Log in
Register
Home
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New profile posts
Latest activity
News
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Features
Log in
Register
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Install the app
Install
Reply to thread
Home
Forums
Pro Audio
Varsity
Making the next step in the PA biz... Let's hear your thoughts
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Ivan Beaver" data-source="post: 73794" data-attributes="member: 30"><p>Re: Making the next step in the PA biz... Let's hear your thoughts</p><p></p><p>Ah-young grasshopper-you have started to grow up.</p><p></p><p>You can take the following advise for what you will-but please do consider it.</p><p></p><p>First you have think about what you REALLY want/need to do. NOT what your heart tells you (like I made the mistake of doing when I was your age).</p><p></p><p>You have being living the "glamor" side of the business. But you might want to consider is the whole "business" side of the business.</p><p></p><p>How do you want to see yourself in the future-Having a huge pile of the latest cool gear that makes lots of noise etc-and driving a 20yr old van that none of tires match?</p><p></p><p>Or do you want to make a good living-with money in the bank-loyal employees who will stick with you because they are also making a good living-or employees who sleep in the shop and just want to part of the "party" and hoping to "get lucky" every now and then.</p><p></p><p>I know these are harsh statements and they don't apply to everybody-but they do apply to a huge majority of the "PA guys" that I know and have run into over my several decades in this crazy business.</p><p></p><p>What I am about to describe is BORING-and takes the wind out of many people ideas-but could be a path towards a successful career-with some retirement and a comfortable life. It is "not cool"- but you have to get over that (it was a REALLY REALLY HARD thing for me to do and almost broke up my marriage).</p><p></p><p>So here is my "suggested plan" based on my limited assumption of your business. I don't know the market in your area (and you may not realize the real "market" (for making money-not necessarily having fun- either).</p><p></p><p>You personally have a decent mid size club rig. Keep it. It is paid for. Use it for the gigs it is good for-maybe renting in a different console etc as needed. Don't try to build into a concert rig. You know the limitations.</p><p></p><p>It sounds like you have contacts for larger rigs. I assume you can get a good rate if you were to call them up and "I need a full rig capable of XYZ-I will deal with customer and provide myself and some hands-so no operators are needed-How much will that cost-delivered?" I did that number of times and made decent money on it. And if the larger company you rented from realizes you have a smaller rig-they might could swing some business your way.</p><p></p><p>HOWEVER be very careful. I used to provide rigs for "smaller" events for a large local company. UNTIL they actually showed up at a gig they hired me to do-and realized what I was actually bring out-THEN they got worried that I could actually be competition for them-and they stopped sending me work. I had gotten "to big" and made them uncomfortable.</p><p></p><p>There is no reason to put a pile of money into a "cool rig" that makes you happy-that only goes out a couple of times a year.</p><p></p><p>Keep up your touring work ( I have no idea what you make doing that-but hope it is decent-or else you should reconsider). This will do a couple of things. Income-admiration from potential customers etc. Don't "bank" your future on the single band. You never know what can happen. One little "incident or accident" and it all comes crashing to a very quick end. Then what?</p><p></p><p>HOWEVER it does present a problem. YOU ARE NOT AT HOME to run the real business. So you need somebody "back in the shop" to run things while you are gone.</p><p></p><p>NOW THIS IS IMPORTANT-they need to have the same goals as you do-since they are acting as an extension of you. I don't want to get into this much-but they need to be reliable-trustworthy etc Generally in order to get a person like that-they need to be paid a decent wage-so they aren't looking elsewhere for "extra income" and not giving your business 100%.</p><p></p><p>So now finally to what I suggest in terms of "what to buy". Forget all the other suggestions that I have read. No offense to anybody-but that is the "glamor side" of the business.</p><p></p><p>Buy boring stuff. Speakers on a stick (12 or 15") that are powered and it would be REALLY handy if you had some that a single mic input (and a aux input for playback would be nice). Tripods for said speakers. You can rent these out quite a bit and they will pay for themselves quickly-IF you don't go for the "cool/hip" types that cost a lot of money.</p><p></p><p>Go for cheap-RELIABLE (THAT is VERY IMPORTANT!) cabinets. You just want something to produce a decent sound loud enough for a couple hundred people listening to a talking head.</p><p></p><p>Maybe get a set or 2 of some better SOS with some small subs for the small band rentals-but don't go overboard on this. REMEMBER WHERE THE MONEY IS. It ain't in bands.</p><p></p><p>Get a good number of wireless mics. Don't go for the expensive type-just decent ones. You want decent RF performance-sot so much great "audio" quality (like using an expensive mic element). You don't want them cutting out on the customer. They will get mad real quick-because they don't understand the issues.