Count the Pencils

Have you ever watched pro wrestling?

In many ways, it’s the most incredible form of entertainment on the planet. The way those men and women seemingly beat the snot out of each other while not actually beating the snot out of each other is incredible.

On the other hand, the storytelling and behind-the-scenes management is often a dumpster fire.

In the mid 1990s, a now-defunct pro wrestling company called World Championship Wrestling (WCW for short) was hemorrhaging money left and right due to poor management.

A young, brash executive, Eric Bischoff, was brought in to ‘right the ship.’

One of the first things eric did was to tell everyone to count their pencils.

It was his way of saying every penny the company spent had to be accounted for. The first way to stop overspending was to know where the money was going.

I see this a lot in magic. I myself have been guilty of it.

It’s “cool new trick” syndrome.

We see a trick, it looks cool, we buy it. Maybe so we can find out the secret. Or maybe to fool our audiences.

That’s all well and good, but if you want to be a professional magician, you’ll want to limit your trick purchases to stuff you use in your shows.

I remember my friend Peter Loughran once came out with a trick called “The Sacred” or something like that.

In the demo video., Peter walked toward the camera. The shot was in broad daylight. Outdoors.

Peter had a cloth draped over his shoulder.

Once he got to his spot in the yard facing the camera, He took the cloth off his shoulder, held it out in front of him, held between two hands held about shoulder width apart.

He then dropped the cloth. Standing in front of him was a small boy, roughly 6 years old, by my estimate.

It was incredible!

I didn’t buy it, though.

To me, that trick is great if you are an illusionist, doing the same show each night. You can train your own child to do the trick or hire a trusted friend or family member’s child.

But for me? I was doing a lot of birthday shows at the time. I was seeing a lot of kids every weekend, but since I’m not a parent of my own, I had no access to a child I could use for the trick in each show.

The other option? Get to my birthday shows early, teach the birthday kid how to do the trick, and open my show that way.

I decided against because those of you who do birthdays know, the child whose day you are celebrating may be shy or not want to perform, or just not be suited for that kind of thing for another reason.

It was a great trick, just not for me.

So, the next time you get that dopamine rush when you click “buy now,” do it through the lens of ‘will this trick help my career?’

I’ve made a lot of bad purchases over the years in magic. Such as the life of a magician. We are buying secrets after all.

But with very few exceptions, l every purchase to fill a specific hole in a specific show.

When it comes to paying my taxes, I want to be able to look at every purchase and think, “Okay, I can justify every purchase, even if it did not stay in a show.”

Look at your shows. Do they have any holes that need filled? If not, hold off on that next magic purchase. Consider investing in building the ‘business’ part of your magic business instead.

And if you need help in that area, let me know. 

P.S. By the way…whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help you grow your magic business to book more shows at higher fees:


1. Grab my FREE report for professional working magicians.



This report reveals a strategy that almost NO magicians are using (and the ones who are don’t use it correctly). Get your free copy by clicking HERE.


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In this 2-hour video training, I’ll reveal exactly what your website needs if you want to succeed as a professional entertainer in the 21st century. Get all the details by clicking HERE.


3. Get a complete business-building plan handed to you on a silver platter.


Not sure how to move your magic business forward? I’ll analyze your complete magic business (website, market, competition, and more) and give you a complete game plan for getting your performing business to the next level. Find out how by clicking HERE.


4. Work with me privately.


Need help in multiple areas? I can help you with your website, direct mail, email, or other marketing strategies. I also offer consulting services for crafting magic routines or even entire shows. Want to find out more? Shoot me an email at cris@theprofessionalmagicianclubpro.com.

To find out more how I can help you book more shows at higher fees, click the button below to see my list of services.

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