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Daegs Inner circle USA 4291 Posts |
Hello, I am wondering if any of you have any good advice or exercises or anything for working on your confidence when performing magic? My problem is mostly that while I always get good reactions, even at paid shows, I feel that I can never be sure if I am always going to be worth the money.
With other jobs, getting paid is about getting a set amount of work done. Writing a program, finishing a book, building a desk, etc. is all very structured, and you can obviously tell by looking at something whether or not you got it done. But I find that in magic, there is no set bar that you can judge yourself against. I feel lots of pressure when performing a paid show, just because I feel that if someone were to ever say (not that they have) that I wasn't worth the money, there would be no way to answer them. I guess I have most difficulty is that while other jobs you are being paid for an end product, with magic and things like acting, you are just being paid to be yourself, and if you aren't good enough, you won't work anymore. Does anyone else feel this way? Any advice for being confident about charging a fair rate at shows? |
drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts |
I have read in many good magic books that you should charge a fair price and deliver a show that is worth more than what they paid for.
This is good advice. If you think about it, we are talking about what is going on inside your mind. What is a fair price? If Tickles the Clown charges $200 for an hour of bending balloons, and if you have seen Tickles and are not very impressed (or more importantly, if the kids didn't seem all that wild about it), then why not charge $200 for a comparable show? Let's say the kids love you, you feature a kid in a trick and make him or her the hero, you hand out goodie bags, the kids say they want to be magicians when they grow up, the parents say they have never seen a party anything like this, and so on, you would be pretty confident that you had delivered, wouldn't you? I am using a kid show as an example, but you should pick something that applies to your show. You charge a fair price based on what others in your market are charging. Then you deliver more value. Besides a good show, you might get publicity for the group that booked you, you might introduce people to each other at an event, and so on. Look for objective measures of the value of your show. You could also hand out comment cards. Also, elsewhere in the Café (can't find the thread at the moment), someone recommended an exercise in which you repeat to yourself a simple sentence twenty times a day for two weeks. Let's say your show is $200. You repeat: "My show is worth $500." If this works, you will either charge more for your show, or have a great deal of confidence about its value when you ask for "only" $200. Go get 'em! Yours, Paul |
Mike Wild Inner circle NY, PA, TX, MA, FL, NC 1290 Posts |
Well... that about takes care of the "good" answer to this question. Well put Paul... great advice.
Best, Mike |
Daegs Inner circle USA 4291 Posts |
How do you know if your show is worth 500 dollars though? I mean besides taking a look at a magician that charges $499 and saying, "I'm better than he is". Is there no way to "validate" what you charge?
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Jim Snack Inner circle 1338 Posts |
It's not your job to "validate" what you charge. It's your job to offer great service that fills a need in the marketplace and charge a competitive price.
Magicians often under sell themselves. The value of your show is perceived by the purchaser. A show may only be worth $100 to a parent planning a birthday party, but the same show could be worth $500 to a school planning a family night. I have done exactly the same show during the same month for as little as $50 and as much as $3000! In the first case I really wanted to do the show, but they could only afford a travel honorarium. No problem, I said. In the second case, it was a corporation that could afford even more than $3000, and they thought they got deal. There is little, if any, correlation between how talented an artist is and how much money they make. We are talking about two completely different set of skills. You can be the most talented magician in the world and starve if you do not have the business skills that enable you to position yourself and sell your talent in the marketplace. You can do many things to increase the perceived value of your show. For example, one thing that is guaranteed to increase the perceived value of your show is to become well-known, even a celebrity, whether it's on a local, regional, national or international level. David Blaine is no better magician than many of the folks who post here on the Café, but he is certainly better known than most, and can command higher fees. I cover several other things you can do to increase the perceived value of your show in an extensive chapter on setting fees in my Success in Magic course. If you intend to perform professionally, even on a part-time basis, stop worring about it so much and just educate yourself about the marketplace. Then continually seek to improve your business skills as well as your performance skills. As you move up the career ladder, and your date book is as filled as you desire, you can start dropping the lower paying jobs and start accepting more of the better paying ones. A full date book gives one a great deal of confidence when quoting a fee. |
MISTER E New user 46 Posts |
If any part of you feels like you're not worth a certain amount, then you never will be.
First, figure out why you think it is that you're not worthy. If it's because of your sleights, then practice and improve. If it's because of your presentation, then practice and improve. If it's because of your attitude, then practice and improve. Second, get past your "unworthiness" by simply dropping it. Get over it. It's a wall that doesn't exist. Once you can break through that wall, then you can... Third, let it go. When you stop holding on to your "lack of confidence", you can put it behind you and move forward. You don't have a problem, Daegs. You just have a conscience. -E |
Open Traveller Inner circle 1087 Posts |
Daegs,
You're focusing on the wrong thing. Most magicians assume that their job is to do magic tricks. Well...that's not quite true. I mean, the client may feel he or she wants a magician, but what they REALLY want is for their clients or guests to have a good time. So, THAT'S the job we have. Magic is just the medium we use to accomplish that in a unique way. You're worth the money if the people have a great time. That exists almost independently of whether you do good magic or not. It certainly helps to a great degree if the magic is good, but if the people don't really enjoy themselves and talk about it later, all your skill is a waste. So...are you being paid to "be yourself?" Well...no. You're being paid to be someone other people desire to be around, because they know they'll have a good time when they do. That's also how you validate your fee to the client. They may not be aware of what they need themselves (they may just be in the mode of thinking "I just want a magician"), so you explain to them that you're there to make sure the event goes not only well, but super, and THAT'S what you can and will do for them, because their event will be unique and memorable by virtue of the fact that you were there. That's what makes you worth your fee, and if you can get them to understand that, they WILL pay, because they know it's worth it. Of course, then you have to follow through. And yes, there's a set bar you can judge yourself against...just not immediately. Anybody can get hired once, but you know you're doing a good job when people hire you back -- again and again and again. Oh, and as for someone feeling you weren't worth the money and you not having a good response, try telling them up front that if they don't feel you were worth the money, they don't have to pay you. This is not as insane an idea as some people will tell you it is. Good luck. |
Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
Jim Snack is dead on the money.
As a Voice artist I get any where from $350 to $750 for 30 seconds (!) of just talking. That's the going rate for someone who has the skills and experience and the connections. I choose to offer my services to the magic community for $50, just because. One: I like to work, it's fun to do. Two: I have my own Studio, so it's no big deal. And I would be a useless service to the magic community if I charged the same as if I were charging a big corporation for, say,their Imaging. So I choose to charge the same for everybody...my choice...whether it's a 'Copperfield' (that would be nice!) or Rinky Dink The Balloon Clown. Does that devalue me? I don't think so. There are those who might think what I do isn't worth the $50! But...because I get the big jobs too...I know what the worth is so, so what. All you need is ONE nice pay day to convince you, you are in the Big Show and worth every penny. Any thing from that point is what you deem to charge depending on the circumstances. Here's a creed for you: This is who I am. This is what I charge. This is what I do. I will do my BEST to entertain...My Best! If someone has an axe to grind after the show, maybe it's because his wife thought you were cute and he's a dork. So what. Move on. You already say you have good references...that's your answer. If you suck, you'll know it. Take the hit and be better next time. Just scratch that one off your reference list. Doug
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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