Face Painting Blog

We’re all facing tough times and massive challenges both personally and business-wise but we’ll all get through it if we all pull together, I have written this blog post to offer some hope and inspiration...

Here goes.....

DON’T STOP MARKETING

This is the single biggest mistake that businesses that fail make in a recession. If you had a profitable business before this virus outbreak, low or zero sales for a few weeks won’t destroy you. What will destroy you is, when we emerge from this, if you have stopped all customer communication, you’ll have no backlog of pent up demand and customer goodwill to fall back on. It will take you another 2- 3 months to catch up when you turn the Marketing back on and by then it may be too late.

RING FENCE YOUR CUSTOMERS

Do you care about your customers? (OF COURSE YOU DO) so why would you stop communicating to them just because they can’t give you money right now? The business owner who ignores their customers during this time is telling them they view their relationship as purely transactional: When the money stops, the relationship stops.

People aren’t stupid. They’ll remember this and they’ll treat those business owners accordingly when the time comes. Meanwhile, if you take the time and trouble to keep communicating with your customers, you will be rewarded. It’s also just the right thing to do.

customer communication: Emails, Facebook, and Instagram are key…

If you’re not currently offering your services just get in touch with your customers and see how they’re doing. Nobody is bothering doing that and it will blow their minds. So email them, call them, text them. People are going to crave connection in the weeks ahead. Do the right thing and you will be rewarded.

TAKE THE MONEY

Across the world, governments are putting billions into funding small businesses. You may or may not agree with how they’re doing it, but if there’s cash available, take it. Even if you don’t need it right now. Take it. Cash is King.

In most countries, you can take a three-month mortgage break. Take it for yourself and bear it in mind for your staff if you’re feeling guilty about paying them less. Make sure they’re educated on everything they can claim too.

FIX THE HOLES IN THE BUCKET

All businesses have ‘holes in the bucket’ through which money falls, even in the best of times.

Examples are: not emailing customers at least twice per week, not following up with leads and prospects, not selling more to existing customers, not testing premium-priced offerings, a Google Ads campaign that’s not being run properly, not having video, not having a ‘Mobile First’ strategy, not doing Remarketing on Facebook, Google and YouTube. I could go on. It’s a very long list.

All of the smart Entrepreneurs are using this time to fix the holes in their Marketing bucket. Let’s face it, you never get around to the Marketing because you never had enough time. You’ve probably now got some time. So please use it to obsess about making your Marketing brilliant.

Here’s some good news in all this chaos. The fact is, the money your business might lose in the next few weeks/months is nothing compared to the money you’ve probably lost over the last few years and would have lost over the next few years by not having great Marketing.

While none of us want the current situation, it’s no exaggeration to say that for some businesses, being forced to finally sort out their Marketing over the next few weeks will be one of the best things that ever happened to them.

PREPARE FOR THE MORGAN FREEMAN MOMENT

I’m sure you’ve seen those films, where the world comes close to ending, either from aliens, earthquakes or similar disasters.

At the end of those movies, there’s always a scene that shows the rubble, the sun rising on a new dawn, and in the middle of the rubble – the President, who for some reason always seems to be Morgan Freeman, giving a stirring speech about the dawning of a new world. Everything is finally going to be OK.

You should be preparing for our Morgan Freeman moment. We are all understandably fixated on the now. But some time travel into the future would not be a bad idea. When Morgan speaks, make sure that your business is in the finest possible position to rise with him.

Finally, for those of you who are having a really hard time, some words of wisdom from someone who knew a few things about dealing with adversity.

“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in”

Winston Churchill

Much love to you all….

Stay safe and stay at home

Nat x

The Face Painting Shop Statement Re Covid-19 Procedure Implementation

We have been keeping a close eye on global developments regarding Covid-19 and planning on how we can best protect the health of our customers and employees and continue to trade.

Review of The Face Painting Shop Blending Brushes By Jane Harding

Hi Everyone, So, today I am going to give you my review of The Face Painting Shops ‘Pink Tip’ Large, Medium & Small Blending Brushes.

