I really never had many problems with the 52 activity directors I deal with every month. However, one of the things I learned early on was I had to make life easy for them - make it so they really didn't have to do anything more than accept my invoice for the job and turn it in to the disbursement office. I got along very well with all of them, and in all the years I worked with them, only had a problem with one that I can recall.

The key to my success was:

1. I booked the entire next year's monthly performances every October. They got a contract, a confirmation of performance letter, a free wall calendar and a free pen, both with my name and contact information on it.

2. I always arrived 1/2-hour early for every job, even though my setup time was just 7 minutes at most. This gave me time to visit with the residents and ask if they had any special songs they wished me to perform. Many of these facilities have resident councils, and they are often the folks that determine whether you get to come back every month.

3. I kept in constant contact with all my ADs by sending them thank you post cards, post cards about upcoming holidays, etc... This usually resulted in me booking additional jobs at those facilities, many of which were corporate parties where the residents and visiting family members were on hand. A 3-hour corporate party paid as much as $500 and never lower than $400 for the event. Those parties frequently led to private parties, often when one of the residents had a birthday or anniversary, and more often than not, they were 2 hour parties, which paid $250 and the tab was paid by the families. What's not to like about this.

4. I got to know many of the residents on a first name basis. They were wonderful individuals, and more often than not, professionals who were retired lawyers, business people, doctors, real estate investors, etc... When they passed away, I frequently was asked to attend their viewing and funerals by their relatives, and sometimes the AD. I even met a few retired musicians from the Baltimore Philharmonic Orchestra, and they loved what I played and sang.

5. I learned from several individuals on this forum how to keep folks on a dance floor, and what kind of music to perform, which is key to not only landing those jobs, but also key to getting along with the ADs. The young ladies I worked with, some as young as 25 years of age, were in tune with their audiences. They knew what those residents enjoyed hearing, and so did I. I don't know how many times I have posted this, but it bears repeating. Keep in mind that the audiences in the assisted living facilities and retirement communities are not much older than I am, and some were younger than myself. (Yeah, I'm that old, but not ready for assisted living, yet!) They enjoy the music that was around when they were 25 to 35 years of age, an era when the foremost thing on their minds was getting drunk and getting laid - in that order. After age 35, they really didn't have much time for music, mainly because they were too busy trying to make enough money to support a house and car payment, support their growing families and salt some money in the bank for putting the kids through college and even a few bucks for their inevitable retirement years. So, from age 35 to 65, music was probably the last thing on their minds. Consequently, if they are my age, 77, the songs from the late 1950s through the early 1980s is what they grew up with - those are the songs you should be concentrating on.

And, don't forget some of the more modern songs, especially show tunes, they enjoy them too. Music from Phantom Of The Opera, Cats, etc... always go over well, both with the ADs and residents.

I made life so easy for my ADs that most of the time, they didn't even check to see if I showed up for the job. They knew I was going to be there ahead of time, they knew they could rely on me to make the audiences happy, and knew that more often than not, I would even play a few extra songs if I didn't have another job an hour after that one ended. I always had fun, the audiences always had fun, and the ADs life was made a lot easier by what I did.

Hope this helps, Mark,

Gary