Perhaps. I see a distinction in the term professional however. I'm of the mind that a professional knows what to charge to stay on par for the market.

I like Donald's suggestion of not competing on price. I've had people ask me if I can match the $85 price point before. I politely decline to match that price.

I think in the future my response will be polite and just let the customer know that we do not compete based on price, but rather quality and that our performers are of the highest quality of anyone in the state.

Good points, Donald.

I think for now I will simply file as a Sole Proprietor - that will allow me to take a few business deductions, which at this point are much greater than my business income!

I will no doubt start out as one of the "$85 price point" magicians, simply because I don't have the experience to confidently assure the customer that I can handle anything that comes up and still give them the show they expect. I have no intentions of staying there, however, and do intend to conduct myself as professionally as I know how (much room for improvement there, too!!).

I'm not ready to jump full-time into magic; the steady check and benefits of the day job are just too good to give up. If I am ever thrown out the window, though, then I'd rather see if I can make it as a magician than a burger-flipper.

Ed

After years with the phone company I was layed off quite unexpectedly in April of 2008. I had been performing part time for about 17 years and did very little marketing other than a yellow page advertisement and my web site. Once I was without a job I decided that I never wanted a "real job" ever again, so I initiated what I call multiple streams of income. I did some more marketing for magic, I started selling items for others as a "trading assistant" on Ebay, I listed myself with temp agencies for part time work, and some other things to create cash flow.

I quickly found out that it takes a lot of time to do a lot of different things. Boy did I have it easy when I had a steady paycheck and all those benefits. For decades I took that for granted. I like a challenge though and kept plugging away. I quickly dropped everything except the Ebay and Magic. Ebay takes time, but it ceates income pretty well for me. Magic, however, required some help. What I found has really helped is getting professional marketing help from experts. When it comes right down to it, marketing efforts are more important than anything else you can do. Thanks to Eric Paul, Tim David and Mr. Turk, I am seeing the results of doing marketing that works. My July is almost completely booked (weekdays and weekends). I am so busy that I don't have time to do some of the things I enjoy doing like learning new effects and setting up new routines. I have a stack of "things to do" on my desk that I will get around to when I get a chance. This morning, for example, I got out my old "Zone Zero" and wanted to refresh myself on how to do it. I bought it right after it came out so all I have is a VCR tape. I put the tape in and was halfway through the tape when the phone rang and there I was off to another commitment. I am teaching magic, performing shows in schools and on stage and so on and so on, but none of this would have happened without the marketing.

I have been told that most businesses fail in their first year and it is usually due to a lack of knowledge. If this is true, then I highly recommend getting professional knowledge in the marketing area and if you do the marketing right, everything else will follow.

Just my thoughts. I wish you well........

I know a lot of people are hot on the S-Corp, but I just don't get the magic....at least for magicians. It can lead to a greater tax liability than a sole proprietorship (ie-franchise tax).

Also, I would recommend reading the IRS rules concerning hobby income. Your deductions may be limited if you are not making a profit.

I would strongly recommend talking to a CPA.

Although I only perform very rarely professionally, I have an interest in the subject of accounting and taxes in particular. I have one semester left before completing my BS in Accounting and starting my MS in Tax. I ultimately plan on sitting for the CPA exam (probably next December).