Tony....If you have the product, & if you have the persistence to go after what you want and NOT SETTLE...you will succeed, the word "SETTLE" to me = "Lazy" Ive seen this many times when I talk to other players...instead of embracing our profession and taking it very seriously, especially when its your livleyhood, I see a lax in attitude, and always complaining about what they are doing, when in reality they are not doing anything about making it better for themselves.
ok now wheres my BP meds hehehe

"If people cant book better paying jobs that they really want & makes them happy doing, there is a reason......find that reason, fix that reason, do what ever it takes to enjoy this "Thing Of Ours" ...if ya got the product it can be done if you go about it the RIGHT way ....make it happen!!
there are many fish in the seas...
BUT DONT SETTLE FOR SECOND BEST!!


...I'm confused...what does that have to do with me?

*I have exactly 384 gigs booked for this year...When the last minute holiday rush is over, I expect to go over 400 performances this year.

*My client base is diversified to the point that no single client contributes more than 11.3% of my total revenues for the year. The second largest client accounts for only 8.3% of my total sales. This insulates me from suffering too much if any one client leaves for any reason.

*Total sales for the year project to be between $52k and 53k.

*When I worked in "corporate america" I made $55.5k/ yr. working upwards of 65-70 hours a week. On an average week over the last few years, I work between 35-45 hours max, with many of those hours here in my kitchen doing admin type work.

*While in coporate america, I left before my kids were up in the morning and didn't return home until they were back in bed. Now, I have major quality of life with my kids and my wife.

*My client list includes everything from Country Clubs, Weddings, Local/regional city/county P&R Depts., Hotels, Banquet centers, Animal clubs, retirement communites, churches, senior centers, private clubs, restaraunts, etc.

*My pricing is average to slightly above average in this market. I usually get $85-$120 per nursing home show, usually $125-$150 per club gig. Usually $150-$250 for private parties/civic shows...

*My rehire rate with clients is in the upper 80% range. That includes the one time only type gigs like weddings/anniversaries/etc. ...If I remove those, its over 85%...

Donnie, I respect the hell out of the business and rep you've earned over your career. I'm confused by your constant theme in response to my most recent post. The quote above...how does that apply to me I ask? I've grown my business for every year since 1997 when I took it full time. I haven't "settled" for just one type of client base...I've purposely gone after a variety of clients to protect my revenues. I have bookings through 2007 already...It seems to me that I work a good bit. If anything, the restaraunt gig I posted about in the first place is a testament to me NOT sitting on my laurels and exploring new ways to market my business. It's on a night that suits me, it's less than 4 miles from my home and requires no singing...$100.00/tips/dinner for three hours work is very fair for this area.

As others have pointed out, many things are relative in our business. I believe that. I think to paint what's settling or not settling requires too broad a brush for me. Perhaps there are performers higher up the food chain in your area that feel you're selling out? Would they be right? Probably not...you've found a certain niche that works efficiently for you and what's wrong with that?

...Not a thing.

As far as the kind of gigs you deem appropriate and what I deem appropriate, well, again its relative. One important fact to consider. I did some research on the internet to see how similar our areas might be.

According to census information from 1995...(that was the most recent year I could find for both areas)here's the size of the market we're dealing with:

South NJ Metro population-5.1 Million
Dayton Metro population-950 Thousand

South Metro NJ household income-$69,746/yr
Dayton Metro household income-$27,423/yr

...Your market is over FIVE TIMES what mine is. You have five times more country clubs, upscale venues, etc. You also have 5 times the competition, I suspect. Look at the household income numbers...Dayton is surrounded by FARMERS on all sides. Again, I respect what you've been able to do in your area. I hear you constantly putting down jobs that you don't feel pay enough...and if I were in your area, maybe my prices would be low...But here in the sleepy midwest of Southwestern Ohio, I think I have it pretty good.

...I feel I am passionate and driven with my music business. There is an artistic element to my business and there is a business side to my business.

