My Own Experience

When I started face painting several years ago I used a card table and two chairs. My kit consisted of two Snazaroo 6-8 color paint palettes and 4 brushes.

Over the years I have grown as well as my supplies and I believe that I have come up  with a set up that works for me. I have replaced my card table with a six foot foldable table, a director’s chair, a step stool and a fat max.

My Set up

I assemble my paints to the head of the table along with my directors’ chair. (as you can see in the photo above) Next are my brushes and washtub so I can move forward when it comes to painting.

My glitters, liquid bling, gems, hand sanitizer, mirror and stencils are sat behind my brushes and tub with my hand towels, baby wipes, business cards and picture books sat at the back of the table.

Messy Face Paint Set Up - AVOID!

Presentation

I believe that presentation is everything.  A presentable table should look inviting and not cluttered.  A clean table says a lot about your work ethic. Before my face painting days I walked by several tables and told my kids, “No, we won’t be stopping here.”

Even though paints and colors may be appealing the dirtiness isn’t so attractive.

Various Set Ups

When painting at birthday parties vs festivals I down grade my kit to the basic essential 8 colors and a few split cakes and shimmery.  Of course I had to learn that you don’t have to have an action packed kit at every event.

I came up with a clean list that is essential for a productive work station.

1. Clean table cloth
2. Clean brushes
3. Clean non-broken mirror
4. Clean water

Have Your Say…

I’d like to hear what your set up looks like and what works best for you?? Leave a comment below to answer.

Article By Tamara Lewis

Happy New Year Painting Friends,

So you’re ready to take your face painting passion (obsession) to a new level and are ready to let the world know about your business. Here are some promotion ideas.

Business Cards: you will need some business cards with your details, online companies like Vistaprint offer great rates and options for you to use their templates or upload your own design. Print plenty of cards so you can freely give them away. TIP: some painters include removal instructions on one side of their business card as extra incentive for parents to take the cards with them.

Markets and Local Events: If you have time on your hands it is a great promotional tool to get out there and paint in your community. Painting at markets will allow people in your area see what you have to offer. Generally these are “pay per face” events where you charge the parent for each face you paint, this may not be as profitable as painting at an hourly rate, but it is a great way to get exposure on the days you don’t have bookings.

Special Offers:Promote a special offer such as upgrading a booking, you may wish to offer free balloons or extra painting time. If you are starting out and don’t feel ready to charge the going rate for your services yet you could offer a “Opening Special” with a discount of perhaps 20% to customers. You could promote these offers by an ad in the local paper, posters on local notice boards ads in local school newsletters. Vista print also have postcards available, these are great to send off to potential customers with a special offer.

Internet: What a great tool the internet is, you can do much to create free/low cost promotion here. Start a facebook page about your business, set up a website – even just a simple one will be great for your promotion. Find local businesses sympathetic to what you are offering and offer reciprical links – where you link to their website from yours and they return the favour.  if you are painting at markets or charity events for self promotion ask if they are willing to have a link to your website on their site.

Networking: Painting with other facepainters is great fun, and it can be very helpful to work with each other during busy events. Find local painters you connect with and work out a reciprical arrangement to help each other during busy times.

I hope there are some useful ideas there for you, I look forward to reading your promotion tips in the comments below.

Workshop Dates 2012:

Join the Forum discussion on this post

Contact Wendy Catlow on 0400197656 if you’re interested in buying her Flutter Fairies business.

It includes all party supplies, brand new parachute for games, 2 large bubble blowers, everything u see inside, set of 25 fairy outfits,25 wands,necklaces for parties, as well as 6 adult one size fits all dresses, near new, all benches, cabinets and decorations to be left in, rego on van,it has all new axles and wheels, tyres, I have it registered as a business named flutter fairies, public liability for 12months.

Will accept any reasonable offer I  am in maryborough,VIC my no is 0400197656.

I am still using the van and i have 2 huge festivals to do this month, last yr i did them and did 220 kids for the day. I get 350 for an hr and a half. I am only selling it due to lack of time and i have a whole farm to run and need to run my other two businesses, but the van is magical and everyone who steps in it loves it!

Thank you,

Wendy Catlow

Hello Face Painting Friends,

Often I am asked to paint for fundraising events and/or volunteer for a good cause.

I find this to be an interesting dilemma and thought I would post my thoughts on this topic, and I look forward to hearing your ideas and thoughts too, as I know many of you have come up with great ideas already. CLICK HERE TO LEAVE A COMMENT

There are so many wonderful causes out there, and I find it a pleasure to support these through what I love to do – face painting.

I have several levels of volunteering or sponsership that I offer, and I find I need to strike a happy balance as it is not economical for me to dedicate too many of my weekends toward volunteering when I need to keep these days clear for my customers too. (Read on Below…)

**********************************************************************************
**********************************************************************************

Benefits: In addition to feeling good about supporting a cause, face painting at these events can be a great way to promote yourself. This is particularly good if you are starting out and your business is a bit  quiet to begin with, by painting at as many events as possible you can hand out cards and begins to establish yourself. I usually volunteer  to support my  favourite causes.

At the start of each year I decide which organisations I would like to support and  how. Generally I have some that I support each year. I lock in those dates and keep myself available for them. These dates I usually paint at for no cost to the organisation, sometimes they may charge the public and keep the proceeds for thier fundraising. Throughout the year I am asked to contribute to other events and I may or may not be able depending on my other commitments and interest in the particular organisation. I find I feel less guilty about saying no, when I can tell them that I have already allocated my annual volunteer hours for the year and am unable to fit them in too.

Charging: Some face painters have a special fundraiser/charity rate. They offer a discount to organisations that have less funding. This could be any discount you like eg: 10, 20 or even 50% off your normal rate.

If you are happy to volunteer your time but would like to cover your expenses, you can offer a rate for that too; to do this you will need to work out what it actually costs you per hour to face paint. Looking at all of your costs over a year and dividing them by the number of hours worked will help you to work this out – the real costs can add up when you are including materials, travel, insurence, training ect.

Sponsorship: there are two aspects to this: if you are volunteering or offering a reduced rate, you are in effect sponsoring the event. In return you can request some reciprocal benefits such as a website link on their site, your name on promotional material or anything else that seems approriate to the organisation and event.

The other aspect of sponsorship is that you are sponsered by a business to face paint at the charity event. This has happened for me a number of times, I usually invoice the buisness directly, so they get to claim it as an expense and the charity is sure to promote the business as a sponser of their event.

I look forward to hearing about your Charity face painting.
CLICK HERE TO LEAVE A COMMENT/ASK A QUESTION!

You can also visit Ambah’s youtube channel here.

Face & Body Painting Workshops with Ambah 2011….

“like “  Ambah’s face & body art facebook page here for latest news updates.

Visit Ambah’s website here to find out  more about her workshops and tutorials and latest news.

Ambah travels throughout Australia and Internationally to teach. Please contact Ambah if you are interested in workshops in your area ambah@ambah.com.au

Happy Painting!  Ambah xx

Get Your Face Painting Supplies Online Here!

Hi everyone! Thanks again for the opportunity to share some more (hopefully) sound business advice for your face painting businesses. While many of you know me as the head painter and trainer for www.thefacepaintingcompany.com -  facepainting is merely one of many things that I like to teach to my all staff and subcontractors, that work with our company. I have seen some outstanding artists in the short time I have been involved in this industry, and I also feel that being a fabulous face painter is not enough in this competitive day and age.

Click Here to Leave a Comment, Ask a Question or Tell Us What You Think!

Presentation – Learning about costume coordination, grooming, make up and hair, adds to the final product that you are ultimately selling – YOU! Do your homework on how your competitors are presented, and step it up!

Hygiene – Training and learning about the best and safest application techniques will add value to your business. E.g. glitter puffers! This minimises the direct contact to the face and the product. My team are also trained in the importance of painting only clean, healthy faces! It only takes one dirty, snotty nosed face to spread germs and bacteria, and also makes you look very unprofessional to the parents that may be watching with their children in the line.

Etiquette –My team are trained in all aspects of professional etiquette on every job. It is lovely to be offered a “cup cake” at a child’s party, and I encourage everyone to accept these offers graciously. But… NEVER stop your paid work, to eat or drink while on the job! (Except your hydration bottle) Put it aside, and after you have packed up, thank the host again and eat it on the way out, or after you have left. Breaks should always be taken away from your station and preferably out of view of clients and waiting patrons. And NEVER accept to have a “drink” with the clients at the end of the event/party.

Communication – Greeting your client before and after the job is respectful and courteous. Personally, I always hand out my cards, but never discuss business while on a job for someone else. Your client may not appreciate paying you to have a conversation with someone else about future bookings, prices, etc. One idea, is to politely hand a business card, and say “I’m sure you can appreciate I can’t chat now, but please feel free to phone the number on this card when convenient.” Never refer to your client as “mate”, or “bro”… and avoid using statements like “yeh, man” and “that’s cool”. May sound old fashioned, but good communication skills will give you repeat business.

Research –. Working as Purplena Fairy at Dreamworld, I get asked some really difficult “fairy” questions. I have used this experience to teach my team what works and what doesn’t. Learning about the television shows that kids are interested in and knowing a little about what kids are “into” can help a shy child gain confidence in getting face painting. Outside of Dreamworld, I also like to know a little about each Company that I am working for. I feel it adds that little bit of special personalised service to be able to say something like – “I read recently that *company* is sponsoring the *something* appeal.”

Well, I hope this information has been somewhat helpful! Please leave your comments, and until next time…

Living The Dream

Milana xxx

www.thefacepaintingcompany.com

P.S…
Click Here to Leave a Comment, Ask a Question or Tell Us What You Think!

Lot’s of people think they can face paint and imagine it would be a fun way of raising cash for their local school, church or scout group.  However it isn’t really as easy as that and here are ten hints and tips that I hope will set you on the road to success.

1.      If possible take a basic training course with a well established face painter to learn the basics.  Or at the very least get hold of some good books and DVDs so you can tutor yourself.

2.      You MUST have full Public Liability Insurance.  Without it you are putting yourself and the public at risk.  The minimum level of cover suggested for the UK is £1 million.

