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It has been quite a while since my last essay on magic, So here is something a little bit different that I have yet to see anybody write. It is about managing your money and how to stop worrying so much about your income.
Money Management
While some of us worry about our money, Some of us don't, And some of us wish they had a little more to spend on themselves. This is where I come in. I have always been a money saver, Just like how some of us are naturally money spenders. This is basically a Suze Orman book for magicians. For those of you who are not farmilliar with the work of Suze Orman, She has written many books and produced many videos on managing your money and saving for retironment, saving for yourself ect.
Your shows
While I am not the worlds biggest performer, I get quite the pay when It comes to performances. I reccomend you read Dustin's essay on free shows after reading this because some of what I mention here can be applied to his advice as well.
If you are first starting out performing shows, I suggest the first few shows or so, Perform for a public gathering, And do it for free. You will get the experience and the publicity you need to first get out there, Not many people will hire and pay a guy they have heard nothing about. So if you can get inside that wide amount of people at a larger gathering, You will have more people to tell their friends and then potentially hire you.
What kind of gatherings? Below I have devised a list of the kind of places you should start out performing in.
-Churches (The bigger the better
-Bars
-Small restaurants in your area
-Clubs
-School
-Talent shows
-Family and friends
-retironment homes
-public events such as barbecues
Now that you have a few clients you have worked for, the word will start spreading about you and your name will be out there. People will need an entertainer, Hear about you and how good you are, And then hire you hopefully. You need to start knowing how much to charge for your shows
When starting out performing, You should charge minimum for your performances because you are just starting out and your name probably hasn't gotten to everybody yet and you are just an amateur to them. So depending on how many people are there and such, Will depend on how much you know to charge. I am currently charging 25-50 dollars per show only because my name isn't fully out there yet. But you will eventually be able to charge more after working for a wide number of people and events and businesses.
What to follow to price your shows
There are a few different things you need to know to properly charge your shows. You read above that I charge 25 to 50 dollars per show. Why is there an in between? Because when I make the calls and get the calls, I always ask them the following questions. Below is a list of questions and a sample outline of my pricing.
-How many people will be there?
-Do they require a long or short show?
-15 minutes
-25 minutes
-35 minutes
-45 minutes and above
-How far will I have to travel?
-Where will this be held?
-Indoors
-Outdoors
-public place such as hospital, hotel, park ect.
-Any special needs?
You will now see below, A sample show that somebody might ask me to do.
-How many people will be there? 25
-Do they require a long or short show?
-15 minutes
-25 minutes
-35 minutes
-45 minutes and above
-How far will I have to travel? 25 minutes away (1 way)
-Where will this be held?
-Indoors
-Outdoors
-public place such as hospital, hotel, park ect.
-Any special needs? The client wants a kids show for 25 people sitting down in a living room and wants me to be there with my magic. she wants simple humor, simple tricks that ages 5 to 9 can understand.
So there you see what I might to for a client. I will always get down how many people, time is should run for, If I have the props and tricks to run that show for that specific amount of time, Will I need to leave early to get there, How much It will cost to get there ect.
How to charge all these into the final price I always look at these kind of things and figure out how much it is all worth. Not specifically all in one, But before I find the initial price, I estimate how much It will cost them. Then I look at each of the specifications they want from me, And put a price on the value of them all on my part
If they want, say a 25 minute show, I will need to look at what I have to put together my 25 minute show for them with the specifications, This being ages 5-9. So I might need to put some kids tricks and maybe a card or coin trick. Sponge balls always play well for these ages, So I will put in this routine and that routine. Then how far It is. I will always take the price of gas and get a rounded price round trip. I put that into the price. Then if the show is outdoors, I might not be able to do the sponge balls or sponge bunnies or maybe even a card trick because the wind might blow away my props. You need to put all of this into consideration.
Your future bookings How do you get the future bookings? If you want the extra boost to getting more money (And you need to get repeat clients anyway, Remember. They are paying your bills) You need to know how to get the repeat customers. You need to make the follow ups and get down all their information. here are a few helpful hints to getting the repeat customers.
-Always treat them nicely and put them first. Never yell at them or ignore them. Make them feel comfortable with what they are getting
-Leave them wanting more. This is an old show business adage, And their is so much truth to it. You will thank this in the end.
-Follow up. After the show, Leave everybody with a business card, a suevinear, a pamphlet ect. Then leave the customer your business card and save all of their information. I always send them a mailing prediction which I created on my own. I send this to them in the mail about 3-4 months after. This leaves them feeling the wonder still. Then I send them a pamphlet and some more promo stuff later in the year. Lets say my show for that person way may 25th, I will send them the information around april first because if you are going to get the show again, chances are it will be the same one and around the same time of year. Get to them first.
What to spend your money on What are some things you should and shouldn’t spend your money on? Below is a list of the shoulds:
-Clothes (once a year)
-Food and drink
-the promotional material:
-Business cards
-Pamphlets and flyers
-envelopes and stamps
-Paper
-website
-Playing cards or coins depending on the kind of performer you are
-Health
-cell phone/internet/TV/telephone bill
-The props
-Necessities such as:
-toilet paper
-printer ink
-tooth brush
-hair brush
-toothpaste
-other bills like school and housing
And some things you shouldn’t spend your money on are:
-Alcohol
-the series collection, metal boxed set of the brady bunch
-world of warcraft
-take out, every night
-porn
-new clothes every month
-Playing cards that will only collect dust on your shelf
-bling
So next time you are thinking about getting something, Really think about how you are going to use it, if you are going to use it, how often you are going to use it, Do you need it, Is it for simple entertainment value, could it be substituted. And remember, When you get a paycheck, Don’t cash it in. Put a certain amount away in the bank and leave a certain about out so you can pay for the things you need.
A BIG tip! A really big tip that might serve you all well, Is this. Wal-Mart is your friend. You will get a lot of stuff for a lot cheaper their. Bicycle cards are 2 decks for the price of one. You are saving a lot of money just in that. A lot of the things you might see at “home-depot” or “Nike” or “sketchers”, You will find for extremely discounted prices. I remember a time when my dad needed a pair of glasses. He bought a pair that was 30 dollars, went to wal-mart and found them for 8 dollars. the same exact pair. Gazzo says that magicians cant be cheap. But I say, If it is there for cheaper, then buy it. Plus, If we cant be cheap, then we cant buy from penguinmagic anymore
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