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    For a haunt starting out what is the typical wage that you pay actors?

    and how do you offset the cost?

    we can't run with volunteers anymore and have 66 actors, with what we had left this year we figured it out to only $6 a night, that's less then $1.5 per hr.

    any help would be greatly appreciated.

  • #2
    There seems to be some contradicting in your post... (imho anyways)

    1. You said "for a haunt starting out...." then say "We can't run with volunteers anymore... 66 actors"

    So how long have you been going? When I hear "Starting out" I think of first seasoners.


    2. With 66 actors, that hardly seems like a new haunt. Or, sounds like someone that had too much money and started out way bigger than they should have. Is this the case? If so, you may be in a bind.


    If you're new, and have 66 actors, that's a TON of actors if you ask me. I have an idea of when I start getting bigger with my "side attraction"... starting folks out as volunteers, and explain to them WHY! The reason for this is, we want prospects that WANT to be there, because they WANT TO BE THERE! Anyone passionate about haunts, acting etc, will come there for free, just to be apart of it. It's extremely hard to find these folks when you're already offering money.

    SO! I was thinking, start people out as volunteers and tell them the "whys" of it all. Then after they return the next season, (or two) they get put on payroll. HOWEVER! ALL ACTORS would be receiving 'gifts'. I'm a huge supporter of incentives. Meaning, even give volunteers reason to like being there. Could be a drawing for a few prizes, or could be smaller gifts given out each weekend. If they showed up for fri, sat and sun. (if thats the weekend days you run) then on Sun, give all the actors that were there a certain range of gifts. Could be cash, could be movie tickets etc. In a weekend, you should earn enough for incentives.

    Then this formula should give me a few seasons to see how it's going to thrive. If it goes very well, I can start a payroll, get all that legal stuff taken care of etc. If not, I do not expand and look forward to the next season to see how it fares. By the way, I will be running a very small event this first year, which is a charity event, with probably less than 10 actors. . . besides myself, roommate / partner and family.

    Hopefully an experienced haunter can chime in. I know a lot of things like this are kinda kept secret / hush hush. Haunters are obviously secretive with how they run their business, all the way down to how many people they've had, because it all can equal out to how much money they made.
    Last edited by Hacksaw; 03-19-2015, 09:40 AM.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Hacksaw View Post
      There seems to be some contradicting in your post... (imho anyways)

      1. You said "for a haunt starting out...." then say "We can't run with volunteers anymore... 66 actors"

      So how long have you been going? When I hear "Starting out" I think of first seasoners.

      we have done free ones for over 10 years. Last Year we got our business into an LLC so we can charge..... we have a dedicated amount of people however going into our second year we may not get so lucky running with volunteers. Labor board says if "for-profit" must be paid....Seasonal work can be below min wage...have to go by child labor laws too.

      we took in $10,635 minus expenses and our $1,000 to Charity we had $2220.64 left that doesn't leave much for payroll.

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      • #4
        Min wage at least! If you are paying actors at all (not volunteer) it should be at least your local min wage. If you go the independent contractor route (and with legal being what it is that's getting harder and harder to do) then you may be able to lower that some but I probably wouldn't

        If you can't afford to pay all your actors min wage for the season, BEFORE the season starts, you don't have enough money to operate that year. That also includes your items like power, water, and rent (if you have any)

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        • #5
          Thanksf or the clarification. We are non-profit as well. Whatever we get that's over production costs, goes straight towards charity. We will be giving 'bonuses' or incentives if you will, but no wages.

          I also agree, Min. Wage is the only way to go.

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          • #6
            Also something to be careful of and have a lawyer look into is that by giving gifts/bonuses to volunteers they are no longer considered volunteers by the IRS (and Worker's Comp, and other legal systems) which means that you then have to meet minimum levels (pay as well as workmen's comp and taxes)

            Also if someone gets hurt while working (which happens A LOT in our industry) that means they can sue you to get medical and even lost wages from their full time job. It's a slippery slope once you give a volunteer anything.

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            • #7
              A 501(c) organization, also known colloquially as a 501(c), is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization in the United States. Section 501(c) of the United States Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) provides that 29 types of nonprofit organizations are exempt from some federal income taxes. Sections 503 through 505 set out the requirements for attaining such exemptions. Many states refer to Section 501(c) for definitions of organizations exempt from state taxation as well. 501(c) organizations can receive unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, and unions. If your business does not qualify as a 501(c) you are, by IRS definition, a for-profit business and you must pay your actors. Not making any profit or donating your proceeds does not automatically make you a nonprofit business.

              Kevin
              MindWerxKMG, LLC

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