22-12-2024
The start of 2023
At the start of 2023, I decided to make a career switch from an IT manager at Canon to an entrepreneur in the entertainment industry.
And here we are…
250+ shows, two solo shows, and a Christmas project later in just 12 months. The entrepreneurial journey has been incredible, educational, and challenging. Sometimes, it is more demanding than I expected, but these experiences only initiate and enhance growth for the future. Let me briefly run you through it.
The decision to chase my dreams
Turning my hobby into a career was something I dreamed of. In 2022, my magical entertainment rapidly increased, especially after lifting the coronavirus restrictions. But when did I decide to quit my job and try to make a living out of being a magician? As the number of requests slowly increased, combining my work and hobby became more difficult. From getting in 5 requests a month, it went to 10, 15, and even 20. Where was this going? I asked myself: Can I make a living as a magician? There was no answer to the questions, just the guts to make a judgment call. Therefore, I decided to go on a two-week leave to New York and Washington at the start of the summer of 2022. I had to walk off my thoughts and get my head clear. In 12 days, I walked 220 kilometers in NYC and Washington DC. While taking off from JFK airport and seeing the Manhattan skyline in the back, I knew I was returning to work. The decision? The outcome might be unknown, but you can achieve your dreams when you put your heart and soul into something. Malcolm Gladwell once wrote: ๐๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด.
The start of an entrepreneurial journey
January 1st, 2023, is the start of something new. It was the first working day in my own office, or I should better say my home. What was on the schedule? The first show of 2023! What is a better way of starting the year with something that is now your job: performing and making people smile? After that, many more shows followed in my first year. With pleasure, I performed 250+ shows in 8 different nations for more than 100.000 people combined. This was beyond expectations! The statistics sound awesome, but I can tell you that it was not always that easy. In my first years, I encountered several challenges:
- ย Balancing my work-life schedule. With an average of more than 60 hours per week, work mode is always on. The good thing is that it does not feel like work for me because it is my hobby; however, that can also be the danger of pushing yourself too hard.
- Increasing the price for a magician. Now that it is my full-time job, I must make a living by doing about five weekly shows. I need to cover my expenses, taxes, mortgage, and other things with these shows. Inevitably, I had to increase my prices. When previous clients returned, not all of them were happy. However, an investment in professionalism and time commitment simply increases the price. It meant I had to let go of some customers and try to gain new ones.
- Not being able to satisfy every customer. As Dutchies, we have the expression: Customer is King. Each time a customer placed a request, I was very grateful because they contributed to my goal of being a full-time magician. However, sometimes the schedule was tight from one show to another, and in a few cases, it was too tight. It put me in the position of being late at a meeting, not directly following up on new requests, and accidentally running late for a show. There needed to be more balance in the work schedule.
- Skill Development. Professional magicians continuously refine and expand their repertoire, investing time and resources in developing new tricks, routines, and presentation skills. However, with a 60-hour work week, this becomes very difficult. For 2023, I had to make the call to focus on market positioning and dealing with the increased demand. However, in 2024, I aim to spend up to 20% of my time on skill development.
How do I look back?
Regardless of where my magical journey leads, this first year was incredible, educational, and challenging. It may not have the same safety net(s) as being permanently employed; however, it was worth it. The long days, the many networking sessions, the traveling, everything. Also, accepting the fact that I will have less money than before. But hey, if you want to achieve something, go for it with your heart and soul. In 2023, I created the foundation for my full-time, and I cannot wait for 2024 to start. Letโs expand to more shows, meeting new people, and creating many magical moments.
