The Price Of Gas Has Officially Hit An All Time High! (updated)
Today on the news it was reported that the price of gas (barrel) and per gallon has hit an ALL TIME high and will continue to go up. How will this affect your DJ business?
Last year at this time I was paying $2.35 per gallon of gas (or less) today I paid $3.35 per gallon.
My truck is equipped with a 13 gallon tank. Last year at this time for one tank of gas it would cost me $30.55 but today it cost me $43.55. That is a $13.00 difference per tank of gas.
This may not sound like much to you but if you use one tank of gas per week (if you’re lucky) your yearly gas expense went from $1588.60 to $2261.60 making an increase of $676.00.
For some DJs that is as much or more than they charge for a wedding event. Every extra penny you spend in fuel results in a decrease of your profit and bottom line.
Can you afford to do one FREE event this year because of that “small” increase in the price of gas?
I would suggest to you if you’re not already charging a mileage fee to begin tacking on this fee or pay the consequences in the long run.
If you still feel a need to “GIVE AWAY” your money you can allow a certain amount of mileage from your location as “free” and then tack on a fee after that amount, but remember you need to count it as a round trip when figuring out the mileage fee. If you're like me and always make a trip to the location site prior to the event then you will also need to figure this into your numbers or your losing even more money.
This evenings news reported the last time Gas was under one dollar (.99) was in 1998. That's right it has been ten years since you paid a buck or less for a gallon of gas. That same gallon of gas is now THREE times as much. So if you had a 13 gallon tank in 1998 and paid .99 per gallon a full tank was only $12.87 today at $3.25 it would cost you $42.25 with a difference of $29.38 in just ten years.
I don't know about you but my over all price as risen 3 to 5 times as much as I charged in 1998 (depending on the wedding package) and it is still tough to pay the bills.
I only mention this because there is one DJ service here in my area (also in other states) that is charging the EXACT same price today as they were in 1998. How can that be?
Jeff Richards: Party Time Productions
http://www.PartyTimeProductions.biz
UPDATE: 5/21/08
Today the news announced that the price of a barrel of oil has risen 400% just since George W. Bush has taken office. Not bad for an OIL MAN!
Has your rates increased 400% in eight years? No.
Has it increased even 40% No.
What about 4% No.
Think about this, the average American Worker receives a 2% to 4 % raise each year for just showing up to work. Many get an even bigger raise when they are productive and do a great job.
What's you excuse for not raising your rates?