We recently connected with Vynce Pham and have shared our conversation below.

Vynce, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

There’s an annual contest I hold for all couples/events that book with me for the upcoming year where (1) couple/event receives FREE DJ Services based on a lottery style drawing. On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, one couple/event is randomly picked and the winner(s) are posted on the website and contacted by me directly. I then refund any payment they’ve made towards the DJ Services (all other services aren’t applicable). The reaction when they’re notified is nothing short of pure excitement and happiness! I came up with the idea years ago as a way to show my gratitude for the couples/events that believe in me, my team and what we provide. In this business, much as in life, if all you do is “take” and never “give” back, I feel your business isn’t showing that you care about your clients. This is one thing I can do that gives everyone the same chance of winning and help make their special day that much more special.

More recently, I was approached by a local wedding coordinator I’ve worked with on several occasions and asked if I wanted to be a part of team for a very special bride. The bride had been diagnosed with AML leukemia and given only a few months to live. She had made a “bucket list” and on top of the list, next to graduating high school early and attending a special prom in her honor, she wanted to marry her boyfriend, the love of her life. We only had 2 weeks to prepare, but we did it! So we all scrambled and a great outpouring of love from the wedding industry came through. Every single service that is needed for a wedding was donated and/or performed pro bono because we all wanted to show the bride, her fiance and their families that people cared and wanted this to be the most spectacular day for them both to remember with the time she had left. On the day of the wedding, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, but they were mainly tears of happiness seeing the bride and groom so happy. That wedding will forever be ingrained in my mind as one of the best weddings I was privileged enough to have been a part of.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started DJing about 26 years ago and spent the first few years honing my skills in night clubs, house parties, etc. One year, a good friend of mine was getting married and me being a DJ and not having much money to buy a wedding gift at the time, I offered to DJ it for them. It was completely new to me as I had not had any experience with weddings or the intricacies involved in pulling one off, but it worked and was so much fun! From there, the word got around and I slowly started building a client base and when websites such as Yelp, WeddingWire and The Knot came on the scene, I received lots of positive reviews and started my career focusing primarily on weddings and corporate events as a result.

It was a drastic change from DJing clubs or house parties because you had very little room for errors. Everything depended on making sure the correct songs, name pronunciations and catering to the flow of the diverse guests on the dance floor all came into play. And that was something I had to pick up quickly and master or risk being pushed out of the industry. Luckily, I have a very outgoing personality and have no qualms about being an emcee as well. Hyping the audience came second nature to me and it just added to the fun.

I steadily built up a vast and very diverse music library as each year passed. I was and am a music hoarder and never delete any music since I figured it may get requested again at some point. As a result, I’m able to cater to a wide range to cultural as well as musical selections from clients. Music is it’s own language. DJs listen to the beat and work from that. What I try to do that sets me apart from other DJs is make that diversity work in my favor by making sure to blend many different style/genres when the dancing takes place. It’s also what makes it fun and challenging at the same time. It makes your creativity peak and keeps it so you’re always looking for new ways to keep people dancing and entertained.

My clients range from people who like music, but couldn’t tell you the name of the song/artist to ones who’d like to have very specific versions of songs played. I see myself and my role as being the conductor of those selections and arranging the songs in a matter that takes everyone on a musical journey and makes it memorable for the guests attending. I also get asked to occasionally help back fill titles when they can’t come up with enough music during cocktail hour or dinner for example. That also can me a fun part of the process. People probably don’t realize that for every event, there’s about 5-10 hours of preparation that goes into getting music ready.

Through the years, I’ve also been fortunate enough to recruit a great team, thus allowing more services for clients so they don’t have to contract with so many different vendors. In addition to DJ Services, we also now offer draping, LED lighting (market lights, uplights, spotlights, custom gobos), cold sparklers and even a mirror photo booth (both stationary and a trailer)

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I was very fortunate in having a mother who loved and supported my passion for music. She was the one who financed my very first batch of sound and lighting equipment since I wasn’t making a lot after having to pay for renting the equipment from various shops in town. She knew that if I netted more profit from each event, I could potentially expand my inventory and handle more diverse clients. I will never forget what she did for me and to this day, she still supports what I do wholeheartedly and loves to hear what amazing events I’m a part of.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I have business pages on both Facebook and Instagram. I try and stay current and update them both with pictures, videos and reviews I receive to show that I’m appreciated by my clients and hopefully, reaching new clients with them. I feel in this day and age, social media is our best form of advertising as well as keeping in touch with past, current and future clients. I’m very proud of each and every event I’m a part of whether it be 11 or 1,100 people attending. Each one is unique and allows me to do what I love. For anyone starting out, make sure you stay current on your pages and post a lot so you can show potential clients what you have to offer is what they need.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.musicphreek.com
• Instagram: @music_phreek
• Facebook: @musicphreek
• Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/Mf5ac8v5iO2RVXsbuKdVIA
• Other: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/music-phreek-dj-and-lighting-escondido-ca-582518 https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/music-phreek-dj-lighting-services-escondido/6ee84d7f9a160b5b.html