Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jared Molton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jared, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

From 2010 to 2013 I worked as a full-time magician in New York City. This was shortly after I graduated from college and I was living the dream.

I was the GM of the oldest magic shop in the USA, Tannen’s Magic, by day. By night and on weekends I would gig. Performance would range from corporate parties, to bar/bat mitzvahs, to performing my act on stages across the city.

How did I make this happen? Hustle and good luck. The owner of the magic shop was a close friend and I had interned at the magic shop during high-school. I shared with him a proposal of ideas that I thought could help him turn his business around and he asked me to come and implement them. That was the start. From there, we executed. We redesigned the store and transformed it into a more magical experience, we brought in the top magicians from around the world to give lectures to our customers, we were able to develop a line of exclusive products that customers couldn’t get anywhere else.

Running the magic shop gave me credibility that I could use to close gigs with prospective clients. I could even invite them to the shop for a meet and greet if they wanted to see a bit of my magic before booking me. The rest was hustle. I had already built a bit of a business performing professionally in the area. Those connections and word of mouth followed. I didn’t run paid ads on Google or do a ton of soliciting, the quality of my work and my network helped drive new gigs.

While I was able to afford my life-style, it was a difficult way to make a living. I also fell in love with business and realized that I could scale my interest in business by making magic a hobby instead of a career. I decided to go back to school and get an MBA to expedite my career in business. Since then I’ve spent time at Amazon, Chewy, and most recently leading the consumer business at Udacity. Now I get to bring a different kind of magic to millions of customers.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a Seattle, Washington based close-up magician with over 20 years of performing experience. I started performing when I was a teenager in Montclair, NJ and have had the bug ever since.

My magic is sleight-of-hand based, thoughtful, and fun. When I perform, magic happens within your guests’ hands – merely inches from their eyes – ensuring that even the most scrupulous audiences give in to the the joy of true mystery. Every moment of magic will instantly become a great story that your guests will revel in retelling for the rest of their lives. You have never seen magic like this before.

I’m very proud of the one-man theater show I wrote, produced, and starred in prior to the pandemic. The show was called Conjuring Nightmares and was the perfect blend of strange and mysterious. However, my proudest moment is sharing a stage with the late Johnny Thompson, one of the most legendary magicians of all time.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is pursuing your selfish interests. Art is subjective and it’s yours to create. It doesn’t have to be for anyone else. This is a direct contrast to the world of business, where I now spend most of my time. In business, you have to build something that someone else wants, otherwise they won’t buy it.

There’s a magic trick I’ve been working on for 15 years called the Merlin’s Aces. It’s hard as hell to execute, but it’s a ton of fun to practice. I continue to work on this trick and refine it. In other fields folks may move on to the next project, but because this is something I’m passionate about I don’t have it. And that’s my call. I get to keep working on it. I get to keep refining it. It may be good enough for others, but it’s not good enough for me.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

The best thing society can do to support the arts is to go spend money on art. It’s that simple. Buy paintings from local artists, go to the theater, book a magician for your next event. If you want the world to be beautiful and interesting you need to participate and contribute.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jaredmolton.com
• Instagram: @jmolt
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredmolton/
• Twitter: @j_molt