If you have the skills then you can make a full time living with your mentalism and magic. Let me say up front that what I am talking about in this article is magic and mentalism. tricks by fun. I’m not talking about contacting people in the afterlife or casting spells for fun and profit.
What do I mean by mentalism and magic? Very simply, magic uses sleight of hand while mentalism uses mental sleight of hand. A mentalist can ask someone to think of a number and then (pretend to) read her mind and tell her that number. A magician can make an object disappear and then magically reappear in another place. He can major in magic or mentalism and still earn a good living, but it will maximize his earning potential if he can do both.
1. Work tables at weddings and restaurants
This is a common, and for some, the most reliable way to make money with magic. Traditionally, mentalists don’t do as well as magicians in this setting. The reason for this is that a lot of alcohol is often flowing at weddings and restaurants and this affects the audience’s ability to follow complex magic tricks.
Earning potential is reasonable, but work hours can be long. You should have a five-minute routine that begins with a fast, impressive, attention-grabbing opening. Be prepared for rejection and jeers. None of your audience has chosen to see a magician (or mentalist) but he has been chosen by you approaching his table. Not everyone likes magic and some may see you as a threat, stealing their attention.
2. Work on cruise ships and resorts
Here you can find regular work, albeit seasonal. If you want to go this route, you should be prepared to find other avenues of income during the off-season. To work in this area you need to have a full stage act. You can choose magic or mentalism. Hearings can be tough and you’ll be expected to please the crowd if you want to keep working.
3. Create and publish your own magic and mentalism books and DVDs
If working in front of a live audience isn’t for you, you can sell your ideas to other magicians. Usually this means creating books and DVDs that teach others how to perform the tricks and routines you’ve created. Earning potential ranges from a few dollars per eBook to several hundred dollars. What you earn will depend on how many copies of your product you manage to sell. There is a lot of competition in this area and it can be difficult for a newcomer to break into the market.
4. Corporate magic and mentalism
Mentalists in particular can earn a large income working in the corporate environment. For example, companies that exhibit at large conventions spend thousands of dollars trying to attract people to their booths. Skilled mentalists are often adept at presentation and audience control, a clever reworking of the tricks can draw in a crowd. If you can fit a message into your act, there will always be companies willing to pay you to deliver that message.
5. Host your own stage show
This is the riskiest method of trying to make an income from magic and mentalism, but even if you don’t make a huge profit, you can make one. Very simple, putting on a stage show involves reserving a place and selling tickets. If you can sell enough tickets to cover the cost of putting on the show and have money left over, then you have made a profit. It is difficult to make large and regular profits in this way. If things go wrong, you may end up losing money. Only the big names can win real money. However, putting on a show on stage is a good way to make yourself known. If you can attract an agent or use advertising to land a job elsewhere, then it’s worth the effort.