Mike Lukas "The Business of Standup Comedy" Book - Bonus Show #123

Mike Lukas is a seasoned stand-up comic with over 24 years of experience and the author of "The Business of Comedy," a standup comedy book that fills a crucial gap in the industry by focusing on the often-overlooked business side of comedy. As an instructor at the Dallas Comedy Club, Lukas emphasizes the importance of understanding one's brand and having a clear comedy perspective to effectively market oneself, especially in the absence of a manager or agent. His book, available for free on funnymuscle.com, shares invaluable insights and strategies, such as maintaining an email list and setting up efficient bookings, which are essential for comedians to thrive as "five-tool players" in a competitive field. Lukas's commitment to integrity and fulfilling business commitments has earned him respect in the comedy industry, and his proactive approach to teaching these skills aims to empower comedians to excel not just on stage, but in managing their careers as well.

(00:04:33) The Comedy Success Blueprint: Key Organization Skills

(00:05:28) Stand Out with Professional Branding: Comedian Marketing

(00:06:29) "The Multifaceted Roles of a Comedian"

Transcript

Announcer: 0:04

This is another episode of Stand Up Comedy. Your host and emcee celebrating 40 plus years on the fringe of show business stories, interviews and comedy sets from the famous and not so famous. Here's your host and emcee, Scott Edwards.

R. Scott Edwards: 0:21

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the podcast. We have another special bonus show and this time we're sharing some very valuable information. If you have any interest in the stand up comedy industry, you're a working comic, a wannabe comic. Just have interest in the industry as a whole. I have the man that shares all the information you need to know. He's a stand up comic, very, very successful. He's an author, several books. He's doing private shows, he's doing fundraisers, he's doing corporate work. He is amazing. Let's welcome him him to the podcast. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Mike Lucas.

Mike Lukas: 1:05

Thank you, thank you. Listen to them, Mike.

R. Scott Edwards: 1:09

We have been talking and working together for a little bit and you recently shared a copy of your fairly recent book called the Business of Comedy. And because I've written a couple books myself about the standup industry, I, I was so excited to get your book and get a chance to read through it. It's amazing. It's so organized, it's so simple and yet it explains so much. How did this come about, Mike?

Mike Lukas: 1:37

Well, it originally started as a talk. I teach at the Dallas Comedy Club, levels one and levels two for standup comics as well as perform there. And I noticed that a lot of these comedians didn't have a working knowledge of the business side of comedy. Everybody had sort of idea that their job, their main job was to make people laugh. And then that's where it ended. And without a manager or an agent, you have to take on those responsibilities yourself. And so that's what I created this talk about. And then when the talk, I did a talk for a couple of different groups and they all responded so strongly to it. I thought, well, this is something, this is knowledge that I think a lot of comedians would like. But comedians don't really like to read, especially about business stuff. So I tried to keep it with the same sort of light energy that I did the talk with so that it is easy to read and it's easy to digest.

R. Scott Edwards: 2:37

Yeah, but what's so amazing is that much like my books, I'm a producer, so I was trying to teach young comics the business. I went into probably too much detail and gave a lot of examples. And my book's a lot more be a standup comic or just look like one is really long and kind of deeper. But I think that that fails at really getting across the message. What I think you did so well with your book, Mike, is that it is easy to understand. But just like my books, you're not trying to teach people to be funny. There's plenty of classes and other books on how to tell a joke and stuff. You strictly talk about, you know, being organized, have a calendar, how to set up your own bookings, the marketing, the money, the travel, all the things that somebody that wants to be funny on the road doesn't understand in the beginning. And you probably learned this yourself through the road of hard knocks, right?

Mike Lukas: 3:38

Yeah, that's really where all this stuff comes out of. I did the business for 24 years and truthfully, a lot of the stuff in this book I'm only starting to do now. Like the idea of having an email list where you begin to collect people who are fans of yours by, you know, who have seen your show or purchased your merch. And you collect their email addresses so you can begin to market to them. You can tell them when your shows are going to be showing up in their town. You can tell them when you have a new book or a new CD or a new special out. And I didn't do that when I was a stand up comic. I only did that later as an author. And I kick myself thinking of all the people I entertained and had enjoy my talents that I didn't get their email address from them when it was available. It could have been a whole different pathway.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:33

Well, but sharing this now with the next generation, the next couple generations, because I think this book will be around a while, is such a validation of your success in the business. And I think it's great that you took your hard knock experiences and shared them with people and explain the importance of understanding the financing of the industry and the fact that you're an entrepreneur, you're self employed, so you're responsible for your money, your taxes, your marketing. And one of the things that I appreciated was, as a producer is, is you make a good point, is that you have to present yourself professionally to clubs and producers and that means having a marketing kit, having your 8 by 10, keeping a calendar so you don't miss dates and you're on top of things. I mean this book really covers so much of the basics. I was so excited to read it.

