I`m a Beginner. Is it ok to only sale myself as a walk around magician?

[GrahamHorgan]

Hi Guys.

Being a beginner and just starting my own business. What is your suggestions on doing shows right at the start? As they would be harder than walk around because of needing stronger audience management etc. Do you think I should take every show that I`m offered? Or only sell myself services as walk around style for now? How did you guys start off? I would love to know.

Thank you.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

There's a lot of folks out there that basically do parlor/stage gigs in order to sell their walk around services. It's much easier to get walk around gigs, because there's less of a requirement on the venue. They just need to have a crowd of people for you to entertain. For stage shows you need a stage, lighting, audio equipment, ticketing, seating, etc. A lot of overhead.

I will also say, walk around needs more audience management than shows. With a show, you're automatically established as the guy in charge. With walk around, you have to establish yourself with each new group.

You want to take the gigs that will be beneficial to you. That will be different for each person, but there are some guide lines. For one - if you take too many free gigs, you establish that your price is "free". Be very careful with that. If you take gigs that don't suit your character or performance style you'll hurt your reputation. You can be less worried about this when you are very new, but it doesn't take long for a reputation to be established so try to always put your best foot forward.

I started with busking and quickly moved to doing parlor styled shows, personally.

 

[Lord Magic]

Restaurant magic should be the best option.
And I guess you should take every show offered to you IF you are a beginner in professional magic, as in trying to earn moment through magic.
But if you are a beginner in the whole concept of magic...guess you should first get your confidence levels up.
Once you get established as a magician in your local areas (not as a restaurant magician...just a magician, which should not be too difficult, most restaurants these days don't want a typical magician, it is more like a secret agreement between the manager and the magician, so to the spectators it looks like you are just a street magician like the ones on TV---but actually you are a paid magician who has the complete right to show magic there) you will have an easier time getting people there to see your magic.
Then you can shoot videos there with some friend, you tube is a great way to propel ourselves these days, look at Cyril Takayama. Maybe you can send the clips to some channel on TV too and get your own show!
Or else, no doubt that once you become a household name in your local areas, your fame will spread. Someone will talk to someone else from somewhere else, etc, and your name will spread.


And I don't feel it will be a good choice to ignore any show proposals now...
At this stage, you don't want any organisers to feel you are big-headed. Anyways, you have gotta get out and perform, why wait?

OPPURTUNITIES don't come, they are made.

PS:sorry for the long reply, AND the looong bracket earlier

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

@Lord Magic - Are you a professional?

 

[TylerScottIllusionist]

I started off busking to better my skills and interactions with people. Busking is one of the best ways to see where you are at as a performer. Not a whole lot of my busking set goes into my stage set but that's okay because busking still teaches me how to be entertaining. Magic effects are just the tools that I use to be entertaining.

As far as a stage show goes, be sure you absolutely want to do it. I just wrote, directed, produced, and starred in my own headlining stage act and it was the most difficult project I have ever tackled. It ended up being a ninety minute show with a packed house. Due to a delay of a venue dropping, it also took my team and I nine months to produce everything and the investment it took to put it on was overwhelming.

What I would do if I were you is just get experience busking and then hand out business cards. When you are handing out the business cards, be specific that you are looking for walk-around gigs. Busking is also a great way to advertise yourself for free.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Lord Magic]

@Lord Magic - Are you a professional?

Why eh?

Bad insensible advice?

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

It's one of two things - A) Someone who is guessing what it takes to be a professional magician, and presenting it like they know for sure, or B) Someone who has had a fairly unusual path in becoming a professional.

Rather than assume you're giving advice on a subject you have no experience with, I thought it would be best to see if you are in fact option B.

 

[TylerScottIllusionist]

To be fair, are any of us professionals on here? Who would actually know?

Most of the people that preach on here have no video or photo evidence of them performing so we just have to take them at their word. And the ones that do share videos of them performing, it is often done to a camera so it could have been dozens of takes for them to get it right. We would truly never know how they actually are in front of a live situation. In an age where cameras are literally everywhere, why wouldn't a professional want to grab as much marketing material as they could?

People can talk on here all day long about how great their performances are and how well spectators reacted to it. But until I see actual evidence, I just roll my eyes and move on. If I were hiring a magician for an event, I would need to see proof that they can entertain.

Edit: With the exception of a few of course. @obrienmagic you are overvalidated as a professional!

 

[Lord Magic]

It's one of two things - A) Someone who is guessing what it takes to be a professional magician, and presenting it like they know for sure, or B) Someone who has had a fairly unusual path in becoming a professional.

Rather than assume you're giving advice on a subject you have no experience with, I thought it would be best to see if you are in fact option B.