3.      In the UK we have a system called CRB (Criminal Records Bureau).  It simply confirms that the individual has no past criminal convictions that would make them unsuitable to work with children.  There are no mandatory requirements to be CRB checked as long as you are not left alone with a child.  It’s important to find out if you have something similar in your country and make sure you abide by the rules.

Click Here to Leave a Comment & Share What You Think!

4.      Health and safety.

a.       Don’t paint anyone that doesn’t want to be painted.  Some parents will bring a baby just a few months old and ask to get their face painted.  My advice is don’t paint anyone under 2 years old.  If you don’t want to offend, offer to paint a small design on an arm or a leg.

b.      Don’t paint anyone who looks as though they might have measles, chicken pox, cold sore, conjunctivitis, skin conditions etc., or even head lice. But be careful what you say as some might have something that they are embarrassed about – and don’t paint anyone with open wounds.

c.       Glitter, lots of kids, particularly little girls, like you to use glitter – make sure it is designed for face painting.  I tend to use the gel glitters.  I have heard of children who have been frightened when a glue has been painted on them and then a puffer bottle used to spray the glitter – they don’t like the sudden rush of air.  NEVER use metallic craft glitter.

d.      Although not really and health and safety issue, some bouncy castle hirers will not allow children with painted faces on their equipment.

5.      Charges. You can expect to paint around 10 to 12 children per hour.  If you want to increase the numbers you paint think about painting simple cheek or arm designs instead of a full face.  Work out what you think is a fair rate accordingly.

Click Here to Leave a Comment & Share What You Think!

6.      Publicity.  Make sure that you have posters giving a clear indication of prices and terms and conditions (such as a. and b. above).  You might like to invest in some business cards, or just some printed slips produced by computer so you can pass on your details for future bookings.  What ever method you use make sure that you check the spelling thoroughly.  You might also like to advertise your services in local community magazines, or even your local paper.  Some people like to include a photo of a face they have painted.  Unless it is your own child make sure that you have the parent or guardian’s written permission.

7.      Paints

a.       There are many different face paints on the market, find one that suits you, both for price and ease of use.  Water based is best, they are quick drying and wash off with soap and water.  If they get on clothes they’ll come out easily with usual washing.  They are also non toxic.

b.      The basic colours you will need are white, black, yellow, orange, red, green and blue.  If it’s been a long time since you did any art you might find a colour wheel useful so you can learn how to mix different colours and shades.  NEVER use anything but face paint on anyone.

8.      Brushes and sponges. Buy the best you can afford.  Personally I prefer to use brushes as they give you much more control and aren’t as messy.  You will need several different thicknesses and possibly a fan brush to give feathered finishes. Don’t be tempted to buy cheap brushes and sponges as they just won’t give a good finish – and the hair comes out all over the face paint!  You will also need a brush holder or pot to stand your brushes in when working.

Click Here to Leave a Comment & Share What You Think!

9.      Paints and brushes etc needs some sort of storage – you can often pick up cosmetic boxes etc at garage sales – make sure they are clean.  Or look out for a cheap plastic tool box.

10.  Other equipment

a.       Baby wipes – if a child has been eating or playing then make sure they have a clean face.

b.      Containers.  Have three containers, one for fresh water (tap is fine but make sure you use fresh water every time you go out and remember that you may not always have access to a tap), one for dirty water and one for waste such as used tissues and baby wipes.  You will also need a jar for the water you are using to paint with – and change the water frequently – nothing looks worse than a face painter with a jar of dirty water!

c.       ALWAYS carry a mirror so children can see your finished work.  If you want to be particularly safe you can buy unbreakable aluminium mirrors.

d.      Chairs and table – I tend to use two chairs, one for me and one for the child and a reasonably sized table – it’s good to spread out your bits and bobs.  You should also cover your table with a plastic tablecloth or perhaps a towel.

e.       You may want to wear a CLEAN apron – it looks professional and keeps your clothes clean.  If it has a front pocket it might also give you somewhere to keep the money.

f.       Umbrella or gazebo to protect you, and the paints, from rain or sun.

g.      You may wish to invest in some washable tattoo paints and stencils for those who don’t want their faces painted but still join in the fun.

Finally, good luck. I hope that you raise lots of money for charity.  If you get a good name for face painting you might even be asked to attend birthday parties, as I have, to raise even more money.

By Lynda Warren

P.S Click Here to Leave a Comment & Share What You Think!

*****************************************************
“Helping You Paint…
with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints for your
Face Painting Kit Right Here!
*****************************************************

I have been meaning to put this post up on the blog for a long time now, and I think you will find it very inspiring! NBC did a report on a face painter and friend Theresa Cieminski about dealing with the recession.

Theresa Cieminski, a Hurst mother, said her post-recession plan includes plotting ways to build her businesses. Cieminski is a performer and a vocal coach. To make more money while exploring her creative side, she has become a face painter, too.

“It’s really a creative outlet for me,” she said. “I enjoy it, the kids enjoy it, (and) it puts a smile on everybody’s face.”

“I’m not going to get stuck,” Cieminski said. “I refuse to do that. I’m going to look to the future.”

If you want to start a profitable Face Painting Business
but you don’t know how or where to begin then…

CLICK HERE to Find Out About Our
How to Start a Face Painting Business Home Study Course!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints for your Face Painting Kit Right Here!

Hi Everyone!  I’m Sharon Hodges and I was thrilled to be asked to participate with the instructional posts and am always happy to share the little I know with anyone that loves to paint people too.

I am always working on trying to share the things that have been the most helpful for me as an artist and in business so I will begin with something as simple as your business card.  I have come to learn how truly important your business card can be.

Click Here to Tell Us What You Think About This Business Card & Post!

What we do is so highly visual and all promotional materials  need to be as visual as we are.  I once had a client that told me she held my card for 4 years waiting for the opportunity to need my services.  That was very impressive to me.  I have always had my cards designed by someone who is proficient in computer graphics and has an eye for doing that kind of work.

I also will have a banner made using the same graphics as my card to stay consistent but also to maintain that high visability.  Normally the banner size will run 3′ x 10′,  below is an example of  a banner that I have used in the past and a promotional picture that was created by one of my clients that ran prior to the job I did for her.

I recently had new cards designed and will share them as well once they are done and at some point soon I will have a banner made to match the new design but wanted to share some visual examples.

When people can see you from very far away they may not have the time to linger but will take a moment to ask you for your card and it is very important to be sure they will remember you and what you do.

My goal no matter what job I am doing is to hope that every person I come into contact with says “that is the best face painting I have ever seen” and your card is the lingering memory of that moment.  They both need to last!

Sharon Hodges
www.enchantebodys.com
www.yourenchantedface.com

P.S. I appreciate your feedback and would love to hear your thoughts on business cards so please click here to leave your comment about this post!

*********** Buy Face Paints for your Face Painting Kit Right Here!

My friend Rick from Gigmasters (online booking service for face painters and other entertainment) just let me know about a 30% OFF SALE they’re having for face painters so I had to let you know about it too! If you’re looking for more gigs, I’d highly recommend them!

Membership Special!

Hello,This is Rick Buckholz contacting you on behalf of GigMasters.com. We are an online booking service that connects performers with clients for various events across the country. In 2009 we logged over 25,000 bookings through our site, and 2010 is shaping up to be even busier! Face painters are one of our most popular and requested performers.

We help obtain bookings for face painters at private parties, festivals, corporate events, bar/bat mitzvahs, and more! Whether you’re looking to add a couple bookings a week or just fill in a few dates throughout the year- GigMasters will get you more bookings in your local area. January was the busiest month we’ve had in over 10 years- its the perfect time to get on board!

I’m contacting you today to offer you a
30% discount to become a GigMasters Member. GigMasters always offers a 30 day, money-back guarantee on all memberships. If you haven’t logged any bookings, haven’t gotten many requests, or simply don’t like our service- you can contact me personally for a full refund right away.

We’re busier than ever and I’m extremely confident we can increase bookings for you in your area, at various events. If you have any questions or concerns at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me- I’d love to speak with you.

For more information, and to sign-up, please visit: Our Sign-Up Page

Coupon Code: SAVE30
Expires 2/28/2010

Thank you,

Rick Buckholz
Account Executive
GigMasters.com, Inc.
(866) 342-9794 Ext. 229
(203) 587-1134 Ext. 229
rbuckholz@gigmasters.com
* Offer only valid to new cusomters.

****************************************************************
If you’re interested in starting a face painting business the right way check out our How to Start a Face Painting Business Course!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints for your Face Painting Kit Right Here!

*************************
To Learn How to Start a
Face Painting Business Click Here
And Start Painting For Fun & For Profit!

*******************************************
Top 10 Reasons NOT to take Business Classes at FABAIC!

By Katie Hunt

(My good friend and collegue in the face painting business world!)

10.) Face Paint and Body Art is really just a hobby for you.

9.) You are secretly wealthy and just use the face painting and body art as a way to hang out with common folk.

8.) Your calendar is so full of great paying gigs that what you really need is a class on how to say ‘no’ to more work.

7.) The recession/economy hasn’t affected your bookings at all.

6.)You fear actually getting paid to do what you love and losing your amateur standing.

5.) You already know how to expand and build your business even during a recession.

4.) Your website is perfect and needs no help to improve.

B You think being a great artist is all that is needed to get booked.

2.) The internet holds no mystery for you. You understand it and use it and all the free services and programs to their full advantage.

And the Number 1 reason NOT to take a Business Class at FABAIC is……

You don’t want to make a living doing what you love!

Of course, if you DO want to take a business class at FABAIC, please join Lori Hurley, Philadelphia Tivoli and me – Katie Hunt, for our classes or the panel discussion at FABAIC.

It’s finally here…our new training manual package: “How to Start a Face Painting Business”…Press play to watch the video and find out more…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Our training manual will show you how to create massive exposure for your business with online & offline marketing strategies and so much more!

And if you’re one of the first 20 customers, I will call you up where ever you are and give you one FREE Business Mentoring Session one on one, to help you with your own personal face painting business! I usually charge businesses $250 per hour for consultations but if you take action early then I want to reward you with personal support.

I want to see you succeed, and our training manual package is designed especially for face painters who want to take face painting seriously and run successful face painting businesses. With our easy step by step help and powerful marketing strategies, you’ll easily make back your investment within 2 – 4 gigs max!

