Jacob,
Congratz on an awesome evening, some powerful magic, and most of all possibly landing a steady gig! It's always good to see people getting out from in front of the webcam and actually working the scene for a minute or three, as opposed to showing off their latest move on crotch pointed cameras over skype as their only outlet for magical presentations.
As the owner of this business Bebo is only going to be interested in what's best for him, and his customers. As long as his customers are happy, and keep buying product, he's happy and will be willing to work with you. So when you're talking about getting a gig at a venue like this it's always good to point out how your magic will increase their sales, bring more people to their venue, keep the servers happy, help with the moral, etc etc etc. Now this may not be the case in this particular instance, because from what it sounds like you've pretty much got the job, but just for your future reference. That's good stuff to know.
As for your pricing, you can approach Bebo with a couple of options, and he may like that. Option 1: You both work the bar on the same night, and he pays a premium for both of your services. Always negotiate for a tip, never assume you're allowed to accept them. Some places won't let you take tips away from the wait staff, and will only pay you your rate at the end of the night! I know I bring this up in How To Get Gigs and Keep Clients, but you never want to low ball yourself to a business owner. As Phenomenon pointed out, these people usually have a budget for marketing, and if you come in too low, they won't take you serious. It's like walking onto a Mercedes lot, and the sales guy telling you a brand new 2012 Sports Coupe is only 12 grand. You'd wonder what the hell is wrong with the car since the MSRP is usually around 70 grand for those things. Same applies. If the guy is used to booking out talent at 300 to 500 a night, and your pitching him at 25 an hour (say you work 4 hours that's only $100) You may be telling him that you're not at the level of entertainment he's looking for to book without even realizing it!
The advantage to this is: Bebo gets twice the magic coverage, twice the draw to his place of business. Two performers have a wider range of material than one, and you can cover more space at the same time. Not to mention he's got two in house marketing machines that can keep promoting the special of the day, or drinks while they are doing magic.
The Disadvantages: For Bebo, it usually means a higher price tag. Double what he'd normally pay for a single entertainer. The other draw back is, for you guys, you'll have to make sure your material is diverse enough to where you're not doing the others stuff.
Option number two: Bebo books you both, but you work solo, alternating weeks. The advantage is of course Bebo is paying less upfront, but the down side is that with only one of you working each week, that means less floor coverage, and it will take you longer to circle the room, or advertise in house specials. But the good news is you get to be less concerned with what the other guy is doing for material.
25 an hour isn't bad for a single guy working, and I've seen it go up to 80$ hour for the top dogs. I'd say average is around 50$ an hour for four hours of work, of course that number was pre-recession so you may be closer to ball park on the 25-40$ mark. If you haven't agreed on terms yet you want to pitch him higher than you expect to get paid. That way you have room to move in. If you normally get 25$ then you want to pitch him at $40 or $50. If he says yes, score! If he bucks you, then drop your price a little and see what he does. Once you go below your expected rate, then you know negotiations are failing and the gig may not be worth your time.
This is what I'd pitch him.
Option 1: Two performers, one night a week on a reappearing bases. The venue has permission to use your name and likeness in it's marketing or advertisements to get the word out about your appearances (and the venue SHOULD promote you!) Minimal booking of no less than two hours per booking with no more than six hours at the rate of $75.00 dollars an hour to be split between both performers (that's $37.50 each) plus tips. First night, as a trial run, is half price. Venue provides each performer with a complementary meal, and fountain drinks, or a discounted meal and fountain drinks the night of their performance.
Option 2: He can book you independently, one night a week, on a reappearing bases. The venue has permission to use your name and likeness in it's marketing or advertisements with a minimal booking of no less than two hours per booking and no more than six hours at the rate of $50.00 plus tip. First night, as a trial run, will be half price. Venue provides each performer with a complementary meal, and fountain drinks, or a discounted meal and fountain drinks the night of their performance.
Option two may look cheaper numbers wise, but if he's a good business man he'll realize he's getting the better deal by booking you both. Either way though, you're going to win.
Tips can either be kept individually or added together and split down the middle between the two of you at the end of the night. Your choice.
Hope you rock this man! This is an excellent opportunity for you to have some fun, and really amaze people too in the process. Keep us posted as to how this turns out for you!
I hope the title got your attention haha. Anyway, my friend and I went to a hookah bar last night just to chill. It was pretty dead (what do you expect at 8:30 on a Tuesday night anyway?) so we're just chillin at our table with some cards when our waitress asks if we are playing cards or messing around. I go "here, say stop for me." and from there it just picked up. She called her friend over, then they called the owner over, who wanted us to show some stuff to his friends sitting across the room. We were performing for them for a while, they were freaking out and we were having a great time. After we were done the owner (Bebo) sat down next to us and started talking to us about our magic and asking us questions about how we got started and all that. (We also got a free refill haha) Then he pitched to us that he wants us to come in on Thursday nights when they have the place packed to perform. SCORE! We are all for it, we have him and his friends our cards, swapped emails, and he's going to put a video of us on the facebook page to promote it. It all sounds awesome, but I have a few concers I was hoping you guys could help me out with.
Mainly it's pricing. I know there are tons on threads and advice on here about it, but we have a unique situation here with two of us. If we are both there, i doubt he would shell out 20-25 bucks an hour for each of us, even if we are there for only two hours. I currently get 25 an hour at the pizza parlour, so I feel like I'm worth at least that much, if not more. What's the best course of action? Either we split the 25 an hour, but that's only 12.50 a piece, and I'm not going that low. Or we alternate weeks, which seems to be the better option. I can always ask for a price, but I have to be prepared for him to say no, you know? We are friends with him now so I don't want to seem like we are trying to rob him. Should I ask him first what he thinks is appropriate? They seem to do pretty well business wise since pretty much every weekend I've been there they have been packed, and it's going to turn into a nightclub soon with the hookah bar on the second floor, so that will attract even more customers.
I'm just looking for advice on what the best course of action here is, since I don't want to screw ourselves or Bebo over. Thanks guys!
Jacob