Is Your Age Killing Your Wedding Business?

Question: I had my worst year ever. I’ll be 67 soon – do you think my age is killing my business?

Dear Stephanie and Jeff,

I live in a small town.  I used to DJ at several of the local radio stations and have been in the DJ business more than 25 years.  This was my worst year ever.  Not only did I not get new jobs I lost 5 I already had (not weddings).  I’ll be 67 years old this summer.  Do you think my age is killing my business?

Thanks,
Anonymous DJ

Answer: Age does have an impact, but you need to focus on what you want and how you present your business image.

Hi, Anonymous DJ.

Is your age killing your business?  It’s not KILLING it, but it definitely has an impact.

It becomes increasingly difficult to relate to young couples who are getting married as we age.  It’s a sad fact.  And since so much of the wedding is about image, the way you look does influence the couple’s decision to hire you.

Age also comes with advantages: experience, expertise, broad knowledge.  

A quick look at your website reveals some things that are hurting you more than your age.

•    Your website is generic looking.  It could belong to any DJ of any age, which makes you look exactly like everyone else.

•    If you specialize in weddings, there is nothing to indicate this.

•    There is no personality expressed in the site, no photos to makes you a real person and nothing that makes you stand out.

•    There are no reviews from happy clients.

Your experience in radio is a HUGE specialty that you can use to establish your expertise and stand out from the competition, but it’s barely noticeable on your website.  I never would have known if you hadn’t mentioned it in your email.

If you want to keep working as a DJ, you can do it, but not without making some big changes in your image, your marketing and what you’re doing right now to attract and book clients.

Don’t hide behind your age.  We all have to make changes when what we’re doing now isn’t giving us the results we want.

Decide what you REALLY want first.  Do you want to keep DJ’ing?  Are you open to booking younger DJs and taking over the management?  Would you like to sell your company and do something else?

Once you know what you want, make some changes to make that happen.  Anything you do is more likely to work than what ISN’T getting results for you right now.

We wish you much prosperity!

Stephanie

Do you think your age affects your wedding business?

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