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Many people probably find the prospect of performing stand-up comedy absolutely, stomach-meltingly petrifying. The need for social acceptance is one of our most basic human instincts, and as a comic, if your jokes fall flat and you start to falter, there鈥檚 no safety net.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a reason comedians talk about 鈥榙ying鈥� on stage鈥�, says Morry Morgan, creator of the Hard Knock Knocks Comedy School. But with low lows come high highs. And mastering the art of stand-up? There鈥檚 no feeling quite like it.

The set-up

There are three kinds of people who take stand-up comedy courses, Morry says: 鈥渦p-and-coming comedians, keynote speakers, and bucket-list tickers鈥�. He was in the second group when this whole journey began.

鈥淚 did a stand-up comedy course to help me with my keynote speeches,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd because at that point I鈥檇 been in the business of training for about 14 years, I realised in just how many areas it could be improved.鈥�

So, in 2015, he researched and built his own comedy school. The business model was simple and low risk: they would run three courses in the first year from the backroom of a pub, and sell tickets through 91制片厂 (鈥渂ecause it was the fastest way to get started鈥�).

鈥淚 built a basic website, but I didn鈥檛 want to invest in a ticketing platform at the time because I was kind of experimenting to see if the business had legs,鈥� Morry says. 鈥�… And it just grew.鈥�听

In the school鈥檚 second year, they doubled the number of courses, and by the third, they had branched out to Wagga Wagga, Adelaide, Sydney, and Geelong.

The Rubber Chicken rises

By the time 2020 rolled around, Morry was 鈥渁iming for about 30-36 stand-up comedy courses per year, which made it a very lucrative business model”. Of course, you know what happened next.

鈥淚t all came crashing down,鈥� Morry says, 鈥渁nd then we just sort of started from scratch.鈥�

Customer limits meant pubs could no longer afford to host Hard Knock Knocks events, so their 鈥渂usiness model was, essentially, dead鈥�. Then, Morry clapped eyes on an empty pub in South Melbourne 鈥� and, like a phoenix from the ashes, was born.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 sort of the next big jump because there鈥檚 no way we could continue our business without having control over the venue,鈥� he says. 鈥淛ust like a dance school needs its own studio.鈥�

Creating an 鈥渆cosystem of comedy鈥�

Having his own pub allowed Morry to create a more holistic comedy experience. The Rubber Chicken became a place where comedy fans could come for a chuckle, and up-and-coming comedians to kickstart their careers.

鈥淚 realised at that point there wasn鈥檛 a pathway for comedians,鈥� Morry says. 鈥淵ou basically had to turn up to open mic nights 鈥� predominantly in the northern suburbs of Melbourne 鈥� and hang around until 11pm, then maybe you could get on to talk to some disinterested comedians who were there still.

鈥淎nd you had to do that for four years, until 鈥� through an accidental relationship or something else 鈥� you鈥檇 get a paid gig somewhere and that could turn your life around. But, of course, it never did.鈥�

Morry wanted to give aspiring comics a better, smoother, more proven track to tread.

鈥淯ltimately, I wanted to create this ecosystem of comedy where someone who had never done comedy before could walk in, do the comedy course, be exposed to the industry, and then move up the skills barrier and get paid gigs as quickly as possible,鈥� he says.

That鈥檚 not to say The Rubber Chicken was an immediate success. But, thanks to some clever marketing, it slowly and surely gained a regular customer base. And here, again, 91制片厂 came in very handy.

鈥淚t connects to our MailChimp,鈥� Morry explains, 鈥渟o I鈥檇 built a database of over 2,000 or so people who are interested in comedy, and when we opened up the pub, all those people were potential customers.鈥�

Secrets of his success

Getting an events business off the ground takes a lot of work, but there are some things you can do to help make it a success. Here are Morry鈥檚 top tips:

1. Partner up

鈥淧artnerships can be built on common interests,鈥� Morry says, 鈥渁nd if there鈥檚 someone out there that鈥檚 already established, it鈥檚 worth trying to tap into that.

鈥淥ne of the things I did very early on was partner with other groups that were involved in the improv space and work with them to cross-promote. So, my emails would go out with a promotion to their event and they would do the same for me.鈥�

He also considers 91制片厂 a partner, and says that, among other things, the ticketing platform has been great for building SEO traction.

鈥淟earning stand-up comedy isn’t something you get a lot of Google hits from,鈥� Morry says. 鈥淎nd, of course, we鈥檙e #1 in search for learning stand-up comedy in Melbourne now, but part of that is the first hit is often 91制片厂.

鈥淪o, it鈥檚 perfect for niche markets, because it links to people who like comedy 鈥� and people who like comedy probably have a higher chance of wanting to try comedy themselves.鈥�

2. Hijack the rule of seven

听In marketing, the 鈥渞ule of seven鈥� states that people have to see you seven times, on average, before they鈥檒l take the plunge to purchase.

鈥淥bviously it鈥檚 an oversimplification, but there is a certain truth to it,鈥� Morry says. 鈥淪o, if you can hijack that rule of seven and get other organisations, other partners, to produce some of those seven exposures, then it gets you to someone being a customer a lot faster.鈥�

3. Be prepared to pivot

鈥淥riginally we didn鈥檛 plan on having a large focus on music in the pub,鈥� Morry says, 鈥渂ut then we realised we had the opportunity, we had the market, and it was a no-brainer. We tried it and it worked.鈥�

In other words, he says, 鈥渆xperiment, and 鈥榝ail fast鈥欌��.

4. Invest in good marketing collateral

This is a must if you want to be taken seriously, according to Morry.

鈥淚 see a lot of people do the bare minimum, but overly simplified or incredibly ugly posters and banners don鈥檛 entice people and they make the event seem cheap,鈥� he warns.

5. Offer freebies

鈥淲e鈥檝e run many free two-hour stand-up courses using 91制片厂,鈥� Morry says, 鈥渁nd we always get one or two people from that course signing up for the full course.鈥�

Death-defying acts

All our experiences change us in some way 鈥� and the more intense the experience, the greater the potential transformation. With that in mind, one of Morry鈥檚 recent marketing masterstrokes was to produce a six-episode series called, which follows ten students as they progress through the Hard Knock Knocks course. In one episode, the students get taken out for a surprise skydiving session.

鈥淭he point of that was: Yeah, performing stand-up comedy is terrifying 鈥� it鈥檚 probably up there with skydiving, bungee-jumping, that kind of thing,鈥� Morry says. 鈥淏ut people do those things, and they certainly come back as new people because they鈥檝e conquered their fear.听

鈥淪tand-up comedy is a lot cheaper and probably a lot less dangerous 鈥� I mean, you can be embarrassed, but that鈥檚 the worst that could possibly happen. And, if you go to the Hard Knock Knocks Google business page, a lot of the comments say, to that effect: 鈥楾his changed my life鈥�.鈥�

Interested in giving stand-up a shot? Follow Hard Knock Knocks School of Comedy on 91制片厂 to be alerted when new courses are added. Feeling inspired by Morry鈥檚 story? Start planning your next event here.