Five Star Entertainment: Classing up the Anchorage party scene

Shawn Williams evolves from disk jockey, to party planner

Shawn Williams is the ultimate party guy. His disc jockey business, Five Star Entertainment, brings to life more than 250 events every year. Peak weekends in the summer see 10 weddings on a Saturday and more on Friday and Sunday.

Shawn launched Five Star Entertainment by deejaying weddings and office parties 10 years ago. On a recent Thursday he sat in his Spenard office telling me how his business has grown to incorporate 10 deejays and host the biggest New Year’s Eve and Halloween parties in Anchorage. Posters for the company’s big events hang on the walls. A picture frame gift for a bride and groom with the words “A Five Star Wedding” sits on his desk.

We pause the conversation now and then so he can answer a client call. We look up Entrepreneur Alaska and he gives me advice on how to grow the site. Shawn breathes entrepreneurship.

This week he’s gearing up to host a three-party New Year’s Eve extravaganza in the Dena’ina Center. The three events are themed around the music styles: Studio 40 Retro, A Black and White party with Top 40 hits and the Diamond and Denim Jamboree for country music lovers. A little something for everyone. There will be cash bars, tables to relax and large dance floors. He plans these events to give people a fun, safe alternative to house parties and the downtown bar scene on big holidays.

“I knew there was a bunch of people out there looking for some place good to go — not just bar hopping,” Shawn said. “I’ve had my share of being in a bar that was crowded, oversold, people are rude, they’ve got their training wheels on, it’s just a wreck.”

His events have a cover fee, people get dressed up and make at night of it. It started with a New Year’s event four years ago. It’s grown to incorporate different kinds of music to appeal to different crowds.

“It’s elegant, it’s nice, it’s not the typical bar crowd. It’s the young professionals,” Shawn said. “They put on a nice outfit and they show up looking great. I like the idea of having a party that’s a classy group of people.”

This year he added a Halloween Monster Ball at the Anchorage Museum with prizes for the best costumes and a party in the museum atrium. What’s next? Maybe a Valentine’s Day event.

Aside of all the parties, Shawn’s favorite events are weddings. He loves to see people throwing what might be the biggest event of their lives.

“You are invited into an intimate moment in these people lives,” he said. “That’s pretty special.”

Pitfalls of the Industry:

Shawn credits some of his business’s success to his ability to avoid some of the pitfalls of the industry. He said it’s easy to get caught up in the party and lose sight of what’s important.

“I’ve been able to avoid the pitfalls that a lot of the disk jockeys in this kind of business have problems with,” he said. “Everybody brings you drinks and this and that. It’s kind of the big secret underbelly of the hospitality business.”

Shawn makes it clear he’s a professional first and foremost.

Putting Clients First:

Shawn believes his relationship with the client is very important to running a business that grows. When he started his business he made a commitment to several things he thought were key to success.

“I would constantly upgrade my equipment, I would constantly upgrade my music,” he said. “And I would have a good relationship with my clients.”

Shawn said some disk jockey companies will promise that the owner will show up and then send a new guy on the night of the event.

“If I tell you Shawn is going to show up — the owner — I would be the one to show up. We’re not going to send someone else,” he said. “I just knew when I started to run my company, I was going to run it straight.”

Advice for Would-be Entrepreneurs:

Shawn had three bits of advice for would-be entrepreneurs:

1. Save some money. It takes money to make money.
2. Find an idea that people will pay you for.
3. Take a chance and leap of faith with yourself. It takes a person willing to risk everything.

Party with Five Star on New Year’s Eve:

You can still buy tickets for Five Star Entertainments New Year’s Eve three partys or buy an all-access pass and party hop.

WHEN: 8 p.m. New Year’ Eve until 2 a.m.

WHERE: The Dena’ina Center in downtown Anchorage

TICKETS: Visit FiveStarAlaska.com to purchase tickets or find out more

Tags: alaska, Downtown Anchorage, entrepreneur, Five Star Entertainment

This entry was posted on December 26, 2011 at 7:00 am and is filed under Entrepreneur Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.