Four years on from leaving an established career I’ve looked back at starting over as a magician and host. Maybe you can take some inspiration and make your dream a reality.
April is always special to me – it’s my birthday month! But four years ago, April became something more. It became the month I changed my life.
After four decades in a career that took me from frontline care support worker to becoming a Director in Social Services at London’s largest combined local authority, I walked away. I left behind the qualifications, the seniority, the professional identity I’d built over a lifetime and stepped into the unknown. I set up a business as a magician, host and Emcee. Reckless? Possibly. Worthwhile? Absolutely! Rewarding? Definitely!
So why magic and why a host? Well, I’d been a competent magician, even if only as a hobbyist, for years. I was comfortable on stage, confident hosting public events, enjoyed being with people and loved entertaining, so why not? But running a business as a magician? That was a completely different trick. No profile. No client base. No playbook. So, where to start?
What followed was a period of accelerated, exhilarating, occasionally scary evolution from the familiar to the unknown. I took courses in setting up a business, event planning and developing website content. I enrolled in online programmes to sharpen my magic, showmanship and stagecraft. I rebuilt my entire LinkedIn presence, developed social media profiles from scratch, created brochures, developed marketing materials and launched (and relaunched) my website. I exhibited at numerous wedding fairs, threw myself into new, unfamiliar networks with the drive of someone who had everything to prove and nothing to lose. I’m a driven person so once I commit, I commit fully and this was no different. The results have been, frankly, incredible.
In the last 15 months alone, I’ve performed at over 75 events. Four appearances at The Royal Variety Performance after-parties since 2022. Countless weddings where I’ve been trusted as either close-up magician or contemporary Emcee. Numerous corporate events as a magician for companies like Microsoft, Nationwide Building Society and Porsche. Hosted awards events, including an international company. And most recently, I’ve become the resident magician in corporate hospitality for Brentford FC in the Premier League and at the Utilita Bowl for Hampshire County Cricket Club, including England Cricket internationals. Trips to Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Seattle, Dallas, Nashville, Houston and Las Vegas, learning, performing, connecting with the global magic community. For those who know me well, yes, I’m genuinely combining three of my greatest passions and living my best life!
I’ve also performed and hosted many events at The Magic Circle in London, and I’m proud to have been made a Magic Circle Presidential Ambassador one of only seven in the international magic community worldwide. And I’ve won a magic competition! People have been gracious in their reviews of what I do, and I feel I’ve done pretty well in my new venture, combining challenge with fun.
So why am I writing this now and how does this interest you? Well, four years in, I want to inspire others and share what I have learnt.
First, have confidence in your own abilities. If you are committed, eager and have a drive to learn, a focus on hard work and an ambition to succeed, there is nothing to stop you. The subject matter, support networks and success measures maybe different but the personal application the same. Yes, there will be bumps in the road, but solve a problem and create opportunities.
Secondly, seek out, take and heed advice from those wiser than you, and in a new venture there will be many (and do so even if you are used to being the expert and advice giver in a previous life; chances are you’re not now!). Be humble and you will learn quickly.
Thirdly, make connections with those from whom you can learn and offer something to in return, and not just connections in familiar communities and surroundings. Find something different. Find complementary support. Find those people to share your passion and support your vision – mine came from Alan, an outstanding web designer and Karen an amazing graphical designer. Oh, and get a good accountant!
Collaborate not compete. Consolidate what you know. Build incrementally and take every opportunity you can find to practice your new skill or passion.
None of this happened in isolation. Paul Martin of The Pro Magic Academy has been with me throughout: supporting, challenging, and encouraging me in ways I’ll always be grateful for, making sure I hit the ground running. Steve Page, who runs Surrey Event Professionals, connected me to an extraordinary network of event and business professionals, through what began as a conversation about his wedding. The Magic Circle for having me support their public events so regularly in a prominent role. These relationships have been nothing short of transformative and I’m so thankful to them all.
And what does any of this have to do with anyone reading this?
I’m not a natural risk-taker. I’m cautious by nature. The old me would never have dreamed of doing something this bold, this exposed, this uncertain. Yet stepping out has opened my eyes to possibilities I couldn’t have imagined from behind a desk. New ways of thinking. New freedoms. New experiences that have made me a more creative, more fulfilled and relaxed person. If I can do it, you can too. Just consider the thing that makes your heart sing.
So, if you have a dream that you keep pushing to the back of the drawer, take it out. Look at it seriously. Ask yourself what your first step is; not why it’s impossible. Be open-minded. Be ambitious. Be willing to look a little foolish while you figure it out. And do it. After all ….
“You’ll never discover new oceans if you’re too scared to lose sight of the shore.”
Andre Gild