So if you would like to get your copy (hard copy or downloadable version) of “How to Start a Face Painting Business” then click here now! 

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli
www.FacePaintingTips.com/business

Hey there Fabulous Face Painters! Want to know the ”7 Biggest Mistakes Face Painters Make When Marketing Their Services & How To Avoid Them”?? Well then find out in Part 8 of “How Face Painters Can Thrive in Tough Times”!! Press play to get watching and get a paper and pen out to take notes!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also stay tuned to find out about our New Training Manual:
“How to Start a Face Painting Business” that will be launched Thurs 29th Jan 2009!

I’m always happy to hear from you, so if you want to tell me what you think please leave comments, enjoy the series!

There sure has been quite a buzz about our series!

Here is just some of the feedback we’ve received so far:

“Philadelphia, You have provided the most helpful and useful business information we have found since we began our fledgling business three years ago. We are putting these tactics in place immediately and look forward to a great year doing what we enjoy most, art.”
Sandy & Whitney, Snazzy Doodles, New Jersey USA

“Hi Philadelphia, These videos have been wonderful. I have learned so much and cannot wait for the launch Jan. 29th. Looking forward to meeting you at FABAIC in May.”
Christine ‘Miss Sparkle the Clown’

“Thank you for your information Phyladelphia. I am in the process of use the face painting as a business and your series of how to start a business is exactly what I needed. Thanks.”
Ricarda Reyes

“Philadelphia, Thanks so much for these videos. I’ve painted for 10 years but your suggestions and guidelines stand the test of time. I’m excited to give my marketing a makeover!“
Arvis – Austin, TX

“Dear Philadelphia, There isn’t sufficient words to say thank you for all the good tips in your video. There is so much to learn from them not only for bussiness but also as human being to enhence our human relations. To think positive and act positive too. Thanks.”
Cherry from ARUBA

Also stay tuned to find out about our New Training Manual:
“How to Start a Face Painting Business” that will be launched Thurs 29th Jan 2009!

…that will show you step-by-step how to easily start a face painting business and earn more money doing what you love!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli
www.FacePaintingTips.com/business

P.s To find any previous episodes that you might have missed click here.

Heya Face Painters! Today you’ll find out my Top 7 Ways to Promote Your Business Offline in our next episode of “How Face Painters Can Thrive in Tough Times Part 7″!! Press play to get watching and get a paper and pen out to take notes!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also stay tuned to find out about our New Training Manual:
“How to Start a Face Painting Business”

…that will show you step-by-step how to easily start a face painting business and earn more money doing what you love!

I’m always happy to hear from you, so if you want to tell me what you think please leave comments, enjoy the series!

There sure has been quite a buzz about our series!

Here is just some of the feedback we’ve received so far:

“Hi Philadelphia, Thank you so much for these videos. Not only do they apply to my face painting but also to my husbands new business of a party store and party venue………… I feel I am learning a lot which will help the new business and has given me great confidence and excitement when trying out all your suggestions. It’s great to look at the future with hope for success in these hard economic times, but your blog gives hope so long as you work at it.” Eileen McKee HT Promotions “The Party People”, Shannon, Co. Clare, Ireland.

“Hello Philadelphia! I wanted to let you know how much I am learning from your SILVER Cheek Art Full Face Designs Guides Package. And the series “How Face Painter’s Can Thrive in Tough Times” is PHENOMINAL! I am trying to apply your advice daily. Every time I think one part is my favorite I get another and declare it my new favorite! Thank you so much for helping newbies like me educate themselves with useful information. Success breeds success so I’m trying to surround myself with successful face painters like you!” Nikki Karn, Joyful Heart Entertaining, Eau Claire, MI, USA

************************************************************************************

Here’s Exactly What You’ll Get In The How to Start
a Face Painting Business Home Study Course…

“How to Start a Face Painting Business”
100 page Manual including: Introduction
Chapter 1: Get Your Face Paint Supplies
Chapter 2: How to Set Up Your Stall
Chapter 3: Hygiene
Chapter 4: Your Face Painting Office
Chapter 5: Business Plan
Chapter 6: Register Your Business Name
Chapter 7: Face Painting Associations and Accreditation
Chapter 8: Liability Insurance
Chapter 9: Find an Agent or Promoter
Chapter 10: Advertising and Marketing
Chapter 11: Training and Hiring Other Face Painters

“Listen to How to Start a Face Painting Business”
3 Hours Audio Version of the Manual
1:Intro, Chp1-4.
2:Chp.5-9
3:Chp10-11

“How a New Jersey Mom Started Her Own
Profitable Face Painting Business”
1 ½ Hour Audio Interview with
Natalie Foxhill, Amazing Face Painting LLC

Plus a 55 page Transcript of Interview

 

“Your Face Painting Office Documents”
14 Business Forms Templates & 20 Sample Promotional Materials (PDFs/Word Docs/JPGs/Excel)

“Face Painting Industry Secrets from
an Aussie Entertainment Agency”

1 Hour Video Interview with
Michelle Drinnan, Moz Theatre Entertainment

Plus a 50 page Transcript of Interview

“Awaken Your Entrepreneurial Spirit“
1 Hour Audio (Performer Secrets) Interview with
Philadelphia Tivoli, Founder of Face Painting Tips.

CLICK HERE to Find Out All The Secrets to
Starting a Profitable Face Painting Business
…Before Your Competition Does!!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli
www.FacePaintingTips.com/business

Today you’ll find out my Top 7 Ways to Promote Your Business Online in our next episode of “How Face Painters Can Thrive in Tough Times Part 6″!! Press play to get watching and get a paper and pen out to take notes!

(sorry about the slight delay, things have been so crazy busy getting the new “How to Start a Face Painting Business” training manual package together)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Stay tuned to find out about our New Training Manual:
“How to Start a Face Painting Business”

…that will show you step-by-step how to easily start a face painting business and earn more money doing what you love!

I’m always happy to hear from you, so if you want to tell me what you think please click here to leave comments, enjoy the series!

There sure has been quite a buzz about our series!

Here is just some of the feedback we’ve received so far:

“Thank you Philadelphia for your expert advise! I am thoroughly enjoying your training videos. As a newbie to face painting, I appreciate your expertise and suggestions in taking this a successful and fun business!”
Karen in Illinois, USA

“Hey Philadelphia, Fantastic series so far and thanks for doing this… I got your face painting tips some time ago to do an outreach face-painting gig. I always had thoughts about how to do a face painting business … Thanks heaps for helping me realise it IS possible!! Can’t wait for the next video tutorials. Keep ‘em comin!”
Jacqui in Kiama, NSW, Australia

**********************************************************************

In our home study course “How to Start a Face Painting Business” you’ll…

Discover Industry Secrets From an Australian Entertainment Agency and Exactly How to Make Your Agent Work For You…

When I attended and Australian Face Painting Convention called “Wonder Down Under” last year I had the privilege of meeting many successful artists including – Michelle Drinnan the Director of Moz Theatre Entertainment (left).

Michelle is a very successful artist, performer and agent who has sooo much knowledge and experience in promoting face painters.

I drilled her with all the important questions that you need answers to in order to promote yourself and know how to deal with Entertainment Agents..

Here are the questions she expertly revealed the answers to:

• What are the most important things to know when starting a business?

• How can you make your face painting business stand out?

• What are some good cost effective ways to advertise the business?

• How do you know which types of advertising are working and which ones are not?

• If you are a new performer, what should you do, to go about getting an agent, and because you’re an agent, what do you expect?

• What is the difference, between an agent, and like an entertainment supplier?

• How can you make sure that you are getting as many gigs from your agent as possible?

• What should you look out for when signing contracts with agents?

  She revealed all this and Much Much More so…

  CLICK HERE to Find Out All Her Secrets
  And Start a Profitable Face Painting Business!!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli
www.FacePaintingTips.com/business

P.s To find any previous episodes that you might have missed click here.

Find out how much to charge for your face painting services in Part 5 of the series “How Face Painters Can Thrive in Tough Times” so here it is!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Stay tuned to find out about our New Training Manual:
“How to Start a Face Painting Business”

…that will show you step-by-step how to easily start a face painting business and earn more money doing what you love!

Once again, Thank you for all the positive feedback, I’m over the moon to know you guys are benefiting from the series.

Here is some of the feedback we’ve received so far:

“Hi Philadelphia, I just saw your video on TARGET MARKETS it was soo helpful.I cannot wait for the next one. Which is going to cover the MAIN reason why I have not started my face painting business. HOW MUCH TO CHARGE!!! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge for FREE!!!! Not many people are willing to do that.”Annunciata

“I’ve been volunteer face painting, at school festivals, birthday parties and just for fun, for over ten years. Several times I’ve been told that I should do it as a business, but I’m just not good at all the details of managing a business. Your instructions and videos are like having a silent partner there to give advice and guide you through trying to turn a hobby into a profitable business. Thank you for taking the time to help your fellow face painters to achieve their goals. I also must add that it is such a rewarding hobby/business because you’re making kids happy and their appreciation is a payment to your soul in itself!” Tree Orgeron

I’m always happy to hear from you, so if you want to tell me what you think please leave comments, enjoy the series!

****************************************************************************************
In our home study course “How to Start a Face Painting Business”…

You’ll Find Out Exactly How a New Jersey Mom Started Her Own
Successful Face Painting Business & Just Follow in Her Footsteps…

I interviewed face painter and entrepreneur Natalie Foxhill from Amazing Face Painting LLC (left) on the phone (she began her career by buying our “The Comprehensive Guide to Face Painting”, now she runs her own face painting business) and she revealed absolutely everything she did to start her own very successful face painting business, so you’ll be able to just follow in her footsteps! These proven strategies worked for her, and they’ll work for you…

Here are just some of the questions she revealed the answers to in detail during our 90 minute interview:

• Which face painting supplies did you get in the beginning, where did you get them from, and about how much did you spend?
• How many designs did you practice before going out there and doing gigs, and which designs were they?
• What sort of equipment do you need, for a birthday party and for big gigs like festivals?
• What are the different ways to price your services for different gigs?
• How did you work out how much to charge for each service?
• What kind of business did you register, and what was the process like? What is easy?
• Do you have any tips on how to pick a good business name?
• Do you have to be accredited to start face painting, are you a part of any associations?
• Do you have insurance, and what type of insurance is it? How much does your insurance cost, per year?
• How much did you spend on promotions in the beginning on what?
• What kind of promotions do you have around your stall?
• What are the important things to remember, to have on your website?
• Are there any important things to remember to ask your clients, before taking the booking, once these bookings start coming in?
• How do you promote your website, online and offline, because there are so many different ways?
• How do you keep track of all your bookings?
• Do you have any tips, for turning leads into clients?
• How long did it take for you to start getting regular gigs, and become established in your area?
• Are there any mistakes that you’ve made, and learned from along the way in creating your own business?

