I've invited back onto my show Jay Alexander and Christian Cagigal because they have been putting together a four-day festival of magic up in San Francisco called the Fog City Magic Fest and I wanted to get them on to talk to them about how they’re putting it together. They take us behind the scenes and talk about the nuts and bolts of how they're going about putting together this four-day festival of magic.     Show Sponsors: ManageGigs: ManageGigs helps you keep track of all of your gigs online, without having to resort to spreadsheets. Click here to check them out and sign up for your free seven day trial! Audible: For Performercast Listeners, Audible is offering a free audiobook download and a free 30-day trial to give you the opportunity to check out their service. Click here to check it out!     Fog City Magic Fest Here are some of the topics Jay and Christian touch upon during this interview. • They talk about the genesis of this project. • How they're marketing and promoting it. • How they've decided on the performers. • They talk about some of the challenges they've faced. • How they've decided on their venue?     Jay Alexander's Free Business/Marketing Videos   Jay has been creating some great business/marketing videos that you can have access to for free. Click here for more details.     Where can we find out more about Fog City Magic Fest? Feb 10-13 at Exit Theater fogcitymagicfest.com Facebook | Twitter @FogCityMagic | Instagram  

I'm currently taking a holiday break from my regularly scheduled episodes, so for the next few weeks, I'm running my six most downloaded episodes. I'll be back on the first of the year with brand new episodes! In the mean time, enjoy these "Best of" episodes. Mark Kornhauser's interview is my most downloaded episode of all time! In this episode, we talk about his career in magic, what it takes to perform in casino showrooms, his successes, challenges, and how hard work really pays off. Mark Kornhauser is one of the most successful comedy acts in the world boasting 25 years plus, consistently performing in and producing shows in the most prestigious casinos in Vegas, Reno, Lake Tahoe, and Atlantic City. We’re talkin’ Harrahs, Planet Hollywood, Mandalay Bay, Flamingo, Tropicana, and Hilton, just to name a few. He’s opened for more than a few top name entertainers like Tom Jones, Elvis Costello, Frankie Valli, Terry Fator, David Letterman, and Tim Allen. He’s also been featured on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Masters of Illusion, NBC, FOX, Comedy Central, and HBO.   Success Mantra: Hard work, clean living.   Working in Casinos: • Fitting into a time slot • How the casino venue has changed: catering more toward headliners than variety entertainers • How he stays in the game: develops and grows new material • Mistakes he sees people make in the casino market • What he sees as the future of performing in casinos   Failure Moment: Did a Le Pétomane (flatulence) act that initially bombed.   Favorite Success: His current act with his dog Zsa Zsa.   How Does Mark Differentiate Himself? Makes his act vastly different from anyone else.   What's Worked Well for Mark's Business? Maintaining relationships with clients.   Interesting Story from His Career Listen in to what happened when Mark ran into James Brown at a bathroom sink.   What's Been Mark's Biggest Professional Challenge? Staying through the difficult times   Other Topics Covered • Success and how it's different for each person. • Talks about how Doug Henning played a part in his journey. • Listening to your audience. • Talks about his inspiration and creative process. • Gives us his take on magic on TV. • You can no longer be an "expensive act," but you can be a "cheap show." • Tells about his column in Magic Magazine.   Parting advice: Hard work, clean living. And courage.   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 Have a place to collect your thoughts. Also, keep a lookout for a compilation of all of his articles from Magic Magazine.   Magic Books Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear by Jim Steinmeyer The Glorious Deception: The Double Life of William Robinson, Aka Chung Ling Soo by Jim Steinmeyer The Last Greatest Magician in the World: Howard Thurston Versus Houdini & the Battles of the American Wizards by Jim Steinmeyer Our Magic by Nevil Maskelyne   Other Books Whack to the Side of the Head by Roger von Oech Kick to the Seat of the Pants by Roger von Oech Whack Pack by Roger von Oech The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron   Where can we find Mark Kornhauser? Mark's Website  