</p><p></p><p>Get into video rentals. Projectors-pop up screens etc. Again-not the bog cool stuff-but stuff that will do a decent job-and get you a return on investment.</p><p></p><p>Maybe get some lighting (think LED for low power and different colors) but don't go crazy. Start with some washes/floods to light up walls-flood the stage etc. These will go out much more than "cool" movers that require knowledge to operate.</p><p></p><p>Get some staging. Have several small stages that can be added together as needed. 16x12ea for example. Don't forget the steps and SKIRTS. They guys who will pay good money (think return on investment) for a stage-some washes and a pair of SOS need it to look nice.</p><p></p><p>And while talking about stage-also get some pipe and drape. It really gives a nice look to the stage. Remember what you are trying to sell-the look. </p><p></p><p>A podium with gooseneck would be a good idea.</p><p></p><p>Some small ANALOG mixers for the small events. Again-don't get hung up on great audio quailty (like having to have Midas preamps). The jobs that will pay for themselves wont realize the difference and it will take a lot longer to get the gear paid for.</p><p></p><p>Most people are always need more subs-so have some decent subs that bands can rent. Maybe use amps with built in DSP that you can lock out-so they can't screw with the setting. Don't go for the "cool" labs or powersofts-get something much cheaper that does the job and will pay for itself quickly.</p><p></p><p>Of course having a good selection of average mics (think SM58's) and stands is always a good idea. Some snakes (maybe 16x4) are always needed by bands.</p><p></p><p>You can make a good bit off of "piece rental".</p><p></p><p>I could go on and on-but I think you get the idea.</p><p></p><p>Now what I have suggested is not for everybody. And when you are young (yes I was at one time also-believe it or not) it seems more about the "fun" side of it. But as get older you will realize that you need to start to think about return on investment-if you are going to be able to make a good living in this industry.</p><p></p><p>This industry is full of "providers' who struggle from one gig to the next-yet they have a bunch of "gawkers" who wish they had the gear that so and so has. They don't realize how hard many (not all) of these people struggle to pay their power bill and have nothing set aside for retirement. "Cool" stops being cool pretty quick-and "cool" doesn't pay the bills.</p><p></p><p>Now there are exceptions to the rule-but I am talking about the majority of the "average PA guy". We got into this crazy business because of the love/passion for it.</p><p></p><p>But learning how to actually make a decent living at it is a lot harder.</p><p></p><p>Good luck-whatever path you decide to take-and may you have a great 2013 and many years beyond.</p><p></p><p>I never thought I would ever get out of the PA rental-but am glad I did. Don't get me wrong-I still enjoy a gig every now and then (you never get it out of your blood)-but not every weekend and holiday.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ivan Beaver, post: 73794, member: 30"] Re: Making the next step in the PA biz... Let's hear your thoughts Ah-young grasshopper-you have started to grow up. You can take the following advise for what you will-but please do consider it. First you have think about what you REALLY want/need to do. NOT what your heart tells you (like I made the mistake of doing when I was your age). You have being living the "glamor" side of the business. But you might want to consider is the whole "business" side of the business. How do you want to see yourself in the future-Having a huge pile of the latest cool gear that makes lots of noise etc-and driving a 20yr old van that none of tires match? Or do you want to make a good living-with money in the bank-loyal employees who will stick with you because they are also making a good living-or employees who sleep in the shop and just want to part of the "party" and hoping to "get lucky" every now and then. I know these are harsh statements and they don't apply to everybody-but they do apply to a huge majority of the "PA guys" that I know and have run into over my several decades in this crazy business. What I am about to describe is BORING-and takes the wind out of many people ideas-but could be a path towards a successful career-with some retirement and a comfortable life. It is "not cool"- but you have to get over that (it was a REALLY REALLY HARD thing for me to do and almost broke up my marriage). So here is my "suggested plan" based on my limited assumption of your business. I don't know the market in your area (and you may not realize the real "market" (for making money-not necessarily having fun- either). You personally have a decent mid size club rig. Keep it. It is paid for. Use it for the gigs it is good for-maybe renting in a different console etc as needed. Don't try to build into a concert rig. You know the limitations. It sounds like you have contacts for larger rigs. I assume you can get a good rate if you were to call them up and "I need a full rig capable of XYZ-I will deal with customer and provide myself and some hands-so no operators are needed-How much will that cost-delivered?" I did that number of times and made decent money on it. And if the larger company you rented from realizes you have a smaller rig-they might could swing some business your way. HOWEVER be very careful. I used to provide rigs for "smaller" events for a large local company. UNTIL they actually showed up at a gig they hired me to do-and realized what I was actually bring out-THEN they got worried that I could actually be competition for them-and they stopped sending me work. I had gotten "to big" and made them uncomfortable. There is no reason to put a pile of money into a "cool rig" that makes you happy-that only goes out a couple of times a year. Keep up your touring work ( I have no idea what you make doing that-but hope it is decent-or else you should reconsider). This will do a couple of things. Income-admiration from potential customers etc. Don't "bank" your future on the single band. You never know what can happen. One little "incident or accident" and it all comes crashing to a very quick end. Then what? HOWEVER it does present a problem. YOU ARE NOT AT HOME to run the real business. So you need somebody "back in the shop" to run things while you are gone. NOW THIS IS IMPORTANT-they need to have the same goals as you do-since they are acting as an extension of you. I don't want to get into this much-but they need to be reliable-trustworthy etc Generally in order to get a person like that-they need to be paid a decent wage-so they aren't looking elsewhere for "extra income" and not giving your business 100%. So now finally to what I suggest in terms of "what to buy". Forget all the other suggestions that I have read. No offense to anybody-but that is the "glamor side" of the business. Buy boring stuff. Speakers on a stick (12 or 15") that are powered and it would be REALLY handy if you had some that a single mic input (and a aux input for playback would be nice). Tripods for said speakers. You can rent these out quite a bit and they will pay for themselves quickly-IF you don't go for the "cool/hip" types that cost a lot of money. Go for cheap-RELIABLE (THAT is VERY IMPORTANT!) cabinets. You just want something to produce a decent sound loud enough for a couple hundred people listening to a talking head. Maybe get a set or 2 of some better SOS with some small subs for the small band rentals-but don't go overboard on this. REMEMBER WHERE THE MONEY IS. It ain't in bands. Get a good number of wireless mics. Don't go for the expensive type-just decent ones. You want decent RF performance-sot so much great "audio" quality (like using an expensive mic element). You don't want them cutting out on the customer. They will get mad real quick-because they don't understand the issues. Get into video rentals. Projectors-pop up screens etc. Again-not the bog cool stuff-but stuff that will do a decent job-and get you a return on investment. Maybe get some lighting (think LED for low power and different colors) but don't go crazy. Start with some washes/floods to light up walls-flood the stage etc. These will go out much more than "cool" movers that require knowledge to operate. Get some staging. Have several small stages that can be added together as needed. 16x12ea for example. Don't forget the steps and SKIRTS. They guys who will pay good money (think return on investment) for a stage-some washes and a pair of SOS need it to look nice. And while talking about stage-also get some pipe and drape. It really gives a nice look to the stage. Remember what you are trying to sell-the look. A podium with gooseneck would be a good idea. Some small ANALOG mixers for the small events. Again-don't get hung up on great audio quailty (like having to have Midas preamps). The jobs that will pay for themselves wont realize the difference and it will take a lot longer to get the gear paid for. Most people are always need more subs-so have some decent subs that bands can rent. Maybe use amps with built in DSP that you can lock out-so they can't screw with the setting. Don't go for the "cool" labs or powersofts-get something much cheaper that does the job and will pay for itself quickly. Of course having a good selection of average mics (think SM58's) and stands is always a good idea. Some snakes (maybe 16x4) are always needed by bands. You can make a good bit off of "piece rental". I could go on and on-but I think you get the idea. Now what I have suggested is not for everybody. And when you are young (yes I was at one time also-believe it or not) it seems more about the "fun" side of it. But as get older you will realize that you need to start to think about return on investment-if you are going to be able to make a good living in this industry. This industry is full of "providers' who struggle from one gig to the next-yet they have a bunch of "gawkers" who wish they had the gear that so and so has. They don't realize how hard many (not all) of these people struggle to pay their power bill and have nothing set aside for retirement. "Cool" stops being cool pretty quick-and "cool" doesn't pay the bills. Now there are exceptions to the rule-but I am talking about the majority of the "average PA guy". We got into this crazy business because of the love/passion for it. But learning how to actually make a decent living at it is a lot harder. Good luck-whatever path you decide to take-and may you have a great 2013 and many years beyond. I never thought I would ever get out of the PA rental-but am glad I did. Don't get me wrong-I still enjoy a gig every now and then (you never get it out of your blood)-but not every weekend and holiday. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Home
Forums
Pro Audio
Varsity
Making the next step in the PA biz... Let's hear your thoughts
Top
Bottom
Sign-up
or
log in
to join the discussion today!