The Story of Charm and Happy

Here's Carmen Tellez's fascinating story... written by Carmen in her own words...

One April afternoon, a friend of mine visited me at Avenue Press in Downey, CA. I worked as the Desktop Publisher at this print shop.

My friend Edgar (Eggo the Clown) asked if I would help him at his next gig by face painting the children's faces. I kindly declined letting him know "No offense, but I don't like clowns".

He convinced me that he was a friendly clown as I have only seen & known him "out of make up", so there was nothing to be concerned about. He said "Plus, I already bought the make-up paint and the kids would be so disappointed if I didn't go".

I let him know that I can draw a little, but never painted faces before. He assured me that I would do just fine. I believed him.

I gathered a few thrift store colorful clothes to create a homemade version of a clown helpers outfit. Looked pretty darned good too.

At that first party April of 1994, I saw Egoo and thought "Oh My! He does need help". He didn’t have an actual costume or clown looking get-up at all.

His running shoes were dirty, He wore 80's style beach pants, a t-shirt with suspenders and his make-up looked scary. He had a beat up cardboard box and had written "Clown Stuff" on it with a sharpie. Aaaaaaagh!

So I sort of played the soft friendly clown helper. The kids had a great time, but the look on the parents faces were to be noted.

During the next few days, I went to the local library to read what a "real clown" is supposed to do and look like. Found a video featuring Frosty Little (Master Clown) of Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus titled "Behind the Red Nose".

This video was actually for children to understand how to be a clown in the circus but it was just what I needed.

I became infatuated with learning how to be a clown so I could help my friend. I instead ended up helping myself! For just a few short months later, Eggo the clown decided not to continue his 2 year part time business of entertaining for children's parties.

He was giving his customers MY phone number!

This prompted me to get my drivers license so I could drive to my first party all the way to La Mirada. Boy was I scared. I talked my slightly younger brother into going with me.

That was the first & LAST time he dressed as a clown, but continued to assist me for several other parties until the year 2000. In that time my 7 year old sister started working with me most regularly thus becoming "Charm and Happy Clowns 4 all!"

A couple of clowns Yo-Yo & Yo-Ya called me one day to help them start a clown club. We did. A group of about 15 local clowns to date still keep in touch and remained the very best of clown friends all these years after learning from each other and genuinely enjoying each others company and growth in the clown business.

I wish I could remember the club name. It no longer exists for we all just got so busy. I believe it was called "Pueblo de Payasitos Latinos - Latin Clowny Town".

At Grant Rea Park in Montebello, CA,, a clown named Doodle approached me after my show. She asked if I was hiring. Heh! I was flattered that someone thought I had a business doing well enough to ask if I was hiring.

I did end up hiring her, her boyfriend, her cousin and a few more clowns she knew. CharmandHappy was literally turning down so much work that hiring these new clown workers made sense now.

After years of saving money to start my own Graphics House business, I was able to buy equipment for my home office and accept side jobs creating Desktop Publishing now called "Graphic Arts". I thought since I was creating magazines, ads, flyers, forms, logos and the like for customers, then heck, why not use these same efforts to start my own Clown business. I was getting hired EVERY weekend and was interested in expanding. I started making much, much, much more money with my part-time clowning business then my full time job.

In 1998, now online, CharmandHappy.com went full time with a business license, insurance, regular clients & approx. $30,000 in a savings account.

After looking at several listings for clowns, party planners and family entertainers in the yellow pages, church bulletins, newspapers, local circulations & magazines, I decided that I wanted to be where the "Big Dogs" were.

So I began to INVEST some of my savings into advertising so I could keep not only myself busy, but my new team busy EVERY weekend. Worked like a Charm!

***But what worked best was good old fashioned footwork. At Jungle Solutions, a real estate marketing printshop firm, I learned how real estate agents set themselves apart from the general real estate agent. Mostly, those clients just had to have really big egos, but they pushed "Personality",rather than "real estate".

*** At Dominoes Pizza, located in Pico Rivera, CA (one of my first teenage jobs), I learned that for every pizza delivery, the driver would take a coupon and deliver it to a customer, then also one house to the left and one house to the right to help triple odds of new &repeat clients.

***At Sir Speedy Printing located in Commerce, CA, I learned that if there was a job that we did not or could not complete "in-house", then we worked with a trustworthy company who could, so we could still provide the service for the client and make a small profit as well.

