Hi Gerry -

I think the economy in Canada is very similar to the U.S. I think that some consumers are cutting back, but it doesn't have to effect you personally.

I have talked with other local performers who are telling me their phones are silent. I went pre-emptive and did something about it.

Within the past couple of weeks, I have turned away at least two birthday shows bookings I couldn't do because of date conflicts, and booked several other shows as well (including a few birthdays). Again, the flow of incoming birthday bookings seems perfectly normal for me. And I have some booking my deluxe package, and some booking the regular one.

Gas is expensive here, too. Lots of talk on the news about it (I generally ignore the news).

I shared a little more with you, via PM.

- Donald

P.S. Eric Paul recently did a series of teleseminars, where he revealed how he sold out his summer (this upcoming summer!), and booked over $20,000 worth of shows. If you are in his Mastermind group, you get examples of his successful marketing materials, along with specific step-by-step instructions on what he did with this campaign. Sometimes you need to find some more successful (and optimistic) friends to be influenced by. I highly recommend joining Eric's Mastermind group, if you are committed to doing what it takes to grow your business.

http://www.moremoneywithmagic.com/

http://www.moremoneywithmagic.com/membership.htm

"Successful business people do business people successfully"
"A poor person can become rich just as rich food can make you poorly"
"There is not Success without U. Also there is no breakfast without T."

Sorry - just wanted to share some fancy sounding business maxims as well.


In all seriousness, I find that there is always work out there if I am prepared to go and get it. If I only focus on one stream of business (e.g. kid's parties) my income will rise and fall as the economy effects that type of client. However, by having a variety of sources of income, I always have different ways to make money.

Hehehehehe... regardless of the silliness Nick said it right:

...and on.

Simple eh'?
Deano (knows the difference between maximums and truth) in Reno
<><

Thanks - there is only one maxim I pay close attention to....HERE

Dean:

When I checked with several of my magic buddies who live in different states, I found out that they were experiencing the same thing I was: a drastic decline in the sheet volume of birthday party calls. (Notice how I'm not talking about library shows or summer camps.)

Personally, I think many parents are getting squeezed because of the extra high cost of gas, the dramatic increase in food costs, energy costs, and just general inflation.

True, you can always do a mailing and push for work in other venues such as festivals, etc. But beyound running an ad in a parental paper, having a yellow page ad, and a web presence, if that's not pulling in birthday party enquiries, I'm not sure there's much else you can do to kick start this thing when parents are counting pennies these days.

Gerry

If you want to get this going again, why not add putting business cards/fliers up in all the local party stores, start working a restaurant or two for kids night, begin making sure to hand out several business cards a day wherever you happen to be, go and give a drawing for magic kit at all of the local daycares (along with your contact info) go to all the family restaurants and ask if you can place a poster/cards somewhere, etc. I think if you do these things it will get the phone ringing again, it will have you taking some positive steps towards your goal of more parties, and once you a doing the parties, hopefully word of mouth gets you many more and a snowball effect happens.

Hope that helps kickstart the birthday recession recovery experience.

Chad

Funny!

- Donald

This is a very interesting topic to me as I personally have found the exact opposite happening for me and my wife. Instead of a decrease in birthday party gigs and inquiries, I have found a HUGE increase in them. So much of an increase that I am doing more birthday shows then I ever have. I also have increased my prices several times already because of this and I am still receiving a good steady flow of them.

Part of me wonders that possibly the increase of gas prices keeps the family home instead of taking kids to party stores or party places where they have to travel to get there and equals up to a lot more money spent. Perhaps staying home and not using the car is looking like a better option for the parents. Most of the children who come to the parties usually live fairly close to the birthday child so this may also play into it a bit.

I also have found and feel strongly that parents are simply not going to skimp on having a good birthday party for their child. There are just certainly things in life that always come first and I feel that family is still one of them. Because of this, I feel there will always be a need for birthday entertainers to cater to this need with a powerful solution that meets the needs of the client.

I think also it does come down to perceived value in the prospects mind as well. When times are tough, people are more then ever looking for increased value in what it is they are spending money on. I want to always strive to have very increased perceived value. I do this by being a solutions provider for the prospects that are coming to me. I listen to their needs first as opposed to hard selling from the start. By listening to the needs, I can always find out what the problems are that I can directly solve for them.

