Today we’d like to introduce you to Margaret Clauder.
Margaret, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started DFW Funny Business in 1993 as a children’s birthday party company. I was the CCO – chief clown officer. After having been a birthday party clown part-time since 1984, I went full time in 1991. I quit my corporate sales job for Johnson & Johnson and decided to “do my own thing” in order to better raise a family. I advertised in all the local Yellow Page directories as well as local parenting magazines. I became so busy with entertaining for children’s parties. I began to refer work out. After two years of referring work to others in the DFW area, I decided it was time to “take a commission” of these referrals that my advertising and reputation had given me. I formed DFW Funny Business in 1993 as a children’s entertainment company. In the beginning, I only had a handful of other clowns that I was subcontracting with for the parties, but slowly I began to network with other agencies in the area that also did corporate work such as picnics and large parties. I became the go-between for good children’s entertainment at party ranches, company picnics, and other types of affairs. The stable of entertainers grew and grew.
In 1996 we added daycare centers. In 1998 we added public and private schools as well as library summer reading club programs. By 2020 we had over 250 entertainers under our umbrella. In 2008 my husband, Mark, also quit the corporate world and became the general manager of the company. My son, John, became our star balloon artist and also our corporate lawyer after he graduated from Baylor Law School. Our client list today looks like a who’s who for the DFW area, including folks like The Dallas Cowboys, the Perot Companies, Great Wolf Lodge, City of Dallas, Big Thought Arts in Education and more.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Business is never a smooth road. As long as you deal with people, there are going to be problems, as well as rewards. I have mentored many individuals in the children’s entertainment industry over the years. This is a great business to be in, but it doesn’t just “happen”. You have to (1) like children (2) be REALLY good at whatever you do, which takes lots of practice, (3) Be organized. I’ve had to deal with performers with time management issues. I’ve worked with people to increase the quality of their work. For example, there are clubs in the area that you can join for almost any entertainment discipline. These clubs are great places to learn and grow. I ask our entertainers to not only become a member of these organizations but to also be a leader in them as well.
Our entertainers are the founders and past or current presidents of area clown clubs, face painters guilds, magic clubs, storytelling guilds, puppetry guilds and more. They also maintain memberships in national organizations and keep up on the latest trends in their discipline by attending conventions and workshops. All our clowns were actual clown school graduates. Some are former Ringling clowns. We have jugglers that hold world record juggling titles. Our magicians are all members of either the Society of American Magicians or the International Brotherhood of Magicians. We feel like our contractors are our partners and also our friends. We’ve been to their baby showers, visited them in the hospital, attended their weddings, and unfortunately some funerals over the years.
We’d love to hear more about DFW Funny Business.
If it walks on two legs (or more) we have it, which means LIVE entertainment. We started as a children’s entertainment company, but now we identify as a FAMILY entertainment company. That means our entertainment is “G” or “PG” rated. You’ll never get blue or off-color entertainment from our performers. We believe you can be funny and entertaining without being inappropriate or dirty. People know that if our folks are the entertainment at an event they don’t have to worry about what music the DJ is playing, what jokes the clown is telling, what stories the storyteller is telling, or what pictures the face painter is painting on faces. We specialize in making memories.
Children remember the best of times and the worst of times. Luckily our business brings us into people’s lives during the best of times. We try to make those occasions into superbly happy memories by touching people’s hearts. Children love their pets, but they literally fall in love with a live entertainer. We have clowns for example that have done children’s birthday parties year after year until the child became a teenager. We have performers that get asked back, again and again, to perform for the same homeowners association parties, the same country club Christmas or Easter events, the same baseball team season openers. It’s amazing. We get to become part of the memories that people carry with them year after year.
What am I the most proud of? Probably the fact that 80% of our business is repeat or referral business. Once we have a customer unless that customer moves away, they are a customer for life. What sets us apart from others? The fact that we are more concerned with making our customers happy than making a quick buck. There have been occasions when a client calls asking for a particular service and we have talked them out of that service because we knew in our hearts it was “not the best fit” for their party. We instead recommend things that we know will work out. Sometimes we may even send them to a competitor or in a completely different entertainment direction. Those clients almost always call us back telling us how grateful they are that we were honest and more concerned with helping them than making a quick buck. That’s what sets us apart. Then, when we do the party, we get accolades that we REALLY listen to their needs and do everything in our power to make their next event their BEST event!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Honesty. We are always honest with our clients. If someone for example overpaid an invoice, they get a prompt refund. If they ask for a service that we feel will not work in a circumstance (for example, face painting at a pool party) we’ll be honest and tell them why we feel it’s not the best choice and offers an alternative (glitter tattoos that are water-proof for example). We’ve had many clients that have champagne tastes on a beer budget. They want the moon for a party but just can’t afford everything they want. We are happy to work with any budget and help people get the most bang for their buck. It doesn’t matter if it’s a four-year-old birthday party or a 20,000 person event for the City of Dallas, we’re going to give them the same honest attention to detail.
Pricing:
- Pricing for a child’s birthday party can be as low as $150 for a balloon artist or face painter and go up from there.
- Educational school shows can start at $495 and go up from there.
- Storytelling or puppet shows start at $275 and go up from there.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dfwfunnybusiness.com
- Phone: 817.265.5696
- Email: info@dfw-fb.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=dfw%20funny%20business
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dfw-funny-business-arlington-3
- Other: Gigmasters: https://www.thebash.com/costumed-character/margaret-clauder
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