Hey y'all hey, I'm the juggler who posted a clip from a convo I had recently with an agent trying to book me below my rate. It got way more responses than I expected, and there's no way I can answer all the comments, so I'm doing a little update to give some answers to the common questions that came up.
First, thank's to everyone who gave positive and supportive comments. I really appreciate the solidarity and encouragement!
Okay, a little context about this particular agent, and why my response went so quickly on the offensive. I've never worked with this lady, but a few months ago she tried to book my housemates, who are also circus performers. She pulled a very similar move on them, but was much more persistent in her attempt to get them to take a lower rate. I overheard a lot of those conversations, and she said some really insulting things to them, so I went into this conversation prepared for her to try me, and she didn't disappoint. So, yes, I could have handled my end differently, but she kind of had it coming.
Rates: A lot of y'all had questions about rates, and why I (attempted to) block them out of my screen shots. I went back and forth on leaving them in or not, but here are a few of the reasons behind my thinking.
The “hourly” rates discussed don't really reflect an accurate picture of what gigging entertainers make. To clarify, she was offering me $150/hr, and I told her my minimum is $250/hr. Now, at first glance that seems like a lot. If I were working 40 hours a week, that would be a ton of money. Heck, if I were working 40 hours a month I'd be doing well. The reality is I don't get anything close to that much work. My work is very seasonal, so there are a few months of the year where I get work every weekend, but that's very rare. Most months I get 2-4 bookings at most.
That would be a great side hustle, but there's no way I could work another job and still train as much as I need to in order to reach the level I want. Sure, I could at this point coast on the skills I have, try to find a job M-F and take gigs on the weekends and have a good income. But I'm not in it for the money, I work as a juggler because that's the only way I can justify spending 4-6 hours a day training and still make enough money to survive.
So to put it bluntly, no, you should not learn to juggle for the money. You should learn to juggle because it is cool and fun!
If you are genuinely interested in a side hustle as an entertainer, juggling is probably the worst place to start. The time investment / reward payout is one of the lowest of any circus art, meaning it takes way more time invested to develop a high enough skill level in juggling to impress people than other acts. Anyone can learn to juggle 3 balls in about a week, but to go from that to a level where you can actually keep people interested in what you are doing… well for me that took like 10 years.
By contrast, stilt walking is probably the easiest and most lucrative thing you can do as a performer. You can get a set of stilts for around $100 and learn to walk in them in a few days. After that it's just a matter of costuming and marketing yourself. Then bam, you can pick up little gigs in the $100-150/hr range pretty quickly… altho sadly I'm seeing more and more stilt walkers really taking lower rates.. like $25/hr so that market may be dwindling.
Another reason behind me censoring the rates is because I quote different rates for different events, and it seemed easier to block those out than to open that whole can of worms, but clearly I both misjudged that and failed at actually censoring them so, here's a little more about circus rates in my area.
The woman in this convo is one of the lowest-end agents in our area. There are a lot of these. They basically book kids parties and small events, usually sending like a face painter or balloon twister to some private party or very small buisness event. Occasionally they'll get a call for a circus person, and try to book us at low rates because they have low value events. I don't like doing these events, because “2 hours of performing” generally turns into at least 4 hours of work, between putting on costumes & makeup, showing up early for a call time, going through the event logistics with the client, etc etc. These generally ask for “ambient” performance, which basically means you stand around awkwardly while people kind of ignore you.
My focus as a performer is longer format shows. I do comedy juggling shows that are between 20-60 minuets. That can be either on a stage in a theatre or out on the street. These pay a lot more. If a client or agent wants to book me for a solo show, I can get anywhere from $600-1200.
Solo shows are great because, if you know what you're doing, you can make good money performing on the street as a busker (performing for tips). This is a great way to earn a living as a performer, because you don't have to deal with agents, and you get to keep all the money you earn.
