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Michael Taggert Special user Fredericksburg Virginia 656 Posts |
Inquiring minds want to know!
I am under consrtuction with a similar space here. Mike |
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muzicman Special user LaCenter, Wa 989 Posts |
The Malls are hurting right now in my area. Large chains are pulling out and leaving some pretty big holes.
That is actually good news for me!! I actually have 3 malls competing to have my business. I am looking at some warehouse space in one mall that would make the perfect theater. It's away from the crowds and MUCH cheaper than a store front. A simple kiosk is all I need to start this out. a 42" plasma looping a 6 minute infomercial gives them an idea of what to expect. Buster, my Axtell animatronic Toucan will be out there when not perfoming birthday parties interacting with the public. I do not need to book parties all day 7 days a week to make this work. I can book parties evenings and weekends only and have plenty of revenue to pay expenses and make a living. Honestly, 3 shows a week is all I need to pay for this warehouse and kiosk. 5 shows a week pays my insurance, utilities and rented space. Everything over 5 shows a week is pure profit. My startup model runs at $80 a show. Unlike others, I do not have the expenses of a large playspace. I offer a service and a product(DVD) that costs me pennies. I have a website that will be my store front. It will provide a behind the scenes look and explore the values in such a party. I'll share the official website when I launch it but here's a teaser that was the beginning stages of it. This was just a test of the interactivity and the first displayable website prototype. The latest version stars Buster instead of the dragonfly, and all the happy face icons have been replaced with pics of my props and toys. This is JUST a teaser so you get an idea of what I was shooting for in a website. http://cklivin.com/itsmagic.swf |
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ColinDymond Special user Gloucestershire, England 675 Posts |
Hi Muzicman.
The web site looks great and I love the idea. I would have started at a higher price. At the moment it looks too good to be true and you know what they say about that! Good luck.
Colin Dymond
www.aceofdiamonds.co.uk |
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Al Kazam the Magic Man Inner circle Living in Perth Western Australia 1042 Posts |
I can't seem to get how the website works. At least for now anyways.
Best, JoJo
Magic guy in Perth Australia
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Red Shadow Inner circle 1788 Posts |
The website is flash (swf), which means 50% of your visitors won't be able to see it. It takes far too long to load. It looks amazing, but it inpractical for a business. You can keep it, but have a basic html page as well, with a splash screen to let your visitors choose which one to visit, that way you don't lose any business.
You shop front, should be your shop front though. Not a website. If you have a space in a mall, that is where all your traffic and potential customers will see you. You should make it look glamorous. You need to be at the shop during the weekdays, to get the bookings for the weekends. You will have to sit behind the counter and answer the phone for people wanting to make a booking. So this is not a weekend only job, its a 24/7 job. You should raise your prices. Even McDonald's charge over $150. If your a pro, putting on a show, you should be equally priced. Go to your local restaurant and ask how much they charge for their shows, so that you can match them. The actual play area will need 'kitting out'. Painted walls, foam borders, chairs, tables, napkins, party bags, paper plates, maintained toilets for children and adults. This will cost a lot of money and so your initial overheads will be huge. Then as you are in a hired building, you will need licences for all your music, electrical safety certificates, increased public liability etc. You might want to check on the mall, to see if they have any of that covered, or can give you a price on it. So you do 5 shows for free, that pay your bills. For the first few months, any additional shows will be paying your initial start up costs. And lets not forget that it will take time for parents to know you exist, and book you. So getting 5 parties a week will be highly unlikely at least for the first few months. But even if you got one every weeknight, and three on a Saturday, 2 on a Sunday. Which is highly unlikely, to be constant. That's only ten shows a week. Its a lot of work for the wages of just 5 shows. It seems to me that there are easier jobs, that pay more. I hope it works for you, but right down a list of all the things you would expect at a party, and see how much it will cost you to buy and prepare the room. Its going to cost a lot more than you are realising... Steve P.S: if you do go ahead with this, buy a bouncy castle & parachute. It will eat up a good 30 minutes of the party and is big and visual, that plays well for the video camera. |
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muzicman Special user LaCenter, Wa 989 Posts |
I've only provided the basics of my theater business. Of course my website will load faster than that first prototype. There is also a non flash version that loads if you do not have flash installed. My website is where the majority will likely book their parties. The "free" mini shows I perform during non-party times will drive traffic to it.
