Meet Brad Baker: Mentalist & Entertainer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brad Baker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brad, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I made the change to start working for myself I was actually doing videography instead of performance. I basically thought I could do better than my then current employer of how I structured my own time and money. I objectively saw my value for the first time. The media group I was working at relied on me making and turning out content for them. They relied solely on my creativity (and the one other editor/videographer that worked there.) It didn’t “just happen” though. It took about eight months for me to feel confident. I knew I needed some kind of financial stability to start on my own and I only had a little in savings. I did the math on what I was earning at this job compared to if I got my own video clients. Even if I just had one video client a month, I would be able to cover rent, groceries, and put a little into savings. That was the final push I needed to just leave the company I was with and start on my own. I added to their life but they didn’t add to mine and I had all the resources I needed to survive and grow. It wasn’t a “money thing” for me. It was a confidence thing and rationally I was only wasting my time not having my own business. 

What should our readers know about your business?
Today I’m proud to say I’m a professional Mentalist, Hypnotist, and Psychic Entertainer. I manage all my own bookings, manage my own marketing, create my own advertising with my own graphics and video. While there’s more and more people in the world that “wear many hats” to be successful, I’m not aware of many entertainers who have learned and designed everything from scratch and who take such a hands on approach to literally everything. I don’t really know if it’s the best way but it makes me proud and confident to know how to do everything myself. This wasn’t easy as it took about four years in college to learn video and design, and then another six years to learn what I know about mentalism, magic, profiling, body language, psychic phenomena, and general psychology. I also had been acting and competing in acting competitions for four years before I went into college, so that also definitely boosted my performance chops and made transitioning into a full-time performer easier. The actual “business savvy” part of myself was slow in developing (and I’m definitely still learning) but a useful thing I constantly have in my head is this idea of having an Order of Operations. This idea comes from math (PEMDAS). So– I might have a million things I want to do but there’s actually only ONE thing I need to get done first BEFORE I can do everything else. Always knowing WHAT is the priority and WHY it’s the priority. (Ex: I actually don’t need to make a logo to to have a business, get clients, have a business card, make an invoice, or have a website; however you DO need a website to start getting clients, so make that the priority, then maybe make business cards since that helps you also get clients, and THEN whenever you get a gig you can justify spending time on the invoice, etc). I fell into the “logo-first” thinking at the beginning a lot and now its gotten to be less and less. If I’m memorizing a script for a play I wouldn’t just go over the scenes I had memorized, I would specifically go over the scenes I needed to memorize. Negotiating is also an essential skill that I’ve had to develop. And it really is essential so at the very least so you wont be taken advantage of. In my experience, people aren’t going to respect your time or you as a performer (or independent contractor) out of the gate so its essential to understand your power and value. Also every client is different and it’s important to know there isn’t a catch-all way of treating people or marketing that is going to get people to hire you. I’ve really had to learn to accept things as just feedback instead of a huge failure. This might be seen as a platitude but it really isn’t…its an essential philosophy that makes it easier to pick yourself back up. When I was really working to get gigs, I started out cold calling and cold emailing restaurants. A residency at a restaurant would allow me to have consistent income and also let me consistently perform. I kept tailoring email and phone scripts to see if it had any effect on if a restaurant would get back to me. It didn’t. So after a few months of it NOT working I decided to try online marketing and SEO tactics to get gigs. It worked! First month of just using basic SEO strategies and I got two gigs in a month. So–I’ve doubled down on that *method* of getting clients and I’ve been pretty happy ever since. Besides the technical reasons of why I think I might be different, I think my philosophy to entertainment and mystery arts is unique. Magic to me is realizing the world and the universe is a different place than what we normally realize. At its best, the Art of Magic gets people to see a bottomless well of possibilities. The universe is not only alive but it’s looking back at us. I bring that philosophy into everything I do. Anything can be magic and create wonder if it gets people to understand something bigger than themselves.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would try to get them into the Magic Castle obviously. lol Seriously its the only place like it. Top performers all over the world and you can see seven of them in one night. I would also take them to the beach. Manhattan or Redondo probably. I’m not a surfer or a swimmer or anything but I love grabbing coffee on the beach and then walking a few miles along the coast. Probably the best way to start a morning. For food, I would make sure to grab Howlin’ Rays at some point and take them to Casa Vega which is basically right down the street from me. I’m from Texas originally, I love Mexican food and spicy food in general so hopefully they would be up for that. As of this writing though, everything is basically locked down due to Covid-19 and I’ve only been in LA for a year. So I’m probably not the best guide since eight out of the twelve months I’ve actually been here I’ve lived in some form of quarantine.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to thank and continue to thank my parents. Even though they haven’t necessarily believed in magic the way I have, they gave me the confidence and the opportunity to follow my dreams. If a good parent tries to give a better life to their children than they themselves had, then I believe John and Sylvia Baker are some of the best parents in the world. I’m thankful for my wife Rebekah (especially for not running away when I told her I was going to become a type of magician.) And finally, I’m also thankful for my friend Brittany for telling me to start performing again. Sometimes you just need a little push.

Website: https://www.bradjohnbaker.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigradbrad/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bigradbrad
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bradjohnbaker
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAQPVrIl0pMjid1Lz2o3dkA

Image Credits
All photos taken by Rebekah Baker.