Why I Feel Exhausted Running My Wedding DJ Company In 2023

Be prepared as this is a bit of a personal post.  And while this is actually my first post of 2023, I've been taking some time to get my thoughts together because for whatever reason I've had difficulty gaining traction and focus during these first few weeks of the year.  As the owner of a successful small business, so many questions plague my mind on a daily basis. Some of those questions may include: "How are bookings going to materialize for this year?", "Am I going to be able to put together quality content for my clients in a timely manner?"  or  "Should I budget any resources for any capital (equipment) upgrades this year?"  While these questions can plague any wedding DJ or other type of vendor during the course of the year, they tend to get amplified toward the start of each year. For whatever reason, the beginning of this year feels different.  I can't quite put a handle on it. Perhaps I am still in hangover mode from a successful string of fall weddings and private events in 2022.  After coming across the Instagram posts (both of which were very relatable to my current situation) of a few wedding vendors, I began to hit on it.  I've become totally exhausted on trying to be the best wedding DJ in my market. 

And I might add to that list of questions from up above "Why is that bride not leaving me a review?" While I still believe that what I have to offer my clients is still one of the best experiences in my wedding DJ market,  I've become exhausted at the excessive amount of effort required to maintain my presence.   Where did this exhaustion come from?  If you are just hitting my blog for the first time and haven't read too much about me, you should know that I am an owner-operated wedding DJ service. What does this mean? Well, for all of my clients, it means that they don't have to worry who their wedding DJ is going to be because the owner of the company (me) is going to be at their wedding.  I'll post some links toward the end of this blog to get you caught up on a little background about me.

Trying To Be Your Best On Social Media Is Depressing

Years ago, there was a time in December and January and February where every time I turned around I was getting an inquiry and meeting with a newly engaged couple.  It also seemed  that 7 or 8 years ago, I could effortlessly find modern brides and grooms looking for an amazing wedding DJ.  I've always had a difficult time believing that social media would ever replace conventional websites. My website is my little piece of the internet designed to attract the best brides and grooms who are very much into their music.  If you are a wedding vendor, you are constantly being bombarded by photos and stories and you feel as though in order to be successful with your business that you have to be posting 24/7 to social media. During more active parts of my wedding season, I've found myself posting more and as a result of the impact I've made on a lot of my clients, they actually begin to follow me.  I am truly honored that a lot of my former clients still follow me and want to keep up with me. However, during the past 6 months or so, I've noticed some disturbing things on social media. While my audience on Instagram remains pretty low, the few people who likes some of my stories are solely amateur porn artists who have tricked their way into creating an IG account.  I don't have the time to put the effort into creating content for Instagram when none of my demographic is going to take the time to click over to my website to read and educate themselves on how to find the best wedding DJ. Truth be told, I've never made much revenue for my company on social media. Perhaps there has been one or two shoutouts of my name on Facebook inside a private group that might have netted a trickle of revenue, but that's about it.  My website is my shrine, it's my happy place on the World Wide Web. It's the place where 99% of my clients have discovered me over the years. I will continue to produce compelling content for my current and future clients for years to come.  I won't ever be the biggest and baddest wedding DJ on social media. I would rather put that time into finding great modern brides and grooms like you. Gee, didn't that sound good? The things you think of as you are putting one of these blog posts together! For more of my thoughts on Why I'm Not A Wedding DJ Into Social Media, be sure to click on this link. 

It Only Takes ONE Perfect Day As A Wedding DJ To Define ME

I won't bore you with all the details, but there were several times where my attention was lacking while I was putting this blog together.  As a matter of fact, this post was put together over multiple weeks. Perhaps I was leaning on the few words and sentences that caught my eye from a few wedding vendors who might be in the same funk as I am.  There have actually been numerous times where I've put this post down in the past few weeks where I've simply lacked the focus. I feel as though I've always written my content over the years when I was inspired. While some of those "read between the lines" posts from other wedding vendors on social media were the catalyst for this post, the inspiration to finish this post would come when I was least expecting it. All it took was the viewing of one wedding planner's Instagram story to get me out of this funk and piece together the end of this post.  I would like to thank Nia from Thompson & Tulle in Atlanta, Georgia for posting a reel about a truly magical day in October 2022 here in Charleston, SC.  After I saw this video reel (which spanned over 6 minutes), I began to thank about how hard I can be on myself.  I began to think about how much of a perfectionist I became on this journey as a wedding DJ.   After watching this reel, I instantly gained new perspective on my career as a wedding DJ. Instead of me sitting back and wasting time thinking about how many more weddings I want to do, I was taking the time to appreciate that wonderful fall day back in October. I was thinking back to all of the work it took to make that wedding perfect for my client.  I AM only one person. I AM not a machine. All that I've ever wanted to do was give each and every one of my clients the undivided attention they deserve and need from the wedding DJ they've decided to hire.  I reached out to the videographer for my client and praised her for the exceptional job she did to capture the day and the love that my clients had for each other.