***Visiting and talking to workers, owners, managers at party shops, bakeries, pre-schools, flower shops, children's clothing, etc. helped to get the flow of referrals to CharmandHappy better than expected.

That was the basis of how "CharmandHappy" began to grow. By accepting reservations not only for clowns, but for other forms of Party entertainment like pony rides, jumpers, reptile presentations, online party goods, personalized photo birthday buttons, etc.

What I did not plan or expect was the lack of dedication & work moral some hired help displayed. Calling in last minute or not at all. This caused GREAT turmoil for my client & myself as I did what I could to rectify certain situations.

Since being online and getting orders now nationwide, it was hard to determine one’s dedication. After a few mishaps so to speak, I re-evaluated the purpose and goals for CharmandHappy.

The end result was I wanted Qualified, Skilled & Dedicated team members. Even though I made a ton of money, I had to make the choice to release & never again hire several team members. I didn't care that I'd make less financially. I cared more about the CharmandHappy reputation and client satisfaction much more.

To date, I still attend workshops, conventions, read books, watch dvd's to help me to continue my growth as a business person and a family entertainer. My focus for the last several years has been developing myself into a "Specialty Artist Entertainer". To feature the best of what I can offer.

I'm not actually the best at any of them, but I try my best and my clients recognize, appreciate & keep calling as well as referring others.

That's my story & I'm sticking to it!

Carmen@CharmandHappy.com
- Artist Entertainer with a Twist of Charm -

http://www.CharmandHappy.com
877-725-6967 office
562-237-3327 cell
Face Painter - Balloon Artist
Whittier (Los Angeles) CA

Edited by John Abrams
www.rebelentertainers.com
www.facebook.com/rebelentertainers
www.twitter.com/johnabrams1

Teri Stokes - How’d she book 67 shows in one day?

Last week I wrote to you about taking massive action and asked what you had done. Well, I got quite a few people telling me what they had recently done to drum up business in this “glass half empty“ economy.

By far, the most impressive was Teri Stokes AKA Happy Heart the Clown. Everything she did was a great lesson in marketing and making money with a very small investment.

Here’s what she wrote and what she did (edited):

“You rock as always, John. Last Thursday I bought a table at a taste of the town and handed out 300 cards.

I won the decorating contest. Received an award and a plaque by City of Houston Mayor’s office.

Picture will be in paper.

Booked a kids night at a Country Club (monthly). Booked one more night at a different Chick-Fila (weekly) and a few more events.

I guess it’s worth it to show off once in while (you asked ). Oh yeah and having a blast.

One thing I wish I would of done instead of handing out cards is hand out coupons for a percentage off. I didn’t think of it ‘till I was at the venue.

Glad you are back,

Teri"

Terrific work Teri!!! If you add up the 12 monthly gigs plus the 52 weekly plus a few mixed extras mixed in, that equals at least 67 shows. All booked in one day.

And by the way, this doesn’t even count the many referrals you’ll get by promoting yourself at these gigs.

Great job.

John Abrams
Rebel Entertainer and Guy That is Inspired by Other’s Work
www.rebelentertainers.com
www.facebook.com/rebelentertainers
Twitter: @johnabrams1

Why Susan Boyle?

How Can You Do What Susan Boyle Did?

If you haven't heard of Susan Boyle yet, you've been living under a rock. She's the lady that sang on Britain's got talent and has one of the most viral videos of all time.

More people have viewed her singing debut than watched the Superbowl last year.

But why did this video go so viral. What made it so amazing? Wouldn't you love to use a bit of what she used (even if she didn't know it) in your own performances.
Well, here ya go...

It can be broken down into an emotional state called "Elevation".

Psychologist Lynne Johnson defines this emotional state as: "Characterized by a warm, glowing feeling that we get when someone TRANSCENDS OUR EXPECTATION."

That's it.

When Susan Boyle first came on stage, everybody expected her to fail. She wasn't great looking. She was a bit older. Her appearance certainly wasn't that of the next Britain Idol. But then she transcended everyone's expectations and blew everybody away.

There are two glaring truths about this.

First, if she was super hot looking, people may have loved her, but she wouldn't have put everybody in that elevated state.

Secondly, her looks and character (and of course her talent) worked FOR her in a dramatic way.

As variety artists, we can use this "Elevation" every time we perform.

Let's face it. When most people hire a clown, twister, mime, magician (unless it's corporate), storyteller or juggler, they have certain expectations. Most of the general public thinks that we're all the same.

We can use that expectation to our advantage.

