Amberg takes event entertainment to new heights

“From the age of 14 on, seeing people’s faces as I would do a magic trick or entertain them or make them laugh was like a drug,” said Amberg, the former sole proprietor of Comedy Magic of Ted Amberg. “Watching someone enjoy something, I knew it was my calling.”

The business evolved and Amberg Entertainment Inc., officially opened in 1996, now provides casino parties, karaoke, disc jockey services, carnival games and inflatable games.

Amberg Entertainment employs 14 full-time staff, and numerous part-time workers.

“It takes about 75 people to put on events each week,” Amberg said.

An office in Denver opened in February 2005, and an office in Bentonville, Ark., opened in March.

Wal-Mart philosophy

Amberg stays busy year-round.

“We’re slammed from early April through Halloween, then November is a little slower and December is one of our busiest months as well,” Amberg said.

The Springfield office handles about 750 events per year, and Amberg estimates all three offices will do more than 1,500 events this year.

“We do 80 percent of our work within 100 miles of Springfield,” Amberg said, adding that cities the size of Springfield are ideal places for future expansion.

“A lot of companies look for the big cities, but we take the Wal-Mart philosophy and look for the smaller towns and branch out,” Amberg said.

The company provides what Amberg calls turnkey event services.

“When we come in, we take an empty field, set up the inflatables and games, hire the entertainers, put the tents in, get the catering,” all in an effort to alleviate clients’ stress during an event, Amberg said. “We want to make (sure) their event is successful, memorable and fun. If you’re (a human resources) coordinator, what we tell you is we want to make you look great to your boss, put on an event that will blow you away, and at the end, we’ll step back and let you take the bow for it.”

One person taking those bows is Brad Wicks, adult ministries pastor for James River Assembly of God. Wicks has used Amberg Entertainment for the last five years at the church’s I Love America event held each July Fourth. Last year’s event, Wicks said, had more than 100,000 visitors and about 50 attractions from Amberg Entertainment.

“They go out of their way to make the event happen the way you want it to happen,” Wicks said of Amberg Entertainment. “I keep going back to him for the ILA event because he knows the event now. Every year he gets better at it, thinking of new ideas.”

Larger church events, such as I Love America, and company picnics are the company’s bread and butter, Amberg said. Clients include Bass Pro Shops, CoxHealth, Dayco, Paul Mueller Co. and Prime.

“It’s not unheard of to have 30 events over one weekend,” he said, declining to disclose revenues.

In addition to working on-site events, Amberg Entertainment holds private parties at The Party Place, an indoor party area with inflatable games, air hockey and foosball.

“Right now, it’s not our largest moneymaker,” Amberg said of the 9,000-square-foot facility at 2025 E. Chestnut Expressway, which also houses the corporate offices.

Diverse entertainment

Other divisions offer music and photography services, as well as industry education to other business owners.

Starlight Music is Amberg’s DJ service that also provides karaoke services at Schultz & Dooley’s and Billiards.

Show Me Photography provides wedding and event photography but specializes in sports. “We do green-screen photography, where we put your face on a magazine, which is a lot of fun,” Amberg said.

Visions Unlimited is the division that teaches other entertainment companies “to do what we do,” Amberg said. “We teach them how to present themselves as a professional company rather than a mom-and-pop out of the garage. We like to dream big, think big and then be big.”

Amberg has created products to help others in the industry, including software and manuals.

“The inflatable rental and entertainment industry is still an infant,” he said. “When we looked for software and a database that fit our needs, there was nothing out there. We decided to create our own and hired people.”

Amberg hired employees to create the Event Wizard, a database to track customers and sales, which is sold online. He also wrote two manuals – “Inflate Your Profits” and “The Inflatable Bible” – which are also for sale online.

Amberg feels the secret to his company’s success is customer service.

“When we work with a client, we don’t look at them as a one-year client. We look at them as a lifetime client,” he said. “We know if we don’t please them and go above and beyond, we won’t be working with them again. We retain 90 percent of our clients from year to year.”

Amberg Entertainment Inc.

Owner: Ted Amberg

Founded: 1996

Address: 2025 E.

Chestnut Expressway, Springfield, MO 65802

Phone: (417) 886-2442

Fax: (417) 889-1888

Web site: www.amberg

entertainment.com

Services: Casino parties, karaoke, disc jockey, and carnival and inflatable games

Employees: 14

Amberg Achievements

Adam Brown, Amberg Entertainment Inc. vice president – SBJ 40 Under 40 – 2006

W. Curtis Strube Small Business of the Year finalist – 2006

Ted Amberg, Amberg Entertainment Inc. president – SBJ 40 Under 40 – 2005

W. Curtis Strube Small Business of the Year finalist – 2004[[In-content Ad]]