Magic makes good business
Pick a card: A staff of Spades Trading shuffles a deck of cards at the magic shop at The Mall. Picture: The Brunei Times
Saturday, November 29, 2008
DAVID Copperfield, David Blaine and Chris Angel are famous for turning their magic tricks into dollars.
Tse Tow Joon Yeen, magic enthusiast and co-owner of Spades Trading Sdn Bhd, which runs a magic shop at The Mall, wants to follow in their footsteps and parlay magic into actual dollars and cents.
"We sell a variety of card decks, impromptu props for everyday magic, coin tricks, card tricks, and many more," says the young shop owner.
Tse Tow says his interest grew when he was studying in Kuala Lumpur.
With his friend, Ronald Cheng, he decided to turn the hobby into a business. "We didn't know that it would succeed. It was just something that we wanted to try and so far we have been receiving good response from existing magic enthusiasts and people who wish to take it up as a hobby," he says.
Spades Trading is two years old and like many other businesses in Brunei, has it's ups and downs. "The busy months we have is the usual beginning and end of the month, and for the year, our best periods are during the beginning and end of the year when the bonuses are out," he says.
Tse Tow adds that one of the best things about selling magic products is that there is no specific age group to target. "We have customers ranging from kids to teenagers to adults," he says.
A challenge that Tse Tow and his business partner faced when it comes to the shop was finding the right location.
In the end, they opted to set up shop at The Mall in Gadong. Spades is located on the third floor next to the Cineplex. It's hard to miss as there is always a crowd gathered around the store.
Attractively decorated in black with an eye-catching sign above, the goods are displayed in glass cases.
"We picked this location because we thought it was good and there's always a lot of people here," Tse Tow says.
Besides selling magic products, Tse Tow also does shows and magic consultation for annual dinners, weddings and even charity events.
"One of the hard parts is to know each of the magic tricks that you are selling. Sometimes to convince people to buy a product, you have to demonstrate the product, but most of our customers are magicians who know what they want so they just collect them from us," he says.
Asked about whether there is any pressure from existing competitors, Tse Tow says that to his knowledge there are only about one or two stores selling magic products but not with a complete range.
"Our products are imported from Kuala Lumpur, parts of the States and Bangkok. It is sometimes difficult to find suppliers but we manage," he says.
To be able to make any business a success, he says the owner has to be passionate about the business.
"I am at the shop everyday and I love magic because it is one of those things that amazes people and in a way it helps people as well," he says.
Tse Tow says that he has done charity shows at the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha hospital and orphanages in Malaysia where he says the children love the tricks he performs. He says the popular tricks are the impromptu magic tricks that can be done everyday such as the card and coin tricks.
He said the business has succeeded through word of mouth and advertising. "Performing in annual dinners and charity shows can be considered a form of advertising as well," he says. "Another way to advertise our shop is to have performances and we have advertised in the Yellow Pages as well," he says.
As a first time business owner, Tse Tow adds that he has yet to think about the future prospects of the business, but he hopes that it will expand.
Indeed, Spade has grown and Tse Tow and his partner now have three staff who do part-time work when Tse Tow needs to go overseas to perform.
"Magic isn't just about tricks. You can make a living with it by performing, consulting and selling, just as long as there is a passion for your business you can succeed," he says.
The Brunei Times
Tse Tow Joon Yeen, magic enthusiast and co-owner of Spades Trading Sdn Bhd, which runs a magic shop at The Mall, wants to follow in their footsteps and parlay magic into actual dollars and cents.
"We sell a variety of card decks, impromptu props for everyday magic, coin tricks, card tricks, and many more," says the young shop owner.
Tse Tow says his interest grew when he was studying in Kuala Lumpur.
With his friend, Ronald Cheng, he decided to turn the hobby into a business. "We didn't know that it would succeed. It was just something that we wanted to try and so far we have been receiving good response from existing magic enthusiasts and people who wish to take it up as a hobby," he says.
Spades Trading is two years old and like many other businesses in Brunei, has it's ups and downs. "The busy months we have is the usual beginning and end of the month, and for the year, our best periods are during the beginning and end of the year when the bonuses are out," he says.
Tse Tow adds that one of the best things about selling magic products is that there is no specific age group to target. "We have customers ranging from kids to teenagers to adults," he says.
A challenge that Tse Tow and his business partner faced when it comes to the shop was finding the right location.
In the end, they opted to set up shop at The Mall in Gadong. Spades is located on the third floor next to the Cineplex. It's hard to miss as there is always a crowd gathered around the store.
Attractively decorated in black with an eye-catching sign above, the goods are displayed in glass cases.
"We picked this location because we thought it was good and there's always a lot of people here," Tse Tow says.
Besides selling magic products, Tse Tow also does shows and magic consultation for annual dinners, weddings and even charity events.
"One of the hard parts is to know each of the magic tricks that you are selling. Sometimes to convince people to buy a product, you have to demonstrate the product, but most of our customers are magicians who know what they want so they just collect them from us," he says.
Asked about whether there is any pressure from existing competitors, Tse Tow says that to his knowledge there are only about one or two stores selling magic products but not with a complete range.
"Our products are imported from Kuala Lumpur, parts of the States and Bangkok. It is sometimes difficult to find suppliers but we manage," he says.
To be able to make any business a success, he says the owner has to be passionate about the business.
"I am at the shop everyday and I love magic because it is one of those things that amazes people and in a way it helps people as well," he says.
Tse Tow says that he has done charity shows at the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha hospital and orphanages in Malaysia where he says the children love the tricks he performs. He says the popular tricks are the impromptu magic tricks that can be done everyday such as the card and coin tricks.
He said the business has succeeded through word of mouth and advertising. "Performing in annual dinners and charity shows can be considered a form of advertising as well," he says. "Another way to advertise our shop is to have performances and we have advertised in the Yellow Pages as well," he says.
As a first time business owner, Tse Tow adds that he has yet to think about the future prospects of the business, but he hopes that it will expand.
Indeed, Spade has grown and Tse Tow and his partner now have three staff who do part-time work when Tse Tow needs to go overseas to perform.
"Magic isn't just about tricks. You can make a living with it by performing, consulting and selling, just as long as there is a passion for your business you can succeed," he says.
The Brunei Times
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