Another issue is the fact that maybe it is not so much the gas prices or economy that is possibly slowing the calls coming in but instead your own method of marketing. As times change, your business must change as well. Certain forms of marketing might need to be changed over a period of time for other methods. A yellow book ad may not be working as great for you as it used to be. Maybe it is then time to change gears a bit and do more search engine optimization. If you track your marketing, you can easily start to see dips or changes in where and how you are getting your prospects. I personally never rely on just any one system or format but utilize many of them that I track a lot and change as needed.

My two cents worth. I will try and add more thoughts later.

Kyle

I am NOT suggesting otherwise. SURE there are lots of people who have not taken advantage of the change in the market and expect that life will go on 'as-normal' and 'as-expected' and as I already said, it WILL NOT and what you suggest is conformation of that fact.

The old definition of insanity has always been: "Doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result"

YOU MUST CHANGE along with the market if you ever hope to survive.

It is just a fact of life.

Too, the whole discussion that "We Get Rewarded For ‘Creating High Perceived Value’ and NOT for just doing magic shows" is an entirely different discussion.

IF you insist (even when other prove the market IS working for them…) that Moms are not buying birthday party shows, then WHY do you still expect for the phone to ring if you are doing the same thing???

If it were me, I would do what-ever I could to find-out what “the guys are doing that ARE still getting shows and results” instead of insisting that the birthday party market is shrinking the phone in no longer ringing off the hook… wouldn’t you?

I don’t thing anyone disputes that “change is in the air” (Not even you… right?) and yet to think that we must not change to meet the CHANGING economy and times in our lives, well that is… insanity.

IF you ant a different result, you must belive and behave differently… THAT has to make some sense, yeah?

I would think it does…

Hope that helps bud.

I am at your service and In HIS service,
Deano (Does what-ever it takes to thrive) in Reno
<><

I have experienced the "Pendulum swinging" in a good way. I believe people will stay close to home and have MORE parties in the coming months, hang in there. I just had the best week I've ever had in sheer volume of shows. there are adjustments to make however.

Has anyone started to send out post cards to past customers offering an incentive to rebook or to refer yourself? I'm wondering if that might help.

Some of the economic dynamics may have to do with where you're located. Curtis and myself seem to find people who will bankroll a party (we're both in Socal) but some performers in the middle of the country may find everyone holding on to what they have. There are some people who make more money during bad times.

Someone told me an interesting fact you may appreciate. The closer to water you are, generally, the more money people have. If you notice there are very few magic shops more then a few hundred miles from a major body of water, at least before the internet took over. Ocean front property is always more expensive then some land in the middle of nowhere.

I predict the comeback of house parties, attended by adults, in this next year. Start brushing up on your sleights.

Dean:

I wonder if some (not all) magicians here are embellishing their current results. At least with me I'm telling you the truth - the calls for birthday parties have drastically reduced since the price of gas has accelerated.

Knowing how some magicians stretch the truth, I'm sure you'll find some on THE MAGIC Café who will claim that their booking calendars would even be filled IF GAS HIT $8.00 a gallon.

About 3 weeks ago I went to one of these party places (similar to Chuck-E-Cheese) and even they admitted that the number of birthday parties they're hosting has decreased a bit. So again, I don't think anyone is immune to this.

I'll admit, too, that things are different from state to state. I'm assuming that someone like Silly Billy might not be affected by this because in his market most people are probably traveling by means of mass transit.

As for trying to find-out what “the guys are doing that ARE still getting shows and results” instead of insisting that the birthday party market is shrinking, I was hoping that others here (like yourself) could help in this matter.

Again, I'm specifically talking about the birthday party market...not library, summer camps, or festival shows.

I do have a few local magic competitors who appear to be doing well, but their prices (and they do this for a living) are way lower than what I charge. So at their discounted prices (which are well below the norm) none of this is, to my knowledge, affecting their business because they're almost giving their shows away.

Thanks,

Gerry

Gerry,
I realize that post was directed to Dean, and I'm new on this subject - but if these "pros" are almost giving away their shows - they won't be doing it for a living very long. You can't make a living if you don't make a decent profit.