I'm currently taking a holiday break from my regularly scheduled episodes, so for the next few weeks, I'm running my six most downloaded episodes. I'll be back on the first of the year with brand new episodes! In the mean time, enjoy these "Best of" episodes. Lou Serrano's interview is my second most downloaded episode. In this episode, we talk about Lou's career, how he's always working, and we also talk a little about his public speaking ventures and his thoughts on that. Lou Serrano is a professional magician and a frequent performer at the Hollywood magic castle, a corporate entertainer, keynote speaker, and author, Lou is also a marketing expert and consultant who has helped countless other magicians and entertainers go after their chosen markets and kill it! It’s certainly no question as to why he’s been referred to as “the magician who is always working.”   Success Quote: A lobster, when left high and dry among the rock, does not have the sense enough to work his way back to the sea, but waits for the sea to come to him. If it does not come, he remains where he is and dies, although the slightest effort would enable him to reach the waves, which are perhaps within a yard of him. The world is full of human lobsters; people stranded on the rocks of indecision and procrastination, who, instead of putting forth their own energies, are waiting for some grand billow of good fortune to set them afloat. — Orison Swett Marden   Lou on Public Speaking Lou is currently working on stepping into public and keynote speaking. He gives some of his insights on breaking into this market. • Talks about the two ways to approach public speaking • Tells about his topic, The Magic of Communication or How to Command the Attention of an Audience, and how he decided upon that topic. • Talks about some of the lessons he's learned so far in this journey. • Tells how he connects a topic points to a magical effects and gives an example.     A Moment of Failure: A $9,000 infomercial that ultimately flopped. It yielded absolutely no results. Find out what he learned.     Biggest success: Releasing his Steel Ball Routine which sold like hot cakes and ultimately helped him get through The Great Recession.     How does he differentiate himself? Lou differentiates himself from others in his genre by how he performs and how he does business. He ultimately wats his clients to get the best, even if that means he needs to hire someone else to fill their needs.     Has he "made it?" Yes. He "made it" the moment he started moving toward his goal of becoming a professional magician.     What's working for him business-wise? Keeping a database of clients & prospects and keeping in touch with them. Answers the question: "What if I only have a handful of people on my list?"     Is there anything he would have done differently up to this point? He would have been wiser with money early on. He wouldn't have been as careless with it as he had been at the beginning.     Other topics touched upon: • Lou brings us into his incredible journey of finding himself in music, then in magic, and how he'd actually hit rock bottom, finding himself without any real marketable skills and having to get a job driving that paid $5 an hour at the time. Find out how he got out and was able to transition into performing full time. • The importance of having a list of clients and prospects and keeping in touch with them. • How the Magic Castle has helped him in his career. • Tells about why he gives a 20% commission to people that refer him shows and how effective it has been for him.     Parting advice: Treat your art as a business if you want to be successful. It's never too late to start. People to study: Jeff Walker - Product Launch Formula Brendan Burchard - Experts Academy Dan Kennedy - Small Business Marketing Strategy Marlin Sanders - Amazing Formula     Special Offer for Successful Performercast Listeners ONLY! Lou is offering 20% off of his marketing course for magicians. This is a great course. It's what got me to take the first steps in marketing my magic business and has helped me tremendously. Visit www.sixfiguremagic.com and use the coupon code KRIS at the time of purchase and you'll automatically get 20% off!     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: Squarespace     Performance Specific Book Maximum Entertainment by Ken Weber     Non-Performance Specific Book Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want — Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible by Brian Tracy    Where can we find Lou Serrano? LouSerrano.com - Magic Website SteelBallMagic.com - Close up magic routine LouSerranoMarketing.com - Free marketing tips & advice SixFigureMagic.com - Marketing course for magicians (20% Off with Coupon Code: KRIS)   Twitter @LouSerrano | Facebook

