“Secrets of a Millionaire Magician” by Randy Charach
“How to skyrocket your income as an entertainer, doing the shows you want to do – where and when you want to do them – while leveraging your time and producing multiple streams of income.”
That’s the quote straight off of Charach’s website pushing his rather self-aggrandizing titled ebook, “Secrets of a Millionaire Magician”. Now, with that kind of blurb, and that kind of title, my “rip-off radar” goes nuts. Add to that the manic buzzing when my scam detector kicks into high gear, and I could have swore to you that this is just another stupid scheme whereby the biggest secret to getting rich is that you paid a truckload of cash to somebody else for nothing worth anything and made them rich.
And I would have been wrong. Really, really wrong.
“Secrets of a Millionaire Magician” is not a scam or a scheme. It is nothing less than a complete, systematic plan for increasing your skill (through hard work, mind you) in the business side of your show business career. Charach starts from the barest basics and progresses logically through each necessary step to assist you on your continued quest for wealth in an all-encompassing revelation of what you will need to succeed.
As I read this work, I kept thinking of how many times I’ve been asked things like “How much do I charge?”, “How do I make promotional material?”, “How I need an agent?”, etcetera and etcetera and etcetera again. Virtually every question I’ve ever been asked is answered here. Wanna book a show at a restaurant? Here’s the way to do it. Thinking about Christmas gigs already? Check out page 207. Worried about what to put into a contract? Check out Part One.
If nothing else, Charach earns extra credit for being as thorough as possible in all aspects of the business side of things. But Charach went beyond the pale: he includes names, addresses, and contact numbers for various organizations responsible for booking shows around the world. Looking for an agent in Oshkosh? How about who to ask about working a college show? All the information is in here. Oh, and if you’re wondering exactly what to say to these organizations to gain their attention, well, that’s here too.
I’ve never seen anything as complete as this. This is not a sales and marketing manual where someone just inserted the word “magician” here and there, leaving gaping holes in logic all over the place; this is a bible for magical performers to sell and market themselves. And it’s gorgeous in its scope and thoroughness.
I can’t say enough good things about this work. I will throw some caveats out, just for the sake of completeness.
First, there is nothing magical here. If you think you can sit on your rump, think big thoughts, and suddenly wake up one day rich, just by reading this, you’re going to be disappointed. Charach gives you the tools and the info on making yourself more money as a more successful performer; the sweat and toil you’ll have to provide to even begin seeing results.
Second, if you’re a moderately successful performer already, some of Charach’s advice may be a rehash for you; don’t expect everything in the book to be completely new to you. From my own experience, I had been making use of bits and pieces here and there from the book (thanks to a career in business). What Charach does that is completely new, and which he should receive accolades for, is the point-A-to-point-B methodology he gives to the entire line of show business for magicians. This fills in the blanks, as it were, for a successful personal program for your gains (meaning: there was a lot here I knew about but didn’t know how to apply to my performing career).
Third, if you’re looking for advice on your act or which tricks to do at what venue, this is not for you. Charach assumes, rightfully, that your skills as an entertainer are intact and that you can indeed entertain an audience. Think of it this way: you’re in show business, which is 20% show and 80% business. Your 20% is up to you; Charach shows you how to make the most of the other 80%.
All in all, “Secrets of a Millionaire Magician” is a grand work on the business-side of being a magician that is at once readable and understandable and complete in it’s aspects on business. What you do with it, and where you end up, is entirely up to you, but Charach gives you everything you need to succeed.