Ok so let me just give you guys a little background information before I get started. I've been doing magic for around 8 years. I originally started with the little kids magic sets and kind of worked my way up. I've done like 7 shows so far. At first I just showed a number of tricks in succession, and now I'm slowly trying to create a routine that actually makes sense. I don't like saying "for my next trick". Doing the shows is helping me get a lot of experience though, I'm just having trouble figuring out a way to link them together with some good patter.

Anyways, that's not what I wrote this post to ask you about. I know this guy who goes to my Gurdwara (Sikh place of worship). Apparently he heard about my magic from someone. So the last time we met, I gave him my business card. As he took it he asked, " Are you trying to do business?" In this case that wasn't exactly my intention, but I said, " Yeah, kind of." He told me he knows all about business. So he asked how much I charge, and then how long I go for. Then he made me an offer: How about you perform for an hour, and I pay you $150.. I thought it sounded good. Apparently he owns an Indian restaurant, and he thinks that having an in house magician will be good. He said he gets 60,000 hits on his website a month. He told me about how I'll be well known in the valley after a year and how he wouldn't charge commission at first. Then he would make my price $250 and keep 100 for himself. I showed a couple of tricks to his kids and they loved it.

He was also giving me presentation tips and stuff. We haven't worked out anything official yet, but I really want to do this. I think it will be a great learning experience, and I wouldn't mind getting some cash. Its cool because everything is kind of informal. Also he is the one who asked me, not the other way around. I'm still going to talk to him about it more.

From the way he was talking, it seems as if he's thinking of having me do shows in the restaurant, when people book events, ie. birthday parties..
But I'm wondering if I should talk to him about walk-around? I think that would be something I want to do more, and would be more comfortable with. Can you guys give me any tips, suggestions, advice about the whole thing? I'm still new to restaurant environment, but I think I'll adapt to it.

Could you recommend any tricks or resources that might be helpful? I would appreciate any other thoughts/comments on the subject. (I'm not asking for bashing :p However, constructive criticism would be nice)

Thanks!

ok sure, go for it then!

I think I'm a little confused about the "commission" aspect of this deal. Restaurant walkaround magic is a service you provide to the restaurant, i.e. they pay you to do it. If he says he'll pay you $250 a night and keeps $100 for himself, he's not getting commission, he's just paying you $150. There's no net gain for him.

If he's asking you to do stage shows at the restaurant that the patrons pay for, that's different. I've never heard of it done that way, and I guess I'm a little skeptical that you'd get much business out of it, but I really don’t know. (I think Streetwolf does stage work in a restaurant, if I’m not mistaken. He might have advice regarding this.)

If this guy's talking about commissions, then he probably doesn't have something in mind where money comes out of his own pocket, and that gives me the feeling he won't want to pay you to do walkaround. But then again there's no harm in asking.

Something else to keep in mind: if all this guy is doing is getting you people to perform for, he is essentially acting as a booking agent. As I understand it, the going commission rate for agents is 10%; if he’s charging patrons $250 for your show and keeping $100 for himself, he’s getting 40% commission. Now, it’s still $150 in your pocket, which ain’t bad, but if your show is worth $250, then he’s taking a major bite out of your earnings for shows you probably could have booked yourself with the right tools, know-how and effort.

I do think that a restaurant job, at this place or elsewhere, would be worth looking into, especially if you have a show together already and are looking to generate more bookings. If you’d like to learn more about the business, I’d highly recommend the “Live at the Jailhouseâ€

Thanks for your input.

Yeah, I'm still kind of confused about that too. We didn't have the chance to talk too long, but I want to be ready next time we have a chat. I guess he means he's gonna charge $250 for my services, and keep 100 for himself. I don't mind getting 150, But the high price is gonna be attributed to me.

I think he is asking me to do stage shows at a restaurant that the patrons pay for. I've never heard it before either, thats why I came here. Apparently he thinks we will get business out of it. He told me if I'd given him my card 2 weeks earlier I could've had 2 shows already. I doubt I would've jumped into it so quickly though.

Yeah, seems like he wants to use me to get business, and more money too. But I'll ask anyways.

Hmm.. Yeah, that makes sense. 40% commission, ouch. Thats the thing, he obviously has (or thinks he does) the right tools and know-how to do it, or else he wouldn't have asked.

Alright, I'll look into those. Once again, thanks for your help!

Go for it. You sound ready, and have thought this through deeply. You have been made a great offer, so grab it while you can!

Thank you for being someone that is ready to perform in a resteraunt!

We definitely need some better sarcasm avatars.

I agree with fspigeon, you seem like you have thought this out thoroughly. If you can, have the next meeting with the owner at the restaurant. When you're there, you can assess if the setup will be appropriate for your show, and whether or not the clientèle it caters to will go for a $250 magic show. If everything seems good, go ahead and take the gig. You can use that time to learn invaluable information about how a restaurant runs in general, and when you feel ready to get a walkaround gig at another restaurant, you can approach them with confidence (and hopefully a letter of recommendation from the man you're negotiating with currently.)

Let us know how things turn out!

At least we've helped you work out the math. Talk to him about it saying that the percentage is a bit high and you could hire an actual agent cheaper than that. Then starts the negotiation phase where you both agree on a reasonable price.

Or, if you're happy with it and he's (definitely!) happy with it, take the offer as it stands and go out and have a great time! It won't take long to polish your routine "under fire" which is something you simply can't learn from a DVD.

get live at the jailhouse

I give up what's a resteraunt?

You have no need of this DVD. My teacher produced it and he even told ME i cant get anything outa it. Dont waste your money.

I have always been crap at spelling, and always had a grudge against that word.

I think what he really means is you're not ready for it, not that it's a bad video. Nothing against you, or anyone else in particular. It's just that some things have to be taken in order. It's like trying to do College calculus in the third grade. They're simply not ready for it... yet.

BTW, who's your teacher?