• How do you market back to previous customers?

She revealed all this and Much Much More so…

CLICK HERE to Find Out How You Can Follow In Her Footsteps
And Start a Profitable Face Painting Business!!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints for your Face Painting Kit Right Here!

www.FacePaintingTips.com/business

P.s To find any previous episodes that you might have missed click here.
P.p.s To Learn how to start a profitable face painting business click here.

I know a lot of you have been eagerly awaiting Part 4 of the series “How Face Painters Can Thrive in Tough Times” so here it is! Click play to watch.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In today’s episode you’ll learn all about: Market Research: Finding Target Markets that You Can Promote Yourself to Time and Time Again.

And you’ll find out about our New Training Manual:
“How to Start a Face Painting Business”

…which is essential if  you want to fast track the success of your own profitable face painting business!

Once again, Thank you for all the positive feedback, it’s so great to know you guys are benefiting from the series.

Here is some of the feedback we’ve received so far:

“Philadelphia, Thank You So Much!! For all your lessons & advice. I learned so much from this video & cannot wait to see the next one. I just started my face painting business & feel like I’ve found a gold mine by finding your website! Thank You, for sharing your health of knowledge with us!” Tanya from California

“Philadelphia, I am getting so excited after watching part 3 video. I cannot wait until January 29th 2009 to order my new face painting business manual! Thanks for the effort you put into the free lessons. The time you take to create the free lessons and prepare a new manual is amazing.” Laney

I’m always happy to hear from you, so if you want to tell me what you think please leave comments, enjoy the series!

*************************************************************
If you want to join the hundreds of face painters who we’ve helped to make money doing what they love right now then…
Click here to learn “How to Start a Face Painting Business”

And We’ll Give You Proven Marketing Strategies To
Create Massive Exposure For Your Business!

These proven strategies (from “How to Start a Face Painting Business“) are used by professional marketers and successful business owners to promote themselves online and offline!

I’ll give you everything you need to know and step-by-step help to put these strategies to work in your business…You’ll learn…

* The many cost-effective ways you can reach your target market, and tell them exactly what they want to hear so they hire you.

* The importance of branding so you can make your business name stand out in the crowd and make your business memorable so people flock to you!

* How to research your local area in terms of target markets. So many business owners don’t do this, and that is why over 70% of them fail in their first year!

* The different types of cost-effective promotional materials you can use, how to create advertising that will leave your phone ringing off the hook with people who want to book!…. And where to get them made so that it doesn’t break the budget.

* How to write and release your own press releases so that the media will pay attention to your business and give it free publicity!

* The best places to advertise your business online, giving you exposure on the most powerful marketing medium in the world…the internet!

* How to create your own website for free or get one professionally designed on a shoe string budget! (This is a secret that internet marketers don’t often part with.)

* Get the best kind of exposure for your business by getting your face painting website on the first page of Google in minutes!

* Learn exactly how to use videos and fun websites like YouTube to advertise your business – A lot of businesses aren’t doing this and if they are, they’re doing it wrong way!

* How you can get constantly get more face painting gigs…from your competition – this is one of the cheapest most effective ways to get face painting gigs and it is so underrated and often misunderstood!

* And Much Much More so…

CLICK HERE to get the INSIDE SCOOP
on How to Start a Profitable Face Painting Business!!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints for your Face Painting Kit Right Here!

www.FacePaintingTips.com/business

P.s To find any previous episodes that you might have missed click here.
P.p.s To Learn how to start a profitable face painting business click here.

Hey there, today I’ve got Part 3 of the series “How Face Painters Can Thrive in Tough Times” in a video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

And you’ll learn about Goal Setting, Time Management and Setting Up Your Marketing Calendar for Face Painters!

You’ll also find out more about the fantastic opportunity you have to really fast track the success of your own profitable face painting business right here with “How to Start a Face Painting Business”!

But you’ve got to watch till the end, so enjoy!

And before I go, I’d like to Thank you for your positive response to the series, I’m so glad that there are so many of you who are enjoying it and learning quite a bit!

Here is just a couple of the feedback emails we’ve received so far:

“Philadelphia, I really appreciate your enthusiasm, generosity and wisdom.Thank you!!” Shari Rose

“Philadelphia, I can’t wait to read part 3. Thank you so much. Personally I don’t know much about marketing. But you are really keeping me interested. I want to know more….” Cherry Ras from Aruba

It really makes me so happy to hear from you guys, so if you want to tell me what you think please leave a comment on the blog.

************************************************************************

* Job Quote Letter
* Model Release Form
* Rate Sheet
* Risk Assessment
* Service Agreement
* Client-Database
* Authorization for Additional Time at this Event

Here Are the Promotional Material Templates You’ll Receive:

* Discount Coupon
* Gift Certificate
* Introductory Letter
* Restaurant Letter
* Festival Letter
* Marketing to Previous Customers Letter
* Press Release
* Sign for Queue

– All you need to do is insert your business name and details!

And Here Are the Promotional Material Samples You’ll Receive To Inspire You When You Create Your Own:

* Business Card
* Face Painting Display Board
* Cheek Art Display Board
* Flyer
* Magazine Ad
* Postcards
* Posters
* Price Sign
* T-Shirt
* Water Bottle Artwork

We make starting a profitable face painting business too easy!!

All this and so much more, what I’ve just let you in on is only 1 chapter!
Click Here to Get “How to Start a Face Painting Business”!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli
www.facepaintingtips.com/business

P.s  To Learn how to start a profitable face painting business click here.

Today I’ve got Part 2 of the series “How Face Painters Can Thrive in Tough Times” for you and hopefully you’ve already read Part 1 of our series.

If you haven’t seen Part 1 click here to read it first)

Yesterday I mentioned how important it is to have the 3 M’s – the right mindset, manner and marketing and now I’ll give you more ideas on how to keep a successful mindset and manner before jumping into marketing.

I once heard a very successful marketer by the name of Armand Morin say that “Success Leaves Traces”.

Successful people all have things in common, and if you look close enough you’ll find them.

So, if you want to be successful at face painting, you need to find people who are already successful at it, and follow in their footsteps.

You should make it your mission to do whatever it takes to meet these people, learn from then in any way you can whether it be going to their classes, investing in their products or simply buying them a drink and asking them a few questions.

Once you find and meet other successful people in your field, keep in contact with them!

There are so many ways to keep in contact – email, phone, online forums, facebook,  blogs, the list goes on.

Surround yourself (online and offline) with successful and supportive people, not people who are going to drag you down.

Another thing successful entrepreneurs all do is invest in on going education.

Ongoing education is incredibly valuable.

And as we all know, the seasons change, things in your business will change here and there, new things will crop up that you will have to deal with…

But if you’re constantly educating yourself then you’ll be ready, and with the right teacher you won’t just be ready…you’ll be ahead of the game!

Now, many face painters might already know that it’s
important to keep learning and improving new
face paint designs…

BUT many of them don’t put anywhere near as much
effort into learning more about marketing and that is
where they are going wrong!

You are in the face painting business, but face painting is only half of it…

You should be investing in educating yourself about the business side of things just as much if not more.I can’t stress how important that is!

Now to get started with your own face painting business, join the hundreds of other face painters we’ve helped with our home study course “How to Start a Face Painting Business“ right now!

Here’s Just a Little of What We’ll Share With You…

* How to create massive exposure for your business with online & offline marketing strategies — You’ll love the FREE online strategies I’ll show you!

* Find out how to bridge the gap between your artistic self & the budding entrepreneur inside to make your face painting dreams a reality.

* How to write your own business plan & work out how much to charge to
make sure you’re not undervaluing yourself & your talent!

* Attract paying customers & get more gigs by setting up your face painting stall the right way!

* Find out exactly how you are putting yourself at risk as a face painter, precisely what liability insurance is, when you’ll need it, and where to get it from!

* Which face painting associations to join and where to get accredited if you choose so that you have a helpful network of friends in the face painting industry.

* How to train & hire other face painters so your business can be in two or more places at the same time, making you even more money!

* Discover face painting industry secrets from an Australian Entertainment Agency & how to make your agent work for you.

* You’ll also find out how a New Jersey mom started her own profitable face painting business & of course… How you can too!

* And Much Much More so…

CLICK HERE to get the INSIDE SCOOP
on How to Start a Profitable Face Painting Business!!

Until then…

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints for your Face Painting Kit Right Here!

Dear Face Painting Friends…

I’ve had a lot of emails, questions and concerns about making a living as a face painter during the current economic crisis.

And I want you all to know, that it is definitely possible, to make money doing what you love – no matter how tough times are!

So that’s why I decided to create a free 8 Part Series titled
“How Face Painters Can Thrive in Tough Times” to show you how possible it is and I’ll send you each episode over the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

How Face Painters Can Thrive in Tough Times Part 1

You see, although people are spending less on average, (and face painting isn’t seen as a necessity)…

People are STILL spending money…
It just depends on whether or not
they spend it with you!

So, it’s up to you to get people to spend their money on face painting…and I want to help you position yourself so that you can take your piece of the pie!

First up, these are the 3 important things that you must change if your financial situation is going to change for the better and I like to call them…The 3 M’s:

1-Mindset
2-Manner
3-Marketing

And these are in a particular order for good reason!

Mindset: Firstly you need to have the right mindset. You need to have a positive attitude and really believe in what you do.

If you think that times are hard and there’s no way you can make a living with face painting then you’re just making excuses for not being the successful entrepreneur that
you can be!

Even during an economic crisis, there are still people doing what you want to do and they’re doing it successfully.

