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| About the site founder and operator |
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| Written by Dave H |
| Friday, 12 February 2010 00:09 |
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As founder and operator of Nightclubbiz.com, I started my career in entertainment at age 11. No... Not as a nightclub operator LOL! As a DJ, but not like most DJ's. I quickly realized I had a unique ability to read the needs of an entertainment audience with remarkable accuracy. While being on the air as DJ Dave was certainly a big part of it, by age 13, I was in complete control of the actual events, not just the music. I was organizing high school dances… Private events, Xmas parties, and more. I mean it was crazy… The whole concept of entertainment came so easily to me. Almost like I had done it all before.
At age 17, I was (sort of legally) working my first club. This is where I really refined my on-air personality. The DJ Dave shows could NEVER be mistaken, or placed in the same category of other DJ's. My shows encompassed a strong on-air component and went well beyond mere music and beat mixing.
The DJ Dave shows were designed for "pure interactive entertainment" -not just background music. I mean… Who wants to sound like everyone else, right? Yeah I was always the target of resentful DJ's, but who cares… The females loved the shows and this…. Is all that counts in this business! Those whom take the risks are not always the most popular in social circles that adhere to a strict a compliance of conformity. Smirks… That was never me :)
At age 24, I was working closely with owners of several clubs I was doing my shows at. I was not officially working in a management capacity yet, but perhaps even better. The owners of these clubs all had one thing in common: They found my views and suggested approaches to nightclub entertainment to be… Enlightening.
Up to age 28, I was unofficially working with three separate clubs as, (for lack of better terminology), a 'junior' consultant. While the DJ Dave shows had gone electric… In the background I was meeting with operators and engaging in lengthy discussions regarding procedures, amendments, and revised approaches to the core entertainment model. Let me be honest once again… This was not in any official capacity -my career just sort of went in this direction. Moreover, I don't even think there was any such thing as a nightclub consultant during that time.
At age 30, I was officially in management, but more importantly, asked to divert a sizable portion of my skills into "entertainment management". Owners that worked with me quickly discovered that this is where the real money is, and that if you could sustain "consistently" red-hot entertainment, revenues would continue to sear. Moving ahead… I continued on this path for several years and also participated in three joint ownerships, and a separate project -a high-end resort entertainment venue in Barbados.
Nightclubbiz.com was also launched during this time and began as little more than a hobby site for nightclub operations enthusiasts. It should be noted that I was at a crossroads at this point in my career. Hmm… Manage more nightclubs? Own nightclubs? Continue the DJ Dave Live show… In all honesty, I was becoming board with the nightclub industry.
While all other forms of leisure entertainment were progressing, it always appeared as if nightclubs were missing out on many ground floor opportunities. They often appeared as stuck in the past, out of touch, and disinterested in enlightening themselves on the rapidly changing social entertainment demographic, while their overall accomplishments were less than stellar. I was becoming restless… Perhaps even a little frustrated.
The year 2000 was a real turning point for Nightclubbiz.com By this point, Nightclubbiz.com had been in operation for six years. Nightclub based websites were cropping up by the dozens each day and self-acclaimed experts even faster. I did not view this as competition, as much as I did… A playing field, largely based on hype marketing, outlandish claims, and misinformation, which was clearly sending the message that… So as long as you've set foot into a nightclub, you too can make a website and claim you're an expert. After all… Who is going to challenge your claims? And with all those eager nightclub entrepreneurs looking for investors, there's got to be a market for the cookbook to instant success and easy money. Ugh…
As I saw it… None of the above items were providing an iota of information on the core social entertainment model, or the real life problems, which arise in the typical operating venue. No warning, and or meaningful information was provided on critical issues, such as the high rate of nightclub failures, violence, theft, and common flaws in operational philosophy.
Absolutely nothing discussed on… The social entertainment consumer itself! Honestly… Sometimes I'm not sure if the nightclub industry is driven by pure arrogance, or if the problems reside in lack of interest in enlightening ones self. It'd be like discussing how to build fine cars, but with zero interest invested into the "core consumer" of these fine cars. How can you build anything "without" a deep understanding of the consumers needs? Are nightclub operators except from this research, or… Are they just born amazingly smart? Perhaps they're astoundingly psychic? Maybe the snow fairy has blessed them with super IQ's?
And here is the real kicker… The entertainment consumer is far more complex than the automotive consumer. So again… How come to date… There still appears to be very little interest invested into understanding the social entertainment consumer, even on the most rudimentary level? When you study the Google search results for nightclubs… One of the most common searches is… Nightclub trends? Shakes head… You people better get with it. YOU ARE THE TREND… Not the nightclub, or do you intend to follow someone else's lead? Come on people… Imagination… Ingenuity… CONCEPT please!
As of 2000, Nightclubbiz.com took a road less traveled… Instead of competing in an arena of hype-based marketing, I decided to take the resource in a direction, which traveled beyond the elementary aspects of the social entertainment operation. Nightclubbiz.com journeys beyond the elementary 'layer 1' aspects and well into the actual science of social entertainment.
Is social entertainment really a science? Depends on which way you look at the equation. If you're viewing it from a 1980's perspective then no. In that era the approach was static. You rent a big box… Install décor, sound, lights, DJ's, and sell booze. People flock in... You make easy money. Worked almost anywhere. We're not in the 80's anymore…
The formula to obtain 'quality' traffic, high volume, and searing profits is no longer static. The public is not going to tell you what they want -you need to figure that out. For this reason, Nightclubbiz.com believes the bulk of study should now be invested into understanding the 'mindset' of the broad level social entertainment consumer -not gadgets, bells, and whistles.
Keep in mind that what I speak of here is building a real entertainment offering -not a cheap, novelty based gimmick, which craps out in 6-months when all your trendy partygoers discover the heat of the moment place down the block.
Translated, this means you're not engineering the concept with a low-grade trendy audience in mind, but something well beyond. Something that will stand by itself… Attract a following unique to it. A following that would not normally consider a local entertainment option.
Remember… 100-million single people at any given time in the U.S. alone. That's a lot of people with nothing to do… That's many billions of untouched revenue. Or would you prefer to share in the fun and games of chasing and sharing the same tiny audience your neighbors will?
How to break into this 21st century arena? First… Stop thinking like a conventional operator. Think bigger… Think people… Study them… There are 100-million single souls in the U.S alone... Observe the fast paced environment we now exist in. Observe the rapidly increasing appeal to social networking mediums… Factor in that we're now a global society and the shear volume of leisure entertainment options… And finally… Make sure you understand that you're now dealing with an 'educated' entertainment consumer.
Now.. People are complex creatures and understanding them from a social or interpersonal perspective is by no means simple. Nightclubbiz.com has invested considerable study into the fields of social science, behavioral sciences, and social neuroscience. This study has posed more questions than answers at this point. For example… Physical stimulus, and emotion all contribute to feeling. But what is the difference between a thought, an emotion, and a feeling? Is there an overlap between the three? One of many questions…
Some of you must be wondering… What the hell does any of this have to do with a social entertainment venue? Everything… Our environments are 100% about stimulus, emotion, and thought. As a social concept engineer, acquiring a better understanding of these facets is key to engineering environments that better address the fast changing needs of a 21st century entertainment consumer. In essence, this is what Nightclubbiz.com is all about.
So Nightclubbiz.com is right and everyone else is wrong? Chuckle… No not at all. The Internet is all about the freedom of expression and thought. While many resources approach the social entertainment equation with a common methodology, Nightclubbiz.com offers an alternate one. One based on the premise that…
Nightclubbiz.com is for readers and self-educators. It's content rich and yes… Does require some time to study. So those looking for the fast track to nightclub fame and fortune will not find that here, and anymore than you can obtain a university degree by visiting a website for 15-minutes.
Nightclubbiz.com does not offer overnight solutions to success. We do not guarantee success… We do not hyper sell our services. Rather, after working with us, it is our hope you will make your 'own' decisions and do so with confidence. It is your investment… Not the promoters… Not the DJ's… And not the consultants. You need to be control! We help you achieve just that.
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 March 2010 16:43 |