I am not sure what to charge a YMCA. Daycare rate? School rate? Any ideas?

Daycare rate! YMCA's generally don't have a great budget!

Thanks Todd!

It probably depends (as always) on your area. You can't go wrong with daycare rates, if you want the show. In my area, $135 is pretty much the upper limit for daycares for a single show. YM's and other daycamps get charged $200-250 and they have no problem with that.

Scott O. hit my YMCA and day care rate right on the nose (or even hit $5 high . . .). I haven't been at this long, and I do it part-time, but I second the fact that these are not the places to get those "million dollar" gigs. They are a blast, though, and they have led to lots of birthday parties at double the rate.

I work on word-of-mouth only, and think these are the best venue for generating buzz, especially if you're up front with the administrators and tell them you are going to leave flyers to pin on their bulletin boards, put a give-away with your card in each kids backpack, and give cards to the teachers. I'll bet each of these shows leads to two or three birthdays with in turn lead to other birthdays ...

Doing these shows is vital to get the ball rolling for new "circles" of possible clients. And, some of these kids don't have regular exposure to live entertainment and appreciate your show more than those you'll perform for at private birthdays, and that also makes them tremendously worthwhile.

So what ended up happening, Captain?
Hoping all turned out well for you...
Chris

Mumblemore,

Thanks for the ideas. I do hand out my "magic card" and have Jax (my parrot) sign each. (If I have time, she will bite a hole in each card.)

Chris,

I thought it was a YMCA, but it was a Parks & Rec. (The guy had a YMCA shirt on when he approached me at a restaurant gig.) They are discussing it. I am charging $150, or $125/each for 3 or more. It is in a poorer suburb of Raleigh.

I have a friend here in town that gets $375 for a daycare show. Anyone else get that type of cash?

Ask the YMCA what they have in the budget for shows. Or, charge them what YOU NEED to do the show.

John

John, I did/do, but always feel like an ass asking how much they can afford (in a less direct way). As for what I NEED or what I WANT. *G*

I am in the building stage so I am taking things a little cheaper than I want, to get my name out. I don't want to be overpriced and lose a weekday gig, neither do I want to be underpriced, so they think less of my work.

There is always what you WANT. But in reality you should concentrate on what you NEED. You don't ASK them what they can afford. You find out what they usually spend on shows. Offer to perform a FREE show for their review.

They won't think less of your work if your work is good just because of your price. Do the FREE show first. Say, "It's hard to explain what I do but I would be happy to perform a show at any location (within reason!) for your review."

Between all that you will DISCOVER what they pay for shows.

John

Captain,
Parks and Rec have much more money than they're ever willing to let on, from my own experiences. Ask them for what you feel you could walk away and feel good about, and realize that they may get MILLIONS for their budget every year, and thousands for special event expenses. They'll play "broke" only as long as you let them....I can get between $500 and $1000 from Park and Recs....depending on show size or numbers....or if I can market my own stuff.
Chris

Chris,

Are you talking about a single show for kids? Or is this a larger community event?

in regards to that. I had a YMCA want to hired me .. I gave them my price. and they asked about giving me a 3 month membership instead..(i would have taken it... if it was in my home town:P)

Chris, you know how to make a guy feel good about his $150 *G*! $500-$1000? This is for a camp, and a small group of kids.

500, 1000 where does he live? I'm moving!

John

If you plan to offer a special price, the first thing to do is to ask what the client's budget is. Then quote your regular price. You now have the two boundaries between which you can haggle, to arrive at a satisfactory figure. Do this when you really want the gig, not because you feel sorry for the client!

$500 to $1000 are for Park Districts...not for YMCA's or YWCA's. Sorry, Captain, I did'nt mean to make you feel bad, I just want you to go home with what you deserve.
Keep in mind, there's also BOR to be had here too. Don't forget that. I used to, but not any more. Even if they book for $500, I plan to bring that up to at least $1000 with BOR.
$150 for anything larger than a Birthday party is a client robbing the entertainer, in my mind. But that's me, one person, please keep this in mind.
And if you move here I'll have to call my friends in the Irish Mob, just look for a bunch of Irish guys that only talk through their puppets and carry foam billy clubs....

Chris,
I am raising my prices, but now I am one of the pricer (BP) magicians in my area (last I checked). I also don't have your experience in this area. I've done a million BP, but not nearly so much other venues. I am also quite sure you show is more suited, especially for schools & librarys. That is changing for me. I'm an old man, and like most magicians, a bit lazy.
Actually I think my main problem is I do too many things, so it is harder to promote 7 different shows. I am focusing more.

I respect where you're coming from, Captain...but you're not old! Old is like mid 80's now! I plan on living to be 120 at least!
Keep in mind that Al Flosso used to always ask for above whatever the top star on any program he was on was being paid so he could say he got paid more than anyone.
He was also respected more than many who had full stage acts from those in the business and those hiring in the business. Be bold as love, aim for the stars and good luck with the gig!
Best,
Chris

Are you a Stones fan perchance, John!

George