In all honesty before I had these brushes, it never crossed my mind that they would be a useful set to have in my kit when I’m face painting. I just assumed they were mainly for applying make-up/eye shadow etc. so I completely overlooked them. However, after I attended a couple of classes, I was introduced to them, it opened my eyes and now they are a must have in my OTJ brush collection.

They are fantastic to use with Starblends to add shading and depth to a design, as seen here on my realistic skull. I used the medium blending brush with black starblend to soften the edges of the black areas and I used the small blending brush to add shading around the cracks again with black starblend and also used the small blending brush with DFX White to add subtle highlights.

As mentioned above they are also great to use with paint. I find they work especially well with shimmer colours, to blend around eyes like eye shadow or to add only a very light and subtle colour with soft edges, like I have done here with the pink cheeks of a Hello Kitty design.

If you were to ask me which size to buy first (if you couldn’t buy them in one go) then Id definitely say the Medium Blending Brush, because you’ll probably find it more versatile for doing small and larger areas, but one of the great things about these particular brushes is their value for money, so it’s not going to break the bank to buy all three. I’m sure you know as well as I do that “make-up” brushes can be incredibly expensive but these are only around £5-6 each.

Like I said I use these brushes all the time, every weekend, multiple times and I’ve had the original ones I bought for almost 3 years now and they are still going strong. This makes them even better value for money!

I now have 3 sets of these brushes. One for my Face Painting Kit, One in my Halloween/SFX kit & I have recently added some to my Glitter Bar Kit too, because I found them perfect for applying small amounts of glitter… you know, when someone asks for just a tiny bit on their inner eye or you want to add a small amount of loose glitter between areas of face paint. These are perfect for that!

PROS:

Versatile – Can be used with Make-Up, Starblends, Face Paint and Applying Glitter

Value for money

Long lasting

Clean very well

CONS:

Once you have one you’ll want the full set!

Overall:

I hand on heart say, that these brushes are brilliant and definitely a must have in everyone’s kit.

Until next time!

Jane x

PRODUCT LINKS:

https://www.thefacepaintingshop.com/Professional-Face-Painting-Brushes/The-Face-Painting-Shop-Brushes/The-Face-Painting-Shop-Large-Blending-Brush

https://www.thefacepaintingshop.com/Professional-Face-Painting-Brushes/The-Face-Painting-Shop-Brushes/The-Face-Painting-Shop-Medium-Blending-Brush

https://www.thefacepaintingshop.com/Professional-Face-Painting-Brushes/The-Face-Painting-Shop-Brushes/The-Face-Painting-Shop-Small-Blending-Brush

Basic Face Painting Hygiene Practices

*DISCLAIMER* I wrote this over a week ago, and things have changed and progressed. I also appreciate that I am very lucky to be in a position that I have no underlying health conditions, and might, therefore, have a different perspective to others.

Ok, so there’s lots of scary stuff in the news at the moment about corona virus, and I just thought I would take this opportunity to talk about some basic hygiene practices while we’re on the job. Jane did a GREAT blog a while ago about how she keeps her kit clean, so I will link that for you to look at as well!

https://www.thefacepaintingshop.com/face%20paint%20supplys/HOW%20I%20KEEP-MY-KIT-CLEAN-TOP-TIPS-By-Jane-Harding

1 Wash your hands before you set up

2 Ask the host to ask all children to wash their hands (and ask parents to wipe any snotty noses or dirty faces) before they have their faces painted

3 One sponge per child, and keep used sponges separate to clean sponges. I have a 2 laundry bag system. Clean sponges in a pink laundry bag that hangs off the back of my chair, and used sponges in a large pocket attached to my chair, with the other laundry bag.

4 Clean your stencils between each child. I bring a towel with me and attach it to my brush belt. Spritz your stencil down with water and dry it on the towel

5 Paints have antibacterial properties in them, and you can damage them by trying to clean them with anything other than water.