My prices are actually $160 but I am offering 50% off because I am new to the area. The business is new to consumers, and I'm willing to operate in the red for the first 6-8 months. Each show should generate more shows and every DVD that goes home is designed as an infomercial as well. With 1000-1500 kids a day in my area celebrating birthdays between the ages of 4-12, I would like just a small sliver of them to make this work. My website has a calender with timeslots for each party that can be booked online for a small deposit. My original timeslots designated total over 40 per week. 2 weeks ago,I did a 3 free mini shows at a major mall to show the mall management what I was all about and had better than expected results. I received 248 inquiries for additional info and pricing info from that single days work. There is nothing in Portland Oregon that even comes close to celebrating a birthday, or any other event. I'm encouraged to continue the negotiation process with mall management, not to mention 100's of parents wanting to book their kids party TODAY, even though their b-days are months away. The economy problems have delayed my launch but it will launch. In order for this business to succeed, I know my expenses have to be rock bottom and my show top quality. I own all my own music, props, store fixtures, theater lights and sound. My only expense is rent space, utilities, and show consumables ($1.87 per show). I will need to change shows each year so part of my profit goes toward that. Things wear out and need repairing (like the PC for the video editing and DVD burning). Getting clients to pay the bills is not my #1 concern. What concerns me the most is burnout. How long can I keep the pace and stay healthy? I realize going into this that it's not a 40 hour a week job. It's actually over 100 hours a week but for the most part, it's "fun" work. |
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Kevinr Inner circle 1854 Posts |
Update?
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muzicman Special user LaCenter, Wa 989 Posts |
I attempted to leave my telecom job to start my new business. My company did not want me to leave so they offered a substantial raise to keep me around. I took the bait but I have not given up on my Magic Birthday Theater. The increase in my day job is allowing me more prep time to launch.
My local mall is also interested in allowing me a large store that I pay based on my income from the shows. This is really tempting!! I have all the props, hardware, software, lights, camera, music and enthusiasm to start this show today, but letting go of a 6 figure day job is really hard to do. If anything, I have a great retirement ahead of me making kids birthdays memorable and more fun than anything they have ever imagined. |
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Futureal Inner circle 1695 Posts |
I believe the term "It's Magic!" is trademarked by Milt Larsen et al.
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keeblem Inner circle Essex, UK 1167 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-07-05 14:01, muzicman wrote: but letting go of a 6 figure day job is really hard to do. If anything, I have a great retirement ahead of me making kids birthdays memorable and more fun than anything they have ever imagined. Should we live our lives chasing as much money as we can or doing something that we really want to do - that is fun and fullfilling. I'm sure your telecoms job is ok - but is it really what you want to do? Read this article: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/01......-in-you/ Mark |
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Red Shadow Inner circle 1788 Posts |
My advice, keep the telecoms job and just stick to doing birthday parties in the evenings and weekends.
Your getting all the benefits of performing, and none of the financial risk in either lost income or payouts in rent etc. I will add one more idea to this which relates to the project. We have a 'Magic Bar' over here in the UK, Called Illusions (http://www.illusionsmagicbar.co.uk/home.php), its basically a bar located in a mini-mall of sorts, that has a table at the back with a staff magician performing throughout the night. While this is geared at adults due to alcoholic drinks on the premises, its similar in nature to what you were planning. Mark (the owner) has 2 bars and they have great Friday and Saturday nights. The rest of the week are steady, but somewhat dependant on what movie releases or world cup games are in the cinema that week which can drive traffic into the bar afterwards. If you were going to pursue the option of a magic venue of sorts in a public shopping area, then you would be wise contacting him as he can help you with many of the questions you might have, with detailed answers on how to solve those problems. Steve |
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Futureal Inner circle 1695 Posts |
Updates?
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