Life Questions

In answer to the questions asked by Troy:

• How many shows do you want to do in the next 12 months?

I made the decision to pursue more performances in May of 2006, so it's been about a year since I started actively promoting myself. Since then, I've done about 80 shows. A couple were volunteer when I was putting the show together and most of the paying gigs were lower-paying shows, so I wasn't making a full-time living wage from magic last year, but I've been able leverage the experience and income into really improving myself as a performer. To be honest, I still have about a year to go before I am able to move into this full-time. So, let's say I would like to do 150 - 200 shows in a 12-month period.

• How much money do you want to make (gross) in the next year from shows?

My intermediate income goal is to gross about $50,000 a year from performing. This would be between $250 and $350 per show - a very doable amount, but more than I charge now. However, to keep things in perspective, my rates now are set to get experience until I feel justified in setting higher fees. This could be a good point to discuss later - What would be the difference between a $100, $500, and a $1000 show?

• How far are you willing to travel?

At this point, I need to stay somewhat close to home, but in May or June of next year I will be able and willing to travel just about anywhere. One of the things that appeals to me about being a performer is to have a chance to get paid to visit other places. Consiquently, my long-term goal is to have a world-class show for cruise venues.

• What kind of show(s) do you do, and what is your primary audience. I think I know this, but I want to hear your answer anyway.

This is actually a more complicated question than it first appears. In order to get as much experience as possible, I chose to pursue smaller shows - birthdays, picnics, and parties. These are not my dream gigs, but I have been able to book then fairly easily. I really picture myself as a comic magician in the style of Roy Benson or Billy McComb (not to say I have the skills and talent of these exceptional performer, but they are role models I aspire to match). However, there are some constants between what I want to become and what I am doing now - I love classic magic, friendly comedy (Though I think he is very funny and entertaining, I don't think I could ever pull off an act like The Amazing Jonathan for example), a high degree of technical skill, and family-friendly material.

To get to a world-class level, I believe I really have to come to terms with a strong sense of character in my act, but this has been a real stumbling block for me - but that is another discussion. My favorite audiences are family audiences - not just kids and not just adults, but parents and children together.

• If things were perfect, how would you describe a week of your life?

I won't go into a lot of detail here because I could probably write pages about this, but I can briefly say I would like a lot of private time to study, read, and write (I would have made a good medieval monk :) ) As a performer, my dream gig would be a long-term theater venue gig with a few shows per week. My major stumbling block in my business now is my dislike of one-on-one comunications with people. I don't like talking on the phone and I don't like meetings with only one or two people. I've often said, I am vastly more comfortable and happy when I am in front of a theater full of people than I am having a cup of coffee with one or two friends.

Anyway, thanks Troy for asking the questions. They gave me a lot to think about. I look forward to hear what you have to say.

Introduction

Hey guys,

Here is the blog I set up to brainstorm marketing our magic shows. The idea here is to develop a business operating system for promoting and managing our magic shows. Though I really enjoy talking on the Cafe, it can be difficult to handle a really focused on-going discussion, so I set up this blog. Let's begin:

Up until now, I've been managing my shows using a simple calendar system and have been getting most of my business from my web site and referals. My intention was to use ACT software on my new laptop to keep track of everything, but it turns out that ACT 2006 isn't compatible with Vista and I don't want to spend the extra $170 to upgrade. So I started thinking about exactly what I was intending to do with ACT to promote and enhance my business.

So what is the bare minimum I need to keep track of in order to have a working business:

• A way to reach new customers
• Products to sell
• A way to keep track of my schedule
• A way to keep track of expenses and income
• Keeping the customer happy

At this time I do the following things:

• Reach new customers through my web site and handing out business cards
• I mostly sell my kid's birthday shows and strolling magic
• I keep track of my schedule with the calendar in my MSN account
• I track my money by keeping a file of receipts and check stubs
• I try to keep the customer happy by doing the best show I can

This is all very basic, and is working to a degree, but is a far cry from how I envision my dream situation as a professional magician. Now my goal is to refine this to be an almost automatic business system that I could pass on to an employee to run when I am hopefully too busy performing gigs to do everything myself. Consiquently, I need to refine:

• Getting business
• Products to offer
• Schedule management
• Accounting
• Customer management

And, here's where the brainstorming can come in. Let's discuss each of these aspects of business individually and see how we can best handle each. Please share as much or as little as you like.