Life in the fast lane

Well everyone is wondering what happened on my East Coast trip and although I am not going to spill all the details perhaps some of this will outline the challenges we face as full time entertainers.

Every summer I do close to 200 shows however it is work 5 days drive 2 work 5 days drive 2 all summer long... Now I actually like this because it breaks it up. However at 4.00 a gallon for diesel I really wanted to cut my mileage down this yr because it is cutting into my profit considerably.

Well this spring as I am doing my normal marketing I hooked a big potential contract.. They wanted me to work from June 1 to Sept 1, 6 nights a week 2 shows a night.

I had already booked some summer contracts ( I book contracts up to 2 years in advance) so as part of the contract negotiations I was to bring another Hypnotist in for the time I would be gone due to the fact that many thousands would go into marketing for the summer and I did not want a lapse in the show schedule.

Well the long and short of it comes down to the fact that I had to hire a stage assistant, a camera man, (who also had to run a high tech light console) and another Stage Hypnotist for 2 weeks this summer as well as supply that person with extra equipment.. I was fine with that however the organization I am dealing with wants to spend as little as possible which is understandable however they did not want to cover base production costs nor basic overhead.

So what it all boils down to is an unattainable situation...

I understand that some of you produce one man shows... however for the most part those can not work in a show room situation. You do need a Camera Man and someone to be a second set of eyes to ensure safety.
To do otherwise is to invite trouble...

Now I know some of you are dying for details.. Sorry you can not have them so please don't ask. I do not feel it is appropriate to share that information on any sort of blog.

Now that being said I am still attempting to put this together as a limited run.. The long and the short of it is they have juggled this back and forth with me for the last several months attempting to bring my cost down to rock bottom... Think contract talks with Wall mart or Cosco..... And I have been very transparent with my costs in talking to them..... Unfortunately the math does not work.....

So guys here is the lesson... Understand your bottom line costs to produce a show... The cost to do a grad night show versus a stage production show. What your travel, lodging, food, staff, props and other costs are to do a show....

I know to many people who will go do a show and then find out it actually cost them $$ to perform... There was no profit.

Don't sell out only to find out you have to re mortgage your house and go work for McDonald's its not worth it...

If you are going to be a pro in this business whether or not it is as a stage Hypnotist or Hypnotherapist the rules are the same. Profit is the money that you use to improve your business buy advertising, and hopefully put some back for a rainy day and retirement...


Justin