Restaurant Arrangements - Stone Cold Magic Magazine

Restaurant Arrangements
By Jeff Stone

Why would a restaurant hire you? Pause. Ask yourself that question. Then answer it. If you said, “I don’t know,” then you have a problem. Of course, before I tell you what your problem is, keep in mind that you only have this problem if you are interested in working in a restaurant.

Let’s assume that you are interested in working as a regular restaurant performer. Now, let me tell you what your problem is. You can’t sell what you don’t understand. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned many times in this column, you are a salesperson whether you like it or not. If you are going to perform magic for money, then you are a salesperson. Deal with it.

Now on to the problem and then the solution. If you approach a restaurant manager or owner you will likely be asked the question, in some form or another, “Why should I hire you?” Let’s hope you have a better answer than “I don’t know.”

Let’s answer the questions in generic terms. Why would a restaurant need a magician? Well, from what I can tell, it’s only one reason. They need more customers in the restaurant. Otherwise, why pay you? You could work for tips, but you’ll recall that I’m not a fan of working for tips.

So your challenge is to bring in more patrons to the restaurant. This subject was discussed in some detail in the February 2009 issue of No Stone Left Unturned.

Briefly, here are some simple ideas in addition to what was mentioned in the February issue:

Tell your friends and family to come and see you perform at the restaurant.
Advertise it on your website
Advertise it at your other shows

These are all things that keep the owner/manager happy. You know what else keeps him/her happy? A small kick-back for any shows that you might get from the restaurant patrons. Thus, on to the real point of this article: The bottom line is that you are there to make the restaurant more money, not to build up your clientele. However, this is one of the best ways to build up your clientele. So sometimes to strike a balance, you need to grease the skids a little. You need to make arrangements with management ahead of time.

If the plan is to have you work every Wednesday Night, then you must let the manager know ahead of time that if a better paying gig comes along, that you will have a fill-in for that night, plus you’ll give him (the manager) a kick back on the fee from the better paying gig.

The beauty of this is that on nights you sweet gig, the manager gets a sweet deal as well. S/he gets the benefit of having a magician perform, and he gets a fee. Let’s look at some numbers:

Let’s assume that you’re normal fee is $250 per night.

You get a gig on your normal night that pays $1000 bucks. The manager pays your friend (through you) to cover the restaurant $250, and you pay the manager a $300 kick-back on the “better gig.” So basically, s/he gets $50 bucks in his/her pocket; s/he effectively doesn’t have to pay for the entertainment that night; plus the restaurant still benefits from having a magician there. You’re up $950 bucks for the night, and you didnt’ have to hustle for several hours at the restaurant.

Not to mention that you made one of your magi buddies happy by toss a couple hundred bucks his way. It’s a win for everyone. The real intent of this article is two-fold. First, I wanted to give you an example of one of many types of arrangements you could have with your restaurant clients. Secondly, and more importantly, I want you thinking. These are simple ideas that came to me with just a little brainstorming. Take a moment every so often to think about your business, not the magic, but the business. What’s working; what’s not working; try new ideas; keep track of them in case they don’t work, or if they do work, you’ll want to know why. This is yet another case where it behooves you to write things down. Keep a journal of your progress so you can learn from your mistakes.

Put on the analytical hat once in a while . . . for Pete’s sake!

Until Next Month . . .

Please Take a Moment to Reply To and “like” This Article

swerdnase says:

September 2009 at 2:36 pm

I think your math is wrong here, assuming you don’t short your friend on the normal fee for the restaurant, you’d be up $700 for the night. In your example, you paid the manager his kickback with your original $250 restaurant gig fee plus $50 out of your own pocket. You haven’t paid your buddy yet for working for you.

salmononius2 says:

September 2009 at 3:14 pm

No his math was right: You didn’t take into account the $250 that is paid to you for the friend working in the restaurant.

Carsten says:

September 2009 at 3:19 pm

Am I wrong or is the math in the article wrong….

Regards
Carsten

September 2009 at 3:21 pm

I think I am not wrong: The 250 go to the friend and the restaurant owner gets 300. So you have 1000 from the gig and 250 from the restaurant owner. In the end, my result is 700, no matter what.

September 2009 at 3:34 pm

Carsten: Jeff wrote in the article that the friend gets paid the $250 dollars through you.

Jeff Stone says:

September 2009 at 4:40 pm

Sorry about the confusion guys. Here’s the skinny:

$1000 bucks from the gig
$250 from the restaurant

$1250 total

Pay the restaurant $300 (leaving you $950)

From the $950, you pay your buddy a fee. Thus as many have pointed out, my math was wrong.

I was not clear how much you pay your friend either. I never pay my friends the full amount. In this case, I would have given my magi buddy $200 leaving me $750.

Sorry about that guys. Thanks for reading and keeping me on my toes.

Grandpa Chet says:

September 2009 at 8:03 pm

Despite the quirky math, this is a good article with good advice. Finding a restaurant manager who will go along with this might be another matter. The managers I’ve worked with in the past, did not want a substitute magician — they felt they had hired me, and wanted me. Partly, I suppose, because there were customers who came to see *me* and were disappointed if I wasn’t there.