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Coffee Place Magic

Toby

Toby

Sep 1, 2007
1,395
8
40
Belgrade, Serbia
Hey guys,

I need couple of advices. I am about to work in a coffee place as a magician. But these coffee places in my country are opened until 1am (so you can call it coffee place/bar). I'm planing to work in the early evening. It will be like table hopping magic, for people while they are waiting for drinks. So I have a few questions.

1. For how many hours should I work? 2, 3, 4 hours, all night?

2. How much to charge for it? Should I charge by hour, or by day, or to have a fix month pay?

Sorry if these questions have been answered before, but I could only find a restaurant gigs questions (I guess it's not the same), or the ones for the close up show...

Thanx
 
chriswiehl said:
i would say about 4 hours
150-200
people will say thats not much. but you can always work your way up.
i would say 200 for 4 hours
or, 50 dollars an hour
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first time, 200? No.
They wont go for that, its not a comfortable thing.
How about fifty and tips?

My first gig was twenty and tips, and i walked out with 110. I was always taught to earn your wages in tips, but thats just me.
 
I thought recieving tips cheapend the experience for the spectator? or is that just for street magic that you are not getting paid for?

Fez
 
I have done a bit of Coffee Shop magic. This is what I would do. tell them 50 for an hour 75 for two plus tips, with the tips you receive give some to the servers (in a jar they can split) as a thank you. you don't want the servers to think you are taking their money. Go to the shop with 3-4 different routines with 3-4 different tricks per routine. Cycle threw the routines form table to table. If you are doing really well on tips offer to stay longer for no additional charge, if tips are not going you way (really depends on the night) then leave after your time is done. When you are done at your table always say something like "Thank you guys for your time and your tip, if you liked the entertainment be sure to tell a manager so they will have me back"
 
I believe your level of experience should reflect the price you charge per hour. By experience I don't just mean practicing tricks and showmanship, that's a major part of it though. I mean having good people skills, knowing how to entertain, and understanding that you are there for a reason other than boosting your ego. :D

If this is your first professional gig, I would probably charge 50 dollars for every 3-4 hours and tips. I'm sure you'll find it will get to a point in the early stages that you're pulling in more money off of tips than hourly wages.

You gotta walk before you can run.
 
magicfreak667 said:
first time, 200? No.
They wont go for that, its not a comfortable thing.
How about fifty and tips?

My first gig was twenty and tips, and i walked out with 110. I was always taught to earn your wages in tips, but thats just me.
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Michael Kras said:
I walked into a restaurant patio during a big festival, did 15 minutes of table hopping without getting caught, and made $50 in tips... just goes to show you...
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So, how do you receive tips? Do people just reach in their wallet and give you money, or they include it when they are paying for the drinks? Can someone explain to me how all that tips stuff is going/happening?
Luka said:
I have done a bit of Coffee Shop magic. This is what I would do. tell them 50 for an hour 75 for two plus tips, with the tips you receive give some to the servers (in a jar they can split) as a thank you. you don't want the servers to think you are taking their money. Go to the shop with 3-4 different routines with 3-4 different tricks per routine. Cycle threw the routines form table to table. If you are doing really well on tips offer to stay longer for no additional charge, if tips are not going you way (really depends on the night) then leave after your time is done. When you are done at your table always say something like "Thank you guys for your time and your tip, if you liked the entertainment be sure to tell a manager so they will have me back"
Click to expand...

industrialchild said:
I believe your level of experience should reflect the price you charge per hour. By experience I don't just mean practicing tricks and showmanship, that's a major part of it though. I mean having good people skills, knowing how to entertain, and understanding that you are there for a reason other than boosting your ego. :D

If this is your first professional gig, I would probably charge 50 dollars for every 3-4 hours and tips. I'm sure you'll find it will get to a point in the early stages that you're pulling in more money off of tips than hourly wages.

You gotta walk before you can run.
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Thanx for your reply guys, really helpful. This IS my first professional gig as a magician, but I have worked with people in the past. I am a basketball coach, so working with people was my job.
I am also skilled magician (with sleights), and have been performing for strangers in the past. I was also thinking about 50 per night + tips. But, again, can please someone explain to me how the tips work?

Also, one more question. This Coffee place has like a bench, with 5 tables. So there will be like 5 different groups of people sitting together. How do I perform then? One table at a time (even thou they are like a feet away), or maybe 2-3 at a time? How would you handle this situation?

