I think the Magician equivalent is David Blaine, making people pass out from shock because you smuggled a fake spider into their ear or something.
Mostly we do kids entertainment though, so that's not really going to convice moms to hire my magic show for Bobby's birthday
Ok here's an idea, you find leads of houses in your area with a kid whose birthday is coming up and send them flyers. You're a dev guy this should be up your alley. $1 each with Postgrid API or do it yourself and it's the cost of your time + stamps + papercuts. Where do you get those leads do you ask? That's actually a good question and I'll need to get back to you on that. Make sure to put a QR code on the flyers.