Here’s a book with an ambitious premise. As the title
implies, Definitive Guide to Restaurant Magic promises to teach you the art of
performing magic in restaurants for money and profit (and maybe fun?). It’s got
some good advice – much of which hasn’t been covered in other books and DVDs
that I’ve studied – and there are some areas that Wayne Goodman can almost call “definitive,”
at least for now.
Fast Read
The book is a short read – I finished it in less than an hour. I was most impressed with the way that Goodman emphasized the business aspects.
This is the first time that I’ve seen a magician discuss the true business of restaurants: rates of returns, the big firms that control dining establishments and how they work (from a UK perspective) and how restaurants view potential entertainment in their restaurants.
The book is a short read – I finished it in less than an hour. I was most impressed with the way that Goodman emphasized the business aspects.
This is the first time that I’ve seen a magician discuss the true business of restaurants: rates of returns, the big firms that control dining establishments and how they work (from a UK perspective) and how restaurants view potential entertainment in their restaurants.
I think that most who want to get into restaurant magic –
and I’m often asked – think that magic is there to enhance a restaurant’s
atmosphere– but few understand that it’s there to enhance the bottom line. Goodman
is able to offer some insights into these aspects.
Definitive?
You’ll find lots of useful advice on getting the gig, working the gig, marketing and more. There are no tricks taught – you’re on your own for the magic that you’ll perform.
You’ll find lots of useful advice on getting the gig, working the gig, marketing and more. There are no tricks taught – you’re on your own for the magic that you’ll perform.
If you’re trying to get into restaurants, you’ll learn some useful
information and advice in this book. But don’t expect it to teach you
everything that you need to know. In my experience, no book or DVD will offer
you that magic bit of information to make it all happen. It takes work, effort,
motivation, and yes, some rejection, to successfully make it in restaurant
magic.
More on Restaurant Magic:
Review-Live at the Jailhouse: a Guide to Restaurant Magic
Review-Live at the Jailhouse: a Guide to Restaurant Magic
Goodman does explain that the bottom line for a restaurant IS the bottom line. I don't know if he gives enough detail on how we, the performer, can enhance that bottom line in clear facts that will convince a manager. (And so many restaurants go through managers faster than money through a magician's fingers.) I think he could have gone into more detail about KEEPING the job. The manager isn't going to see immediate increases in customers, and will likely credit himself for customer retention.
ReplyDeleteNow you see why I like Jim Sisti's books. In one of the very first issues of the Magic Menu, Jim gave an example of a cold call - and when using that example, I never failed to get an audition. (The audition got me the jobs.) In Jim's first book, Professional Restaurant Magic, that suggestion and many more about keeping the job were given, and I really started picking up business after studying it.