Eugene Burger often said, “The house of magic has many rooms.” He usually comes to mind when I’m thinking about performance choices: coins or cards; comedy magic or bizarre; performing solo or with a full dance team. But like any excellent adage, it applies in many ways. Not only are there artistic choices, there are business choices to make. There are rooms in the house of magic for people who perform for free and for pay, for suburban families and international conglomerates, in giant showrooms, small restaurants, and out on the street. I suspect that most of us come to magic because of a passion for the art rather than the prospect of big bucks, and many of us start performing for friends and family. But if you want to take it up a level (or a lot of levels), perform for more people, and make some money (or a lot of money) doing magic, you’ll also have to make choices about what kind of magic business you want to run.
That’s what we’ll cover here: The practical tasks every entrepreneur faces—such as registering a business, negotiating contracts, promoting and advertising your work, getting insurance, managing money, and planning ahead for emergencies and retirement—as well as exploring and comparing different magic practice areas, explaining what you’ll need to succeed and what you can expect as a strolling restaurant magician when four-walling a one-person show, headlining on cruise ships, or making birthday parties memorable and exciting. We’ll investigate what a performer needs to break into different magic markets and how predictable, demanding, and financially rewarding those markets are. We’ll talk about the business side of show biz. The first step in planning a business that’s right for you is to take a moment to consider what your needs, desires, and limitations are. Do some self-evaluation. Think about what life you want and what compromises you are willing to make. Once you have figured out your limitations and needs, you’ll be in a better position to decide what kind of magic business you want to have. Do you want to perform full-time or part-time? Is your day job a career and a priority, or something temporary you will quit if it interferes with a gig? Do you want a steady paycheck, a health plan, and a pension to provide security?