I was talking with one of my mentors last night and during the course of our conversation the subject of marketing oneself came up. I wanted to share this story with everyone here because I think the moral is sound enough that we should all pay attention to it.
There once was a young magician who was very happy to get a job working demonstrations behind the counter at his local magic shop, but after spending three years in his position he was starting to get a little discouraged. He had aspirations of becoming something bigger with himself, and he thought that working the counter where other magicians would see him was the way to open the doors he wanted to walk through.
One day a famous magician, one whose name he recognized, and well respected, walked through the door to the magic shop, and after the usual business of the store was conducted, the young magician asked the established professional "How do you do it?"
The older, wiser, and more established professional looked quite puzzled at the young magi's quandary. "I don't believe I understand what you mean by that." He replied.
"Well look at you. You're always working, you're making it, your name is recognized, respected, and you have everything that I would want for my career. How do you do it? What's your secret?" replied the young man rather quite earnestly.
A long pause followed the question. It was apparent that the older magician was thinking. Trying to formulate exactly how to respond to such an important question. To the young magi the passing time could have seemed like an eternity, however eventually the older magician spoke.
"I know a guy, his name is William Schultz. He lives out in Phoenix, and he's a major event booker who does all the big corporate shows. I can introduce you to him, and at first he may only use you once or twice a month, but if you show him you can do it, and are loyal, he'll increase you to four to six times a month. Maybe even more!" the older magician said. The young man could do nothing but listen intently. The thought about taking notes quickly flashed through his mind, and he scrambled to find a pen and paper while the older magician continued on.
"Now you're going to need a few things. First are head shots. You want them in color, not black and white, because that's how they are doing it now days. Don't worry, I have a girl who can do those for you. You'll also need business cards, and a website. Both can be produced for next to nothing. We can print business cards from my computer, and use one of my Apple programs to publish a cheap website just so you can get some online exposure. Once you start working, you can upgrade to a more professional one then. He also will want a demo video, but I'll tell you EXACTLY what he wants to see. He wants to only see three effects. He can book you anywhere, any place, any time with just these three effects. So you want to open with a strait jacket escape, then do a sword basket, and close with a metamorphoses." The young man's face dropped.
"I don't have any of those..." is all he could manage to say.
"Don't worry, I have them in my garage. You can borrow them, and I'll film you this weekend. We can have you submitted for work by Monday." The magician replied.
The young man was VERY excited! His dreams were about to come true. He had always wanted to be a big time magician, working all over the world, his name up in lights, seeing exotic places, meeting interesting people, and thanks to this almost stranger, it's about to all happen for him. He quickly, almost nervously, tucked away his notes into his backpack behind the counter, and pocketed the pen he was writing with. He wiped the sweat from his palm on his jeans, and with gratitude reached out his hand to shake the older wiser magicians hand. "Thank you very much! When do I start?" he asked while waiting for the magician to shake his hand in return.
That hand shake never came. The older, wiser, magician stood there for a moment, pausing for effect before he spoke the words that would destroy that young magicians hopes. "William Schultz doesn't exist. In fact no one like that exists. If you want to know how I get my bookings, it's because I'm working on it eight hours a day seven days a week. If I'm not working, I'm out meeting people, and marketing myself. There is no body out there that is just going to do that for you. Take responsibility for yourself. That is why I'm the one touring the world, and you're going to be the one working behind the counter when I come back here three years from now." With that, the older magician collected his purchased products, and walked out the door leaving the young magician just standing there behind the desk in silent shock.
The moral of the story is to take responsibility for your own show. We allow ourselves to become delusional with the Hollywood myth of over night success. Some talent person will come out of no where, find me on a street corner, say I'm the one, and the next thing you know I'll be out working all the big shows! The truth is, it doesn't work that way. If you want to get work, you got to work for it! Market yourself, push yourself, meet people, shake hands, and pound the pavement. Create marketing tools for yourself, such as a good demo, business cards, websites, etc and actually use them once you get them. Practice your magic, develop an act, and be able to entertain a crowed. No one is going to be able to do this for you. You have dreams, goals, and aspirations, make sure you're working towards achieving them every day!
