Mac King tells us about his early days performing in comedy clubs and talks about how he keeps things fresh in his show at Harrah's in Vegas.

I probably don’t have to say this, but if you’re a magician and don’t know who Mac King is, I hereby revoke your magician card.

That said, Vegas Headliner Mac King is resident magician at Harrah’s Hotel & Casino and has been there for 15 years. This makes him the longest running magician in Vegas to be working at the same hotel!

He’s appeared on TV in countless shows on a variety of stations and in multiple countries. He also performs at corporate events for a select number of clients each year.

He’s authored and co-authored three books on the subject of magic, wears an awesome couch-plaid suit, and has a Fig Newton complex. Yet, according to his wife and daughter, he is a fine husband, a great dad, and all around swell fellow.

Sponsors:

Click Convert Profit — This episode is brought to you by Josh London's Click Convert Profit and his book Flying Solo, the Smart Solopreneur’s Guide to Making Money Online.

Click here to get $10 off and for my listeners only, the free ebook "4 Ways to Find Your Most Profitable Keywords”.  

Success Quote

Big slumps come before big jumps. — Mac's wife  

Keeping his show fresh

• He really makes an effort to keep things fresh in his show. 

• Keeps a dialogue open with the audience.  

• Doesn't just use audience members "as a prop."

• Has a script for structure yet tries to find "little detours" to stray from the script and add variance to his shows.

• Talks a little about burnout and how it's affected him.

• Doesn't really add material, but he finds ways to tighten it.

• Things evolve and change over time.

• How he uses his show to test fly things he'll perform elsewhere, for example the suspension he performed at the Academy of Magical Arts Awards.

• Likes to "feel rushed" right before going on stage. It helps him to think on his feet and discover new things.  

Failure Moment

Tells who he ended up vomiting up a goldfish on stage and how the audience seemed none-the-wiser. And the lessons he learned.  

Other Topics Covered

• How your brain still works while you sleep and helps you work out problems.

• Tells his journey in magic which included a lot of hard work in comedy clubs.

• Working as a magician and sharing the stage with comedians.

• Laughs-per-minute.

• Recording and listening to your shows to make improvements.

• Emulating what you see other successful performers do.

• Having a beginning, middle, and end to your show.

• Finding his niche in Vegas.

• Tells some of the pitfalls he had to overcome before starting his current residence at Harrah's.  

Parting Advice

Do as many shows as you can and be a good listener.  

Recommended books and resources:

Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small portion of any sales. If you're enjoying our podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our affiliate links to help support the work we're doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!  

Resources:

Keeping a count of all the props you have in your pockets before you go up on stage.

Be sure to set up a retirement account.  

Books:

McComb's Magic by Billy McComb

Learn Magic by Henry Hay

Harpo Speaks by Harpo Marx  

Where can we find Mac King?

Mac Performs at Harrah's Casino in Las Vegas every Tuesday thru Saturday at 1 & 3 PM.

Mac King's Official Website

Twitter @MacKingShow | Facebook

Jeff Civillico brings us into his career in juggling and gives us some practical advice when it comes to intentionally designing your own life and career.

Jeff is a high-energy Vegas headliner who takes juggling, audience interaction, and lots of comedy to compose his show, “Comedy in Action,” which can be seen at the LINQ Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

His passion has taken him around the world garnering him once-in-a-lifetime opportunities like sailing the Queen Mary II, sky diving in Australia, and getting to perform at The White House.

He’s a favorite onboard the Disney Cruise Line and has performed many venues on Vegas Strip including, V: The Ultimate Variety Show, Nathan Burton, and The Improv at Harrah’s.

He’s the founder and president of Win-Win Entertainment, which is a non-profit that pairs performers willing to donate their time and talent with charities in need of entertainment.

He also speaks on “Branding your Passion,” which helps people design the career and lifestyle of their dreams. Not bad for someone that juggles plungers for a living.

Sponsors:

Click Convert Profit — This episode is brought to you by Josh London's Click Convert Profit and his book Flying Solo, the Smart Solopreneur’s Guide to Making Money Online.

Click here to get $10 off and for my listeners only, the free ebook "4 Ways to Find Your Most Profitable Keywords”.  

Success Quote

You're fast becoming the person you're going to be. — Jeff's Dad, Mr. Civillico

Stay young, stay foolish. — Steve Jobs

Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. — Jim Rohn  

Designing your Life & Career

• Finding your passion VS. being a passionate person. 

