U.P. DJ Business a Family Affair
Music has the unique ability to inspire people in ways that words simply can’t.
Pat and Bill Digneit heard their calling in high school.
“We were both on student council, and I was the class president and I was paying the prom DJ an astronomical amount of money and he was not up to what we thought we should have gotten, so my brother and I were like ‘Yo, we can start our own DJ company and do that’, so we took our graduation money and a little money we each had in savings wand were like ‘We can do this’ and we’re going to jump feet first into this,” Pat Digneit said. “We bought two speakers, a mixer, two lights, a smoke machine, a strobe and we’re like ‘Yep we’re a DJ company’.”
The Detroit duo brought their new found franchise with them to Northern Michigan University, where it blossomed into a full–fledged family business.
“Our dad called us the Gruesome Twosome, or Double Trouble, and we thought Gruesome Twosome would only be good around Halloween, so we kind of went with Double Trouble DJs,” Pat said. “Some people were like ‘Double Trouble, what does that mean?’ and we’re like ‘Oh we’re identical twins’ and they’re like ‘Oh that makes so much sense’.”
“It can be stressful as anyone knows, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or weddings can be stressful family events, but we really try to be positive and we have each other’s backs,” Bill said. “That’s really important in running a business is to make sure you know the person you’re working with cares about you.”
“My wife actually works with us now too, so that’s a whole other element to it, but Pat took her on just like a sister and that is actually pretty awesome.”
And it’s not just their workforce that’s expanding. The Double Trouble brand stretches from Marquette to Detroit, all the way out to Las Vegas, where Pat and Bill work as consultants for aspiring nightclubs on the strip. And anything they pick up along the way, comes right back to home base.
“People always say ‘Oh the U.P. is five or ten years behind’, well we’re from Metro Detroit and we have an office down there, so if we see something down there we want to bring it here (to the U.P.) so it isn’t that we’re ten years behind, we’re still on pace,” Pat said. “Photo booths became a hot thing and we’re like lets start doing that.”
“We’re both gear-heads where we like all the technical aspects so it’s really fun to, you know, find new technology and new things from, you know, monogram spotlights to LED effects and everything like that.”
Whether it’s a grand opening, a parade, or a bridal expo, you can hear the level of sophistication in every tool the two–headed monster wields.
“There’s some risk, but you have to jump in feet first and take that chance,” Bill said. “You don’t want to look back in twenty years and regret where you’re at,” Pat said. “You know, live every day and got for it, you know. That’s what we push our business everyday–is trying to find something new and something that’s going to make it the next best thing.”
“I really do love my job and I know my brother does too,” Bill said. “We get to go to a party for a living and be the people that are driving the party and making sure people are dancing and having a good time or enjoying the photo booth and memories. That’s what we like to do, making lasting memories people and I always have a smile at work. I’m never really having a bad day.”
For more information, visit the Double Trouble DJs website or Facebook page.