For every party, wedding or other happy occasion, music is a must. While guests relaxing or eat, it has become the norm to keep them entertained through music.

For every party, wedding or other happy occasion, music is a must. While guests relaxing or eat, it has become the norm to keep them entertained through music.

The days of playing music on a house-music system or home theatre are over as people prefer to hear music played by a professional. This demand has created good business for disc jockeys.

So, if you enjoy spinning discs, then a disc-jockeying business is what you need to start. It will be an opportunity to make money and entertain yourself at the same time.

Start-up costs are minimal and technology has made it easy to run a disc jockey business. You can do it part-time and keep your day job because disc-jockeying takes place after hours and at weekends.

With today's digital music services, you can quickly and easily build an awesome music database without spending a lot of money. This will help you a lot while preparing to launch your business.

You don't need any formal education to become a DJ. Your skills, personality and love of music are all you need.

Get hold of a sound system (turntables), mixer, speakers, an amplifier, a microphone and a huge collection of music of every kind. It's an added advantage if you have a reliable vehicle to carry your equipment around.

Since you will always be on the road, it is also advisable to insure your equipment.

lWhat does being a disc jockey entail?

Your business will include providing music and lighting entertainment services, as well as being master of ceremonies or programme director at weddings, graduation parties and other special events.

You need to be an extrovert to succeed as a disc jockey. This is not a job you can do sitting at home. You have to be the life and soul of the party and entertain the guests.

You must be an on-stage person and be skilled in constantly entertaining a crowd as well as draw them out and help them have fun.

You must have an appreciation for different kinds of music in order to accommodate the different personalities in your audience.

As a disc jockey you serve two clients at the same time. You are serving the person who hired to entertain guests and the guests too. You must be able to satisfy both.

The audience's satisfaction also determines whether you will get repeat business and new clients. There might be some prospects in the audience.

You must be able to operate all the equipment smoothly and easily.

lWho are your clients?

Your clients will be anyone from different walks of life who wants to party and host functions. This includes couples, individuals, associations and organisations, corporations, and wedding and event planners. You can also approach restaurant and nightclub owners. There are plenty of clients who will need your services. The only thing you need to do is to market your business.

Distribute your business brochures to wedding and event planners, and caterers, who may prefer you to other party planners. Place advertisements in your local yellow pages and newspapers.

Once you start having clients, you must make sure that they are satisfied with your service since word of mouth is the most convenient and free way to get new business.