• Branding yourself. 

• Passionate people find ways to channel their energy and drive. 

• Passionate people find ways to build things that are bigger than themselves.

• Personal philosophy and values.

• Taking initiative and being proactive.

• Leveraging what you have for more and taking action.

• Being able to pivot.

• Engaging with the community.

• Talks about how he got his show in Vegas with certain leverages and out-hustling his competition.

• Bartering. Everyone has something that someone else needs and can be bartered.  

Failure Moment

Talks very candidly about a soured business relationship with another entertainer and what he learned.  

Favorite Success

Sticking it out after above "falling out."  

Biggest Professional Challenge

Making his Vegas show profitable.  

Interesting Story From the Road

Tells how he really made a difference in one woman's life with his act.  

Other Topics Covered

• Congruency between who you are both on and off stage.

• Staying connected with his family.

• Talks about how he moved out to Vegas.

• Win Win Entertainment: matching charities with performers.

• Abundance Mentality VS. Scarcity Mentality    

Parting Advice

Take action and leverage what you have for more.

If something doesn't work out, pivot.

Recommended books and resources:

Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small portion of any sales. If you're enjoying our podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our affiliate links to help support the work we're doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!  

Resources:

Daylite CRM

TextExpander

Dropbox

Quickbooks  

Books:

Born Standing Up by Steve Martin and other biographies

Linchpin by Seth Godin

Success Principles by Jack Canfield

How to Win Friends and Influence People  

Where can we find Jeff Civillico?

Jeff Civillico's Website

Win Win Entertainment

Ivan Pecel talks about his career as a professional juggler, targeting specific markets, and his take on comedy.

Ivan is quite an accomplished comedy juggler based out of Los Angeles, CA. As funny as a stand up comic, and as skilled as a chinese acrobat, he's appeared on MTV, America’s Got Talent, and the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

He’s become a favorite performer for a wide variety of venues like corporations, colleges, trade shows, comedy clubs, cruise ships, and casinos.

An interesting fact about Ivan is that in the twelve years he’s been performing professionally, he’s never had a slow time in his business! We’ll delve into that topic for sure!

Sponsors:

Click Convert Profit — This episode is brought to you by Josh London's Click Convert Profit and his book Flying Solo, the Smart Solopreneur’s Guide to Making Money Online.

Click here to get $10 off and for my listeners only, the free ebook "4 Ways to Find Your Most Profitable Keywords”.  

Success Quote

Talent is overrated. — Geoff Colvin  

Having a Great Video

• Invest in a good camera.

• If you don't have video editing capabilities, hire a good pro.  

• Targeting your video to the market you want to work in. 

• Make sure the exposure is correctly adjusted so you;re not washed out.

• The better the video quality, the better the video.  

Comedy is King

• Knowing your audience and telling appropriate jokes that relate to them.

• Getting the comedy out of audience interactions.

• How "far he goes" in his antics.

• Acknowledge the heckler once, then twice, then ignore him.

• Hecklers: watch this video of how Ivan almost completely lost control of his show as the drunkest woman in the world heckles him. 

Failure Moment

Tells how he cancelled one gig in favor of a better gig which fell through because he didn't get a contract.  

Favorite Success

1. Doing a show in Vegas called Jubilee. 2. Being on Jay Leno's show.  

Biggest Professional Challenge

Crushing the stigma of being a juggler.  

Interesting Story From the Road

Juggling at a restaurant and having a kid up on stage with him pee on his leg.  

Other Topics Covered

• There's more to show biz than just having a good show.

• Meeting with agents and event planners.

• His desire to work on cruise ships and what he did to get there.

• Never put all you eggs in one basket.

• His email list and how he interacts with it.

• Content for his monthly email newsletter.  

Parting Advice

Just do it! Show biz is not a part time job.  

Recommended books and resources:

Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small portion of any sales. If you're enjoying our podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our affiliate links to help support the work we're doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!  

Resource:

TripIt

FlightAware

GateGuru  

Books:

Born Standing Up by Steve Martin

Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin  

Where can we find Ivan Pecel?

Ivan Pecel's Website

Twitter @ivanpecel | Facebook | Instagram | Vine

Matthew McCoy gives some great theatrical advice for magicians in some practical steps you can take to improve your act!