I'm currently taking a holiday break from my regularly scheduled episodes, so for the next few weeks, I'm running my six most downloaded episodes. I'll be back on the first of the year with brand new episodes! In the mean time, enjoy these "Best of" episodes. In this episode, I talk to paranormal magician Joe Diamond. We go into detail on publicity stunts and how to get the press to notice! We also have an interesting discussion on "Pay What You Want" pricing structures and he mentions an awesome resource that you probably already have but just aren't using! Joe Diamond is a paranormal magician from Chicago Illinois. Just in his twenties, Joe has been able to turn his fascination for the paranormal into a full time career and has an amazing understanding into the workings of the strange & bizarre, often defying the boundaries between what we assume can and can't be done. He was the youngest First Place winner of the “Close Up Magic Classic,” an award given in Colon Michigan, the Magic Capital of the World and now performs his paranormal magic all over the country for private parties, corporations, and theaters. Four years ago, Joe performed the world’s largest mind reading demonstration: completing a 33 acre cornfield maze while blindfolded, finishing in less than three hours. In fact, with his public demonstrations, Joe has been able to get more attention from the press lately than a good old fashioned Hollywood scandal. Magician Jay Sankey says it best” "Joe has great skill, a marvelous sense of humor and more energy than any other four magicians combined! What more could you want?"     Success Mantra: Dream like you'll live forever, live like you'll die today. — James Dean     Failure Story: Joe tells us about a specific "hell gig" story that he had to endure where he was getting paid too little for too much, and was generally just a horrible experience.   Favorite Success: Solving the world's largest corn field maze blindfolded!     Publicity!!! • Talks about his first venture into getting publicity. • Tips where he got his idea for the blindfold corn maze walk. Hint: It's Corinda's! • Putting different spins or angles on otherwise "classic stunts." • If you fail a stunt, the only people that will know are you and the reporter. And you can always find another reporter! • Getting the word out about your stunt. • Getting the photos and videos of your stunt. • Be safe! Do your due diligence. You don't have to do something dangerous. Joe has never done anything dangerous in his stunts.     Other Topics Covered • Always being ready. "What would I do if I had to do it tomorrow night?" • Touch on Joe's venture into a "Pay What You Want" pricing structure.     Publicity Consulting Joe offers consulting on publicity and publicity stunts. Shoot him an email for more info.     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 Use your camera phone to get video of your show and video testimonials. "Do you mind if we record this next trick?" "Would you mind if I get a quick 10–20 second review of my magic?"     Business Books Buzzmarketing by Mark Hughes Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer Thinker Toys by Michael Michalko      Magic Books Magic by Design by John Carney (Out of Print) The Shiels Effect by Tony Shiels (Out of Print) The Jinx by Theodore Annemann The Phoenix     Where can we find Joe Diamond? Joe's Website Youtube  

I'm currently taking a holiday break from my regularly scheduled episodes, so for the next few weeks, I'm running my six most downloaded episodes. I'll be back on the first of the year with brand new episodes! In the mean time, enjoy these "Best of" episodes. Mac King! Mac 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      

I'm currently taking a holiday break from my regularly scheduled episodes, so for the next few weeks, I'm running my six most downloaded episodes. I'll be back on the first of the year with brand new episodes! In the mean time, enjoy these "Best of" episodes. In this episode I talk to magician Jay Alexander! We talk all about various methods that Jay uses to market his business, encourage word of mouth, build relationships with his clients, and customize his shows! Jay Alexander is one of the top corporate and society entertainers in the country and one of the highest paid magical performers in the industry. Jay started his career early performing for the patrons of his parent’s shoe store. At the age of 14 he won the Society of American Magicians Gold Medal of Honor. He now creates customized shows for Fortune 500 companies. Some of his corporate clients include Apple, Cisco, Lucas Films, Bank of America, Kaiser Permanente, Coca Cola, and Chrysler. He’s also performed at private parties and events for the likes of Robin Williams, The Rolling Stones, and Duran Duran. In the words of Ron Wood from the Rolling Stones, “Jay is the best magician I have ever seen!"   Success Mantra: Under-promise and over-deliver.     Failure Story: Tells about not quite understanding the market he was targeting and how he created a very specific character called "Moishe the All-Kosher Magician" which didn't work at all for his target market. He learned a very important lesson of knowing your market.   Favorite Success: The time he made a young girl smile who hadn't shown a smile in at least eight years while performing magic at a school for autistic children.     What's worked well for Jay's business? Having a great show, word of mouth, and having something easy for the audience to remember about his show. (Ammar's adage: KISS - Keep It Slogan Simple)     Interesting Story from the Road Listen to a fun story involving Jay at the Fillmore with the Rolling Stones, and Card on the Ceiling.     Biggest Professional Challenge Staying relevant as he's becoming "The Old Guy."     What would Jay have done differently? Collaborated with more people and got more advice early on.     Parting Advice Learn how to manage your money.   Other Topics Covered • You get ahead by working harder than everyone else. • The magic isn't about you, or even your audience. It's about the Guest of Honor, or the person that hired you. It's your job to make them look great! • Every moment from the time the client calls to the moment Jay sends the thank you card is planned and intentional. It's all part of the Jay Alexander experience. • Going out into the audience right after his show to spend time with them, take pictures and do a little closeup magic. • How he follows up with contacts even if he doesn't get their business. • Word of mouth and getting video testimonials. • Customizing his shows for his clients: Facebook is your friend! • Getting your audience to remember you. • Getting inspiration by watching bands and how they structure their concerts.     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 Siri: Jay does a great deal through Siri. Also, make sure you have with you at every show, a toothbrush, prop list, color-coded cue sheet, and intro card. Pro tip: If you laminate the prop list, cue sheet, and intro card, you'll always get them back!     Magic Books Maximum Entertainment by Ken Weber Stage Performance by Livingston Taylor     Business Books Million Dollar Speaking: The Professional's Guide to Building Your Platform by Alan Weiss Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi      Where can we find Jay Alexander? JayAlexander.com Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter @JAlexanderMagic | Google+ | Youtube        