6 Don’t paint any children exhibiting any signs of illness, or who have a rash, or broken skin.

7 Have a Multi Pot water system. You could put some brush bath in the first pot before rinsing everything off in the second, and even 3^rd pot if you want.

8 Deep clean all your brushes when you get home, using a brush soap.

9 If you’re going straight from one job to another, carry some Isopropyl Alcohol in a spray bottle and give your brushes a spritz.

10 Keep your kit clean. Not only does this help stop the spread of germs, but it looks so much more professional!

So there you go, just some basic hygiene tips for while you’re on the job! The other thing you may want to think about, is what does your contract say about cancellation due to force majeure? You need to know that both you and your client are protected. Food for thought!

There are new developments with Coronavirus every day. Keep in touch with your clients, reassure them that you are taking their concerns seriously. Personally I am taking things on a day by day basis. Keep an eye on the news, but also look at the statistics, especially in comparison to other viruses.

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below and I will get back to you when I can!

Mazz x

The Pixie Tribe

Emma

Big Book of Painty Business Review

Hi Everyone! This week, I’ve written a little review of my Painty Business Book which I ordered just after Christmas! After I got my accounts sorted and out of the way, I decided to make a start on my Painty Business Book, which I am also using to organize my hair and makeup work too!

So, before I start talking about the book, here are some key facts:

400 Pages of organizational Glory

Packed with inspiration and affirmations

Filled with Tips on how to grow your business

Helpful pages to keep track of your social media

Pages for:         Password and login information

Business and client contact information

                        Purchase and client invoice logs

                        Business and Travel expense logs

                        Kit Log

Business Document templates for

                        Client Booking Form

                        Invoice

                        Disclaimer

                        Privacy Notice

                        Website Legal Notice

Recommendations for terms and conditions

Practice Face Templates: One Boy and One Girl Child template

One Man and One Woman Adult template

Bling Making Templates

Henna Hand Templates

School holiday date log

Weekly planner with full days for Saturday and Sunday

Weekly Reviews

End of Year Review

As you can see, there is a HUGE amount going on in this book! It pretty much is your entire business in a book, how awesome is that?! I don’t know about you, but I am a notebook hoarder. I literally have one for everything, it’s kind of ridiculous, and about 3 different diaries. I do all of my booking forms and invoicing on my laptop, but everything else goes in a dedicated notebook, which means NOTHING is in the same place. I’m just one of those people that like to physically write things down, I don’t really like having lots of documents and files on my laptop, because I can’t be bothered to go looking for them, and it doesn’t ‘sink in’ in quite the same way as when something is written down. So for me, having this book helps me keep everything written down, and all in one place.

The first section of this book is where all the business information, logs and templates live. Once you get to the calendar section, Monday to Friday each have their own little boxes, all on the left hand page, with Saturday and Sunday each having their own a4 page with hourly slots so you can mark in timings of your bookings. At the end of each week are 2 a4 pages with various boxes to reflect on your week. It can be hard sometimes to think about your achievements, so it’s great to have a section to reflect, and go back to remind yourself of everything you have achieved! It’s also a great place to look at challenges you have faced and look at ways to overcome them.

One of the great things about this book is that it isn’t date specific, you can start the first page at any time. I filled out all of the business information when I got mine in January, but I waited until last week to start filling in the weekly calendar because I knew that that was the point where I was starting to get busier with bookings. It’s also really useful for planning your social media content. Planning when you’re going to create your content, and when you are going to post/schedule your content for.

I’ve also really enjoyed using the Face Templates to practice designs. It can be a shame to have to wash your practice boards clean when you need to practice another design, so I’ve really enjoyed photocopying the templates, and then having them on hand afterwards to reference, and to look back on mistakes so I can avoid making  them again. It also means you can save up a ‘bank’ of designs rather than having to change up your board every time you go to events, especially if you’ve got a themed event!

I hope that this has been useful, especially if you have been considering getting one of the painty business books for yourself! I have really enjoyed using it and would love to know how you are all getting on with yours!