Matthew is a theater actor, director, choreographer, and producer up in the Bay Area of Northern California. He’s the founder of BAM!, or Bay Area Musicals and currently serves as Artistic Director.

Holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre he’s acted professionally in countless productions like The Wiz, Guys & Dolls, The Sound of Music, Chicago, and Hairspray. He’s also choreographed and directed such shows as Cinderella, The Music Man, Dracula, and Mary Poppins.

This is just naming a few. Finally, he has an extensive background and knowledge of magic which has made him a sought after asset to direct new magical theater projects in the United States and around the world.

Sponsors:

Click Convert Profit — This episode is brought to you by Josh London's Click Convert Profit and his book Flying Solo, the Smart Solopreneur’s Guide to Making Money Online.

Click here to get $10 off and for my listeners only, the free ebook "4 Ways to Find Your Most Profitable Keywords”.  

Success Quote

Follow your bliss and the universe will open up doors where there were walls. — Joseph Campbell  

BAM! Bay Area Musicals

• Where his inspiration came from in starting this project. 

• Spotted a need and aimed to fill that need.  

• Forming a board of advisors.  

• Creating a business plan.

• Branding.

• Raising funds.  

Coaching & Direction for Magicians

• Common magician mistakes: not knowing your audience, not knowing the story, not making eye contact, originality, taking criticism.

• Variance - adding variety "so you're not just doing cards or split fans."

• Specificity - every single second should be accounted for. This allows you to test and measure things and find the best options for timing and movement, etc.

• Physicality - the physical life and nature of your persona on stage.  

Some tips for magicians:

• If you don't have a script, write one.

• Kill all stock lines.

• Take an acting class.

• Exercise and take care of your body.

• People don't care about you or the show. They're looking for an escape from their day-to-day life.  

Failure Moment

Called the music incorrectly when calling cues for show. They weren't able to recover. Ouch!  

Favorite Success

BAM! Starting Bay Area Musicals!  

Biggest Professional Challenge

Raising capital. You don't want to set sail until you can afford to sink.  

Interesting Story From the Road

A quick fun story involving Master Magician Chris Capehart  

Other Topics Covered

• Talks about moving out to San Francisco and how he went about it. It was very calculated and planned.

• Talks about his background in magic.

• His involvement in Magic at the Beach and producing variety shows.  

Parting Advice

Honesty, originality, and professionalism.  

Recommended books and resources:

Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small portion of any sales. If you're enjoying our podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our affiliate links to help support the work we're doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!  

Resource:

Apple Calendar with alerts and a giant wall calendar to show a bird's eye view.  

Books:

The Viewpoints Book by Anne Bogart  

Where can we find Matthew McCoy?

Matthew McCoy's Website

Champions of Magic

BAM! Bay Area Musicals

This week I talk to musician and school assembly performer Pete Ellison about how he started his very unique school shows and how he keeps all his show booking and client info straight!

Pete Ellison is the founder of One World Rhythm, which provides live, interactive, musical entertainment for schools, libraries, churches, and other private events. Their show combines multimedia with live instrumentation, even placing instruments into the hands of the students to create a unique, interactive musical experience for everyone involved.

Pete has studied for multiple years with Drum Circle Music, and is a Vic Firth Educational Artist. He's also founded other notable groups like The Black Knights Drum Corps, which is a nonprofit youth organization in Burbank, California, and he was a founding member of the Southern California Percussion Alliance which serves over 3,000 youth percussionists each year.

In addition to this, he's also created Show Operations, the ultimate show contact and booking system for entertainment professionals, which pretty much allows you to ditch your spreadsheet and Rolodex in favor of a more intuitive system.  

Sponsors:

Click Convert Profit — This episode is brought to you by Josh London's Click Convert Profit and his book Flying Solo, the Smart Solopreneur’s Guide to Making Money Online. 

Click here to get $10 off and for my listeners only, the free ebook "4 Ways to Find Your Most Profitable Keywords”.  

Success Quote

Job security is not the job you go to each day or the time clock that you punch. Job security is the skill set you develop along your life's journey and that will always give you job security. It's the things you know and can do. — Pete Ellison  

Show Operations

• Tells what Show Operations is and what he was trying to solve in creating it. 

• It's basically a system that keeps all your client, show, and book-keeping info all in one place. It's kind of like a virtual assistant. 