The most important reason why they’re successful, is their mindset.

Successful people understand that you need to be positive and dream big, because if you can’t imagine it, it just won’t manifest into reality.

Manner: And when your mindset changes, it directly affects your manner, the way in which you behave.

If you have a positive mindset, you will then automatically take action in the areas that you need to action in…

Phone calls get made, promo material gets mailed out, you invest in your education then immediately apply what you learn…

And you start to see the results that you want.

Marketing: That is why marketing must come after mindset and manner.

The correct mindset and manner acts as the perfect foundation for anyone starting a business or anyone who wants to change their business for the better!

Now, I learned this from a very successful marketer and magician Eric Paul and he has a very easy three-step action plan to help you on your way to changing your mindset for the better and I now pass it on to you…

Step 1: Assess your current situation. Is it what you had planned? Is it really that bad or are you letting the media dictate what your financial situation is? What’s working and what’s not? Be honest.

Step 2: Accept your situation. It’s easy to blame others or the economy. But you need to accept that YOU are 100% responsible for where you are now. Plain and simple.

Step 3: Commit to change. This is sadly where most people fail. They don’t apply what they’ve learnt, or if they do they’re not consistent. Any real and meaningful success requires commitment and hard work.

What I’ve just been talking about can not be accomplished in 5 mins, this is something that you should take seriously and make sure you’re doing on a day to day basis.

Now to get started with your own face painting business check out our home study course “How to Start a Face Painting Business“ right now!

Wouldn’t You Just Love To:

* Be your own boss
* Work your own flexible hours
* Be able to express your creative artistic side
* Make people happy with your talent
* And earn a nice income having fun all at the same time!?

Of course you would!
But the problem is… you don’t know where to begin right?

There definitely aren’t any ‘How to Start a Face Painting Business’ courses at college, no classes, and only very little help online.

What you want is simple step by step help, you want people who have been there before to show you exactly how they did it!

So that’s why I’ve spent the last year interviewing professional face painters, entertainment agents and marketers as well as researching and compiling all the knowledge and information that I have from my experiences that you need to know if you want to start your own successful face painting business…

And the good news is, it doesn’t matter if you’ve just started face painting or you have no previous business experience because…

Our New Home Study Course
Will Show You…

Everything You Need to Know To Start and Run
a Successful Face Painting Business!

Never before has there been such a comprehensive resource created especially for face painters who want to begin their own business.

And this isn’t boring text book stuff, I’m not going to teach you untried theories and watered down marketing ideas…

I’m going to teach you real world proven strategies that have worked for other successful face painters…and they will work for you too!

It’s a complete package for people like you who want to learn how to start their business the right way, right now…called:

“How to Start a Face Painting Business” – the only business training manual out there specifically for face painters like you!

Click Here to Start Your Own Face Painting Business the Easy Way!

www.FacePaintingTips.com/business
Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints for your Face Painting Kit Right Here!

P.S. Please share and send this post to anyone you think might benefit!
P.P.S Click here to leave a comment and tell us what you think!

The following is an entry sent in for our monthly Competition!

“Networking in the Face Painting World”
By Nancy Gervais

Hello Philadelphia!

I would like to share a story with you that was made possible because ofyour blog.  A couple of months ago after submitting an article for your blog, I received a comment from another local face painter, who as it turns out, lives quite close by. We got to chatting by email and eventually decided to meet up for coffee. It was a bit like going on a blind date!

We met at a local coffee shop, sat down with drinks in hand and started talking. Eventually our conversation turned to face painting (of course!) and we discussed how we had gotten started in face painting and where our businesses were going.

Most importantly, we decided between us that if we were ever in a situation where we could call on each other for help, we would. For example, if we were offered a face painting job that required 2 painters, we would call each other, or if we ever woke up one morning too sick to attend a job, we could always call the other as a substitute, providing they were free.

If we ever had to refuse a job because we were already booked, we would refer the customer to each other. I think the lesson to be learned from this story is that in the “business world,” anyone providing the same service as you and competing for the same customers is considered the competition.

But in the face painting world, chances are the “competition” is someone very much like yourself: ­ someone creative and talented who adores kids and loves what they do. Because we took a chance and met for coffee, we are both in a better position–we both have a potential “substitute” face painter in case we are ever ill, and we both have the option to accept larger events (i.e more kids than we couldhandle by ourselves!) as long as the other is free and able to paint on that date. I feel better just knowing that she is there in case I ever need to call her and most importantly, I have made a new friend who likes face painting as much as I do!

The old saying “it pays to know your competition” proved true in my case and I hope some of your readers can take something away from this story and maybe make a new face painting friend themselves!

Nancy Gervais
www.doodlebugfaces.com

______________________________________

Thank you for sending this in Nancy! I couldn’t agree with you more, networkingis the best way to go if you want to grow and do well in the face painting industry. I’ll be posting the rest of the entries until the end of November when I announce the winner.

Please leave a comment if you want to ask questions, or just want to offer encouragement!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Painting Supplies Right Here!

“Face Painter Discovered Online Becomes a Star on CBC”
- SF Competition
Sent in by Erin Wainwright

Hi Philadelphia and fellow face painting enthusiasts!

I just wanted to write to you and share a funny thing that recently happened to me. About two weeks ago, I received a voice mail message from a television show called Living Montréal that is shown on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). They wanted to know if I’d be interested in taping a show about face painting to teach mothers how to do three simple designs for Halloween. Of course I called back immediately and accepted!

A week later I was in downtown Montréal getting ready to tape the segment for the show. From 5:30pm until 10:30pm I got to learn all about the secrets of television. What a learning experience! Every movement, every brushstroke and every swipe of the sponge had to be redone a million times from a million different angles!

The three children who were the models for the designs were so patient and wonderful! The oldest boy was ten and I painted him as a skull, the seven year old girl was a butterfly and the four year old was transformed into a Dalmatian puppy.

I have to state that the designs I painted were not my most detailed or best work, as the point of the show was to show mothers easy designs they could do themselves at home.

What I found the most amazing about the entire experience was the fact that the show found me through my free online web ads. They cost me nothing to post and they really work! What is also really great is that the show will be posting my contact information on their website for a year.

Talk about free advertising!

If anyone is interested in watching the show it will be aired during the week before Halloween at 3pm weekdays on CBC Montréal. As of yet, I do not know the exact dates, but I do know that the show will be shown in two parts, on two different days. After the show is aired on TV, you will be able to watch the segments on the Living Montréal website at the following link. http://www.cbc.ca/livingmontreal/

And so that was my big surprise! I cannot begin to express how excited and nervous I was to talk on camera, but as I became a little more comfortable, it was less and less difficult to explain and paint at the same time.

I cannot emphasize just how important web-ads really are. But as you can tell from my experience, it just goes to show what a little free advertising online can lead up to!
**************************************************
Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Painting Supplies Right Here!

“Face Painting Experience”
Sent in by “Miss Sparkle” the Clown

A bad experience can be a learning experience.

I am a clown and was hired to do a birthday party for a friend I work with for his 5 year old daughter and her friends.  The day before I had started putting together an extra face painting kit so that if I ever had a large party and needed someone to help me I would have a spare kit.  Each kit is in an identical brightly colored tub.  The only difference was that my kit had my paint set in it and the other kit had everything else but no paint kit.  Both tubs have a handle so I can easily carry them and they are lightweight and not too bulky.

Well the day of the party I loaded my car with everything I would need to do balloons, magic and facepainting, including my face painting kit (or so I thought).

I started the party with magic and balloons and then was ready to do the face painting. The children were so excited and as I opened my kit  my heart skipped several beats. No face paint pallet was in my kit. I had grabbed the wrong tub. It was a 45 minute drive to get them so that was not an option.  I kept my cool and looked through all the supplies in the kit and discovered I had a very small container that had thin slices of 3 different colors of paint that I use for a basic rainbow. Thank goodness I had that.  I proceeded to paint all the children using just those three colors and glitter of coarse.  The children did not seem to notice or care but I know I could have done much better with more colors.

This is where you have the opportunity to learn from my mistake.  I have been clowning and face painting for about 3 years since that fateful day and I have never had that happen to me again.  I have 2 important rules to share with you:
#1 is this, after every party the first thing I do when I get home is wash my brushes and sponges and let them air dry overnight before putting them back in my kit. I then re-organize my kit so that everything is ready to go for the next party. Even if it is late and I am tired I take care of my face paint kit first.

And my # 2 rule is just as important, I have an index card taped to the inside of the tub lid that has a list of every thing I need to take along for a face painting gig. Some of the items on the list are paint, brushes, sponges, glitter, table cover, wipes, mirror, face design sample sheets.  Make sure to check your list even if you think you have everything. Being over confident and forgetting to check your list may cost you a party and your reputation. Be pre-pared.
I hope this has helped you.

“Miss Sparkle” the Clown

_______________________________

Thank you for sending this in “Miss Sparkle” the Clown, such an important lesson to be learned here! Please leave a comment if you want to ask questions, or just want to offer encouragement!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Painting Supplies Right Here!

“Face Painting Tips”
Sent in by Erin Wainwright

My name is Erin, elementary teacher and face painter located in Montréal, Canada! Since I wrote on your Blog last, my small business has picked up and I am actually doing quite a lot of work! Since I started off quite small, with very little money, I’ve decided to divulge how I got my small enterprise up and running.

SAFETY FIRST!!!

I searched the net and learned as much as I could about safety. Being a teacher has taught me a lot about liability, and since children are most often who we paint, you can never be too careful.

I spoke to my bank and found out that I could purchase public liability insurance through them. I did not start taking jobs until I knew I was fully insured.

I learned what paints were safe to use, and how to properly clean my brushes and sponges. I use a mild anti-bacterial soap on my tools; I make sure that everything is COMPLETELY DRY before putting it away for long periods of time.

MARKETING!!!

Since I was starting off on my own, I did not actually have heaps of money to invest. I began researching free advertising sites that would allow me to post pictures and contact information for free. I found the following websites extremely helpful! craigslist.ca , kijiji.ca , mypartyplanner.com , eclassifieds4u.com , classifieds.ivarta.com , olx.ca , classifiedads.com , isell.com , buysellcommunity.com , canadianbusinessdirectory.ca , partypop.com , peoplefield.org , ifind.ca .

