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aburman New user 9 Posts |
Lesson Learned
Between my full-time job and extra curricular side assignments, my drive (or hubris!) got the better of me and I decided I could once again start up my magic (mini)business. Streamline my on-line marketing angle, start the networking conversations at the water cooler, "drop" a few cards in the right locals, melt a couple rubberbands through each other at the office, vanish some change at the coffee shop-- you know the deal-- the "Why yes, I am a magician, and yes, I do perform at parties" lifestyle came roaring back. (I paid my rent through grad school cordially inviting people to repeatedly choose the King of Hearts!) In essence, I decided I’d harbor all my charismatic flair and rhetorical prowess and close some magical deals. After all, the holiday season is upon is. And it worked. Sorta. A bit of pinpointed web research, 35 late night emails, one free (and quite fun) strolling gig among wine connoisseurs, some business cards, and a few shaken hands later and I found myself with a nice little walk around Halloween weekend gig. Nice pay. Good audience. Ideal situation. Thoughts danced silently and happily around my head, "I've got it; I'm a magical closer." Two days ago the "close the deal" correspondence began-- new messages and replies, sent messages, cc's and bbc's shot around. Yesterday a nice little package from the client arrived. I quickly perused the content and began filling out the forms. Then, I saw it, a page that looked as if it was taken from Appendix 4.a of Brown vs. the Board of Education, a form so complicated that I imagine even the lawyer who penned it must have felt the excruciatingly hot pain of tedium and confusion that he was creating. I understood the word "insurance"; I skipped the rest. "Call me a retail good," I thought to myself. "Call me whatever type of non-insurance needing vendor works." These are magic tricks. I could throw my pockets full of sponge balls with the effort and strength of big league reliever and I doubt I could cause much injury, save the psychological damage of witnessing a 29-year old man attack an audience with what appear to be small, round, sponges. I faxed everything in, added my "retail caveat"-- minus the poor humor-- and began rehearsing my routines. I even wore my suit. Today I just received a cancellation message. Seems I can't work the gig as I don't have general liability insurance. But I'm a closer. A reliever. Who wouldn’t want to see my new wave coins across? I promise I won't throw sponge balls. Game over. Lesson learned. Right now I'm just looking to see if anyone has had a last minute cancellation and they need a magician. I'm good. At some things. One day I’ll be a professional. Enjoy your Halloween gigs. Pros. Cheers, Tony B. |
rossmacrae Inner circle Arlington, Virginia 2475 Posts |
You ARE a professional (you're not disqualified just 'cause you're a "startup").
You just hit oner of those venues that's stuck dealing with vendors of a different sort. Keep going - you'll get far more "qualified customers" in the future. |
RobertBloor Inner circle The Socialist Republic of the USA. 1051 Posts |
Tony B.,
That's a cost of doing business. It happens. Sometimes it can be infuriating getting started. I remember 10 years ago focusing on how many "neato tricks" I could do. If I'd spent 1/10th the time investing in business knowledge, I'd be retired by now. Well, okay, much better off at least. The good news is in my experience there are very few organizations that REALLY without question require you to carry general liability insurance. SHOULD YOU GET IT? If your uncle asked you to do tricks at his family christmas party, probably not an issue. If your uncle works for a company and asks you to do tricks at his company christmas party - good idea. Here is what I've found is the best way to go about it... 1) Join I.B.M. (www.magician.org) It's like $50. 2) Through I.B.M. purchase a general liability insurance policy. Cost varys depending on your business income. It starts at about $120 for 1 year, starting August through August (cost is $120 regardless. So if you buy in July, it's $120 for 1 month. HINT: Buy in August. Get 12 months.) The process to get the coverage goes like this... 1) Fill out form. Name. Rank. Serial #. Address. IBM#. 2) Enclose check for $XXX.00 3) Get mailed a certificate the beginning of August with your name on it. I do that every August and NEVER THINK TWICE ABOUT IT. Do I "sleep better" knowing I've got it? Not really. Will I "sleep better" should the unthinkable happen and I don't personally have to pay $30,000 in medical bills? Not really. But it's a part of life and a cost of doing business. All that said... try not to smart too much on it. You'll get there, no doubt. Just make sure you take care of business. Robert Bloor
"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,"
-The Declaration of Independence |
aburman New user 9 Posts |
Ross and Robert-
Thanks for the kind and insightful replies. The entrepeneurial drive is made easier knowing there's a community of like-minded individuals who see value- whether emotional, communal, economic, dare I say societal-- in inviting people to take a few minutes out of their day and think of things like trained playing cards and little red sponges. Back to the marketing. Cheers, Tony |
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