• It's browser-based, so all your data is stored in the cloud. You have access to your data wherever you have access to the internet.   

Special offer for Successful Performercast listeners! 50% off for the lifetime of your account. Click here!  

Failure Moment

Made a cultural faux pas performing at a Jewish Chabad candle-lighting.  

Favorite Success

Winning a bid to work for Radio Disney.  

Biggest Professional Challenge

Getting the word out about his business.

Other Topics Covered

• The difference in mindsets of entrepreneurs vs. those that punch a clock.

• What is job security really?

• Tells how he started his business, how he tried different markets for his drumming idea and eventually decided on the children market.

• Don't be consumed by a failure.

• Tells how he took his idea and pitched it to schools and libraries. He had the added challenge that nobody was currently doing what he was wanting to do.

• How he keeps control over 200 kids with percussion instruments in their hands.

• When you give kids something to do, they're not doing things that you don't want them to do. It's replacing undesired actions with desired ones.  

Parting Advice

Go out there and take action! You're not getting any younger.  

Recommended books and resources:

Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small portion of any sales. If you're enjoying our podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our affiliate links to help support the work we're doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!

Resource:

Show Operations  

Books:

Be Our Guest! by The Disney Institute

Dan Kennedy books on Marketing  

Where can we find Pete Ellison?

OneWorldRhythm.com

IncredibleSchoolAssemblies.com

Show Operations

For this episode, I had the honor of interviewing Post Modern Vaudevillian, Michael Rayner about his career in juggling, mayhem, and on doing audience warmup shows! Yeah, he's one of the guys that entertains live audiences between takes during TV show filmings!

To call Michael just a juggler would do him no justice, because his hilarious stunts range everywhere from balancing various objects on his face to spinning a cheeseburger on an umbrella.

As an actor you may have seen his appearances on Judging Amy, Sesame Street, Late Night with David Letterman, numerous appearances on Nickelodeon, and on countless commercials. He’s also a TV writer having written for The Game Show Network, E! Entertainment Television, and Nickelodeon.

Finally, he also warms up audiences watching filmings of sitcoms, but something tells me this is just scratching the surface of Michael’s world.  

Sponsors:

Click Convert Profit — This episode is brought to you by Josh London's Click Convert Profit and his book Flying Solo, the Smart Solopreneur’s Guide to Making Money Online. 

Click here to get $10 off and for my listeners only, the free ebook "4 Ways to Find Your Most Profitable Keywords”.  

Success Mantra

Anarchy! He really likes a show where literally anything can happen!  

Audience Warmups

This is a specific area of performing where you warm up the live audiences watching the taping of a sitcom.

• Tells how he broke into this particular arena of entertaining. 

• It's not about you or how funny you are, it's about making the sitcom look as good as possible. 

• You have to scale your own performance so you're not funnier or more entertaining than the show. 

• Read the script to make sure you're not "stepping on any jokes or bits" or other material from the show.

• How to break into doing warmup shows. 

• Targeting your resumé to warmups. What looks best on a resumé?

• What to do for your audition.

• How to prepare for your first night performing.

• Being able to estimate how long it will be between takes.

• Having enough material.

• Knowing the cast and the production team.  

Failure Moment

Splitting up the Olsen Twins when announcing them during a warmup gig. You NEVER split up the Olsen Twins. Never.  

Biggest Professional Challenge

Realizing that he doesn't have to be a "big name" to be successful. The fact that he's making a living means that he's won! (Plus, he married Mo from Nickelodeon's Guts, for the WIN!)

Other Topics Covered

• "Taking the offer" in improvising.

• Found Object juggling show.

• You don't need a lot of money to start performing.

• His approach to creativity.

• The science and finer points of spinning a hamburger on a parasol. 

Parting Advice

Figure out how you can make things a little different and be open to new experiences.

Recommended books and resources:

Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small portion of any sales. If you're enjoying our podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our affiliate links to help support the work we're doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!  

Resource:

PODCASTS!!!  

Book:

True & False by David Mamet  

Where can we find Michael Rayner?

MichaelRayner.com

Twitter @brokenjuggler | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube  

In this interview, Shawn Popp talks about adding music to your performances and answers many questions that people have asked about his app Show Cues.