Of course am not...
And I did not know that it was such bad advice...lol
Sorry so...haha
Actually that was a path suggested by one of the books I had read, and I SWEAR if I ever remember the name I would tell you (was trying to remember the name for sooo many days, which is why the reply is so late...lol again)
So I thought if I could help the guy, I should and honestly speaking, I would never pretend to be something am not. What's the point? You would ask me something thinking am a proffessional and then I would not be able to answer, so ultimately I would be the one who's fooled.

Nope, thank you
But the thing is, is it necessary to be a working magician in order to give advice? On becoming a working magician, of course, but on how to perform the art, how to appeal to spectators, for that I guess any good magician can give advice. I mean just because one does not earn from magic YET...they cannot be labelled as hobbyists, can they? A doctor who used to do magic in his childhood can be a better magician than Blaine!


That being said, my bad for it appearing as if am a working magician. Believe me, it was not deliberate.
But yeah, I guess I should have added that in my post as well, that am not a working magician...

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

is it necessary to be a working magician in order to give advice? On becoming a working magician, of course,

This is a thread about being a working magician. In this thread specifically, giving advice without being clear that you're not speaking from experience, is misleading.

I have no problem with amateurs - they are often the innovators in magic. Professionals are too busy looking for the next gig.

However, amateurs have a different (often woefully incomplete) view of the business side of things. So if you're going to be giving advice that you have not personally tested, it's best to make that clear.

Anyway. This is drifting away from the original post and not really contributing anything.

To the OP - I'll just restate - not only is it OK, it's probably advisable to sell yourself as a walk around magician as it's an ample market with few technical requirements that allows for flexibility in booking gigs.

 

[TylerScottIllusionist]

I was reminded by other forums of a book that was really helpful to me about doing magic for money titled "The Approach" by Jamie D. Grant. I picked it up this summer at a magic convention and finished and I have to say that it was one of the better magic books I have read.....and it doesn't teach tricks. Jamie D. Grant covers practically everything you would ever need to know in the book from clipping your fingernails to how to book your first gig. Can't recommend it enough for what you want to do since it is catered more towards walk around magicians.

 

[GrahamHorgan]

There's a lot of folks out there that basically do parlor/stage gigs in order to sell their walk around services. It's much easier to get walk around gigs, because there's less of a requirement on the venue. They just need to have a crowd of people for you to entertain. For stage shows you need a stage, lighting, audio equipment, ticketing, seating, etc. A lot of overhead.

I will also say, walk around needs more audience management than shows. With a show, you're automatically established as the guy in charge. With walk around, you have to establish yourself with each new group.

You want to take the gigs that will be beneficial to you. That will be different for each person, but there are some guide lines. For one - if you take too many free gigs, you establish that your price is "free". Be very careful with that. If you take gigs that don't suit your character or performance style you'll hurt your reputation. You can be less worried about this when you are very new, but it doesn't take long for a reputation to be established so try to always put your best foot forward.

I started with busking and quickly moved to doing parlor styled shows, personally.

Thank you Christopher. That was a brilliant answer.

 

[GrahamHorgan]

Restaurant magic should be the best option.
And I guess you should take every show offered to you IF you are a beginner in professional magic, as in trying to earn moment through magic.
But if you are a beginner in the whole concept of magic...guess you should first get your confidence levels up.
Once you get established as a magician in your local areas (not as a restaurant magician...just a magician, which should not be too difficult, most restaurants these days don't want a typical magician, it is more like a secret agreement between the manager and the magician, so to the spectators it looks like you are just a street magician like the ones on TV---but actually you are a paid magician who has the complete right to show magic there) you will have an easier time getting people there to see your magic.
Then you can shoot videos there with some friend, you tube is a great way to propel ourselves these days, look at Cyril Takayama. Maybe you can send the clips to some channel on TV too and get your own show!
Or else, no doubt that once you become a household name in your local areas, your fame will spread. Someone will talk to someone else from somewhere else, etc, and your name will spread.


And I don't feel it will be a good choice to ignore any show proposals now...
At this stage, you don't want any organisers to feel you are big-headed. Anyways, you have gotta get out and perform, why wait?

OPPURTUNITIES don't come, they are made.

PS:sorry for the long reply, AND the looong bracket earlier

Lord Magic, thank you. That was a really great answer. Very supportive. Thank you.

 

[GrahamHorgan]

I was reminded by other forums of a book that was really helpful to me about doing magic for money titled "The Approach" by Jamie D. Grant. I picked it up this summer at a magic convention and finished and I have to say that it was one of the better magic books I have read.....and it doesn't teach tricks. Jamie D. Grant covers practically everything you would ever need to know in the book from clipping your fingernails to how to book your first gig. Can't recommend it enough for what you want to do since it is catered more towards walk around magicians.

