HOW MUCH DO I CHARGE FOR MY VENTRILOQUIST ACT (for amateur and semi pro Ventriloquist)

So you want to know how the money works. 

amateur makes less than the semi pro because a semi pro is a professional but not a full time professional or may do their business deals in a unprofessional way but the semi pro is a professional.. the amateur is a performer that is paid based on experience and talent, the amateur might work with a management company or have a personal manager that find jobs or find auditions or stage time or stuff like that,the amateur can work for tips but a semi pro might say hell no! to tips been there done that is what some semi pro level Ventriloquists might say.. birthday party shows is a Big money gig for amateur Ventriloquists some birthday parties you can get paid hundreds of dollars for one hour.. the smart thing to do is self promoting, try to get on a amateur television talent show such as America got talent not to win but to put on your price billing, no customers can deny your asking price after a television sponsored billing for a birthday party or wedding engagement or whatever..about  "asking fees"if you want to ask a thousand instead of hundreds then that is your starting permanently so be very careful when you begin to make deals for asking fees, as a amateur you can have a offering fee, semi pro make negotiable fees.

Always remember before closing the deal take time to think about it. 

Infamous amateur Ventriloquists do not have a asking fee, the client or customer set the pay rate, this is normal for most amateur Ventriloquists, because of the nonprofit business label.

amateur Ventriloquist level performers get paid at tips or at a rate set by the client until the amateur get a name recognition this is called branding or popularity, then as the amateur Ventriloquist level grow the amateur can add a asking fee moving closer to the semi professional level... when the amateur Ventriloquist is asked about their performance fee the best thing to do is tell your potential customers that you are a amateur Ventriloquist that accepts donations, tips and charity offerings, as you grow in your amateur status you will be labeled a nonprofit business, this will give you the rights of donations and charity offerings.. your nonprofit business label will give you your net worth salary if you choose to advance into the semi pro Ventriloquist level.

if you are not at the semi pro Ventriloquist level now at this moment and want to know what is the starting pay rate that you should charge..well, it all depends on what did you do at the beginners Ventriloquist level and what did you do at the amateur Ventriloquists level. are you educated in the art of ventriloquism and were you good at running your nonprofit business, those two questions will determine your starting fee for semi-professional Ventriloquist level, and if you are famous or popular that is a good tool to use..but the other route to take is: when you decide to become semi pro your starting pay rate starts at the state minimum/federal wage that you live in, so if the minimum wage is ten dollars an hour for eight hours a day that means the total is eighty dollars a day so for you it will be an hour this means your fresh out of the amateur level entering into the semi pro Ventriloquist level,semi pro starting fee starts at eighty dollars an hour this means you will not go lower than that even in negotiations your state/federal minimum wage a day is your hourly start rate,if a bartender get paid minimum wage and his daily salary is one hundred dollars then your semi pro starting rate in that same state is one hundred dollars an hour. 

You are not a day labor person, you are a hourly rate person, you don't get paid one hundred dollars a day you get paid one hundred dollars an hour. 

I want you the amateur Ventriloquist to keep in mind that you are not a professional..I repeat you are not a semi pro or full time professional but you can make money at the amateur level.. what should a amateur never do, you the amateur should never charge by the hour UNLESS you are famous or popular with a brand name this means you are a amateur Ventriloquist with huge followers such as a social media influencer but other than that amateur level are a nonprofit level but the social media influencer is a category and that category is from the selfpromote division, it's not a title, it's not a level, it's not a brand, it's not a status, it's a category, why, because you can loose your followers and end up where you were in the first place, it's selfpromoting this is  why on the amateur level you can charge by the hour your followers are a support group and will donate to your nonprofit hourly...on the semi pro level your audience and customers will pay your asking price because they are fans of your Ventriloquist act.. and on the professional level businesses will make deals with you because they want or need your services and that service is your "Ventriloquist act and name brand".

BRAGGING RIGHTS FOR THE AMATEUR

I whisper theses words in to the amateur Ventriloquists ear:

you should brag about headlining at a comedy club or nightclub and if you were to ever get on a television talent show or even get a small part in a movie, make sure that you keep all your photos and videos in a safe place...when you are at a party or meeting,  show people your television appearances video or photos, inform or mention or small talk that you was on America's got talent or a headliner act the comedy store in California, say I am available to perform at your next birthday party here's my business card.

yes take advantage of all your winnings use those winnings to lead to more opportunities, no matter if they are big or small, even the small opportunities can lead to a giant opportunity.. remember this getting a small part in a movie with your Ventriloquist act is never a bad thing, take that small part and use it as a tool for your Ventriloquist career, seriously brag about that small part, you are famous for ever, trust me that small part will be seen all around the world for many years, so for example if you get a small part in a movie called pizza for two, show potential customers your small part in the movie called pizza for two then hand them your business card, let them know you're available to perform at their wedding or birthday parties or events and so on.

yes you earned the bragging rights to brag, so take advantage of all your opportunities, not just to remember them but to use them for your Ventriloquist career... having a Ventriloquist career is to keep the act moving.

"SALARY PAY."

I remember being hired by a youth program organization for my Ventriloquist act. I was hired as a employee of the company as a entertainer/speaker , my job was to teach kids and teenagers about safety and crime prevention. If you ever get hired by a company as a employee as a entertainer with the art of ventriloquism, you will be placed on the company payroll just like any other employees, you will get paid just like all the other staff members and that is usually a weekly or monthly salary, let's say four hundred dollars a week equals sixteen hundred dollars a month no more and no less than, no hourly rate, no over time pay just your agreement salary pay. even if your Ventriloquist act performing time is for five minutes or five hours your pay stays the same. I usually did a basic Ventriloquist show for an hour five days a week for the youth organization, traveling was a part of the job. preparing scripts were very important, so if you decide to do this kind of Ventriloquist career make sure you have plenty of school and safety material in your file, you will need to have information on suicide prevention, bullying lessons, child abuse information, drugs and alcohol prevention, teen pregnancy, running away from home skits, and things in that nature. I am thinking about those youth program organization days, there I was went my stage partner Sammy performing at continuetion schools, juvenile halls and other youth organizations, I am thinking about my age at the time, and I was a youth myself during those times in my Ventriloquist career. a continuation school is like a boarding school or a school for kids that get kicked out of regular schools or need more schooling for to graduate, and most of us know what juvenile halls are, continuation schools are also for pregnant teenagers but I don't know if they still exist to day those are the days when Americans cared about their children so I enjoyed those days of my Ventriloquist career, and if those youth program organizations still exist to day then that's a good thing because there's so many young people out in the world that need positive help and Sammy with me tried so very much to show some positive ways to the trouble youth in my younger Ventriloquist career.