Project Engaged

In this episode, we chat to Dale Cohen, who owns a multi-op AV business called Play on Sound & Lighting in Melbourne, Australia.

Dale helps us with AV set ups for our business, One More Song DJs, and works in sound, lighting, vision and even livestreaming in and outside of the wedding industry.

We kick off the conversation with Dale on how he started his business (he came from working in AV for a Big 4 firm and his business started as a side hustle and grew from there).

We also chat to him about how he manages all of his bookings as a multi-op business (ie with multiple technicians) and the systems and processes he uses that help him run his biz efficiently.

Dale has some amazing contractors that help him in his business too, so we chat to him about how he goes about finding this talent and what he looks for in staff.

Because the pandemic and its effect on the weddings and events industry is still fresh in our minds, we chat to Dale about the learnings that came out of the pandemic that he's been able to apply to his business moving forward. Dale is a pretty chilled operator! So we also ask him how he keeps his cool in high-pressure situations (like at weddings!). You can check out Dale's business, Play on Sound & Lighting here: Website Instagram

It's been a while between drinks...!

On today's shorter episode, we chat about how we've been going with the heavy workload in the wedding industry at the moment.

It's been one full year since Aleks left her 9-5 to focus fully on One More Song DJs and start her own marketing biz, Pump Me Up!

We use the opportunity to reflect on what it was like back in the "9 to 5" world, as opposed to running your own small business.

We ask the question on just how many hours you tend to work with your own business (we are sure that it's no surprise - it's more than 8 hours per day!).

We also chat through how it can more difficult to "switch off" if you're running your own biz too.

We round out the episode discussing how vital it is to hire an amazing accountant to make life a little easier on the financial side of things!

We are so excited to have our first Canberra guest – DJ Sue Freeman! Sue is a mobile DJ playing at weddings, corporate and other private events in the ACT and surrounding areas. She operates under her business Runaround DJs. Sue became an international celebrity last year when a video of her DJing at a shopping centre went viral. Aussie Instagram account Brown Cardigan got a hold of a video clip showing her transitioning from Usher's Yeah into California Love and the rest is history!

What made this video special was that Sue is 63 years old and she was mouthing the words to some absolute bangers. It's not a common sight and caught the attention of media outlets around the world.

We hope you enjoy listening to Sue's story, how she got into working at weddings, what it's like to go viral overnight and how it's never too late to start in the wedding industry!

It's our first episode of season 2! And what a cracker!

In this episode, we chat to Laura about her own journey from celebrant side hustler to full timer and now wedding biz coach as well as sharing some tips on how to develop a CEO mindset, which we're so passionate about!

The themes in this episode carry on from Season 1 - it's all about "finding your people", developing solid systems and processes and thinking like a professional business owner!

Surprise!

We've decided to sneak in a special bonus ep for our listeners, a day out from Christmas!

We chat about what it's been like to be back at work (e.g. weddings), some of our thoughts and reflections on how the industry is looking, and - of course - chat a little about marketing along the way!

Wishing all of our listeners a lovely silly season and can't wait to be back in your ear holes full-time again next year!

Ed + Aleks

In our final episode of season 1 (omg!), we chat about some of the main themes that came across during the podcast. These were all related to having a business that you LOVE!

The main topics and themes that came across again and again were:

* The importance of brand and marketing.

* Finding your people.

* The importance of your network.

* Client service.

* Mindset.

Listeners got in touch with us throughout the last 5 months and told us that they want to hear more of the following:

* SEO!

* Legal side of business.

* More about making the jump from side hustle to full time biz.

* Marketing, marketing, marketing! More about finding your unique selling point and differentiating.

So it's safe to say that we have our work cut out for Season 2, which we'll kick off sometime into 2022! Until then, it's been an absolute pleasure on the podcast.

Thanks again to all of our listeners! See you next year! :)

In Episode 26, we have the pleasure of chatting to James from Mr Hendrix Photography. James is a Newcastle based wedding and engagement photographer with an affinity for preserving moments in time. He specialises in capturing once-in-a-lifetime moments as naturally as possible. To him, couples' comfort comes first, and the photos will take care of themselves - because a genuine smile is SO much better than a forced one. Eddy met James in March 2021 for a wedding at Coombe Estate in Victoria and instantly knew that he was a legend with an infectious energy. We had something in common too - James used to be a working DJ who hung up the headphones for a camera! In this episode he describes his awesome journey going from being a full time solar panel salesperson who did photography on the side to full time wedding photographer who has more time to spend with his young family. It's full of super practical tips for other wedding vendors looking to do the same thing! Key takeaways can be found at projectengaged.biz.

In Episode 25, we try out a different format, where Aleks interviews Eddy about his experience before starting our business One More Song! This episode is for DJs who are thinking about going solo. We talk (with great passion!) about why we think if you want to nail it as a wedding DJ, working for an agency may not be right for you. Eddy has been there and done that. He worked for two large entertainment agencies for a number of years, both in the office and as a contractor DJ. In this episode we delve into what that was like and why he decided to branch out on his own (with Aleks joining shortly after!). As always, all takewaways from this ep can be found at projectengaged.biz.

In Episode 24, we talk about a topic that we know a lot of you will find really beneficial - Instagram, specifically delving into Instagram reels!

Love it or hate it, Instagram is an extremely important marketing tool for businesses in the wedding industry and to get maximum results, you need to be on top of new functionalities and what's resonating with users.

We are very excited to announce our guest today - Kryshla Salaris. Kryshla is an Instagram Coach and the founder of Shall We Social. She helps service-based business owners grow their gram game via coaching + online courses. On her LinkedIn profile, she says "Reclaim your time and say goodbye to Instagram overwhelm". Yes!

Kryshla comes from a corporate background and started her own biz in 2016.

What we love about Kryshla is she really breaks down Instagram and offers super practical tips that anyone can follow. There are some phoneys out there, but Kryshla is THE REEL (get it?) DEAL.

As usual, takeaways can be found at projectengaged.biz.

In Episode 23, we talk about something a bit different! We are excited to welcome Jazz, who is a Melbourne based meditation teacher with her own business, Jazz Kalus Meditation.

Jazz is a full time social worker and has seen meditation being used as a tool to support people with stress, anxiety and depression.

Her business Jazz Kalus Meditation has different meditation offerings including a 3 day "Learn to Meditate" course and free group meditation.

On her website, she says "The more I meditate, the more me I become".

Being in the wedding industry and running your own business can be stressful and anxiety-inducing, so we were very keen to hear some tips from Jazz about how meditation can help manage this!

As always, takeaways from this episode are available on projectengaged.biz.