Many of us will have PAT tested and serviced our kit to within an inch of its shelf-life, then there is re-organising our music libraries, removing duplicate and poor quality files and working on new setup configurations to allow more choice and flexibility. These are all good and valid things that will enhance the experience for all concerned but there is one other vital component to consider, You - the DJ.

Have you looked at how you could do things differently? Have you explored a different approach to your work? It is very easy to turn up and do what has worked time and again – “if it isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it”. But what if it isn’t broken but could be upgraded? This is something that I have personally been trying with corporate gigs over the last couple of years, so in this article I’ll share my insight into how I believe that I improved my professionalism behind the decks.

Now, let me start by admitting (as some of you know by now) that the majority of my work is based around retro festival gigs and producing mixes for Mastermix, so hardly mobile! This makes me no better or worse than any mobile DJ, just different, yet the principles of our work remain the same, as does the need to continually strive for self-improvement.

Over the past few years my path has led me to an increased amount of corporate work. These events are generally very formal affairs, much like a wedding, though the difficulty in getting corporate clients to cut loose of their tuxedos is arguably more challenging, so I can see how the adaptations I have made could crossover easily into wedding celebrations and other parties. Indeed, some of you may already be doing what I’m about to suggest.