The downside is, there aren't that many places where you can busk. Finding the right combination of tourists willing stop and watch your show and a city that will actually allow you to set up and perform can be tricky, especially in the US. But when you find a good place to busk, you can go out as much as you want. So even if you aren't making as much hourly as you would booking gigs, you can go out more often and earn more total than you would waiting around for the next gig to come in. Plus, once you get a good enough street show you can start applying to street festivals, which is where you can really earn a nice living.
Personally, I spent way to long working gigs, partly because it took me a long time to feel confident enough to go out and put on a show on my own and think that anyone would watch, let alone tip me for it. The street can be an intimidating place.
Okay, I just want to end this with a few insights I have from my time doing circus gigs, and some of the dirty tricks agents have used against me in the past.
The “Availability Request” : this is a common one. An agent will reach out and ask if you are available for a date without giving any info, rate, etc. Often they will say “oh I don't have the rate or details yet” or something like that. If you just say yes I'm available, they'll try to hold you to that when they offer you a low rate. They will often withhold details until the last moment, to try and make you feel like you can't back out.
The “Menu of Options” : I really hate this one. Agents will ask you for multiple different combinations of acts or skills, all with different prices. “How much for just juggling? how much for unicycle? how much to add stilts?” They'll try to make you give them 8 different prices for one event, and then try to book you for the lowest price and slip in more once you agree. Don't haggle. I charge the same price for everything I do, because you are booking me, the person, not my props.
The “Delayed Payment” : This happens when you start working more consistently with one agency. They will often delay payments by weeks or months. Some of them do this in the hopes that you will forget about an event and not follow up about payment. For others its a manipulation tactic they will leverage to get free or cheap labor out of you. If someone owes you $2K in back pay, and sends you a message, “hey someone dropped out and I'm desperate to fill this spot that I only have $100 for, can you help me out.” It's harder to say no.
The “Unsigned Contract” : Simple one, they'll send you a contract for an event requesting your signature, but never provide a countersigned copy for you. That means you have no protection at all. Your best bet is to provide your own contract and have them sign that. If they refuse, that's a good sign you are working with someone shady.
The “Identity Owner” : Many agents will try to hold onto your identity as a performer like it's their IP. It's common for a company not to want to tag performers in posts, but some take this further than others. Watch out for agents who try to own your image (some contracts contain very unfair clauses about this). Sure, they need to protect their client relationships, and as a performer you should respect that, not hand out your own personal business cards etc., but if someone at an event recognizes you, tags you in a photo, and the agent freaks out about it, that's a big red flag.
The “Studio Owner” : This is the one that's gotten me the most. This happens when an agency has amassed a lot of resources and used them to create a studio, performance, or training space. I've fallen for this more times than I'd like to admit. You walk into a circus studio with nice high ceilings for training, tons of costumes, lots of cool equipment, and the promise that “we are a community of performers all working together to make art.” I'm not saying those people are always scammers, but you should absolutely be on high alert. Those resources come from somewhere, and most of the time it is from scamming performers. Ask yourself, who's labor bought those costumes, that equipment? Who's work pays the rent? Don't let your dreams delude you into believing in something that's too good to be true.
The “Friend” : This is the most painful one. Shady agents will use every manipulation tactic in the book. Love bombing, gaslighting, you name it. They'll try to convince you they're your best friend, that you are somehow better and different than all those “other” performers. Remember y'all, no one who is making money off you is your friend. No matter what they say, don't let your guard down with anyone who is making their living off your labor.
Maybe y'all can tell at this point i'm a bit jaded on the gig industry. I've dealt with a lot of shitty people in this industry, and I've made a lot of mistakes that really come down to me putting my trust in people who didn't deserve it. I let myself get sucked into believing I was part of something “bigger than myself” and that I was helping to “create a circus community”. Those mistakes cost me about $10,000 in withheld payments and stolen property. That's a lot of money fro someone who makes less than $20,000 a year.
Anyway, this has become much longer than I intended, and it's time for me to go start training for the day. Hope this clears up any lingering questions or is at least entertaining.