Shawn Popp, AKA the Magic Dude, is one of Colorado's favorite performers. He's built a career traveling the country performing his magic at corporate events, trade shows, private parties, and other special events. His thouroughally entertaining show includes magic, mentalism, comedy, and music.

Speaking of music, Shawn is also the mind behind the iOS app Show Cues, a sound control system which helps you to bring music to your shows. It's almost like having a sound engineer in your pocket.  

Sponsors:

Click Convert Profit — This episode is brought to you by Josh London's Click Convert Profit and his book Flying Solo, the Smart Solopreneur’s Guide to Making Money Online. 

Click here to get $10 off and for my listeners only, the free ebook "4 Ways to Find Your Most Profitable Keywords”.  

Success Quote:

Make every day great and fun as well as every show!  

Magic and Music

• How important music really is to a magic act.  

• How he chooses music for his shows. 

• Each performer needs to find what speaks to them and their own style.  

• Having a well-defined character helps when picking music.  

• Be aware of your audience.  

• Common places in a show where you can add music. 

• Three steps to adding music to your show.  

About Show Cues App

SPECIAL FOR SUCCESSFUL PERFORMERCAST LISTENERS: For three days only, May 1–3, 2015, Shawn is offering 20% off of both the Show Cues App (taking it from $89.99 down to $69.99) and the Show Cues Remote (taking it from $59.99 to $47.99).   

• What it is and why he created it.

• Android version coming soon.

• They're open to feedback from users and take it into account to make the app better.

• A universal app (iPhone and iPad) is on the horizon and current users will be able to upgrade for free if they currently own one or the other.

• Why so expensive?

• Addresses questions and concerns regarding remotes not working with the app.  

Failure Moment

Talks about a failed "card stab" on stage and what he did.  

Favorite Success

Being booked over and over by the same clients year after year.

Other Topics Covered

• Talked about how he shifted into performing full-time which involved him freelancing as a graphic designer.

• Saving up money before you "jump ship."  

Parting Advice

Don't sell yourself short. Do great magic. Price yourself accordingly.  

Recommended books and resources:

Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small portion of any sales. If you're enjoying our podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our affiliate links to help support the work we're doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!

Resource:

Show Cues

Manager Sal

Showbiz CRM

Evernote  

Books:

Secret Agenda by Roberto Giobbi

Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith

The Expert from Out of Town: Marketing a Business Nationwide by Anthony F. Perry    

Where can we find Shawn Popp?

Open the Trap Door

Shawn Preston's Website

Conjuring Cabinet

Twitter @magicdudeco | Facebook

In this interview, John Abrams brings us into his business performing assembly shows at elementary schools. He doesn't hold anything back and even gives us some example scripts designed to make his shows more effective in their intended objectives!

John Abrams is a magician, actor, Emcee, husband and dad, who has found his passion, and probably also his calling in performing school assembly shows for elementary schools.

Since 1998, John has performed school assembly shows, starting with his flagship show, Animal Magic, featuring all live exotic pets. He would perform that show an average of 250 times per year. Since then, he’s created countless other shows that bring inspiration and help teachers tackle topics like bullying, drugs, and the importance of good character. He currently performs over 500 shows each year at elementary schools and libraries all over Southern California.

John is also an expert in marketing and has taught his methods of getting shows to other performers over the internet, through lectures, and various information products.  

Sponsors:

Click Convert Profit — This episode is brought to you by Josh London's Click Convert Profit and his book Flying Solo, the Smart Solopreneur’s Guide to Making Money Online. Click here to get $10 off and for my listeners only, the free ebook "4 Ways to Find Your Most Profitable Keywords”.  

Success Quote:

If you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. — Henry Ford  

Assembly Shows

• Tells how he came up with topics to create shows around. 

• Finding out what the teachers need, finding a pain point and building a show around that.  

• Tells how he researches topics.  

• You can look up school curriculums online at the Department of Education Website. 

• Go online and see what other assembly shows are doing. 

• Talks about his website and the elements he uses: benefit-driven headline, benefit-driven content, and market-specific testimonials. It's basically a sales letter website. 

• Pricing on assembly shows: what he charges ($900 for two assemblies) and what someone breaking in should charge ($700 for two assemblies). Mentions other possible pricing structures.

• How he uses Yelp to get testimonials.

• Differences between assembly shows and library shows. They want different results!  

