Here comes goodbye….
We grow as we develop. As we develop situations arise and or circumstances change and we have to adjust our goals accordingly. Most professional magicians will come to a point where they have to be professional and being professional means turning down work that is NOT A GOOD FIT! You read that… The professional thing to do sometimes is TURN DOWN the request because it is NOT a good fit. NEVER sacrifice quality for quantity. Sometimes turning down the request may even mean turning down an old client.
Sometimes a show is just a job
Every professional magician has a slow part of the year. This is true for any business. For me thats usually right after Christmas and before the last week of January. I personally don’t like being out on the road in the Twilight hour of Winter myself, all kinds of road hazards. BUT you gotta do what you gotta do and I do occasionally take requests for the Mid Winter time. These show requests are usually NOT the ones I am most excited about (young children birthdays, Blue & Gold, other young children and nursing home requests). Just as with every other occupation – you will have to put up with things you don’t get excited about.
Despite not Being Excited – I will NEVER take on a request I’m not equipped to handle
Aside from a not so thrilling request coming my way but I gotta put bread on the table, I will NEVER accept a request that I can’t handle. I’ve been a professional magician most of my life. I have done shows for all kinds of clientele; weddings, birthdays (children/adolescent/adult), retirement parties, nursing homes, assisted living, dementia care, corporate, non-profit, theatre you name it – but if the request comes with extraordinary caveats or special requests outside my domain or knowledge base – I will walk away and hand the job to someone I KNOW is capable of doing it.
When I turn down work – I always try to help find a competent suitable replacement among my peers.
Turning down unqualified work is the professional thing to do, but leaving a prospect hanging is not. I know a LOT of magicians & several comedians. I know what most of them are capable of doing and I will refer unqualified prospects to my peers.
And yes – my peers also refer their unqualified prospects to me.
Doing work that you are NOT qualified/competent enough to do is the most unprofessional thing you can do, especially in a novel field like magic. One bad incompetent show can RUIN it for everyone else. Walking away from requests you feel you can’t take is the most professional move you can make.
Jordan Allen 