Glad to hear that you have decided to hire a magician to entertain your friends, family, team members, or colleagues at your next event.  What should you do next? I hope this guide is helpful for you when taking the next steps.

1. Call them up or email them and let them know.  This is a great time to find out what step you’ll need to take next.
2. Share information about the event.   You will need to share location, number of attendees and your timeline.  You will also need to make sure you share your contact information.
3. Sign an agreement.  Not all entertainers do this but I think it is one of the most important steps in the hiring process.  This is where all the terms are laid out and agreed upon including what happens in the event of a cancellation or postponement and agreed upon pricing and when payments are due.
4. Pay your deposit or initial investment if applicable.  Not all entertainers take deposits and not all entertainers take them for every event.  I take them for most events because it solidifies our agreement when an initial payment is made.  If there is an exchange of money the entertainer is assured that the event will happen and they are officially hired.  Being in the entertainment business I have heard many stories but some of the most common are having a verbal agreement and being hired for an event to find out the event sponsor continued to look for other entertainers and the entertainer held a date and declined other work and then being told later they were no longer needed for the event..  I have even heard of other entertainers taking a different entertainment opportunity that would net them more money. This is why it is so important to sign an agreement and to make a deposit or initial payment. If an agreement is signed and deposit paid both parties are protected.
5. Request performer’s insurance and a certificate.  Many venues now require it. Please double check if the venue requires it after you have hired entertainment to give time to the insurance agent to send you a certificate for yourself and for the venue.  They can sometimes take a couple days to process and you do not want to leave this until a few days before or day of. Even if the venue doesn’t require it it is good to request it from the entertainer.
6. Lastly as the event approaches you should reach out and reconfirm the event.  In my office we reach out and reconfirm the event 1-2 weeks prior and for some events have a pre event consultation.  This meeting happens over the phone and is usually a conference call with the entertainer, point of contact, and often the venue event managers, and sometimes even audio visual staff is on the call.  On this call we go through everything from my arrival time to timeline to meals and breaks to final payment. This call is pretty in depth and usually takes about 30 minutes. The entertainment and the food are often two of the biggest components of the event and this 30 minute investment is always worth the time to make sure the event runs smoothly and anything that could come up has already been determined and discussed.

I hope this helps you during the hiring process for entertainment and that your next event is a hit.  I have performed for over 30 years and in my real world experience this guide has evolved into what it is today for me and I hope it helps you.