Failure Moment

Hear about a physically intense sales letter that he sent out to schools that he'll never send out again!  

Favorite Success

A very successful library showcase he did while wearing a space suit and booked 60 shows from it!  

Biggest Professional Challenge

Letting the cooperate market go. He discovered that he didn't want to travel and perform on weekends and nights. It was tough for him to walk away from the market and potential money.  

Awesome Sample Scripts!

Note: These scripts are tailored to John's performance style and character. Please use these as guidelines to write your own pitches for your shows. 

Pitch for the jumbo dollar bills you give away: "Kids, if you enjoyed yourselves and had a great time, not only are there five magic tricks on the back of this dollar bill, but there's a handsome and good-looking guy on the front here, as well as my phone number and website in case you want to invite me to your party."

At the end of an assembly show after summarizing the teaching: "If you enjoyed the show, here's what you've gotta do. I know you're going to be excited and talking in your loud voices, but I want you to go back to class and talk in your quiet voices for your teachers, because, if you talk in your quiet voices, maybe, they'll invite me back . If you think that's a good idea, everybody shout yay!"

Pitching books at libraries during his animal show: "Who liked the dove? Who liked the snake? Who liked the chinchilla? Who liked the tarantula? If you liked any of these animals, right over there are all kinds of books on snakes, and doves, and chinchillas, and spiders. Do you see that shelf over there? Let's make sure that shelf becomes completely empty before you go home!"

Pitching magic books at libraries: "Do you want to know how I did all this magic? In this library there are books that teach you magic tricks. All you have to do is check them out for free with your library card, open them up and practice them with your mom and dad, and one day you can do a magic show just like I did! Doesn't that sound cool?"  

Other Topics Covered

• The importance of marketing.

• Anything you give away needs to be of value, but you also need to pitch it so they know what to do with it!

• Talks about his menagerie of animals and how he handles, cares for, and travels with them.

• Laminate the flyers you give out. If you do that, nobody will ever throw them away!

• Shaping your career around what you want your lifestyle to be.  

Parting Advice

You already have enough to shows and sell them. Just do it!  

Recommended books and resources:

Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small portion of any sales. If you're enjoying our podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our affiliate links to help support the work we're doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!  

Resource:

Podcasts! Specifically School of Greatness and the TED Radio Hour  

Classic Success Books:

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale

Success Principles by Jack Canfield

GOALS by Brian Tracy  

Newer Books:

The Actor's Handbook by Constantin Stanislavski

The Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan Kennedy

Chasing Cool by Noah Kerner  

CALL TO ACTION: Get John to Write a Book on Assembly Shows!

If enough people email John and request him to write a book on assembly shows, he'll do it! Email him now! john@amazingschoolassemblies.com  

Where can we find The John Abrams?

Amazing School Assemblies

California Bully Assemblies

California Character Assemblies

Animals and Magic

Twitter @johnabrams1

In this interview, The Amazing Allison shares her journey with us and offers some valuable insights into performing in corporate venues.

The Amazing Allison Campbell is considered to be corporate America’s leading female mentalist and infotainer and has performed in virtually all types of venues, including as a magical bartender at America's Top Chef Rick Moonen's RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay and many appearances on national TV & radio.

She’s also a world-class mentalist, spokes-model and presenter for corporate applications working with and breaking sales records for dozens of Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft, Cisco, SanDisk, and Dell-Wyse.

In addition to all this, Allison has lectured on the business of magic and mentalism, being the first woman to lecture at Mindvention and the only person to be asked back to lecture for two consecutive years.  

Sponsors:

Click Convert Profit — This episode is brought to you by Josh London's Click Convert Profit and his book Flying Solo, the Smart Solopreneur’s Guide to Making Money Online. Click here to get $10 off and for my listeners only, the free ebook "4 Ways to Find Your Most Profitable Keywords”.  

Success Mantra:

Obstacles are those frightening things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. — Henry Ford  

Corporate Performing

• Courting clients.

• Staying top of mind with your clients and prospects. 

• Being of value to your clients. 

• "Leading the conversation" with their prospects planting the idea of hiring them in their minds so it seems like their idea. 

• The importance of verbiage and language in your contracts.

• Drawing people to the trade show booths.

Biggest Profesional Challenge

Being a female mentalist in the "boy's club" of magic and being taken seriously.  