If your prices are higher, then it is up to you to let the clients know what you provide them that the cheap act does not. Call it value added or benefits or whatever you like. It can't just be your show is better - they do not know that as a tangible unless they have seen you - in which case you should already be sold.

In any business there is a bottom line break even point, beyond that you are charging for the one thing you can not replace - your time. As a good friend of mine says, "I can work at home, my wife has a list of chores for me. When I go out, I want to be paid."

There have been some great marketing ideas in this topic and "Is the Phone becoming Obsolete?" to help increase awareness of your show. I have no doubt your market is down, but even in tight times, people use entertainment. You have to be proactive, but someone will be hired - it might as well be you.

Tom

Gerry,

I think you might be over looking the point from the other guys who does b-day parties on a regular bases. They do see their b-day party business is down a bit. BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT they are getting shows from fairs, libraries, and community events to take place for it.

Is gas effecting business? Of course it is effecting most businesses. As people in business we must over come this and modify our business to attract custormers that will still buy with us in the current market. I would suggest to people get use to prices going up in food, gas, services. They are predicting by 2012 gas will be $7.00 a gallon.
Our global economy is shifting and we must shift with it!

Gerry
I'm shocked that you suggest some magicians here are bragging. If you want my honest answer PM me.

I know Al very well and he knows me also. We live close to each other and have performed together ,many times. I know for one that myself and Al do not pad or exaggerate our numbers or information. It serves me, and no one else, any purpose for me to lie about stuff like that and it certainly does not help anyone. I know Al is working steadily cause I see it with my own 2 eyes and I know that I have been having a stellar year so far in not only the festival markets and such, but a huge increase in my birthday party market.

In fact, I am having the best birthday party year that I have ever had and at a cost that is increased from years past. Simply stated, they are still coming to me for shows and willing to spend the money for it as well. I would be happy to share some ideas of what I am doing if anyone wants to know. My pleasure to do so.

Kyle

Kyle
I was not suggesting that you were exadurating, but those who's nose have grown several inches over night know who they are.
We all agree that "when the going gets tough the tough get going"
We all know that "If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen"
and we alll should subscribe to "the truth will set you free"

My phone action has slowed down, and I'm trying my hardest to catch up, but there is a recession going on around us.

If a person implies others are exaggerating, or being dishonest, or lying, it is unlikely they will get full help and co-operation from the people he's accusing.

You can't have it both ways. You can't call names (or act sarcastic towards others) and also expect that they will help you and give you all you ask for.

Trust needs to be earned. Acting inappropriate only undermines your efforts.

"You attract more flies with honey than vinegar." (Dale Carnegie - How to Win Friends and Influence People)

"You can be right, or you can be rich." (T. Harv Eker - Secrets of the Millionaire Mind)

- Donald

P.S. Would you act this way / talk this way, towards others you are trying to illicit help from?

Al: It is all good my friend. I was simply trying to state that you and I both tell it as we see it and we both do not have any need to stretch the truth at all. We both pretty much put it out on the table for people to see and take from it what they can get. I know you and I are both working pretty well this year and making it work for us. =)

Kyle

Pre-S:
OK, I just read post this... it's a long one. So no comments need be made about that part. IF you want the success offered, Fine, READ, if NOT, then simply pass right by with out having to be a "Doug & Wendy Whinner" about it all, OK?

Now isn't that easy? Hehehehehe...

Here ya go:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Here is another one for ya’ Donald:
"A Man Convinced Against His Will, I Of The Same Opinion Still"

…and the one already noted:
“If You THINK You CAN Or You Think You CAN’T… You’re RIGHT!”



…nice.

Gerry my friend,

You are drastically MISSING THE POINT.
= 1) First, I would agree with Donald. it does not serve you or anyone else to say that YOU are telling the truth while others are, well "NOT"... (becausr they don’t share the same perspective as you and yet, ARE actually getting real RESULTS.) it most certainly doesn’t engender support.

= 2) No one is telling you that "YOU ARE WRONG"! All I have done is support th notion that YOU and thers ARE, in fact telling "YOUR TRUTH" and that is fine. It is simply not "everyones" truth. (Unless everyone but you is lying... of course, which I know they are NOT, but as stated in the "quote" I started with... you are 100% WELCOME to your truth.

= 3) The SOLUTION (one of several) as stated over and over again, is to simply “find-out what the winners are doing” instead of focusing on what the others (who are NOT gaining a favorable RESULT) are doing.

...along with an entire thread of ideas and recommendations to change you mind and change your success results.

But I am NOT here to change your mind for you… that is totally up to you! You are welcome to ‘insist” that ‘business has dried up, is terrible, what-ever,’ in the face of others that are telling you that ‘for them’ (Largely BECAUSE of what they ‘believe’ and the ‘behave’ as if) that business is doing fine or better is GROWING and having their “Best Year Yet”.

Sure, you dismiss them as liars so you can continue to be right and own your truth.

I guess The QUESTION is:
“WHY???”

Why would anyone want to continue to insist that others (who ARE being successful) are WRONG and call them liars, (while YOU hold the bastion of truth… hehehehe!) ‘instead of “finding out what they are doing and modeling the proven SUCCESS of others who ARE, in fact getting real profit-making results”???

That one baffles me, but like I have said… you are 110% (Hehehehe Danny!) WELCOME to that.

Oh yeah, “How’s That Wokin’ For Ya’?”

Hey bud, all I ever want for you and anyone who is willing to Go For It is all the SUCCESS you dream of, want and deserve! If THAT makes me a liar, that so be it brother!

I wish I could help, and WANT TO, (as do Donald, Kyle… etc.) but the next part is up to YOU bud!

My recommendation, “if” you were open to yet another one:
Give it a TRY!

Change your mind… “find out specifically what others, WHO ARE Successful are Doing & Thinking” (and it IS different from what YOU are doing cuz THE RESULTS are different… like duh!) and then APPLY THAT (congruently) and see what that get’s ya.

Hey, if that doesn’t work after a reasonable amount of time an commitment to the process, you can always go back to your current belief and behavioral outcomes that “The Business Is Drying Up, Disappearing, Going Away… etc”

Looks like you have nothing to loose here… though you may find all the reasons NOT to become more successful in spite of the FACT (like it or not, Believe it or not) that others ARE!

Like I said my friend, (and I mean it!) it’s 100% up to you! (See the quotes at the top and in Donald’s post)

I HOPE you get my heart on this… I am NOT arguing or offering false hope here. I am making efforts to assist and support you, as are others here and all we want is for YOU to be as successful as you deserve to be, and that is up to you!

Remember:
Doing the same things and expecting different results is insanity.”

And I hope against all hopes that you are not “insane”! Maybe just stuck in your own ‘stinken’ thinkin’ and so you are not willing to DO (what that are doing) what NEEDS TO BE DONE to GET The RESULTS Your Deserve!

Am I suggesting that you should ‘bliss-out’ and do nothing but some silly PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) alone will change your life overnight… NO! Not by a looong shot!

You MUST be willing to TAKE MASSIVE ACTION ‘on task and on point’, WITH a correct plan… that apparently (because of the results) you are NOT getting at this juncture.

NOT some new, cutting edge ‘magic bullet success solutions” by any standard, just some suggestion that have proven to WORK for those who ARE, in fact, getting real results, in the past, now and in the future!

Wouldn’t YOU rather be on THAT list of pros?

What is it COSTING YOU to continue to believe and behave that way you are now? Aren’t you willing to have the success you desire and frankly; deserve instead???

Again, you are welcome to your old limiting, non productive belief and behavior, but if it were up to me, you would be as successful as you want to be and are willing to do what it takes to enjoy the lifestyle you really want, need and desire for YOU, Your Family and Your Market an Community…

Come on over, the waters Fine! And more importantly…WE NEED YOU brother!

I HOPE you get my heart on this my friend. Thinking of YOU and Your Success!

I am, as always, at YOUR Service and In HIS Service,
Deano (Loves to hang with WINNERS) In Reno
<><

PS
There is tons of help, even HERE if you choose to join us. (Hint: It’s already there… Hehehehe!)

PPS
It’s all up to YOU.

…your ball now. I say let’s play ball!

PPPS
I am sorry for the long windedness, BUT I am NOT sorry for wanting to do what-ever it takes to help YOU become what-ever YOU want to be!

Kyle
It is good to know that someone else understood the question.

PS- I hope to see you at the next SAM meeting, and please vote for me in the stage competition.