Hey Jack... welcome to the forums.
The shows you seem to be talking about are referred to "parlor" magic. Essentially a magic show performed in front of a group of people in their living room or parlor. Parlor magic can be for five people or fifty or more.
It would be difficult to do a parlor show with just card tricks. My parlor show has three tricks with cards out of 12 effects. One is a card to bottle, the other is a trick done by two spectators with two decks and the third is a card trick done with five cards in the hands of each spectator.
A parlor show should have a variety of effects. I like classics of magic like Cups & Balls, Linking Rings, Zombie Ball, Egg Bag, Sponge Balls, Rope Magic, Silk Magic, etc. The key is to find effects that you like.
A good starting point is Mark Wilson's book "A Complete Course in Magic." Beyond that, the Tarbell series (the 7 books, not the one volume book) has a tremendous amount of magic that can be used in a parlor show. The underlying methods are excellent, but the presentation needs to be updated. I love Jim Steinmeyer's Conjuring Anthology... it has a bunch of amazing presentations of amazing effects.
Another great option is Genii magazine. With a subscription, you get access to 75 plus years of archives where there is an amazing amount of material.
You also could get a bunch of DVDs that teach the effects you are interested in. L&L Publishing has a lot of great DVDs using the classic props. There are also a lot of prop specific DVDs for sponge balls, cups and balls, linking rings, zombie balls, etc.
In developing a show, you need to develop your character and develop your presentations of the various effects. That is what ties the show together and makes it interesting to watch.
As for doing this as a business, the first step is to develop a show that is professional presented and that people will pay money to have performed. Then you can focus on marketing your show.
A final note, kids shows are something completely different and take a different focus. A lot of people make the mistake in assuming that kids are easy to perform for. It is the opposite. You need to really like working with kids and know how to add the bits and pieces to your show that will keep them interested.
The folks on this forum are great resources. I'd be glad to work with you (as I'm glad to work with anyone on the forums) in building you show.