When I first started performing for kids, I used that expectation to my advantage. In fact, my first USP was "Exceeding Your Expectations". I used that because I knew that a lot of children's entertainers in my area had acts that were all the same.

Whether they were clowns, magicians, or disney type characters, they all did the big parachute thing, the broken magic wand, the candy out of the dove pan, and a few easy balloon animals.

Now all these activities are fine and dandy and fun for the kids. And my guess is that I'm offending some folks that are reading this and are still doing those activities.

But, when I arrived at that same party, made a chinchilla appear out of fire, turned a fake snake into a live one, and had the kids and the parents laughing harder than they ever have, I completely "transcended their expectations".

This original presentation - way different than anything anybody had ever seen - booked me more referrals than I could count.

They expected one thing, and were blown away to discover there was something much much more available.

Now, I'm not telling you all this to brag. And I'm not suggesting that you do magic with live animals. I'm telling you this because I want you to be creating original presentations that will "Transcend Everybody's Expectations".

What is everybody else doing? Do it better and more original than everyone in your market, and you are guaranteed to be successful.

- John
Rebel Entertainer and Guy That Wishes He Had the Talent of Susan Boyle
www.RebelEntertainers.com

Making Money at a Bizarre Bath

How a small time entertainer in England figured a way
to make $110,000.00 a year working every other night
for only 8 months.

On my recent trip to England, my daughter Juna and I were visiting the gigantamous Bath City Center shopping area. If you’ve never been, it’s quite spectacular. It runs about 20 or 30 city blocks and houses thousands of indoor and outdoor shops along with the ancient Bath Cathedral and the Roman Bath Houses. All of which are international tourist attractions.

In the midst of all this craziness, Juna spotted a small flyer that told about something called the Bizarre Bath Comedy Walk. It’s described as “…the unique evening entertainment that appeals to everyone. You’ll laugh yourself silly when you join this celebrated stroll which takes an irreverent look at Bath. So, if you’re looking for something hysterical rather than historical, why not join us?”

It started at 8:00pm after all the shops had closed. We met with about 70 other folks from around the world in front of the Huntsman Pub. At about 8:05 the entertainer introduced himself. He was a spry 61 years old. Jolly yet acerbic. The first thing he did was collect the money (lesson #1). All cash of course (maybe lesson #2). Gathered everybody around and started the show.

I won’t bore you with the details of his show, but basically it consisted of this: A very funny guy, performing about five standard magic and mind reading routines with one additional original (and hilarious) routine. All broken up by walking through and making jokes about the not-so-famous parts of the area.

Now, let’s do the math. He charged 8 pounds (about $15.00) per person, cash. There were about 70 of us there that night. October in England, rainy, definitely off-season. My guess is that during the busy season it’s more like 100 or 150 people a night. But let’s go ahead and use the 70 people number. That’s $1,050.00 per night, 7 days a week from April through November. That’s $220,500.00. He switches every other night with another entertainer. So that means that each of them make at least $110,000.00 each. They only work every other night. Holy cow! Not too bad for a standard type comedy magician. No additional promotion. Only expense is the flyer. Lots of flyers but very cheap.

The Big Lesson: The most important thing that he did to make that kind of money for doing what is more or less a standard show is this: He positioned himself different than any other entertainer in the country. He was really simply a magician performing a show. But he positioned himself a “Bizarre walking tour…”.

The Flyer consisted of a couple of pictures of the performer and a laughing audience, a butt-load of testimonials and a short description. Heck, you didn’t even know you were seeing a magician!

How did he get the shops to agree to let him bring a crowd in after they closed? He promised to promote their shops during the show to tourists with lots of money. The assumption is that they will visit those shops the next day.

How did he find a meeting place for all those people? He made a deal with the pub that there would be people buying drinks and ordering food at the restaurant before the show. He would also dump off about 100 thirsty folks after a two hour walking show with no drinking break. And he put the pubs name on the all the flyers that went in all the shops. Everybody wins.

You may be thinking “That’s seems like a lot of work.” Yes it is. At the beginning. But let’s think about this:

1000 bucks a night
Steady 7 nights a week work for 8 months
No theater rental or overhead expenses (except for flyer)
No driving
No assistant
And you have daytime free to pursue other shows

Pretty good for a guy that simply tells some jokes, does a little magic and takes a walk every night.

What can YOU do to position yourself as different than the rest. Not just a magician, or a dancer or a juggler. But something completely different than anything in your town. Do it.