Mazz

https://www.instagram.com/the_pixie_tribe/

MY TOP 5 LINE MANAGEMENT TIPS - By Jane Harding

We’ve all been there, the super busy events where you have an instant crowd of customers and multiple lines form all at once! You then have to become referee and undoubtedly upset someone by insisting everyone forms ONE LINE! Eek! Line management is probably the most stressful part of our job.

The list of line management challenges really is endless, and I’m sure I could provide lots of examples and suggestions of things I do and have tried, but for now, I thought I’d give you my top 5 tips that help me keep line management as peaceful as possible!

1. BE PREPARED – The first thing I do when I arrive at a venue is look at the space I have been allocated and plan where the best place is for my kit to go, purely with crowd control and line management in mind. If I can position myself so there is only one direction for the line to go then that’s great, however sometimes it’s not so obvious, so I try to use walls, chairs, my banners and A Board to create a start point and always tell the first few people which direction I want them to line up, so hopefully everyone follows suit!
2. CLEAR SIGNAGE – I am a huge believer in having minimal but clear signage. A sign to say “Line Starts Here” with an arrow is always helpful. Remember, too many signs become overwhelming and then people won’t read them. But not having enough signs opens you up to difficult and potentially hostile confrontations from people who have been in line for 45 mins, to then find out you don’t paint children under 3 yrs and their child is 2 yrs! Arrgghhhh… I think it’s always better to have that sign in clear view, that way you can easily sympathise with the customer, but they can also easily see the signs and therefore have to take some responsibility for themselves because they hadn’t read the information available to them.
3. NEXT IN LINE – I often use one of my A Boards to indicate where the line will start with a small arrow shaped sign, however depending on the type of event, I also use my “Next in Line Mat” or simply use one or two chairs. The chair system I find works especially well for birthday parties. I have a chair for the child I am currently painting to sit in, then just to the side of that I line up one or two spare chairs. Because I want the children attending the party to have fun, rather than stand in my line for 2 hours waiting to be painted, I tell them to play and when they see an empty chair they can come and sit in it. This enables me to keep painting without having to search for children, but also keeps the parents happy, as the last thing they want is for 30 children to stand in a line for 2 hours!
4. REGULAR CHECKS – Honestly this is something I do find hard, mainly because I get so in the zone of painting, I forget to look up! But it really is helpful to put your head up every 10 mins or so, just to check what’s happening with the line. If that means calling out for people to stand further to left, or to make “one line” then that’s what I do. I will also try to scan who’s in my line and if I think there is anyone too young, too ill, too grubby, then I’ll politely point out my rules or just ask if everyone can make sure faces are clean etc. before they get to the chair to help speed things along.
5. ENDING THE LINE – This is very dependent on the type of event. If it’s a birthday party, then this shouldn’t be an issue because you are generally aware of the numbers beforehand and can then pace yourself so you finish everyone in time. It’s far more challenging for free to the public events or PPF. In these cases I do a couple of things. Firstly, I set an alarm on my phone or watch to go off one hour before I am due to finish, if at that point my line is huge, I will go down the line numbering each child on the back of their hand with a number, up to the number of children I know I can paint in one hour, normally up to 20 children for super-fast designs. Secondly, I move my A Board to the end of the line with a huge “line is closed” sign and ask the last parent in line to bring the sign along with them and direct anybody who questions it to speak to me. Generally I will explain to anyone else that unless they were given a number there will not be time to paint them and I will be finishing promptly at … O’clock. Just to add, that my line is closed sign, also states that only children with a number will be painted. I’ve been using this method for a while now and have never had any problems finishing those in line or having any disgruntled customers.

BONUS TIP – If you have the luxury of having a line manager with you… then do it! It really takes a load off your mind so you can focus on painting. Just make sure they know your rules and are willing to be firm and stick to those rules. Once you or anyone helping you bends the rules for one, it opens you up for complaints from other customers or the ever common “just one more” and “just one more” etc. Then before you know it, you’ll be there for another hour, so it’s not at all mean to refuse “just one more”, because inevitably it won’t be!