Failure Moment

Tells about a show for a very big client where they changed everything about the show at the very last minute.  

Favorite Success

The same show from the failure story above. She tells how they got that client, and that they're still working with them!  

Differentiates Herself

The fact that she's a female entertainer. Also, being able to draw the biggest crowds at trade shows.  

Interesting Story

Sharing the stage with a paraplegic soldier and all the inspiration gained from him.  

Other Topics Covered

• What it's like working with her husband in business.

• How she landed her first restaurant gig.

• Separating business and personal life.

• Her experience lecturing at Mindvention.

• There's always room for improvement.  

Parting Advice

Don't ever think that you can't do something.  

Recommended books and resources:

Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small portion of any sales. If you're enjoying our podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our affiliate links to help support the work we're doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!  

Resource:

LinkedIn — She gives some tips in using it for business.

Brian The Magic Guy Campbells Magic Business Lessons  

Books:
Psychological Subtleties 1 by Banachek
Psychological Subtleties 2 by Banachek 
Psychological Subtleties 3 by Banachek

Verbal Judo by George J Thompson 

Where can we find The Amazing Allison?

Amazing Allison's Website

ShowPros

Lecture notes and magic products are available through email. allison@amazingallison.com

Twitter @magicallie | Facebook | LinkedIn

In this interview, Canadian magician John Kaplan tells us all about his career in creating fundraising shows! He really takes us into his business and gives some wonderful insight into this specialized niche.

With his Fundraising Magic program, John has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for hundreds of schools and community organizations to use in their worthwhile causes.

Not keeping his knowledge to himself, John also teaches his methods to other entertainers and has gained worldwide recognition for his books and courses and is also a sought-after speaker and trainer when it comes to producing fundraising shows.

Sponsors:

Click Convert Profit — This episode is brought to you by Josh London's Click Convert Profit and his book Flying Solo, the Smart Solopreneur’s Guide to Making Money Online. Click here to get $10 off and for my listeners only, the free ebook "4 Ways to Find Your Most Profitable Keywords”.  

Success Mantra:

You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. — Zig Ziglar  

Fundraising Shows

• Not just selling a magic show, but a way for his clients to make money as well.

• Tells how he got into fundraising shows. 

• Tells about his second fundraising show which proved to be a flop. 

• How he developed his system. 

• His fundraising shows need to: 1. make sure his overhead os covered,  2. make sure he gets paid, and 3. make sure his client makes a lot of money!

• Three pillars to a successful fundraiser: Planning, Promotion, Profitability.

• How he gives his clients all the tools they need to do the fundraiser. 

• Piggyback fundraisers like souvenirs, local celebrities, and pledge contests.

• How he uses email auto responders to guide his clients along the path to their successful fundraiser.

• What a single-day event looks like for a fundraiser.

• Who his competition really is.

• Using celebrities in his fundraisers.

• Having other businesses like realtors sponsor the events to further increase his client's bottom line.

• The story of a 16 year old girl who started a foundation, used Johns services and raised $11,000 for her cause!  

Failure Moment

John talks about his second attempt at a fundraising show that flopped dismally. Good thing it didn't keep him down!  

Favorite Success

He created a big campaign for Merlin Motors around a "car vanish" which ended up being a wild success bringing people to their car lot.  

What's worked best in growing his business?

Over-delivering.  

Biggest Professional Challenge

Replacing long-term clients that for one reason or another aren't using him anymore.

What would he have done differently?

Nurture relationships with agents and event planners more.  

Other Topics Covered

• Market first, product second. Sell the show, then if someone buys it, produce it.

• Going the extra mile.  

Parting Advice

1. Invest in yourself.

2. Work diligently.

3. Over-deliver.  

Recommended books and resources:

Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small portion of any sales. If you're enjoying our podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our affiliate links to help support the work we're doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!  

Resource:

Google Maps for helping in planning his tours.  

Books:

Biographies:
The Great Houdini by Beryl & Epstein
Jimmy: an Autobiography by Jimmy Pattison

How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins
How to Sell Yourself by Joe Girard
Secrets of Closing the Sale by Zig Ziglar

Steinmeyer Books
Paul Osborne Books
The Great Illusions of Magic by Byron Wels  

Where can we find John Kaplan?

Fundraising Magic Website

John's Products for Magicians

John's Business Building Resources for Entertainers

John on Facebook