By the end of the day, I felt as though I binge-watched this video numerous times. I shared the video with friends and colleagues because I was proud of my accomplishments. I sent the video link over to my web developer (the guy who helped me build this really cool website for you) and asked him to watch it. He liked my message. I told him it didn't matter how many weddings I managed to book in a year as long as I could be a part of ONE like this that showcased my skills as a professional wedding DJ.  I didn't mention it up above but social media has caused so many business owners to fabricate the success of their businesses. Anyone can create a social media page and begin to lie about their successes as a wedding vendor. I remember reading a post from a photographer a few years ago about her heartburn about new photographers making it look like they are pros by constantly posting "style" shoots.  Back in 2019 (which seems like an eternity ago), I put together a post about what was more important "Quality or Quantity" when finding your wedding DJ.  <---Click HERE to be taken back over to that post.  Almost 4 years later, "quality" still trumps "quantity".  No modern bride and groom cares about how many weddings you did this year or last year, they care about how you are going to do on their wedding.  Let me get back to my main story about watching the video before I go off on an unnecessary tangent about wedding vendors who lie about their companies online :) Sorry about that. 

I am at peace for where I am with my wedding DJ company in 2023. I've accomplished so much in the past 13 years since I decided to create my own brand and reputation as a wedding DJ.  All I can be in control of is what comes my way. There is no sense in living a life of envy wishing I had more because all it takes to define my success as a wedding DJ is what you'll see in the video down below.  Watching the video was a reminder that this particular wedding was one of the most complex and challenging weddings in my entire wedding DJ career. Without a tremendous amount of focus and an intense determination to be the best for my client, this could have been a bad day.  One shift to the right or to the left and I could be hanging up my headphones for good.  That's the life of a great wedding DJ though. Every single wedding is different but one things remains the same in my success as a wedding DJ and that is my laser focus that each and every one of my clients get.  I am proud of my accomplishments as a professional wedding DJ. My wedding DJ business has afforded me the financial freedom that most people only dream about.  It's one of the most beautiful feelings in the world to know I've touched so many amazing couples with my talents. Right now, as I put the finishing touches on this post, I am content for where I am in my journey.   I don't have the desire to make these outlandish goals of growth each and every year anymore. I know my limits. All I can do is ONE wedding per day.  I would like for that wedding to be yours. I really appreciate you taking the time to find me today in your quest to find the best wedding DJ for your big day.   Instead of always being disappointed that I did not get that booking for whatever reason, I will make every single effort to service my clients and do my best for them in the moment.  This is the best version of me as a professional wedding DJ in 2023. 

Ready To Hire DJ Mike Bills As Your Wedding DJ?
I hope you took a look at that fairytale of a day for Greg and Shelby out at Middleton Place. I will be putting together another post that features the musical parts of their day soon. Be sure to be on the lookout for it.  It was truly a magical day.  Sometimes I forget how much of an impact that I have made on all of the clients who have hired me over the years.  YOUR wedding day is not just another day in your life. It's the ONE day that should be perfect in all aspects. It should be a day that is full of love from your family and friends that you will cherish forever.  Thank you for taking the time to read over this post. If you look over the parts of my blog, you'll see that this was not my typical post, but it needed to happen for me to gain some new perspective about where I go next as a wedding DJ. My journey is far from over as a wedding DJ.   I would love to speak with you about your wedding.  All you need to do is click the link up above and you'll be taken over to my contact form. Once you reach my contact form. you'll be asked for some details and be well on your way to hiring me to be your wedding DJ.  Thank you again for finding me and my blog. I look forward to speaking with you soon about your wedding.