Now go get them!
There once was a young magician who was very happy to get a job working demonstrations behind the counter at his local magic shop, but after spending three years in his position he was starting to get a little discouraged. He had aspirations of becoming something bigger with himself, and he thought that working the counter where other magicians would see him was the way to open the doors he wanted to walk through.
One day a famous magician, one whose name he recognized, and well respected, walked through the door to the magic shop, and after the usual business of the store was conducted, the young magician asked the established professional "How do you do it?"
The older, wiser, and more established professional looked quite puzzled at the young magi's quandary. "I don't believe I understand what you mean by that." He replied.
"Well look at you. You're always working, you're making it, your name is recognized, respected, and you have everything that I would want for my career. How do you do it? What's your secret?" replied the young man rather quite earnestly.
A long pause followed the question. It was apparent that the older magician was thinking. Trying to formulate exactly how to respond to such an important question. To the young magi the passing time could have seemed like an eternity, however eventually the older magician spoke.
"I know a guy, his name is William Schultz. He lives out in Phoenix, and he's a major event booker who does all the big corporate shows. I can introduce you to him, and at first he may only use you once or twice a month, but if you show him you can do it, and are loyal, he'll increase you to four to six times a month. Maybe even more!" the older magician said. The young man could do nothing but listen intently. The thought about taking notes quickly flashed through his mind, and he scrambled to find a pen and paper while the older magician continued on.
"Now you're going to need a few things. First are head shots. You want them in color, not black and white, because that's how they are doing it now days. Don't worry, I have a girl who can do those for you. You'll also need business cards, and a website. Both can be produced for next to nothing. We can print business cards from my computer, and use one of my Apple programs to publish a cheap website just so you can get some online exposure. Once you start working, you can upgrade to a more professional one then. He also will want a demo video, but I'll tell you EXACTLY what he wants to see. He wants to only see three effects. He can book you anywhere, any place, any time with just these three effects. So you want to open with a strait jacket escape, then do a sword basket, and close with a metamorphoses." The young man's face dropped.
"I don't have any of those..." is all he could manage to say.
"Don't worry, I have them in my garage. You can borrow them, and I'll film you this weekend. We can have you submitted for work by Monday." The magician replied.
The young man was VERY excited! His dreams were about to come true. He had always wanted to be a big time magician, working all over the world, his name up in lights, seeing exotic places, meeting interesting people, and thanks to this almost stranger, it's about to all happen for him. He quickly, almost nervously, tucked away his notes into his backpack behind the counter, and pocketed the pen he was writing with. He wiped the sweat from his palm on his jeans, and with gratitude reached out his hand to shake the older wiser magicians hand. "Thank you very much! When do I start?" he asked while waiting for the magician to shake his hand in return.
That hand shake never came. The older, wiser, magician stood there for a moment, pausing for effect before he spoke the words that would destroy that young magicians hopes. "William Schultz doesn't exist. In fact no one like that exists. If you want to know how I get my bookings, it's because I'm working on it eight hours a day seven days a week. If I'm not working, I'm out meeting people, and marketing myself. There is no body out there that is just going to do that for you. Take responsibility for yourself. That is why I'm the one touring the world, and you're going to be the one working behind the counter when I come back here three years from now." With that, the older magician collected his purchased products, and walked out the door leaving the young magician just standing there behind the desk in silent shock.
The moral of the story is to take responsibility for your own show. We allow ourselves to become delusional with the Hollywood myth of over night success. Some talent person will come out of no where, find me on a street corner, say I'm the one, and the next thing you know I'll be out working all the big shows! The truth is, it doesn't work that way. If you want to get work, you got to work for it! Market yourself, push yourself, meet people, shake hands, and pound the pavement. Create marketing tools for yourself, such as a good demo, business cards, websites, etc and actually use them once you get them. Practice your magic, develop an act, and be able to entertain a crowed. No one is going to be able to do this for you. You have dreams, goals, and aspirations, make sure you're working towards achieving them every day!
Now go get them!