Happy Painting!

Jane x

https://www.facebook.com/daisyjanesfacepainting/

NEXT IN LINE MATS

https://www.thefacepaintingshop.com/face-painting-Accessories-the-face-painting-shop/Next-In-Line-Mats

Hi All! I often see questions on the various Facebook groups asking about taking deposits, contracts, and the booking process in general so I thought I would run you through my booking process!  It’s simple, professional and straightforward and protects me against running into any difficulties in the run-up to, or during a job.

Enquiries – most of my enquiries come through Facebook!  And they always have.   I do have a website but I still find that social media for me has been the best tool for growing my business.  When I get a message through the client is usually asking me about price first.  So my response once I’ve given them a quote is ‘please do let me know if you’d like to proceed and I will pop you through a booking form with details of how to pay your booking fee so we can secure the date for you’.

Booking Form and Booking Fee – a dead simple word document that captures all the details of the event – including venue address, parking allocations, number of guests, theme, contact number, any other info, special requirements, whether a table & chairs will be provided,  etc.. Most Importantly though, a large box at the top of the page with ‘Booking Fee Details’ where I explain that I take a non-refundable 50% booking fee to secure their date.  I also mention in this part that they are welcome to pay in full in advance and that all monies paid will be receipted in their Booking confirmation agreement.

Booking Confirmation Agreement - Once the client has returned the booking form, and paid the deposit I then have one more step.  I complete a booking confirmation agreement, which has two parts – it confirms the details of the booking, the name and contact number of the artist attending (if it isn’t me), the amount of money the client has paid, and the amount due on the day of the event too.  Then – and this is important – I have all my Terms and Conditions here too.  Things like wet weather policy, cancellation policy, etc and then I also have my disclaimer too – so parents are clear that I will not paint under 3’s, anyone with cold sores, rashes, etc   When I send through this document I ask the client to read through and by response of email agree to the Terms and conditions.

 A couple of days before the event I check in with the client to make sure that all the details are the same and to let them know that we are looking forward to coming along, and then a couple of days after the party I follow up with another email thanking them for booking.  It’s all these little touches that help clients feel reassured that they are dealing with a business, rather than hobbyist painter.  Once you have these forms and documents designed and saved they are really quick to amend and send out! 

So that’s pretty much it!  It’s very simple, but professional and straightforward and works for me!   If you’ve got any questions or would like to see examples of the forms I use then please don’t hesitate to message me through my social media handles below

Kate x

www.facebook.com/katesfaces26

www.instagram.com/katesfacesfacepainting

How to Set your Face Painting Rates

This question pops up all the time. Well, actually, the question I specifically see all the time is ‘How much should I charge’ and I thought it would be a good idea to talk about how we go about determining what our skills are worth. There are so many things to think about, and I think it’s a bit more complicated that saying ‘What do other people in my area charge’ and then charging the same as everyone else.  I hope you have a really good cup of tea because it’s going to be a long one!

Your Time

Your time is valuable. Don’t let any client let you think it’s not. Most bookings are approximately 2 hours. I know some people take on one-hour bookings, but for me personally, they are more hassle than they are worth, and if I am asked for a one-hour booking, I still quote my 2-hour rate. Just think about how much time you spend:

1. Painting at the booking
2. Traveling to and from the booking
3. Setting up and breaking down at the booking
4. Emailing the client
5. Writing up your booking forms/contracts
6. Sending invoices and chasing payment
7. Managing your social media and marketing so your client knows you exist
8. Building and maintaining your website so your client knows you exist
9. Accounts, dealing with this booking again in 18 months time
10. Practicing designs, painting menu boards, trying new products, buying new products, cleaning your kit…you see where I’m going

Have you ever really sat down and thought about how much this adds up? It’s very easy to think ‘Oh I’ll just quickly respond to this email’ and forget that it’s business time. There are so many little things that we do towards a booking that we forget about. For bookings longer than 2 hours, I tend to have my minimum 2 hour rate, and then a slightly reduced hourly fee, and for longer bookings, I tend to include at least one 30 minute break.

