Emily Tang is a 23-year old owner of Boogie on Down Productions LLC, a mobile DJ business based in Colorado. She is also a computer science student looking forward to completing her bachelor’s of science in 2019 at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Emily’s husband and daughter inspire her every day and she attributes all her successes to God. Read our interview with the lovely Emily below…
What motivated and inspired you to start your own business?
I started my business in the fall of 2015. At the time my husband Ken and I were dating and working regular jobs to get by, nothing extraordinary. We wanted and prayed for something more exciting. Ken had over ten years of experience DJing professionally in Florida, and he told me that a man who he used to work for made a profit by renting DJ equipment out to different DJs in town. We discussed and prayed about trying a similar business model here in Colorado. I felt inspired by the idea and was motivated to use my excellent credit to invest in a high quality set of DJ gear. It was a huge leap of faith for me to take this financial risk. Looking back, I felt that I made the right decision. Our business grew, slowly but surely. Today, getting to connect with clients, learn their wishes, and help make their dream events happen inspires me to keep going.
Tell us about your business.Â
Boogie on Down Productions LLC, is a mobile DJ business based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and it travels to meet the needs of clients anywhere in Colorado. Whether it’s a wedding, business party, birthday, quinceañera, graduation, or other gathering, we help make dream events possible by providing event planning assistance, music, lighting, DJ, and MC services. We meet with clients face-to-face at the venue of their choice, pair them with a DJ who they feel comfortable working with, and create their playlists from scratch. We do this so that they have nothing to worry about during their event – except for having fun!
 Are you currently running any promos/contests/giveaways that you would like our readers to know about?
Yes, we are offering $50 off our regular rates to anyone who says “We like to BOOGIE!” We can be contacted to redeem this promotion at our website www.weboogiedown.com, email weboogiedown@gmail.com, and phone number 719-964-7044.
List awards/certifications/accomplishments.
Some of our greatest achievements are the reviews from our clients.Â
“We booked this DJ for our daughter’s sweet 16 bday. Emily and her staff were very professional and the kids had a blast. We never thought we would be able to have a DJ and Emily gave me a great deal without compromising the experience. Thanks!” -Jody E from Colorado
“Boogie On Down Productions did our company holiday party and did such a great job!” -Isa B with Challenger Homes in Colorado
“We used Ken for last minute wedding that I helped coordinate and he was amazing, he was professional, fun, affordable and kept the party going all night! I would recommend him to everyone and anyone! Thank you for making Anna’s and Gerardo’s night so special!” -Leona W from ColoradoÂ
We are proud to say that 100% of our client reviews are positive and that many of our bookings are from word-of-mouth recommendations.Â
Where is your business based?
My business is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado and serves venues anywhere in Colorado.
What were the first few steps you took to get your business up and running?
I prayed with my husband, an experienced DJ, and alone with God, searching for God’s will. Then I set a budget for our initial purchases, researched different kinds of DJ equipment, used my credit to assemble a quality set of DJ gear, built a Facebook page and a website using WIX.com, invested in search engine optimization and other advertising such as business cards and flyers, set up booths at bridal shows where we demonstrated our equipment and met potential clients, and encouraged my husband to DJ for free with nonprofit organizations in order to practice and get the word out about our services. We learned to talk about our business with anyone we met and get to know their upcoming special events and music or lighting needs for these events.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness of your business and getting new customers?
Search engine optimization and social networking. We make sure that people Googling Colorado DJ services see our website, weboogiedown.com, first. Social networking gives people a chance to meet our amazing DJs face to face, discuss their event needs, and get a taste for what our equipment can do. We find that even if those we speak with are not planning for an event, they know a friend or relative who is, and we enjoy earning their recommendations.
What have been your biggest challenges so far?
My biggest challenges have been fears about finances and having a baby. I began this venture as a college student chipping away at my college loans with a regular Monday-Friday job. So the money that I invested to buy DJ equipment and begin a new venture felt huge. My husband and I had a baby in fall of 2016. She was our firstborn child and she rocked our world. I was filled with a sense of overwhelming responsibility for this innocent life that I cradled in my arms. My adventurous side faded and I wasn’t sure how to have fun for a long while. Psychologists call it postpartum depression/anxiety.
How did you overcome these challenges?
