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Kameron Messmer Special user Billings, MT 742 Posts 
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Howdy all! So in addition to working on my magic career, My wife and I have another business. We have a concessions trailer, as well as a concessions booth in the largest arena/center of its kind within a 5 state region. It is Montana, so that's not much compared to you city folk! We also ran a seasonal store in a mall last year, and am looking into an ice cream vending truck for the summer, on top of the other vending business. But we are looking to expand our business ventures a bit more. We want to be rid of our normal jobs and sustain ourselves.
That being said, What businesses or add ons do you all have? I've seen some entertainers offer things like inflatables or games to go with the show (or even by itself). Of course there is animal balloons, and magic lessons. but what ELSE do you all do to keep yourselves busy/paid? |
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Paddy Inner circle Milford OH 1571 Posts
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HEY Mazel Tov out in MT!!! I grew up in Great Falls when my father was stationed at Malmstom AFB and I do miss the Treasure States people and countryside.
OK now to the question, I have for the past 17 years made my living by magic. My wife doing face painting, PLUS myself doing balloon sculpting in restaurants to get us thru the slow periods like the winter. You also may want to work festivals a little farther away in cold months, like Utah, AZ, NM. i.e. it is 15 hrs drive to Albuquerque NM or 13 hrs to St George UT. |
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Kameron Messmer Special user Billings, MT 742 Posts
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What a coincidence! Great Falls was where the seasonal store was! Lots of air force people out there!
SO what kind of festivals are out there during the winter months? I am used to very cold weather during the winter so I can even fathom what events go on in the southern areas of our country. |
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Paddy Inner circle Milford OH 1571 Posts
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I just went to the FNO site and checked for festivals with attendance of over 10,000 during Nov, Dec, jan, Feb in the states Utah, Texas, NM and AZ. got 135 responses. There is a bunch. BTW Festival Network Online is the best $60 I ever invested.
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D_avid Loyal user 253 Posts
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Knock off 7-11s. A dying breed.
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Scott Burton Inner circle 1131 Posts
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My wife has a home-based business as well (but nothing to do with what I do). I'm not sure if that's what you are asking about as I'm sure there are others who have a spouse contributing money to the household income.
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Kevinr Inner circle 1854 Posts
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Kameron Messmer Special user Billings, MT 742 Posts
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Kinda both Scott. My magic cant always support us as it is random and we have a sparse population. My wife has 2 part time jobs, our business which can take up about every weekend, my magic and some other random jobs. I was wondering if some of you had other "businesses" you add to your magic (BOR, face painting, balloon animals, MCing, DJing, motivational speaking, inflatables etc) The concessions often leads to me doing something at a festival with balloons and magic as well. Just wondering what else I could add that would make money and fit with entertaining and concessions.
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Al Angello Eternal Order Collegeville, Pa. USA 11045 Posts
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I live in a major metropolitan area, so I'm busy all year round. I do BOR at all public venues like libraries, cub scout banquets, festivals, and my busking pitch. I busk every weekend in the mornings from April to October. My wife has a day job, but she keeps all of her money.
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/ "Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone" |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10606 Posts
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I agree with the many ideas mentioned so far. BOR is a part of nearly everyone of my performances. I have also enjoyed much success for several decades now booking other artists and acts as a full-service entertainment agency. I've actually owned three agencies in my professional career, one full-service and two specialized agencies that are industry/market specific. It can be hard work but if done properly can be very profitable. I've also enjoyed event production and promotional too.
I also do speaking as well which I enjoy on an entire different level than performing. |
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Scott Burton Inner circle 1131 Posts
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The speaking industry is my ultimate goal and has been even before I went full time. I'm not giving up on my entertainment business but my entertainment is moving toward that direction naturally. I understand the struggle between establishing focus and trying to have breadth in order to make a living.
Over time, I have narrowed my focus. The first few years had me in many markets but that becomes very difficult to maintain. My wife has never had any interest in working with/for me. She has created her own business simply for something to do in between running much of the household. She amazes me everyday and I am proud of her. |
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Kameron Messmer Special user Billings, MT 742 Posts
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Thanks for the responses! So Paddy, I went to the FNO so what are you paying for then? Do you put up a page like gigsalad and festivals look there for entertainment? It looks like they have lots of info on the festivals for free. I might start doing this if it's worth it, I'm just not sure what they do exactly.
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Paddy Inner circle Milford OH 1571 Posts
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Quote: right now you can see the fests but when you upgrade your membership to paid then you get all the contact information, emails phone numbers Exhibit Director, Food Director, Entertainment Dir. That way you can directly contact the right person. Looks better to send it to "Ms Jones" than "Entertainment director."On 2012-02-15 00:34, Kameron Messmer wrote: |
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Kevin Ridgeway V.I.P. Indianapolis, IN & Phoenix, AZ 1832 Posts
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For the majority of our performing career we only did our illusion show. For the past few years now, we have been producing other shows, most of them outside of the magic industry. We have a touring stunt show with two units that perform across the country. We're always looking to see what can be done to create more avenues of revenue.
My best advice to anyone is to figure out how to duplicate yourself. That is the way to make real money and to create your own retirement plan.
Living Illusions
Ridgeway & Johnson Entertainment Inc Kevin Ridgeway & Kristen Johnson aka Lady Houdini The World's Premier Female Escape Artist www.LadyHoudini.com www.livingillusions.com |
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magicmaninsd Regular user San Diego, CA 199 Posts
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Living Illusions, I am very interested in hearing about how to duplicate yourself. As a solo entertainer I can only be one place at one time and therefore limits my ability to make more money. I can only do so many corporate gigs and sprinkle kid shows in between. Besides BOR, what are some other ways to make more money? I heard Silly Billy (David Kaye) trains other performers and takes a portion of their earnings. I've thought about setting up a network of magicians I can refer and take a percentage. Is this what you're talking about?
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10606 Posts
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Quote:
On 2012-02-15 12:53, magicmaninsd wrote: This is one of the exact reasons I started am agency and production company. |
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Ed_Millis Inner circle Yuma, AZ 2292 Posts
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Arizona is one of the top destinations in the country for winter visitors - "snowbirds" looking to fly just little south for the winter. Here in Yuma, our population swells from 85k to about 250k. There are businesses that literally shut down for the summer.
With all that population and the great weather, you can imagine what kinds of fairs and festivals the southern parts of AZ come up with. I'll take some dust and a bit of rain over two feet of snow any day! C'mon down and join us! Ed |
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patrick1515 Regular user 142 Posts
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Consulting work, stocks and investment property. Always pay yourself first.
Most people get by merely making money, make your money work for you! The real magic is in the power of compound interest. Invest in your future; setting aside a minimum of 15% out of every dollar you earn (dividend paying stocks and rental properties) will not make you rich overnight, but can make you quite wealthy. |
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts
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I keep very busy with a multitude of different income steams such as:
- graphic design services for entertainers - my product line business with my books and ebook sales - Marketing coaching and consulting business - BOR after events etc. etc. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
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SoCalPro Inner circle Southern California 1634 Posts
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Kyle...don't you also work at a graphic design company's fro non entertainers as well? Busy guy.
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Posted: Feb 14, 2012 05:22 pm 
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