I've been wondering lately if there are any models for making a living as a magician that I am not aware of. The most obvious one is the home based small business. Completely DIY.

There's also the agent/manager model where an agent does ALL your promotion and booking work, and you just handle the artistic side. Although I wonder how much this is in use anymore.

There are a few where the magician is the employee. Maybe of Disney, maybe of Copperfield.

Are there any others that I haven't mentioned? I'm really hoping there is some great secret business model that will work perfectly for me, but suspect there isn't. Thought I should check though, just in case.

Howzabout the one where the magician is also the agent, either booking private parties or (really a whole different model) designing or selling pre-made show packages to theme parks or other concerns that want a magic show without having to put it together themselves?

How about the one where the magician is a spokesman for a store or brand, making appearances (sometimes nationwide) to extol the virtues of "The Magic of the New Yummy-Gummy Candy Bar" or "The Magic of [fill in the blank]"?

Haven't seen it with magicians, but I have seen a loosely knit group of professions that form a coop of sorts. They refer jobs to each other as they act as agents for themselves, and in effect become agents for the entire group.

I have seen all of the above. Especially in these times, we magicians need all the help we can get.

I work for several Party Planners, Agents, a loosely knit group of professionals (both magicians and other business groups), my own marketing, etc.

Ideally it would be nice to have one manager and one agent to take care of the business side, and just take care of the artistic side. That would be just fine with me. But the way things are in the real world, I will continue to get the gigs from any source I can.

I hadn't thought of the co-op model.

A lot of the models still really require the performer to do most of the business negotiation. As Harry pointed out that seems to be "the way things are in the real world". Pity really, because I suck at the business side. Not for want of trying mind you. (or research, education, reading etc)