Business expenses

We invest a lot of money into our business, so as well as how much time you spend on a booking, you need to work out how much money you spend per booking on:

1. Product
2. Tools and kit set up
3. Any business or accounting software (or an actual accountant!) and any tax
4. Any training you have taken
5. Any practice boards
6. Any marketing or paid ads so your client knows you exist (including any branding such as logos, t-shirts, hoody’s etc)
7. Any website maintenance and domain fee’s so your clients know your exist
8. PLI and Kit insurance
9. Petrol and the appropriate level of car insurance (plus any parking charges)
10. Your phone and your laptop that you probably mostly useful for business.
11. Physio. Or appropriate measures to not destroy your back so you can keep painting faces.

How much does each face cost you to paint? I have absolutely no idea how much each face costs, it’s a really hard question especially when you think about the variety in designs sizes, and the different products you use. I tried to work it out once and my head nearly exploded. I know a lot of people include gems at no extra cost to attract more clients. All you are doing is lowering your profit margin. Whether you buy your bling or make it up yourself, that’s both time and money that you should be charging for. If you’re doing ppf, you also need to consider your stall fee and how that factors into your pricing.

Personal expenses

You are a business, and this might be your sole income. It’s ok to want to make a profit, and to want to be able to pay your bills. How much do you need to make a month (and then per booking to make this a month) to be able to pay:

1. Your mortgage/rent
2. Your phone bill
3. Household bills
4. Food, you know, to live
5. Clothes
6. Your car and everything else that goes along with it
7. Holidays (lol what’s that)
8. Any pets
9. Any children
10. Another cactus for your cactus army, or whatever hobby you enjoy

So Mazz, I’ve been asked to do a wedding, what do I charge?

I have a real bugbear about this. I don’t think we should charge extra just because it’s a wedding. When I do hair and makeup, I charge more for the bride than I do the rest of the bridal party because oh my goodness that is a lot more work, there is so much more extra admin time, and so much more nurturing that goes into that booking. 9 times out of 10 for a wedding for face painting or glitter, I do the same amount of admin as I do for a child’s birthday party. HOWEVER I have over the last year increased my evening rates, which is when weddings tend to book for. An increase in rate for anything from 6 pm (although I’m considering changing this to 5 pm) and extra again for anything past 10 pm. Not only is your time valuable, dealing with drunk assholes is extra work, but it can also be a lot of fun. Whereas I don’t find there much more admin with weddings than other bookings, I do find there is a lot more admin with corporate work, so I charge accordingly.

Private bookings and Maternity Art

If someone asks you for a private booking, you can’t charge for it on the same rate as you would at a ppf. For starters, they are likely to want something more detailed and complex, and this is the type of booking where there is a lot more back and forth between you and the client. There is more admin time. Sometimes, you might even pre-approve a design before the booking, so you have to consider your design time. You also have to make sure it is worth your time. Are you going to travel to a client, set up your kit, paint one person’s face, break down your kit and then drive back home again, or are you going to ask your client to travel to you? Personally, if it’s for Halloween, I will take clients at home, unless I can get a group booking of at least 4 people. You might get asked to do a maternity art for a baby shower, and I really don’t think people are charging enough for this. They can take quite a long time to paint, you have to charge for that time. There is also absolutely going to be quite a lot of design time, and you may need to alter the design a couple of times before the client is happy.

But Mazz, no one in my area will pay that rate!

Yes, yes they will. If you are getting ghosted or clients turning around and being rude about your rate, you are attracting the wrong type of client. You need to evaluate your marketing messages, your social media content, your website, and how  you respond to enquiries, and figure out what you can change to attract a client that doesn’t care how much you charge, they want YOU! You need to get to know your ideal client, and find out exactly what it is they are looking for, what they care about, what they don’t care about, what social media platforms they use etc and speak to them through your marketing messages. This ideal client is not the same person for every business, there is absolutely enough work to go around.

