MOBILE DJ PROFILE
Philly DJ Changes
STRATEGY, Reaps Rewards
By Stu Kearns Ivyland, Pa. – Never one to put all his eggs in one basket, Ross Akselrad is one mobile-entertainer/entrepreneur whose ability to compartmentalize – and change on the fly – has paid big dividends. To wit, he has divided his Philadelphia-area entertainment company into four divisions. They are: Pulse Entertainment (mitzvahs, Sweet 16s, generic parties, @pulseyourparty on socials); Pulse Wedding Entertainment (@pulseyourwedding on socials); Pulse Productions (corporate, government, A/V rental, @pulseyourproduction on socials); and Pulse Entertainment Proms and Schools (high schools, homecomings, proms, universities, campus and college events, @pulseyourprom on socials, proper website coming soon). In a related endeavor, he also owns a photography and video studio called Limelight and Tailor Studios (@limelightandtailor on socials). Additionally, he’s an industry thought leader. For example, at the 2021 DJ Expo in Atlantic City, N.J., this past August., Akselrad delivered tutorials on a pair of subjects – “Professionalism: How Mobiles Stay Ahead by Minding Their P’s & Q’s” and “Selling Your Services Virtually: Key Strategies to Increase Sales in a Socially Distant Marketplace.” The man definitely stays busy. DJ LIFE recently caught up with him to find out how he manages everything and keeps the revenue flowing. DJ LIFE: Pulse Wedding Entertainment – what’s the elevator pitch? Ross Akselrad: We are different than most companies because we offer most of the services you will need for your event under one roof. We are a true one-stop-shop for anything you need – except food and flowers. We can bundle your services together to custom-create a 42
DJLIFEMAG.COM
|
VOL.2 NO.1
package and save you money. We call it our version of the Comcast Triple Play Bundle. DJ LIFE: What’s the advantage of bundling? Akselrad: The major advantage to bundling your services with us is that you have one vendor to follow up with and that our experience is so smooth with all of my staff being familiar with each other’s needs. Another value add we tell clients that we offer is the ability to personalize their wedding, not just customize it. Personalizing an event is a process in which we truly get to know our clients better so we can cater to their specific needs better. DJ LIFE: How does that work? Akselrad: For example, we always send two people to every wedding we do – an MC and DJ. The DJ focuses on the music playlist, while the MC manages the day’s events for you. They coordinate with the other vendors, facilitate your formalities, and help you to set the atmosphere to your wedding by how they interact with you and your guests. They can create a more formal event or a more wild-and-crazy event by how they interact with you and your guests, which brings you closer to the picture you have in your head for the event. DJ LIFE: How long has the company been around and why did you start it? Akselrad: I opened Pulse Entertainment in 1994 when I was 16-years old. Since I was 11, I had been working for a DJ that was my camp counselor. He taught me beat-mixing, MCing, and how events should be run, and I worked almost every weekend with him for close to five years. Unfortunately, I had told him that I could not work on the night of my prom, but he booked me a bar mitzvah anyway. When I told him I couldn’t do it, he told me to choose the dance or my job. I discussed it with my parents because I really loved DJing and wanted to continue to do it. They supported me and offered to buy my first set of DJ equipment and to help me run some ads to try to get business and start my own company. So, I quit working for the other guy and started Pulse Entertainment as a two-person team with me as the MC and my brother as the DJ. My mom and dad had to drive me to my first few gigs until I got my license, but from there we were off and running. DJ LIFE: I see you’ve incorporated streaming services. Seems like a COVID-era thing that makes sense to keep around – true? Akselrad: Yes, we are keeping it around. My corporate division and video division had been doing live-streaming for corporate events since 2012. They were few and far between because most events had in-person attendees, but occasionally we were live-streaming to other corporate offices around the globe. Once the pandemic started, we brainstormed how we could continue to provide services to clients and stay in business. We initially focused on mitzvah and wedding ceremonies and reached out to our existing clients to move their entertainment services to a streaming package, and about half of them did. All of a sudden, we were slammed with ceremonies and, in three months, did over 100 of them. Shortly after, we started getting calls from schools, non-profits and corporations to stream graduations, fundraisers, and training meetings. It really blew up at that point