Mike Lukas: 5:28

That's great, Scott, thank you. Having an electronic press kit, an EPK is so key in the modern world. You want the people to be able to immediately see a picture of you, to read some quotes about you, to understand your biography a little bit and then to have some video of you performing the thing they're going to hire you to do and to have all that in one spot and to have a QR code that leads them to that easily as opposed to having to hold a business card. There's just so many shortcuts to getting people on your side when it comes to getting hired.

R. Scott Edwards: 6:03

It's so true. Now I'm a lot, lot older than you and I've been in the business 50 years. So I go back to the paper calendars and business card days. I even had a Rolodex. Most people don't even know what that is anymore. But before we finish this great little talk about your book, what would be, you know, you share so much in the book. Is there one thing that stands out as your number one point of advice?

Mike Lukas: 6:29

Well, yeah, the one thing I would recommend that comedians begin to look at is the fact that they're five tool players. Kind of like in baseball, when you examine a player and you look at the house, you know they have five tools. They can bat first average, they can bat for distance, for power, they can run, they can throw, they can catch. And they have five tools that they're judged by. Well, comedians have five tools they're judged by as well. And if you can begin to realize that you're not just the first couple of tools, which is a writer and a performer, you're also a director, you're also a traveler and you're also a business person. And it's that fifth tool, that business person tool that I think that a lot of comedians ignore in the first part of their career because they don't think that it's that important at that point while they're learning how to become funny, you can do it simultaneously.

R. Scott Edwards: 7:17

Yeah, and I think they're naive and I think what's great about your book is that you really slap them in the face with the reality of if you're going to be a professional comic, even a semi amateur, you, you need to have your business aspect put together. Now what would you say is the number one thing to avoid is being a stand up comic. Is there anything from your road experience or training that you tell people to be careful of?

Mike Lukas: 7:44

Well, one thing I would be careful of is your word is your bond. So if you say you're going to do something, make sure you, like you said, have a calendar that you mark it down on, have a memory memo system that reminds you of what you've got to do, and I think that that's a real important aspect of being a business person, is if I say I'm going to do it, I show up and I do it. And the other thing I would say that's important to not do is to become a corner quipper. Somebody who doesn't have a comedy lens, somebody doesn't understand their brand because then you get lost in the shuffle. Then you're just yet another comedian amongst a billion other comedians who don't understand their brand either. When you really understand who you, you can begin to market yourself way better. You can almost, you can create a logo for yourself. You're that clear on who you are. And so I feel like the big mistake a lot of new comedians make is they don't focus on that comedy lens for themselves, that brand.

R. Scott Edwards: 8:42

Yeah. And I come from the world of producing and sales and in our world we call it having a hook. You have to have something that grabs the audience that makes you a little bit different than every other Tom, Dick and Harry on stage. Well, ladies and gentlemen, if you're down in the Dallas area, make sure you go by and catch Mike Lucas. And we just want to say that this book for anybody interested in the stand up comedy industry is amazing, but we want people to be able to find the book. Mike Lucas, where can we get your book, the Business of Comedy?

Mike Lukas: 9:19

Well, you can get it at Amazon and Barnes and Noble and please be sure to leave a review after you buy them from there. If you want the book for free, go to funnymuscle.com and sign up for my list. You just have to exchange your email address and I will give you a free copy of the book and you can have that to read at your leisure.

R. Scott Edwards: 9:38

Well, ladies and gentlemen, go to funnymuscle.com that's funnymuscle.com, get your free copy of the book or support this great young comic and go to Amazon or any local bookstore and look for the Business of Comedy. It really is the book that can help you get your career started. Mike Lucas, so great to have you back on the podcast. Thanks for joining us today.

Mike Lukas: 10:04

Thanks, Scott Edwards. I appreciate you, buddy.

R. Scott Edwards: 10:06

Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be back on Sunday with our regular show. Thank you so much for joining us. Bye.

Announcer: 10:14

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Stand Up Comedy. Your host and mc. For information on the show merchandise and our sponsors or to send comments to Scott, visit our website at www.stand upyourhost and mc.com. look for more episodes soon and enjoy the world of stand up comedy, visit a comedy showroom near.