fame, as it is becoming easier and easier to start a DJ business. Getting venues to book is challenging because your skill is less important than your following in most cases.

Overworked Is an Understatement

Being a DJ may seem easy because the average event performance is four hours. However, when you factor in set up, tear down, drive time, preshow preparation, client meetings, and email correspondence, one four- hour event may involve 10-15 hours of actual work. Often, most events take place on weekends and evenings so while most people are off, DJs are putting in hard work.