Thank you Tyler. The Approach is a book I must get. I've heard great things about it. RealityOne originally recommended to me. Now you're adding to that list.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Add another vote for The Approach.

 

[Glenn West]

Hi Guys.

Being a beginner and just starting my own business. What is your suggestions on doing shows right at the start? As they would be harder than walk around because of needing stronger audience management etc. Do you think I should take every show that I`m offered? Or only sell myself services as walk around style for now? How did you guys start off? I would love to know.

Thank you.

"Being a beginner and just starting my own business. What is your suggestions on doing shows right at the start?"

How long have you been doing magic? What do you mean by "shows?"
Since you mention "starting my own business" I assume you mean paid gigs. If you're just beginning, the answer should be you should NOT be doing ANY paid gigs "right at the start".

That's not to say you can't, or shouldn't, be performing. You should probably be still performing for friends and family. Hell, if people you know are having a party, or a get together, if you feel comfortable with it, could be a GREAT place to "perform." Assuming it's ok with whoever is hosting, bring a deck or 2, and just casually show tricks to your friends and family.
Doing this you can work on your persona, confidence, and audience management/interaction.

Eventually you can then make the jump to actual payed work. Likely will start with doing more formal "shows" for your family or friends.
Restaurants can be a great place to work, and while they can provide weekly work, many are using them to get further gigs doing shows.

 

[GrahamHorgan]

"Being a beginner and just starting my own business. What is your suggestions on doing shows right at the start?"

How long have you been doing magic? What do you mean by "shows?"
Since you mention "starting my own business" I assume you mean paid gigs. If you're just beginning, the answer should be you should NOT be doing ANY paid gigs "right at the start".

That's not to say you can't, or shouldn't, be performing. You should probably be still performing for friends and family. Hell, if people you know are having a party, or a get together, if you feel comfortable with it, could be a GREAT place to "perform." Assuming it's ok with whoever is hosting, bring a deck or 2, and just casually show tricks to your friends and family.
Doing this you can work on your persona, confidence, and audience management/interaction.

Eventually you can then make the jump to actual payed work. Likely will start with doing more formal "shows" for your family or friends.
Restaurants can be a great place to work, and while they can provide weekly work, many are using them to get further gigs doing shows.

Hi Glenn.

I`ve been doing magic to family and friends with 10 years now. The last year or so I`ve been thinking seriously about doing it a professional/paid magician. You`re right. I won`t be charging the first dosen shows or so as i`m inexperienced. And I understand thats why I cannot charge yet. I wouldn`t be at my best self as I would lack confidence. But right now I`m putting my name out there as a magician. If i`m contacted I will be honest about how it is. That i`m new to the business and inexperienced working in the professional field and so on. But after a few free shows. I hope to gradually charge and work up to that professional/paid magician. And doing the resturant magic would be something I would love to go for some day.

Sorry I didnt really answer your first two questions. I am doing magic 10 years. I ment by "shows". Just the typical being on stage doing a magic show for a crowd. I was thinking if I was to start off doing walk arounds to build up my confidence. Then later on I could start doing shows. I hope that makes sense. Even though I relaise now I shouldnt turn down really anything.

 

[Glenn West]

Hi Glenn.

I`ve been doing magic to family and friends with 10 years now. The last year or so I`ve been thinking seriously about doing it a professional/paid magician. You`re right. I won`t be charging the first dosen shows or so as i`m inexperienced. And I understand thats why I cannot charge yet. I wouldn`t be at my best self as I would lack confidence. But right now I`m putting my name out there as a magician. If i`m contacted I will be honest about how it is. That i`m new to the business and inexperienced working in the professional field and so on. But after a few free shows. I hope to gradually charge and work up to that professional/paid magician. And doing the resturant magic would be something I would love to go for some day.

Sorry I didnt really answer your first two questions. I am doing magic 10 years. I ment by "shows". Just the typical being on stage doing a magic show for a crowd. I was thinking if I was to start off doing walk arounds to build up my confidence. Then later on I could start doing shows. I hope that makes sense. Even though I relaise now I shouldnt turn down really anything.

That sounds good. Are you looking to turn this into a career? Or just want to grow as a magician/performer?

 

[GrahamHorgan]

That sounds good. Are you looking to turn this into a career? Or just want to grow as a magician/performer?

A career. I'm taking a start your own business course just so I can acquire better knowledge for that side of it. But yeah. The dream is to be a working magician. Get people boooing me for you their events.

 

[Glenn West]

A career. I'm taking a start your own business course just so I can acquire better knowledge for that side of it. But yeah. The dream is to be a working magician. Get people boooing me for you their events.

Cool!