So how much should I actually charge?

 I can’t really tell you that. You need to figure out how much you need to earn to keep your business afloat and to pay your bills. Stop being worried about people not wanting to pay your rate. Have confidence in your business, and treat it like a business.  It’s can be really hard not to take things personally. If you start worrying that you aren’t worth a certain rate, you are going to pass that vibe onto your client. Have confidence in your skills and VALUE yourself. If you are worried about your skills, practice, practice, and practice again. Nail those simpler designs so you can confidently go into your first birthday party and paint 20-25 simple, but well executed designs, and take absolutely no less than £60 for two hours. Don’t start by offering really complicated designs that make you feel nervous. Practice those at home, then find a moving target to practice them on before adding them to your rotation. And then raise your rates to reflect the increased standards of your work.

What if the client wants me to travel?

Ok, you have to work out how many miles you are going to include in your rate (don’t offer discount for someone just because they are 5 miles away and you include 10 miles each way in your fee). Personally, I include 12 miles in my fee because I know that gets me into central Sheffield, and that’s what I decided was right for me and my business. ANYTHING more than that (yes I mean even one or 2 miles because it adds up!!!) the government recommendation for mileage expenses is 45p per mile EACH WAY. Petrol is expensive, and the mileage takes a toll on your car. I have driven a sickening number of miles in my poor little car, mostly for work, and she is going to need work doing to her at some point. You can also charge for the time it’s going to take you to drive somewhere. If you have to spend an hour driving somewhere, there and back, that’s time you could otherwise be taking other work or doing literally anything else. Depending on where it is you are driving, you could only be asked to travel 10 miles, but it could take you an hour. Take that into account, either include it in your rate or charge it as a separate item.

How to Charge/Quote, Package vs A La Carte/Hourly rate

So I asked on the FB page what people wanted me to include in this post, and this question came up. I can’t advise you about what is best for your business but I can tell you what I find works for me personally. I have a downloadable price guide on my website. This is a guide only as there are so many external factors such as travel etc that need to be taken into account for a specific quote. I have displayed my rates for 2 hours for each service in columns dependent on what time of day they are looking to book. I then have a list of add on services, so they can work out that if they want 2 hours face painting with an add on of gems it will come to x amount. When I quote, I quote each aspect individually and then show a total at the end. I find showing just one total can be a little overwhelming, so I find it useful to break it down for the client. For example, my quote form follows this rough format:

                                                                Event Date                              30^th February

Event Timings                        12pm-2pm (please note I will arrive at 11:45 in order to set up)

Event Venue                           The Sept of Baelor, Westeros WEG0T1 (I made that up but it actually made me giggle out loud)

                                                               Services Required                  Face Painting, 2 hours  £90

                                                               Gems Add on                          2 hours £10 ph

Travel                                      As your venue is 8 miles outside of my inclusive travel radius, the travel fee incurred is £7.20

Total                                        £117.20. A non-refundable deposit of 20%  is required to secure your event with the remaining balance due 1 week prior to your booking, unless agreed in advance that cash will be paid on arrival. Artists working on behalf of Targaryen Face Painting have the right to refuse to set up until payment has been made (I usually put the underlined bit in the T’s and C’s of the booking form/contract rather than the quote, but getting paid is important so I wanted to include it!)

If a client has requested quotes for different packages, or different variations of services, for example, they want to see a quote for 2 hours face painting and an add on of a 2 hour glitter bar to run at the same time as face painting, vs 2 hours of Face Painting with an add on of 2 hours gems to run alongside, I just quote the two ‘packages’ separately on the same form so the client can see the difference. Alternatively, if you wanted you could do 2 separate quote sheets, if your clients have a preferred way of you doing something, that’s what matters.

