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I am creating a new DVD that describes what I did to create my magic business as well as describes the show that I performed thousands of times in the family market.

What questions should I answer in this DVD?

I'll give anyone who asks a good question about the what show be on the DVD a FREE copy of my Halloween show as a thank you.

With thanks,

Millard

when did you realise that what you were doing was truly successful?

what was the best and worst advice you were ever given? and what did you learn from both...

how did you know this market was the one for you?

who and what inspired you to perform in the first place?

do you measure success by the money, or is it something, like emotional satisfaction too?

pleasure to see you here mr grubb...

It'd be a good idea to put in something about the business side: cash management, bookkeeping, receipts reconciliation, etc.

Iain. That is not Millard Longman you are talking to. That is Millard Grubb otherwise previously known as Dave Harper. He is now the Canadian Prime Minister. You had better bow your head and tug your forelock to him.

amended!

Iain didn't leave much for the rest of us eh?

How did you get into magic and who were your insperations. What literature would you recommend to new magicians.

Alec

I appreciate the questions....

For those who submitted questions I have sent you PMs so you can get the Halloween Show.

BTW, what do you think would be a fair price for this DVD with all questions answered along with the explanation of the CORE show, marketing, scripts, etc.

Cheers,

Millard

i think its a mix - it depends on whether you are sharing known/used methods that are already out there - or sharing your own unique touches and stuff you have created yourself...

and it sounds like you're selling the whole thing, so i suppose its more about how much is the act worth? and who you're happy to sell to? market-wise i mean...

are you only going to sell it to other working pro's, or a wider market? cos the price will influence who will buy it i would have thought?

i suppose its a limited release vs a mass appeal..

good luck with it

I appreciate the comments!

The release is going to performers or would be performers who want a show that works. Frankly, I was doing ONLY mentalism and close-up at restaurants when this show was developed.

I was attending one of Tony Andruzzi's Invocations when I was talking with friend, Richard Webster. Richard took me aside and said that he was making quite a bit of money doing family programs. Imagine my surprise when famed, mentalist, Richard Webster, showed me his card that said, Richardo, Children's Magician!

I then started to make phone calls and booked a bunch of shows... thing is, I didn't have a show yet for family audiences! I got a lot of help from my friends getting the show together.

At that point, my Dave Harper persona was left with the mentalism.... I now became the Magic Professor.

This new DVD explains how the show developed, how I started it, how it changed, how it has been adapted for other markets, and how to sell it.

Thanks for the help in allowing me to put more value in it.

Warmly,

Millard

This doesn't surprise me a bit. I have always known that the so called humble children's entertainer makes more money than the average mentalist despite the lower fees. Sheer quantity of shows is what does it. A bit like the tortoise and the hare.

Sure a mentalist will make more money in a corporate booking but the facts are there are less places for them to work. You are far better off doing 5 kids a week than one corporate mentalism show a month.

Mark is right!

Doing three birthdays a week-end, every week turns a fair profit and you work consistently. You NEVER run out of kids!

I was in a new area and wanted to TRY out an idea I had to see if it would pan out for some shows.

I went to a BURGER KING that had one of those big playrooms in it... I had already spied out the place and saw that mothers were bringing their kids for lunch.... Waited until a day that I was coming from a school show and still had my "performing" clothes on...

Told the manager that since I was there, would he mind if I made a few balloons for the kids in the playroom? He said OK.

I spent 15 minutes in the playroom, just having fun. Passed out trick booklets and balloons. The manager gives me lunch.

BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.... I got two EXPENSIVE birthday parties for the little investment of 15 minutes!

I then used variations of this ploy to get more shows at other times and places.

Hope this helps!

Millard

Now you see what America has done to me? I've been living here for 10 yrs now and I had to sit back and think for a bit to figure out that the PM of Canada is now Stephen Harper. I miss Trudeau!

Hi Millard - I have a question.

Your first post talks about family shows - it is then mentioned that your act used to primarily be mentalist based (implying perhaps that mentalism wasn't for family audiences) and then you talk about children's parties. Are we talking about three distinctive sets of audiences here or just two?

Certainly Children's parties are in a catagory all by themselves, but family shows and mentalism are surely share the same audience in fact surely mentalism is (for the most part) a family act. Certainly I am happy to have children and teenagers present along with the adults at my mentalism shows.

So my question is, what distinction you make between family show and mentalist show and how the two differ for you. Or - am I just misunderstanding and for Family show you are merely refering to childrens show?

When I started my career I was doing close-up(Walk around) for restaurants and corporate functions. My stand up program was either a hyp show or mentalism show for night clubs or corporate after dinner programs.

Then in the 1980's, I went to one of Tony Andruzzi's Invocations and talked to my friend, Richard Webster. He came up to me and said, "Take a look at this." It was his OTHER card. Ricardo, the Magician, it said.

I was flabbergasted. Here my friend, was, at the time, one of the world's most well-written and known mentalists, Richard told me that he made quite a bit of money doing family and kid shows.

After that I made some calls, booked some shows. But I didn't have a kidshow! Richard and some others helped me to get one together. So a new phase of my career began.

I kept my "Dave Harper" persona for adult mentalism shows, and "The Magic Professor" for family and kid shows. It worked out well for me.

The way I look at it, it must be a dirty little secret of some performers. They don't want to be caught dead doing kidshows or family venues. But, frankly, there are more family events by far than the adult programs.

I enjoy the challenge of mentalism shows... My take is a cross between Richard Webster and Richard Osterlind.... But I have MORE FUN with the family shows.

Hope this helps.

Millard