Thanx again
 
Toby said:
So, how do you receive tips? Do people just reach in their wallet and give you money, or they include it when they are paying for the drinks? Can someone explain to me how all that tips stuff is going/happening?



Thanx for your reply guys, really helpful. This IS my first professional gig as a magician, but I have worked with people in the past. I am a basketball coach, so working with people was my job.
I am also skilled magician (with sleights), and have been performing for strangers in the past. I was also thinking about 50 per night + tips. But, again, can please someone explain to me how the tips work?

Also, one more question. This Coffee place has like a bench, with 5 tables. So there will be like 5 different groups of people sitting together. How do I perform then? One table at a time (even thou they are like a feet away), or maybe 2-3 at a time? How would you handle this situation?

Thanx again
Click to expand...

Well for the most part, it's the customer's will and conviction whether or not they want to tip you. There are some steps you can take to put the idea of tipping in the customer's mind by utilizing a few money related effects, such as a bill change like the classic One Hundred Dollar Bill switch or Extreme Burn; On the Real Secerts of Magic DVD, David Stone has a wonderful effect on there where he tears a piece of napkin that he borrows from a spectator and changes it into a twenty and pockets it.

As far as performing for different groups that are that close together, I would still perform I one group at a time, but using my body kind of like a screen to prevent other groups to see exactly what i'm doing. They will still be able to see and hear the reactions from the people that you are performing for and make them think, "Hey, they're having fun, I want to have fun too...:D BRING IT ON!!!"

It's been a couple of years since I have done any walk-around for profit, but eventually I want to pursue restaurant work. My biggest piece of advice to you is invest in business cards. Whenever you perform for a group, if you make a connection with them and they like you; break them off with a business card. When I was doing walk-around, I thought at the time that would be my only gig for awhile, but thanks to my business cards I landed some birthday parties, a couple more walk-around gigs, and my clients were happy also because what I think would happen alot of times is somebody that I would give a business card to would take it back to work with him and in turn promote me and the place where I was working, by talking about the magic they saw.

Lots of food for thought here and i'm sorry for going on and on, but at any rate I wish you luck with your future endeavors.

Sincerely,
David
 
industrialchild said:
Well for the most part, it's the customer's will and conviction whether or not they want to tip you. There are some steps you can take to put the idea of tipping in the customer's mind by utilizing a few money related effects, such as a bill change like the classic One Hundred Dollar Bill switch or Extreme Burn; On the Real Secerts of Magic DVD, David Stone has a wonderful effect on there where he tears a piece of napkin that he borrows from a spectator and changes it into a twenty and pockets it.
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Yeah, I get the idea of having some effect, or one liner to subtly ask for tips, but I still don't get HOW do I receive it. On the spot? Or when they pay for the drinks, or maybe some third way?
industrialchild said:
As far as performing for different groups that are that close together, I would still perform I one group at a time, but using my body kind of like a screen to prevent other groups to see exactly what i'm doing. They will still be able to see and hear the reactions from the people that you are performing for and make them think, "Hey, they're having fun, I want to have fun too...:D BRING IT ON!!!"
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Well, it's kind of hard to shade it with your body, because you can't get between groups. They are literally sitting next to each other, but I will try to thing of something. I have another issue to ask. The tables are really low, and I'm really tall (6'6"). And I never performed magic while I'm bent down (not in a sexy way :p ). Do I bring my self a chair and sit with them, or do I have to bend down?
industrialchild said:
It's been a couple of years since I have done any walk-around for profit, but eventually I want to pursue restaurant work. My biggest piece of advice to you is invest in business cards. Whenever you perform for a group, if you make a connection with them and they like you; break them off with a business card. When I was doing walk-around, I thought at the time that would be my only gig for awhile, but thanks to my business cards I landed some birthday parties, a couple more walk-around gigs, and my clients were happy also because what I think would happen alot of times is somebody that I would give a business card to would take it back to work with him and in turn promote me and the place where I was working, by talking about the magic they saw.

Lots of food for thought here and i'm sorry for going on and on, but at any rate I wish you luck with your future endeavors.

Sincerely,
David
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's a great advice. I have a few business card effects, and I can just hand them over after the trick.

Thanx for your help, really appreciate it
 
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