Local sleight-of-hand artist adds a little magic to corporate events
Joe M. Turner wants to blow your mind.
"The moment of silence when an audience is dumbstruck and then they react - that's a really rewarding response," he says.
Turner is a full-time magician, specializing in sleight-of-hand illusions and close-up magic. He also centers his business on entertaining the corporate masses.
"Eighty percent or more of my business is related to corporate events," Turner says. "I do a lot of close-up magic for networking events and trade shows. I can also make products or people appear onstage to kick off conferences or trade shows." He performs for businesses of all sizes, from large corporations to smaller businesses.
Turner started working his magic as a part-time gig when he wasn't at his management consulting day job. "It was a hobby of mine as a child," he says, "so I was doing shows for children. Then I did a corporate event for adults. It was an unexpected change - but it stuck."
Turner has done events for various functions in Gwinnett, including past Business In Gwinnett Expos. In addition, he performs shows at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, the Magic Castle in Hollywood and the off-Broadway Monday Night Magic in New York.
In October 2000, Turner decided to take his craft full-time. "The first year was pretty scary," he says. "It was a step of faith."
Soon after beginning his business, he managed to secure a large project working with Coca-Cola and Reading is FUNdamental on a nationwide tour to use magic to promote literacy. "I wrote and submitted a business proposal for the project," he says. "I don't think any other magician did that. I got the project and directed and trained about 50 performers. It was the first keystone success of my career - it proved that I could do it and make a successful business."
Since then, Turner's business has grown steadily, thanks to his networking efforts. "My most significant growth came during year three to four when I started to get plugged in to networking and local chambers of commerce," he says. "I was not experienced in selling, so I had to learn to get out there and network effectively. Having a website is also the number-one key for any self-employed person."
And for the last six years, Turner has done a weekly show at the Norcross Station Cafe, performing close-up magic for the diners every Friday and Saturday night. "I do it partly to entertain and provide hospitality, but it's also a great lead generation for me," he says. "I've sold some good work while I've been there."
For Gwinnett's BIG Expo, Turner has performed close-up magic - and taught seminars on mnemonic memory techniques, which date back to ancient Greece.
"It's the next-best thing to having a photographic memory," he says. "You learn to remember different types of info quickly - you can remember lists with 20 items with no problem. It's great for salespeople, students, anyone giving presentations - it can be tweaked to fit any group. It's almost like a magic trick."
Turner also performs a quarterly show called "Shenanigans," which is a repackaged version of his corporate shows directed at the general public. The next performance will be at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead on Oct. 25.