To figure what to charge my clients… I called other face painters in my area to give myself an idea of what my prices should be. I have two pricing systems in place now. I charge by the hour, but the cost of a party with a limited number of people is lower than a large event with an unlimited number of faces to paint.

I bought perforated business cards from a local paper store and began printing my own cards and brochures. I always make sure that when I’m at a party or event, that my cards and brochure are visible. People often just pick a card up, even if their child isn’t getting painted.

VOLUNTEER AT SCHOOL EVENTS!!!

Since I’m a teacher, this one was easy. I painted at the end of year event at my school, I made sure that everyone I painted got my card and through this I was able to reach many potential clients.

I sometimes paint my nephew and give him my cards when he is invited to a friend’s birthday party, that way the other parents can see my work and give me a call if they are interested.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE!!!

I needed to find a professional face painter’s kit, and I wasn’t having much luck in the “real world”. It is easy to buy individual cakes in our local stores, but I was having a hard time finding large kits. I finally found the SNAZAROO Canada e-commerce site, run and operated by Ontario’s own Dotsy the Clown. www.dotsytheclown.com . I am very happy with their service and I intend on using their website as much as possible to replenish my supplies.

I wanted to be as self-sufficient as possible, so I bought my own portable pic-nic table, parasol and buckets. This way, when I arrive at an event, all I need from my client is access to water.

It is also very important to have a cell phone with an answering system. I make sure that my phone is turned off when I’m working and that my business name is on the voice mail. This is professional and allows you to get back to people who may have called.

I hope that my story will be of help to those who are just starting out. My initial investment to start my business was about $600.00 and I turned a profit after my sixth job! I wish everyone who is in this field of work the very best! I love what I do and I hope that I get to continue working as a face-painter for a very long time!

Sincerely,

Erin E. Wainwright
Maquillage Faceforward Facepainting
Montreal, Québec, Canada
514-603-0692
erin@erinwainwright.ca
www.erinwainwright.ca

_______________________________

Thank you for sending this in Erin, those are some very helpful tips and its great to hear from you again!

Please leave a comment if you want to ask questions, or just want to offer encouragement!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Painting Supplies Right Here!

Hi Guys! As promised I have just recorded an exclusive interview with Thea Mackay from “Wonder Down Under” Australia’s 1st Face & Body Painters & Entertainers Convention!!! It’s happening from the 8th – 12th Septemeber 2008 in Melbourne. Listen to the interview to find out all about it, then go and register at www.WonderDownUnder.com.au NOW!!!

www.WonderDownUnder.com.au

Click Here to Look at the Program Details
Info on each Workshop

Click here to Register for Wonder Down Under!
Do it NOW before tickets sell out!

Click Here to Look at the Updated Schedule.

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Painting Supplies Right Here!

P.S Remember to use the CODE WORD: PHILLY when you register for the convention to get $20 off and a copy of “The Halloween Make Up Guide”!!

Click here to Register for Wonder Down Under!
Do it NOW before tickets sell out!

P.P.S Spread the word! Tell all your friends, family and all the face painters you know to go, they’ll be sooooo happy you told them!

A couple days ago, I made a post about Gigmasters.com – a website that can help you get more face painting gigs (or your money back) in the US/Canada, they had a sale on where you could join for half price and that sale ended on the 31st July….

BUT Gigmasters.com have decided to extend this awesome sale just to give my special How to Face Paint blog readers/subscribers more time to join up!

So now, you have until Friday August 8th to sign up with Gigmasters.com and advertise your face painting business on their website at 50% off!

When you sign up, at the end of the registration process, on the billing information page,
Insert the coupon code: FPTIPSBLOG   
to receive your 50% off savings.

To Sign-Up, Click Here to Go to the Sign Up Page.

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli
P.S Click here for face painting designs  with step-by-step with photos and instructions?  

To all the face painters in the US/Canada, I wanted to let you know how you can increase your bookings as a face painter and childrens entertainer to make more money and to grow your business. I just received an email from Rick Buckholz from Gigmasters.com (one of the most popular online live entertainment booking services with over 200,000 users within the United States and Canada).

Rick told me that Gigmasters are currently having a sale on where you can save 50% off until Thursday 31st July 2008!

You can sign-up today and begin receiving leads in your area right away for as little as $29.50 for 3 months (less than $10 a month), after the 50% discount.  There are no hidden fees, and they don’t automatically recharge you after your membership expires either.

To Sign-Up, Click Here to Go to the Sign Up Page.

At the end of the registration process, on the billing information page, insert the coupon code: DEALS
to receive your 50% off savings.

It’s completely risk free. They offer a 30-day, 100% money back guarantee on all Memberships. You can contact them personally for a full refund, right away if you’re not satisfied or haven’t received any gigs within the first 30 days.

Remember the 50% coupon code is the word: DEALS

I highly recommend you advertise your services on Gigmasters if you live in the US/Canada….first of all, you can’t go wrong because there’s a 100% money back guarantee but I doubt you’ll need to use it. From an internet marketing point of view I know that you will get exposed to a tonne of targeted traffic if you use their service, they’re all over the search engines which means people looking for face painting in your area are extremely likely to find Gigmasters.com and find your contact details so go ahead and sign up before Thursday 31st July 2008!

If you want to start a face painting business but you don’t know how,
then check out our “How to Start a Face Painting Business”
Home Study Course!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

Hi guys!…If you’re an aspiring face painter who wants to take face painting more seriously…

Then I’d really like to help educate you on starting up your own face painting business the ‘right way’ so you can start making cash doing something that you love!

You see, I believe that absolutely anybody can be successful, if they’re passionate and have the right information at their fingertips…

But before I begin educating you, I need to know exactly…. What YOU Want To Know!

So Click on the link below, and Fill Out the Short Survey (there are only 7 quick questions) :

Click Here to Take Survey & Tell Us What YOU Want To Know!

If you want to start a face painting business but you don’t know how,
then check out our “How to Start a Face Painting Business”
Home Study Course!

Happy Face Painting

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Painting Supplies Right Here!

P.S Learn how to face paint, with our step-by-step face painting designs photos and instructions now!

Okay, you’ve probably realised by now that having a website can be really important for building your face painting business. Face painting is visual, and unless they’ve seen you at a gig - potential customers always want to see examples of your face painting designs before they book.

But getting a website designed can be expensive, and when you’re just starting out you might just want to put up a free webpage.

Here are a couple of sites, that will let you create and host your own website on their’s for FREE!

http://www.weebly.com/
http://members.freewebs.com/
http://www.bravenet.com/

And don’t think that you have to know any crazy techy language. These websites give you easy to use templates, so if you’ve ever typed a word doc in your life, you should have no trouble putting up a pretty website with lots of pictures!

My favourite place to host your own free website is Google Pages. You can read about it here: http://pages.google.com/-/about.html (Firstly you need to sign up for a gmail account, when you do that, choose your username wisely, because your username will be part of your website name)

Why is it my favourite you ask? Well, I think you’d agree that having a website is pretty pointless, unless you’re getting traffic – getting other people to see it.

And how do you get traffic? Well, besides telling all your friends and family to go see it and printing your website address on your business cards etc you need your website to rank in the search engines like Google (Google is the most used search engine in the world!)

Now, do you think that if you used Google pages to put up your own site that maybe, just maybe, Google will favor your website… just a little…??

That’s why its my fav! Go check it out now, if you want a free and easy way to have your face painting business online!

If you have any questions or have something to add, let’s strike up a converstion – just leave a comment to get the ball rollin’!

If you want to start a face painting business but you don’t know how,
then check out our “How to Start a Face Painting Business”
Home Study Course!

Happy Face Painting

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Painting Supplies Right Here!

P.S Want to learn more face painting designs before putting up a website? No problems, let us teach you how to paint new and exciting face painting designs with step-by-step photos and instructions right here: http://www.facepaintingtips.com/comprehensive

This is the first of many posts about advertising your facepainting business online. To start off, I wanted to help out people who don’t have a website yet but want to have a prescence on the web to begin with. (For those of you who have a website, this post will still be beneficial).

You don’t need your own webpage to advertise your face painting business, you can piggyback off other sites by listing your information on their directories. There are children’s entertainer directories all over the internet, that will let you submit all your details – Business name, description, location, phone number and website if you have one.

Quite a few of these are Free and some you will have to pay for. Start by submitting your details to the free directories straight away, because you’ve nothing to lose!

Here is a list of free websites you can submit to:

www.fpbaa.com (International)
www.partypop.com (International)
www.hotfrog.com (USA)

www.hotfrog.co.uk (UK)
www.freeindex.co.uk (UK)

www.entertainoz.com.au (Australia)
www.party-oz.com.au (Australia)
www.hotfrog.com.au (Australia)

Here are some websites that require a fee for your listing:

www.snazaroo.com (International) $10
www.kids-partycabin.com (International) 15 GBP
www.gigsalad.com/Variety/Face-Painter (USA and Canada) $69
www.entsweb.co.uk (UK) 10 GBP - basic listing
www.entertainerdirectory.co.uk (UK) 5 GBP - basic listing

(Prices are subject to change at anytime)

If you know of any other websites, to list your face painting business details with, share it with us - leave a comment by clicking here!

Happy Face Painting

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints Supplies Right Here!

P.s While you’re advertising your business, polish up on your skills by learning new face paint designs with our step-by-step photos and instructions!

If you’re not advertising your face painting business online, you’re probably losing money! Gone are the days where people refer to only the yellow pages when ever they need to look up a trade or service. People are doing their searching online…. so can these potential customers find your face painting business online?

In the next couple of weeks I’m going to be writing posts about different ways that you can advertise yourself on the internet. I’ll give you different websites that you can advertise on, talk about setting up free webpages, tell you what you must have on your webpage etc. It’s valuable information, that probably won’t stay up on the blog forever so stay tuned.

Don’t worry, I won’t use any big geeky words, if you know very little about the internet you will still find it all very easy to understand!

But in this post I just wanted to ask you all a few questions…. so that I have a better idea of what information to give you.

* What kind of advertising do you use already online?

* Do you have your own website?

* Do you use free services like myspace?

To leave your answer, or to ask me a question just leave a comment by clicking here.