I overcame these challenges by participating wholeheartedly in anonymous 12-step programs. The root cause of my fear, anxiety, and depression was my addiction to chaos. I was so twisted that I thought chaos and fighting were happiness. Now I liken happiness to a child playing alone on a playground. All that child needs is the playground in order to be happy, and the playground is God. So I am learning to be content when life is quiet. This program helps me to slow down and take a step back from the self-sabotaging life-rushing that encouraged my financial and child-raising concerns to blossom in the first place. My 12-step program is also helping me to calm down enough to study and thereby further my education, so that I can also pursue a more stable career for myself and my family. I also accepted medications that my doctor prescribed, which were a helpful short-term fix for anxiety/depression. My long-term solution is attending therapy group sessions and applying the skills that I learn there to my daily life.
We were blessed with a supportive community too. Family members and friends were there to help and support us in our marriage and with our baby, as long as we had the courage to reach out and ask for help. I learned that assistance always came in God’s way and not necessarily in the way that I envisioned it. I learned to accept that, which made me more content. Our business began to pay for itself and more in the summer of 2016. Our daughter is named Zariah which means ‘God has helped.’ God has certainly helped us come a long way. When I am aware of this, my fear, anxiety, and depression fade, and my faith, peace, and joy grow.
How do you keep motivated through difficult times?
I pray every morning, afternoon, and evening. Not because I’m religious, but because I need God for everything. Radically accepting my life the way it is, and not the way I think it should be, allows me to deal with my feelings appropriately and solve problems.
How do you distinguish yourself from your competitors?
We meet face-to-face with our clients to get to know them as individuals with unique needs for their events. Then we build their playlists from scratch based on their preferences and event timeline. We wait until they approve our final version of the playlist and adhere to their preferences regarding the acceptance of any song requests. All of our DJs refrain from the use of drugs and alcohol. They are trained by my husband, who is my head DJ. They are a pleasure to communicate with and possess the ability to ‘read’ what music is right for getting a crowd to have a great time.
What is the best advice you have received recently?
The best advice that I’ve received recently is that as long as I keep going in the right direction, my efforts will pay off. It applies to my journey as an entrepreneur, student, wife, and new mother because I often feel that I’m doing all the right things in order to succeed and waiting eagerly – sometimes impatiently – to see the results. Life is a journey and perfection is not possible, so instead I choose to focus on my progress and live in the present.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Evaluate the services that your business offers from your perspective as a consumer – is it really something you’d want to spend your own hard-earned money on and does the quality match the price? If not, what can you change so that your services are more marketable? Once you offer a high-quality service, ask yourself how you are getting in touch with consumers, both online and in person. Communicating effectively and honestly builds trust with clients. Then ask yourself, how are you tailoring your service to individuals with unique needs and desires? Everyone is different and a successful business will recognize that. If you make sure that a useful, price-worthy product is known by consumers, then establish relationships with clients by getting the word out and communicating respectfully with them as individuals, you have a foundation for a successful business.
What is your favorite business tool or resource?
Our favorite business resource is people. Whether it’s communicating with a DJ about their experience at different gigs with different sound technologies, or communicating with a client about their preferences regarding lighting and playlist, we have so much to learn from others and enjoy every minute of it.
What social media outlets do you use? List them below.
Website www.weboogiedown.com
Email weboogiedown@gmail.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/BoogieOnDownProductions
Instagram @boogieondownproductions
Hashtags #weliketoboogie #boogieondown
What is a good article or book you have read recently?
“Tomorrow: Adventures in an Uncertain World” by Bradley Trevor Greive. It’s a quick, simple, and uplifting read that encourages optimism and flexibility even when the future can be unpredictable.
What are you currently learning about for your business or looking for help with?
I am learning to keep in touch with clients in a more consistent manner. When we started the business I was a perfectionist in our communications and that caused me to put off emailing or calling a client back until I felt I could offer the very best words. Lately I’m learning to take a more balanced approach. Sometimes it’s better to give a quick reply of “I’m not sure yet and I’ll let you know when I find out,” instead of giving no reply at all in hopes that I’ll be able to say “yes, definitely can,” within a day or two.
What are your goals for the next few months and how are you striving to achieve them?Â
Our goal is to break our own records in 2017 by earning more bookings this year compared to last year. We are planning to achieve this goal by attending three to five bridal shows in the spring and summer in order to get our services out there, staying more on top of communicating with potential clients by responding within 24 hours of each message, and training one more hired DJ to increase our booking availabilities. We are looking forward to our bookings increase as we continue to grow.