Michael Eaton is a professional magician from Orlando Florida, one of the official magicians of the Orlando Magic basketball team, and his business and marketing chops are as amazing as his magic chops! During our conversation, we talk in depth about restaurant magic and his approach to performing in them.     Success Quote: Relate to people and adapt well to environments. Life will often teach you more than a book can. — Michael Eaton    Restaurant magic: • Michael's approach to restaurant magic isn't just about performing for tables to help the guests wait for their food. He works with the restaurant and uses his magic to help bring in business and increase interaction online with the restaurant. • Push vs. Pull marketing. • The importance of wardrobe to your act. • How to approach tables: Read, Relate, Rapport. He even gives us a script he uses when approaching tables. • Michael's stance on accepting tips • Why people tip. Sometimes the affluent will tip you as a way of dismissing you to move on to the next table.     A Moment of Failure: Find out how Michael learned the hard way to think twice about what he posts in social media arenas.     Biggest success: Michael had the privilege and honor to perform for the Kentucky Derby Train for high profile people and politicians.     What's working for him business-wise? Maintaining relationships and treating everyone as equal. You just never know who you know.     Other topics touched upon: • What it's like being one of the official magicians of the Orlando Magic. • Tells about his first paid magic gig for which he had to borrow some apparatus from the magic shop that employed him. • Talks about the considerable resistance he's received from friends and family in response to being a full time magician. • Tells a heart-warming story about performing for a group of people at a restaurant that just returned from a funeral of a dear loved one. It illustrates the fact that it's not about tricks, moves, or sleights. It's not about our act, but about the people we meet and the difference we can make in their lives.     Parting advice: Have a specific client avatar for you to target.     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!   Performance Specific Book Fitzkee Trilogy   Non-Performance Specific Books How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie No BS Direct Marketing by Dan Kennedy 13 Ways to Hack Facebook Ads: A Digital Marketer Hack Guide by Ryan Deiss Frank Kern: Mass Control      Resources: It's essential to have a way to capture emails and keep in touch with your clients. Here are a couple ways that Michael recommends: AWeber | Mailchimp     Restaurant Magic Consultation Session - $199 Michael offers a special restaurant magic consultation session on how to track and show how you're making a difference to the bottom line of the restaurants you work at. If you take him up on this offer, please let him know you heard about it here! You can contact him at his website. Eaton Magic     Where can we find Michael Eaton? Michael's official website Facebook  

This is a bonus episode, something new I'm trying out. Don't worry, your regular scheduled interviews will continue uninterrupted. This episode is just me getting behind the mic without an interview, talking to you and sharing whats on my heart and mind. I'm going to do these bonus episodes about once every month and I'm hopping this will be another way for me to connect with you all who listen to my show. If you like this, let me know. If you don't like it, let me know. Let me throw this spaghetti against the wall to see if it sticks! :)     Here's what I ramble about in this bonus episode: • I introduce myself and tell a little about who I am. I know, I should have done this a looong time ago. • Why am I doing this show? What are my hopes? • My restaurant gigs and an interesting experience I had at a table a few weeks ago. • My word for the year: Value. • Some shoutouts. • How can you help support the show? My Amazon Affiliate Link     Thanks for listening. I really appreciate each and every one of you. Please let me know how I can serve you. :) Drop me a line! Here's what I ramble about in this bonus episode: • I introduce myself and tell a little about who I am. I know, I should have done this a looong time ago. • Why am I doing this show? What are my hopes? • My restaurant gigs and an interesting experience I had at a table a few weeks ago. • My word for the year: Value. • Some shoutouts. • How can you help support the show? My Amazon Affiliate Link   Thanks for listening. I really appreciate each and every one of you. Please let me know how I can serve you. :) Drop me a line! [hide_email ks@successfulperformercast.com] | Facebook | Twitter @krissheppard">ks@successfulperformercast.com | Facebook | Twitter @krissheppard