Happy Face Painting

Philadelphia Tivoli

www.FacePaintingTips.com
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints Supplies Right Here!

Okay, here it is, my 3rd and final installment of “How Much Should I Charge for Face Painting?”. If you haven’t read part one or two, I really suggest you read those first and here it is: How Much Should I Charge for Face Painting?: Part 1 and How Much Should I Charge for Face Painting?: Part 2 Once you’ve read those parts, ask yourself these questions:

Was the event booked in advance or at the last minute?
Did they book you months in advance or the day before? If they left it till the last minute and you had to reschedule all your plans around it, its reasonable that you charge a little extra. You can set a time frame, let people know that if they want to book an event in less than three maybe four days that there will be an additional cost.

Will you be working per hour or per number of faces you paint?
If you know that there won’t be large crowds to keep you busy the whole time, try to get an agree on a rate per hour. If you’d usually charge $5 per face and can paint 10 faces in an hour, than charge $50 per hour.

Are you doing cheek art or full faces?
Some painters charge less for cheek art because its smaller and takes less time. But sometimes there are cheek art designs that take longer to paint than full face designs, so some painters charge the same amount. You might want to have a separate board for designs that you know will take a longer time to paint and charge more for those, regardless to whether its cheek art or full face.

How much are you in demand?
If you’ve got people lining up for more than half an hour to get their face painted…then you’re in demand baby! You can put your price up for anyone who joins the line after that.

If you want to start a face painting business…

But you don’t know how…

Then check out our NEW

“How to Start a Face Painting Business” Home Study Course!

Happy Face Painting

Philadelphia Tivoli

Face Painting Tips
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints Right Here!

I recently came across an article that I thought you might find helpful when it comes to the business side of facepainting . If you want to be getting as many facepainting gigs as possible then I’m sure you’ve already looked at many different forms of advertising. This article will give you some great tips on flyers and how to design them!

Business and Flyer Printing 8 Handy Tips for Designing Them
Carla San g.

Flyer printing is an inexpensive way to extend the scope of your marketing reach. A flyer is a small, full colored paper that can hold a variety of information including your pressing offers, your product list and contact information.

Small businesses that delivers their products or offer home services can make full use of flyers. Have them passes around in different locations, have them mailed out, or have them inserted in shopping bags upon purchase — the things with which you can extend the use of your flyers are diverse.

Added to this, the full color printing makes the flyers attractive, while its size makes it easy to fit in almost any place, a hand bag, a wallet or between book pages.

Flyer Musts

Designing your flyers is crucial in the effectiveness of your print to convey the message. Be sure to use the following guidelines when printing flyers.

1) Follow the natural flow of your eyes.

• The natural way of reading or scanning a page is to go from left to right, starting at the top of the page going to the bottom. Your flyer should hold the most important information in the top left part of the page moving downwards.

• For contemporary layouts, you can always follow the patterns found in most comic books. Lay it out in a number 2 pattern or Z-pattern among others.

2) Use simple and easy to read format.

• Most readers avoid laborious and heavy texts are tiring to read. Break up long sentences and difficult ideas with bullet points or numbers. This way, the viewer can simply scan through the page and find the most useful information.

3) Avoid overlapping text and illustrations as it decreases readability.

• Dark colored text should be placed over light colored print (preferably black text on white paper.) This helps the eyes isolate the lines and forms of the text from those of the illustrations behind it. Overlapping text also feels heavy and is tiring for the eyes to read.

4) Include eye catching graphics and illustrations.

• Set aside a part of your flyer for the graphics and illustrations. You can allocate the front side of the sheet for this, while leaving the back page for the text. Colors and images attract the eyes and can work to encourage your customers to make the sale.

5) Make an interesting offer on the headline.

• Your customer is always looking for ways to improve their life and will often take a chance that convincingly shows them how. When you start with an interesting offer, this is more likely to grab your customer’s attention than talking about your business.

6) Direct your customers to your website, the telephone, or to your store.

• The goal of all marketing is to make the sale. When your flyer neglects to include your contact information, then the possibility of making the sale is lessened.

• Directing your customers to the website is a commitment free way with which he can gather more information. The website on the other hand is another marketing tool you can use to encourage the sale.

Flyer printing is a must marketing tool for every business. The ease with which the flyers can be printed and distributed makes it ideal for small and start up businesses who want to extend their market share. Follow the simple and straightforward flyer guidelines to create effective flyers that get to places.

Flyers are effective advertising material used for decades now, it has been a proven material that can generate leads to your product or services. For more Flyer Printing advices and tips you can go to Flyer Printing Company – Digital Room.
(Article Source: http://www.businessflyercast.info/flyers-entertainment-cards-business.html)

If you want to start a face painting business…

But you don’t know how…

Then check out our NEW

“How to Start a Face Painting Business” Home Study Course!

Happy Face Painting

Philadelphia Tivoli

Face Painting Tips
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints Right Here!

Okay, here it is, my 2nd installment of “How Much Should I Charge for Face Painting?”. If you haven’t read part one, I really suggest you read that first and here it is: How Much Should I Charge for Face Painting?: Part 1

After reading How Much Should I Charge for Face Painting?: Part 1 now ask yourself these questions:

How far do you have to drive?
Look at the area you work in on a map. I’d say if a gig is less than 25 minutes away, then give them your standard price. If it’s more than 25 minutes then charge more per hour for every additional 15 minutes of driving time. Or atleast charge extra on the first hour by maybe about $8-$12 for every additional 15 minutes of driving time.

What is your minimum time?
Set a minimum time to go paint, especially if you’re travelling a long time to get there. I’d suggest an hour minimum time, and maybe a two hour minimum on gigs that are more than 25 minutes away.

Do you have to wear special clothing?
If you’re a clown, factor the cost of your clothing into the mix. Clown costumes are not cheap, and you’ve got to spend more time preparing for each gig in terms of clothing, accessories, props and ofcourse…your own face paint! So you should charge more! Also clowns are expected to be more even more entertaining and lively with the kids, so if you are… you’re worth definately the extra money!

What conditions are you going to be working under?
This especially applies if you’re working at outdoor events. If its going to be outside in the heat of an unbearable summer, or outside in the middle of a freezing winter…it’s reasonable to charge extra because we all now how incredibly uncomfortable it can be to try and work in extreme weather.

I’ll post Part 3 of  ”How Much Should I Charge for Face Painting?” in the next week or two to come, so stay tuned to find out more. If you have any questions about what I’ve posted so far, or have something to add, leave a comment. And have a great day!

If you want to start a face painting business but you don’t know how then
check out our “How to Start a Face Painting Business” Home Study Course!

Happy Face Painting

Philadelphia Tivoli

Face Painting Tips
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints Right Here!

I just came across this blog post for couples trying to organize their own ‘perfect wedding’ and it had some great tips about how to keep the children entertained. Elle (from wedaholic.com) suggests hiring a clown or magician or a face painter to keep the kids entertained. And I’d never thought about doing face painting or clowning at a wedding!

So then I thought, it might be a good idea to get in touch with the wedding planners in your area, and give them your portfolio/details, who knows…your next face painting gig might be at a wedding!

Have you ever had a face painting
or clowning gig at a Wedding?
Or maybe a gig at an unusual time or occassion?
If you have, I’d love to hear about it,
Just Leave a Comment:-)

Happy Face Painting

Philadelphia Tivoli

Face Painting Tips
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints Right Here!

P.s Learn face painting the fun and easy way with our step-by-step photos….and watch your friends go green with envy when they see your new talent!

I was recently asked this question on the blog, and I’d love to give you a straight up answer, but alas, I can’t! There are heaps of different things to consider when it comes to pricing your face painting services, so instead of giving you one number, I’m going to tell you what to consider, so that you can come up with your own prices that are fair to both you and your customers.

Now ask yourselves these questions:

Where do you live or What area do you want to work in?
This is important because the area that you work in will factor into how much you can reasonably charge. So do a little research, find out how much is being charged by other face painters, and have a look at the quality and speed of their work. This at the very least should give you a ball park to start from.

How much experience do you have with face painting?
If you’re completely new, chances are you’re not as quick as those who have been doing it for years. So if it takes you say, 8 minutes to do a design, you’re not going to get away with charging the same amount per hour as someone who can paint the same design in 4 minutes.

What kind of event are you painting at?
If its a charity event, you can choose to give a discount. Some painters even charge just to cover expenses.

Are you supplying the face paints or are they?
You might get an event where its provided for you, not very likely but still possible and if so you can give a discount. Remember a professional face paints kit- including face paints, brushes, glitter etc can cost anywhere from $150-$300, so your materials really need to be factored into the equation. But don’t think you have to go out and buy a professional kit for your first gig, start with a smaller kit, make some money and then invest in a professional kit when you can afford it.

I’ll post Part 2 and possibly Part 3 of  ”How Much Should I Charge for Face Painting?” in the next week or two to come, so stay tuned to find out more. If you have any questions about what I’ve posted so far, or have something to add, leave a comment. And have a great day!

If you want to start a face painting business but you don’t know how then
check out our “How to Start a Face Painting Business” Home Study Course!

Happy Face Painting

Philadelphia Tivoli

Face Painting Tips
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints Right Here!

Want some help learning face paint designs before you get out there to make some money? We’ll show you how to paint popular face paint designs in minutes!

I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say that your display board is pretty crucial for your face painting business at bringing in new customers when you’re out face painting right?

I thought I’d give you a simple way to make your own display board for face painting designs from home, that won’t cost you an arm and a leg!

* First of all, take photos of your face painting designs. Make sure you’ve got good lighting and the photos are nice and close up. Also makesure that your models are smiling in the photos, you won’t impress people with sad or cranky looking models now, will you?

* Then print them out and glue them to a piece of cardboard carefully and neatly.  Think about where you’re going to place each photo before you glue them down.

* Makesure to put a title at the top with your Company Name/Stage Name.

* Laminate the cardboard, then stick that to a thicker piece of board (the kind of one that has foam inbetween maybe) And find a way to prop it up like maybe put it on your table between two books.

For all the face painters out there, who already have display boards for their face painting designs …

…How did you make your display board?

Or if you bought yours, where from?

Leave your answer by leaving a comment.

