LAGUNA NIGUEL : Youthful DJs Outdo Old Guys of 22 or 23

When Nick Green and David Bailey go to high school dances, they’re not there to meet girls or hang out with friends.

They’re all business.

Green and Bailey, both 17, recently started their own disc-jockey business called Conquest Enterprises, which has been lining up gigs at high school dances throughout South County.

“We’ve just seen what other DJ’s do and these kids are unhappy with that,” Green said. “These guys are 23 or 22 and they don’t know what the kids want.”

Green, a senior, and Bailey, a junior at Dana Hills High School, pooled money they saved from Bar Mitzvahs, birthdays and part-time jobs to buy the $12,000 in record and compact disc players, speakers, lights and the fog machine they bring to their shows.

“Initially, I was saving for a car,” Green said. “Then when I saw this business opportunity, I decided to invest it in Conquest. . . . Everything is bought and paid for.”

“You have to go into it full-force,” added Bailey, who is Dana Hills’ top varsity tennis player and maintains a 4.0 GPA.

The two also appear to be savvy businessmen, knowing how to market their product and keep their customers happy.

Taking advantage of a scheduling system for seniors that gets him out of class by late morning, Green uses his free time to meet with activity directors at surrounding high schools.

He also showcases the business by playing free promotional shows during lunch periods.

“We do everything in person,” Green said. “We leave them a business card and a flyer.”

They also have worked with friends on a promotional video that they plan to show to prospective clients.

Green and Bailey said they built about half of their company’s music collection by requesting promotional copies from area record stores.

“We offer free marketing for (the stores),” Green said. “We’re targeting the market area they’re interested in reaching.”

Toby Thurlow, Mission Viejo High School’s activities director, said he was impressed with the two young businessmen.

Conquest Enterprises recently played at the school and got a good response for the quality of its show and its music selection, he said.

“But more important,” Thurlow said, “these guys are very courteous and very prompt, and they were very professional. I was very impressed with how these young entrepreneurs conducted themselves and their business.”

Although Green and Bailey say they have built the company entirely on their own, they did rely on family ties recently for one of their biggest promotions.

Because Bailey’s father is a friend of Donald T. Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers professional basketball team, they were able to get free game tickets that they gave away at the Mission Viejo High dance.

When the dance comes, Green said, he doesn’t stay on the sidelines. A lover of dancing, he goes out on the floor to mingle with the other teens and find out what they like and dislike about the show.

“While I’m out there,” he said, sounding more like a businessman than a dancer, “I have to do some of the marketing.”