Practice, practice, practice, that’s what good magicians do! No matter how good your techniques are, or how well you have marketed your services, it’s easy to make a simple mistake just getting to a gig. Here’s a few common mistakes magicians make and how to avoid them:

They don’t get there early enough.

This goes without saying, but you never want to be late for a booking. Allow enough time to arrive an hour before you have to. You can wait in your car or at a coffee shop if you don’t want to enter the venue that early. This way you leave enough time to prepare in a relaxed and stress free way. If traffic was bad, or a travel problem occurred, you have given yourself a buffer zone. Trust me, feeling rushed or worried you will be late for most of your journey is far worse than being bored waiting for your start time because you are too early.

They forget to get the full address.

Sometimes clients don’t give all the address details correctly, or just give you the name of the venue and town or village. This is quite common for a large country hotel. Make sure you ask for the street name too. If in doubt google the venue and print out the address and directions from its website.

They trust their Sat Nav with just a postcode.

The sat nav lady says you have arrived. But you are stuck down a country lane!!  Large estates and country houses often have their entrance far from their postcode location. Check out their website for directions and try to enter a street name as well as the postcode.

They drive for hours in their suits.

Two hours in the car will crumple up your suit trousers. Travel in your jeans and have your suit in a good quality travel bag. You will look so much better for it, and feel fresh and smart. After the gig, it’s great to be able to get out of your suit for the journey home.

They don’t keep the client updated.

Sooner or later, you will be late for a gig. It’s probably one of the most common mistakes magicians make. Train cancelled, the car breaks down, sudden heavy traffic…

If this happens, phone your client as soon as you know you are looking at a delay. Never leave them wondering why you are not there.

They forget to pack everything.

Did you put your close up bag or case in the car? Fresh decks of cards with you? You don’t want nasty surprises like that, once you arrive at the venue.

They don’t check parking is available.

Usually large venues are fine, but if it’s a town or city hotel,  a restaurant or private home, check in advance with the client that a parking space will be available or a car park is nearby. Don’t trust street parking will be easy to find.Hope this helps you avoid the same mistakes in magic.

Dominic Reyes

 

Do you have more travel tips to share? Are there mistakes magicians make that we have not listed?Please let us know in the comments section below: