We recently connected with Andy Hagenah and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Andy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
I’ve owned and operated The Groove DJs for 30 years this coming May 2022. I also co-own Starlight Photo Booth with a great friend and partner since 2010. Like so many other businesses, the pandemic was brutal to our industry, especially in California where it grinded to a halt for over a year. Like nearly everyone in the wedding industry, my DJ & Photo Booth businesses were shut down. It took the help of so many people and industry leaders like Amy Ulkutekin to finally get our state government to provide some guidance for how to get back to work. I had started looking into a new franchise business called Social Indoor in late 2019 with the hopes of opening a territory in the next few years. With the shut down of weddings, I had time on my side…but Social Indoor is built on the concept of digital indoor screens displayed at bars, restaurants, stadiums, golf courses, and more, for people to see and advertisers to be seen. You’d think that it was not a great time to start something like that. I saw it another way. I knew I had to connect with business owners to have a conversation about working with them and installing a network of screens around town, and in normal times these owners would be very busy and hard to reach. During the shut downs, I knew most places were doing delivery and curbside pick up, and with staffing shortages, owners were now wearing all the hats and would be at their shops. I jumped through a lot of hoops to keep everything a float with no DJ income coming in or in the foreseeable future. Thank God my wife Amy was essential and her job provided our benefits, so I knew our family was stable and would be ok through it all somehow. After a lot of consideration, gut checks, and deep conversation with Amy, we decided to start a Social Indoor franchise and bought it on my birthday in December of 2020. I knew I would lean heavily on my network of friends and clients in the wedding industry, and began building everything in early January 2021. At this point, my DJ business was still closed by the state…no one wanted to risk hosting events with no guidelines. While I was seeing many of my colleagues in other states sharing that they were back to work and weddings were once again taking place in certain parts of the country…California remained closed. With events on pause, I was all in on building Social Indoor. Social Indoor is a nationwide company in about 40 markets, but most of our locations are in the Midwest and Eastern United States. My territory was the first California franchise, and I was the only one west of Denver! I had to not only build a network of great Venue Partners where my digital screens could hang, I had to introduce something entirely new to our market out here and find businesses to advertise on them. Lucky for me, with 30 years of being paid to speak in front large groups of mostly strangers, I had little fear in talking to new people. Plus, our concept is a great idea! It brings marketing and advertising to the 21st century, and connects businesses in a way no one out here was doing. It took about 3 to 4 weeks of walking in and out of doors until my first Venue Partner, Uncle Bob’s in Temecula, CA, said yes! Soon after my first Venue, I had 5, and then quickly 10, and today I have 42 current locations with 108 Social Indoor screens live throughout my market. About half way through 2021 the wedding and events industry was opened again. The Groove and Starlight Photo Booth are back and busier than ever! I am working on slowly stepping away from performing at events personally, or at least not as many as I have traditionally, and to take on more of an owner/manager role. I’ve built a great reputation with vendors and past clients, so I still see a long bright future for The Groove and Starlight. My goal is to double Social Indoor by the end of 2022. I hope to add about 30 more venues and keep finding great advertisers to get on board and in front of a captive audience. Both worlds have many similarities, and I am thankful that there is more work than I can handle right now compared to over a year of shut downs and restrictions on being able to make a living. Many things have changed in the past couple of years, but people still want to celebrate…and businesses still need to advertise, so I know I’ll have a long future ahead in both businesses.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Andy Hagenah and I grew up in Minnesota. I started to DJ my junior year in high school and made it into a great part time business for 7 years there. I moved to San Diego in 1999 to join my brother living here already, and I quickly found out that people like to plan parties, weddings, and event in the winter here…because there really isn’t one. I went full time into running my DJ services by the summer of ’99. I have met so many great people, vendors who I call great friends, and clients who I remain close with over the past 20 years. No one more important than my wife Amy. She moved here from Maryland just a year before me, and we met in September of ’99…go married in September of 2002, and will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this year. We have 3 amazing kids, 2 daughters with our son in the middle, Taylor, Brody, and Charley. I’ve helped coach them in some sports, and mostly now get to enjoy watching them play. I’ve always loved music, and my Mom really help mold me by always having the radio on each morning while I would get ready for school. She would listen to Kool 108 and I learned about all the great classics that way. I started to play the drums when I was 13 and still have a small electric kit today. I used to own the PA equipment for our band, so when we played parties I would put on songs during our breaks. Eventually people would ask me to just bring my DJ gear over because they didn’t have room for a band…and I started to be known as a DJ. Around 17 my Mom came home and told me to come with her to a garage sale she just left, we went back and I saw a DJ business for sale in the back of the garage. Literally a guy getting who had nearly new equipment and tons of great stuff, got a promotion at work and no longer wanted to DJ on the weekends…so my Mom gave me a loan to buy it from him, and off I went! Learning to DJ weddings was all from asking questions of the couple as to what they wanted and what their vision of a great party was. I didn’t learn from someone who thought they knew it all, or someone who would tell me how I had to DJ…I took my style and personality, mixed with questions about more than just music, and blended the two. My reviews read like someone telling you how great their friend was as the DJ at their party, because I really take time to get to know the people I work with. I have had a blast being a part of so many family celebrations and exciting days over the years, and this May 23rd will be my 30th anniversary of my first time being paid to DJ a party! I’ve shared so many great memories with people who started out as complete strangers, and remain in touch with so many still today. One of my favorite things was to see past couples at their friends wedding a year or two later because they referred me. In fact, one wedding I took a picture with the couple and all the friends that were in attendance that I was the DJ for at their wedding…6 couples in all at the same wedding! That’s probably the thing I am most proud of is the relationships I’ve built over the years in this business. I really feel connected to so many that I have helped, and they let me know in many different ways that I made a positive impact on their celebration and therefor the memory of those events.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I’d have to say the reward is working with great people and being locked into that memory with their families. I leave my family to go work at an event where I hardly know anyone, and I usually end the night feeling part of the family. It sound corny, but that makes a big difference in the outcome. I don’t work with everyone who inquires about my services, it has to be a good fit both ways. I’ve seen some of the best moments in their lives, and sadly I have had to help with memorial services for past client’s family members too.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
There are many ways to support artists and creatives, but the most impactful is paying for their creative services. It sounds simple, but so often people try and take advantage of friends they know in a creative space without really realizing that they are…at least hopefully not doing it on purpose. Things like “can you play this event for free, it will be great exposure” or “if my event is just 50 people, really chill vibe, you don’t have to do much…can you discount it for us” and my least favorite “I found someone who offers exactly what you do, but it’s half the cost…can you match them?” If you truly want a great experience, I can provide it and exceed your expectations, and here is what I charge. We’ve often taken time away from our own families, usually missing important events of our own kids, to be at your function and make sure it’s amazing. All we really ask is for the respect to pay us what we are asking. Just keep that in mind, if you know a great singer/songwriter…or a fantastic massage therapist…or a DJ who will make you feel like a guest at your own wedding…consider all the time, effort, and money they have put in to get to this point and simply pay what they are asking. Oh and the articles that say you don’t have to tip someone if they are the owner…only tip employees…that’s garbage. LOL My tips usually go into the gas tank, and taking the family to dinner in the next few days, so know it’s always appreciated! :)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TheGroove.Pro www.StarlightPhotoBooth.com www.SocialIndoorTV.com
- Instagram: @thegroovedjs @pics_by_starlight @socialindoortv
- Facebook: @TheGrooveDJs @StarlightPhotoBooth @Social.Indoor.TV
- Linkedin: @andyhagenah