No one can tell you how much YOU should charge. We all have different outgoings and different processes, and that should absolutely be reflected in our prices.  Do not undervalue yourself. By undervaluing yourself, you are reducing your profit margins and depriving yourself of what you deserve. It can also hurt the industry as a whole. If people get used to receiving low rates, they are going to expect those same low rates from other painters. I have personally stopped offering discounts. Whenever I have offered discounts in the past, I have ended up with clients who are more hassle than they are worth. You end up doing MORE work for LESS money, and discounts tend to attract people who want everything for nothing.

Stop charging anything less than you are worth. Raise your rates every so often to reflect the standard of your work, and any extra expenses, but make sure that your customer service and set up match this rate as well. Clients want to be able to see where their money is going. This does not mean including everything under the sun in your rate. You need to charge appropriately for any extras like gems, glitter tattoos, glitter bars, but everything needs to be well presented.

Something that really helped me when I started thinking about my prices was thinking about if I would be comfortable paying another painter the rate I was charging for myself, if I would feel fair paying someone else that rate. If it’s not fair to pay another painter the rate you are charging for yourself, you are not charging enough. Simple.

Something else to think about. When people talk about you and your business, how do you want them to refer to you? Imagine the conversation. A parent has their child’s birthday party coming up and is looking for recommendations from friends for a face painter (or entertainer, or whatever, it works across the board.) How would you feel if one of their friends turned around and said ‘You should book this person, they’re really cheap!’. It’s very easy to build a reputation for being cheap, but very hard to then raise your rates, no matter how good you get. Imagine instead that they say ‘you should book this person, they were absolutely amazing, and very professional!’. Not only do they value your service, but your price isn’t even a relevant factor.

People don’t talk about money enough, and it really frustrates me. I know it can be a touchy subject, especially if you think someone is asking for your rates just to undercut you, but personally I’m an open book. The reason I have my rates available on my website as a download is so I can capture more contact information (they have to tick a box saying they agree to me emailing them). They don’t have to spend time getting a quote from me, they can get a rough idea, and when they are ready they can submit an enquiry form for an accurate quote. In the meantime, I have their information to get in touch with them, and help them see the value in me and my service, rather than them glancing and my rates, thinking ‘pff I’m not paying that’ and leaving to find a cheaper painter.

If you are new to the game, and you want some advice on other business aspects, I have also written blogs on:

Insurance https://www.thefacepaintingshop.com/face%20paint%20supplys/insurance-research

Contracts, invoices, and making sure you get paid https://www.thefacepaintingshop.com/face%20paint%20supplys/What-is-a-contract-and-why-should-you-have-one

Social media https://www.thefacepaintingshop.com/face%20paint%20supplys/Lets-talk-about-Instagram-Part-One

https://www.thefacepaintingshop.com/face%20paint%20supplys/Let's-talk%20-about-Instagram-Part-2

Setting up your website https://www.thefacepaintingshop.com/face%20paint%20supplys/how-to-build-a-website

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post, I really hope this has been useful to you! If you do have any questions, please let me know and I will get back to you as soon as I can!

All the best

Mazz - https://www.facebook.com/thepixietribe/?eid=ARDSZE8uTvTgaQ-WqnsbnAzku1WPS9gBVWdsgt72xOE4lAs_iJuT4Slhdrqb0mqvCbJShN0gY9r9ZgzT&timeline_context_item_type=intro_card_work&timeline_context_item_source=722128956&fref=tag

Face Paint Australia 'Serendipity'

Hi, guys today I am going to be reviewing my all-time favorite rainbow cake, 'serendipity' by face paints Australia.

I use this cake for so many designs, its perfect for rainbow butterflies and tigers. It makes the most delicious looking background for floral designs too. This cake is the most used paint in my kit.

This cake is full of beautiful highly pigmented colours and my favourite 'neons'.

It blends perfectly with its creamy consistency and doesn't go muddy.

I have attached some photos of my work so you can see the beauty of serendipity in action. It really is a must-have for your kit.

Emma - https://www.facebook.com/Emmas-Fantasy-Faces-1037204883016364/