You can even send in photos of your display board to
info(at)facepaintingtips(dot)com and I’ll post it on the blog so
you can show it off to the world!

Happy Face Painting

Philadelphia Tivoli

Face Painting Tips
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints Right Here!

P.s You’ll be suprised at how quickly you’ll master face painting when you use our fun and easy face painting designs with step by step photos and instructions!

Have you ever been asked to do a face painting gig for free?

Maybe for a charity event or fundraiser?

If you’re a beginner, you might think it’s a good idea because you want to gain experience and of course gain exposure that will hopefully bring in more face painting jobs right?

But when you’re giving your services away for free, it’s not really free is it? It’s costing you.

You’re using your own paints, brushes, equipment and petrol etc. Surely you should atleast be reimbursed for this?

If a chairity organizer tells you that they can’t pay you, it’s probably not true because most big charity events and fundraisers have a budget set aside for entertainment, so don’t let them fool you otherwise!

I recently read a great article called - “When Is Free Not Free?” By Shannon Fennell as published in Illusion Issue #3. (Shannon Fennell is a professional Make-Up Artist and has won numerous awards and prizes for her character designs, costumes and make-ups over the years.)

Shannon made really great points about offering your services for charity/ non profit events. What she does, and what she recommends you do… is offer a non-profit rate for your services.

So if you’re asked to do a charity gig, offer them your ’non-profit rate’, so that all your costs are covered and you don’t lose out.

Shannon advises that you “Do not advertise this rate. All I say on my website and literature is that a special rate may be available for non-profit and charitable events.

Then there is no commitment or obligation to provide any kind of discount. If I feel generous towards the group, I quote this rate making sure to tell them it is discounted from my regular rate, which I will also make them aware of. My non-profit rate is approx 45% of regular hourly rate.”

She also mentions something very valuable about making people aware of the discount that they’re receiving: “This is a useful marketing technique because by making the client aware of the amount you charge your regular customers, they will usually be more than happy to pay less than half of that.”

You can read the article on Shannon’s Website right here.

And tell us what you thought by leaving a comment, just click here.

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

Face Painting Tips
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Buy Face Paints Right Here!

MySpace isn’t just for teenagers who want to keep in touch with their friends. Businesses big and small, from just about every industry have embraced MySpace and used it to gain extra exposure.

And so should you!

If you haven’t heard of MySpace, (you’ve probably been living under a rock because it’s huge!) then ask your kids, they probably have their own accounts set up. It’s an online community, a social networking site that lets you keep in touch with friends and family but you can use to keep in touch with colleagues, face painters, other artists and use the site to promote your business.

You can put up slide shows with photos of your face painting designs, videos of you at work, provide information about your services, set up your own blog, put up testimonials from happy customers and much more!

It’s a great idea to have one, especially if you don’t have a website, and haven’t a clue how to put one up. And even if you do have your own website I’d recommend you get one aswell to gain even more exposure on the web. (And its free, yay!)

It’s very important that you have pictures of your work up online, for people to have a look at. They’re much more likely to hire you if they’ve seen what you’re capable of!

Check out our MySpace Page:
http://www.myspace.com/howtofacepaint
And add us as your friend!

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli

Face Painting Tips
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Click Here to Buy Face Paints!

P.s Do you use Myspace? Would you like a website for your face painting business? Leave your answer here.

Sounds simple, but it works so well in the facepainting industry! If you’re offering any service in public, especially a service which involves children then the magic of smile is going to take you a long way!

Sure, it might be hard when you’ve had a bad day, but kids and adults come to you for a good time, not to hear you wine about your troubles like the traffic, your mother in law from hell or your opinion on what’s wrong with the government!

Think about it from a childs point of view…would a child want to get his/her face painted by a grumpy looking face painter…or a cheery and fun looking face painter?

Having a smile and a cheery attitude, makes a difference.

So, use your beautiful smile, and spread the magic of facepainting!

For more face painting business help, check out our How to Start a Face Painting Business Home Study Course!

Happy Face Painting

Philadelphia Tivoli
Face Painting Tips
“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
Click Here to Buy Face Paints!

Would you like fries with that? — We’ve all heard the line, but have you ever tried upselling when you’re out facepainting? Alot of you would probably answer no, and some of you might be unclear about what up selling really is. So before I go any further here is a definition from Wikipedia:

Up-selling is a sales technique whereby a salesman attempts to have the consumer purchase more expensive items, upgrades, or other add-ons in an attempt to make a more profitable sale. Up-selling usually involves marketing more profitable services or products, but up-selling can also be simply exposing the customer to other options he or she may not have considered previously.

If all you’re doing is giving the customer what they asked for instead of giving the customer what they’ve asked for AND asking them if they’d like more — then you could be losing some serious money!

It’s a known fact that if somebody is willing to spend money on a particular product or service,  thirty percent of the time they’ll spend even more, if the opportunity arises infront of them. And it’s your job to makesure that opportunity arises, you have to makesure that everyone who comes to your face painting booth, knows about your other services.

Now, you’re probably thinking…but what can I offer as an upsell, what other services can I offer?

And it’s much simpler than you’d think! Temporary tattoos, stickers, extra body painting, glitter hair spray can all be used as upsells to squeeze a little extra cash out of your customers.

A simple temporary tattoo can do wonders, say for example you’ve got a boy who wants to be painted as a pirate. All you have to say to the parent is “…for an extra $X I could add a temporary tattoo to his arm to really make him look like a mean pirate?” And it’s done! But you’ve got to ask for it, otherwise the parent wouldn’t have known.

And remember if a sixteen year old at McDonalds can do it, then so can you! Give upselling a go and see what happens!

For more face painting business help, check out our How to Start a Face Painting Business Home Study Course!

Happy Face Painting

Philadelphia Tivoli
Learn how to face paint with FacePaintingTips.com

P.S. What services do you provide besides facepainting, that you offer as an upsell? Leave a comment and tell us about it!

Okay, if you haven’t read part 1, then go to: Establishing and Promoting a Face Painting Business: Part 1 and read that first.

So once you have all the things listed in Part 1 you can seriously start promoting yourself. Remember that this will take time and money so be prepared to give these up. And remember to have a positive attitude about your work, it will make a huge difference and you’ll have more fun.

Here we go…

Volunteer Your Services
An inexpensive way to promote yourself and your business is to volunteer your services for free or close to it, at a charity event or maybe your child’s school fete.

Then while you’re there, besides having a chance to showcase your talents you can give out business cards and flyers which will bring in more business for you in the future.

And remember to have business cards and flyers to give to people when you’re doing any sought of face painting gig free or paid. It will be the best promotion for your business because people can see you work your talents and skills right in front of them!!

Advertising Online and Offline
There are many ways to advertise, I’d start out on the internet and pay for a listing in a local online classifieds or face painting related website. To find a good site to post to, just go to google and type in something like ‘face painter + (city you’re in)’ see what comes up in the top ten and then try to get yourself listed on those websites.

Also try putting an advertisement in you local paper, classifieds, parenting magazines and directories like the yellow pages is a must.

If you have children, try putting an ad in their school newsletters. It’s usually not that expensive, it’s a newsletter that a lot of parents read and parents are a big chunk of your market.

Your Own Website
Also put up your own website if you can. There are lots of free ones available like myspace for example. This gives you a chance to showcase more of your work and a presence on the net that is available 24/7 for your future clients.

Agents
Find an agent, party planner or entertainment agency in your area that can find you work at all sorts of events – fairs, festivals, birthday parties, expos etc. Arrange an appointment with them, show them your portfolio (examples of your work) tell them of all your services and that you are of course available for a booking. They’ll take a commission when you get a gig but it’s totally worth it.

And when you do start getting bookings make sure you ask the person who’s hiring you, where they found you. That way you can work out which forms of advertising are working better, invest more money in them and less or nothing in the advertising forms that aren’t working.

Your face painting business might be slow to build at first, but keep at it. Once it picks up, you’ll be happy you put in all this hard work in the beginning.

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli
Learn how to face paint so you can start making money and having fun!

P.S. Here’s a great tip and message from Janet Chenhall a ‘How to Face Paint’ Blog reader:

Thanks for the great tips on starting your own business. Another great way to get practise and get your name out there is to do friends kids parties for free and put your business card in the ‘lolly bag’ so other parents know who you are. I’ve got two girls and they love to have their faces done whenever there is a face painter around and not once has any of these painters had business cards out for parents to take with them! I figure that they are either too busy to want any more promotion or they haven’t got any!

Thanks Janet!

*************************
To Learn How to Start a
Face Painting Business Click Here
And Start Painting For Fun & For Profit!

*******************************************

So you’ve learnt how to face paint and you want to know how to get your name out there?

Want to start getting gigs and making some money? This article is sure to help you to establishing and marketing your new face painting business.

First things first, you need to have the proper tools and equipment in order to show people that you are a professional and not just a school teacher, mom or dad volunteering to do a bit of face painting.

Here is a check list of things that you’ll need before you try to promote your services…

• Face paints (Professional FDA approved), brushes, sponges, palettes, glitter, iridescent powder, water and cups/jars.

• Tote/Carry Bag – Get a carry bag or even a small suitcase with wheels to hold and keep all your face painting tools. You’ll look professional and it makes it easy to carry around.

• Portfolio – Put together a portfolio of all the face painting designs you’ll be able to paint, to show potential customers want they can request and expect. Make it look good, use photos and laminate them, put them into a nice folder. You can also use it to show people interested in hiring you.

• You’ll very likely need to get a sturdy fold up table and chairs, a sign and an umbrella may be needed for certain gigs.

The next thing you’ll need to do is get business cards printed. They don’t have to be expensive but make them colorful without going overboard with design, simple is best and easy to read. If there’s space put a picture of one of your best designs on the card… and make sure the person in the photo is smiling!

**** To Learn how to start a face painting business click here and start painting for fun and for profit!****

Also, it would be a good idea to print out leaflets/brochures. Here you can display even more information about your services and more examples/photos of your face paintings.

Now that you’ve got all of these crucial things ready you can start to promote you face painting business.

So stay tuned for Part 2 where we’ll show you how to get started.

Happy Face Painting,

Philadelphia Tivoli
P.s Learn how to start a face painting business and start painting for fun and for profit!