A portable sound system - a portable business model!

One of the most cost effective business plans for a live sound technician is investing in portable sound systems.

Buying a small PA system and marketing yourself to small bands and acoustic acts could be a great way to make some extra money doing something you love. You wouldn't need a huge amount of money to get started, an since these are portable sound systems, you could work anywhere.

What would you need?

If we start small we would have to limit ourselves to only a few things. We're not going on tour with U2 and mixing their concert in 360°. We're figuring out a good way to start our business in the live sound industry. Starting small means having something to work with and growing from there.

Say you intend to market yourself to the singer/songwriter playing at pubs and bars. One or two persons playing one or two instruments. Then you would need a small PA for the vocals and instruments.

Hypothetical situation

Having bought your portable PA system, two medium sized speakers on stands, you wonder what to buy next. You just started your business, and haven't really gotten any gigs. You put an ad in the paper, advertising your services as a live sound technician for small acts. Maybe you'll get an incentive and an idea of what to buy next if somebody answers.

Roger Johnsson answers your live sound ad. He wants you to work on his next gig, putting up a small sound system and running it during the concert. He plays guitar and sings. He also has a female companion that plays keyboards and sings the occasional backing vocal.

What would you need to succeed at this job offer?

You already have the small portable sound system that you need, but you lack everything else. Doing sound for a band such as Roger Johnson you need:

Two vocal mics

Dynamic mics that are sturdy and handle life on the road. Most dynamics are built like this.

Microphone stands

You don't want to show up to the gig and then realize that you've forgotten to buy microphone stands. Obvious, but worth a mention.

Cables

The same goes for cables as microphone stands. You need to have enough cables, and especially extra ones if something goes wrong.

Two Direct Injection boxes

You need DI boxes to connect both the acoustic guitar and piano into the PA system. Not crucial due to the fact that you could plug your instrument into the line input of your mixer, but it is important to lower noise and have a balanced signal.

Mixer

You will need a small mixer to plug in all the instruments and microphones. There are many budget solutions available for small mixers like this. Remember, you won't need a huge 24 track console for the type of business you are creating. You only need a small 4-8 track mixer.
Of course, if you happen upon a bigger mixer that seems like a good deal, you can keep in mind the possible expansion to live bands in the future. A bigger mixer will certainly accommodate more tracks, so even though you will only be starting out small, you have the capacity to expand without having to buy another mixer.

Start small

As far as small businesses go, you don't have to invest a fortune in getting it up and running. You could even start off by renting the extra stuff you need at equipment rentals until you see if the business will pay off. Renting microphones and mixers for a day isn't that expensive and you can charge accordingly in order to end up with a small profit.

You can also find great starter solutions online, with stores suchas zZounds having many great portable sound system solutions.

Start small, get a little idea of how much you could make off your business and then plan your expenses and expansion accordingly. There are loads of business opportunities in the music industry, and they aren't all centered around being recording engineers in big studios or being some band's go-to sound-tech. Look around your area and see if there is an opportunity like this to be taken advantage of.

I hope this little article sparked the entrepreneurial spirit in you. See more live sound articles below. Share this article by using the share box below!

A Great Method For Testing PA Speakers

7 Live Mixing Tips

Ever dealt with groundhum in your portable sound system? Here's a solution!