...I'll bet the ranch that Donnie feels, rightfully, the same exact way. Seriously gang, the information we can benefit from with each other is staggering. Noone has been aided more than me from the members on this board. Donnie has personally always been a great source of suggestions and help. To me, he is one of the "old hands" on this board. However, anytime you're inclined to make a judgement call on another areas wages or gigs, remember, everyplace is unique to itself. Some things are similar...some things just aren't.

Bill in Dayton

Bill, first of I never talk personal income with anyone in person or online...next my replies & opinions are my own and I express them here because that’s what the forum is for whether they are good or not. What I read is what I perceived from your original post & I responded accordingly.
Im a believer in quality vs quantity so yearly gig totals don’t impress me. I know your a hard worker and a passionate musician judging by your posts & I embrace that very much as I do any brother musicians efforts if they are heartfelt. But when I see the things I talked about in my previous post & I’m not saying that it's you, but when I viewed it in a more generalized way it irritated me, & I spoke out. You are certainly doing fine out there & that is to be commended, locality influenced or not. We all do it differently,where ever we do it, but if we don’t share our thoughts nobody benefits.
Maybe I should of left this post alone altogether...it wasn’t intended to disrespect or belittle anyone, just wanted to bring it out in the open for discussion.



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 08-12-2005).]

Bill in Dayton, you are doing great. About 99.9% of musicians never achieve what you have achieved -- making a living playing music.

Seems that most restaurants that would have a musician such as yourself are not gonna pay as well because they don't have the income. So, you're doing fine there. You either take or leave it.

And very few people have the chops to play piano alone. I don't! My hats off to you.

Accomplishing what you have done in Dayton, Ohio is amazing. Thank you for posting your experiences.


------------------
Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

Bill, I commend you for your ability to see beyond just the money with this restaurant gig, appreciating the other important benefits that this gig appears to be offering you.

1. FREE advertisement, publicity, & promotion of you via the restaurant's mailings

2. Actually getting PAID to work on and improve your solo keyboard chops.

3. EXPOSURE to an expanded audience to garner an even larger fan base & following, of which can reap even MORE of those 'high paying' choice private party/event bookings.

Bill, for those with less than adequate solo piano playing ability this sort of gig might not be suitable, but with your obvious instrumental keyboard solo competence, this looks to be a good opportunity to not only further hone your keyboard chops, but broaden audience exposure and land a lot more of those lucrative private party gigs as well. The great thing is that it's so close to home, on a weeknight, and that you're actually getting PAID for the educational & promotional benefits it offers. As musicians, it's far too ez for us to simply rest on our laurels. I admire your interest in exploring different avenues of gig opportunity & continued desire to improve your keyboard musicianship as well. If this gig continues to provide this for you, I believe it's well worth your time & effort. Good luck and thanks for keeping us posted. - Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 08-13-2005).]

The key is to do what is personally satisfying and what meets your personal goals.

Differences here are mostly semantic.

Bill is right in his reference to the influence of average income and population as far as they affect available work and rates.

DNJ is right in his reference to not "rolling over" and just accepting whatever is offered in compensation.

In my area, there is tremendous pressure by "marginal" players to play my $150.00 restaurant jobs for $75.00. If a club owner dosen't know the difference between good and marginal performances, there's not much else to do but find better venue.

I LIKE upscale restaurant jobs (oops, almost said "GIGS"...sorry, UD). I've worked restaurants in the summers for over 14 years. That gives me access to people who hire entertainment for much higher paying corporate, government and other private jobs, and to the organizations that hire me for film and graphics work.

There's also an art to doing it right...the right tunes, volume, etc. I don't mind being "walpaper", because you can practice on someone else's nickel. Also,playing a wide variety of requests is rewarding (read good TIPS).

Everyone must set their paramaters and figure out how to make it work. I don't play bars, nursing homes or country music, use a tip jar or sell CD's...nothing against any of the above...it's just not for me.

The key is to be professional, always keep learning and improving and enriching lives with your abilities.

Keep the music "HAPPENING"!

The best, always,

Russ