Ready to go professional

May 21, 2018
69
28
Cincinnati, OH
I seek the advice of the wonderful magicians and mentalists here who perform professionally. All of you went through that phase... what started out as a fun hobby is something you became more serious about. In the beginning, you got caught a lot. Then you stopped getting caught, but you weren't that entertaining. Now you do some amazing things and have actually begun to put some thought into how you structure an act, which effects are openers, how they lead into the next, how you scripted them etc. You were ready to take the exciting plunge and finally get paid to do what you love. What did that look like for you?
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
"Getting paid to do shows" and "going professional" are two different things.

Jamie D Grant gets paid good money to do walk around magic - he's purposely not a professional magician. There's a lot of people out there that get paid, but are not doing it full time, or it doesn't make more than 60% of their income (which I use to differentiate between paid performer, and professional performer)

Originally I started getting paid to perform by busking. After a little while I gained more of a reputation and started taking paid gigs. Mostly parties, the occasional event/venue.

These days I focus more on parlor shows than busking, but do busk on occasion to hone material.

If I had one bit of advice to anyone who wants to start shifting to being a professional performer, it would be this: Understand it's a business, and a fairly small community.

You absolutely must have a show worth paying for, but you're going to spend much more time selling that show than you are performing it, if you're earning your living through magic.

Learn the business. Learn about taxes (I set aside at least 25% of all earnings), learn about marketing and CRM, learn about budgeting, learn about the pros and cons of incorporating and whether you should or not, learn about effective website design and use, learn about word of mouth advertising.

Also - never speak poorly about another performer. It makes you look bad, and makes the people asking you about that performer feel bad. You never want people feeling bad from interacting with you - you always want them to feel good. That's what gets you hired repeatedly.

Good luck.
 
May 21, 2018
69
28
Cincinnati, OH
For a bit of clarification: I am already interested into moving into a career in Human Resources, but I am looking to perform on weekends. What venues are the most challenging? Which ones are the easiest to break into?
 

Josh Burch

Elite Member
Aug 11, 2011
2,966
1,101
Utah
I am now a full time professional magician and have been for the past year and a half.

This is what it looked like for me. Magic has been my passion for 20 plus years. I got a degree and began teaching French at a Jr. High School. I taught for three years as a part time teacher. At one point I asked my boss what it would take for me to go full time so that I could actually support my family. He said that they weren't interested in expanding my program, so I made plans to leave.

I went back to school and began performing more and more. Eventually between consulting, gigging and other magical fun over the course of a year and a half I began making more than I would have if I had stayed on as a teacher. It just got to a point where the safe, secure job was the magic job.

One of my big breaks was kind of a fluke. A group of senator's hired me to perform for a retreat of theirs at a nice hotel. They found me randomly online and hired me. The hotel liked me and basically hired me on the spot. I now have a seasonal, well paying job at one of the nicest hotels in the state.

Some local companies heard about me through the grape vine and have hired me to consult with them.

I've always networked with magicians and have been lucky enough to consult for some great companies.

The best gigs have always come through word of mouth.
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
For a bit of clarification: I am already interested into moving into a career in Human Resources, but I am looking to perform on weekends. What venues are the most challenging? Which ones are the easiest to break into?

That's different for different areas.

My guess is you'll have an easier time being a strolling magician who does the occasional parlor/party gig. For that path I recommend the book The Approach by Jamie D Grant, which is basically a workbook for doing what you are wanting to do.
 
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RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
Elite Member
Sep 14, 2008
3,637
471
46
Louisville, OH
For me it started out as a hobby and me entertaining my classroom of students at school. I would also just entertain/perform for my friends and family. Then parents started calling me to see if I could be "hired" for birthday parties. I started out only charging between $50.00-$100.00 as I began 19 years ago. Then I got into Blue and Gold Scout Banquets, and other smaller paying gigs. Eventually fast forward to now and I am still doing the birthday party gigs, but charging 3X the rate and taking on corporate gigs as well. It was a lot of learning by jumping into the fire and learning from my mistakes. I would also talk to many members of our local club/ring and ask as many questions as I could to shorten my learning curve.
 
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Josh Burch

Elite Member
Aug 11, 2011
2,966
1,101
Utah
That's different for different areas.

Truth! It is also different depending on the type of magic you perform. This guy is the number one children's magician in the state of Utah. He charges $250 a birthday party.

https://www.utahmagic.com/

He works a lot and is great at what he does.

A few years ago I decided that I wanted to be booked for corporate events and private parties. I tailored my magic, and appearance to fit that type of venue, so when the opportunity came I fit what they needed.

Figure out where you want to perform, see if you can do it if you were asked and if you can't work to get to that point.
 
Apr 4, 2018
64
83
Vancouver, BC
For a bit of clarification: I am already interested into moving into a career in Human Resources, but I am looking to perform on weekends. What venues are the most challenging? Which ones are the easiest to break into?
I've been told to stay away from 8 year old boy's birthday parties. Probably the most dangerous
 
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May 21, 2018
69
28
Cincinnati, OH
I definitely do not want to perform for children, and I know that is basically the cash cow for magicians. I respect those who can do it, but I don't click with kids, getting all hyper, grabbing my props etc. I like performing for adults who have had one or two drinks as I have a lot of fun with them. I don't perform for money, but as far as my favorite performing venue, it is by far a quiet pub or wine-tasting bar. People are in a great mood and love watching me perform, and I love doing it for them.
 

willtupper

Elite Member
Apr 28, 2009
283
335
You might want to take a look at The Book, by Gene Anderson.

A culmination of his life's work up to that point, his lecture notes (a chapter late in the book) on being a "part-time professional" are well-worth the price of admission.

Plus, there is a TON of other material (effects on top of effects) in there as well.
 
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