How long does it take?

[Glitterfly Faces]

Hey All,

Just curious how long it took for your company name to get out there and start to get calls for jobs?
I have been marketing and doing free stuff to promote myself, but I rarely never have any jobs or even calls for quotes.

I started the business about 8 months ago and I have only done approx. 4 paid jobs.  Nothing big at all.
I purchased $1400-$1500 in supplies last year and only made $179.   

I have a bday party from an old friend next Sat. for 1 hour. 
April 24th, a volunteer show (for free advertising) and a tip jar.
May 30th (an actual job) for a referral for a baseball league start season fun day.  3 hours.

That is all. 

What advice can any of you give me?
My hubby is so patient with the expense of it all.  He is so awesome that way.
I do have a full time job doing accounting.  So, it's not like I depend on face painting for a living.  But, I would love to get more jobs.  Actually, more for the fun and experience then the cash.  Well, the cash is nice.  hehe

[fancy]

It does take a while.  Have you tried sending out flyers or post cards to businesses in your area?  When I first started, I did that and It got me some jobs that I still do every year.

[Glitterfly Faces]

Yep,  spent a fortune on flyers, mailings and postcards.   

[Sherry]

There are a lot of different things you can do to get the phone ringing.  Your website is a good start, because I think a lot of people shop online.  You could always have the directions on how to remove face paint on each of your business cards and then have a good reason to hand each customer your business card.  Tell them the removal instructions are on the back.

On your website, I think it would be helpful to list your service area and phone number on the Home Page.  I think the more pages you list your contact info, the better.  Make it easy for customers to contact you.  I couldn't tell what area you service by looking at your website, so I think it'd be good to include that as well.

I searched online to see where other people in your area are advertising and I found a lot on Kijiji.com.  You can list for free there.  Here's one sample:  http://windsor.kijiji.ca/c-services-entertainment-Perry-Noia-the-Scaredy-Clown-would-love-to-come-to-YOUR-party-W0QQAdIdZ190259296

And another one from people in your area:  http://windsor.kijiji.ca/c-services-entertainment-Andreas-Amazing-Face-Painting-W0QQAdIdZ163018764

Do a google search for face painting in Windsor and see where others are coming up in the search listings, then you can go about adding your info to these sites. 

Another idea, is to contact event planners, they may be able to find work for you just starting out.  Also, sign up for festivals.  I usually get a few parties out of these.

Hope this helps. 

[Glitterfly Faces]

WOW....thanks Sherry for so much amazing research.
I am on Kijiji and I actually paid $15 for one week to be one of the top ads.  I had over 300 views and not one call.
I keep my ad on the free part all the time...still no calls.

I will def. do the google search for my area.  Let's see how that goes.

I am just getting so frustrated with no calls....not even for pricing. 

Hopefully the baseball event May 30th will bring in alot of interested parents.  If they are there with their kids. 

[reginanewsum]

I feel your flustration Glitterfly!  I just started doing gigs in Aug of 2009. The first event I did was a volunteer for 500 people at a sexual assualt picnic, painted for 10 hours, my daughter and the group did give me $100 for material cost. handed out hundreds of cards, and received no job offers! Then I started the hard research work!  I googled every family event in my area, read the newspaper everyday, and the phone book became my best friend. I wrote e-mails to every business and sent pictures. If there was a family event going on, I contacted the person in charge, had meetings and showed pictures of my work. Put flyers up in every store and window that I could. Volunteered at local churches to paint at bible school, by using there themes. Volunteered at the childrens garden on sat mornings, handed out more cards. It has been tuff. But you got to let the public know what you can do. In my town I am the only face painter to my knowledge, so this is all new to our area. When I say face paint, they say "you want to do what"  Put an add on craigs list, got some perverted calls! Put an add on gigsalad! no responces. The one thing not to do is pay to put it in the paper, it costs tons, but this is how you get around that! I have had three articales in our local paper about my face painting, and it didn't cost me anything, and I have received 17 gigs from them adds! If you are going to be at a local event, call the newspaper a head of time, and tell them you have a human resource story, tell them where you will be and they will come and take pictures and interview you!  Send the editor an e-mail with some of your work, ask him to do a story of you and your work, they will do that too! all for free, and they put it all in color! It has really helped my work a lot!

[AMAZINGface]

I, too, have been doing this only since early  this past fall.  My investment is almost as much as yours, and my husband, too, is absolutely wonderful!!! (Love you, Don!  Your'e the best husband!)

Anyhow, at least here in the Northeast, the way of business seems to be networking, and I'm having so much fun doing speed networking and other similar venues!  Also, local chambers of commerce are a great, great resource.  One local chamber has a group of businesses geared towards children and families.  At the end of the month I will have a booth at a mall show sponsored by this group.  Meetings are a blast and members overlap several groups so I'm being seen in alot of places.  In fact, the chair for community development at our local mall gave my name to a local radio station(!) who is sponsoring a community days sort of thing in July.  They want me for a full day at my full rate!  I could almost get 1/3 of my investment back in one fell swoop!!!!  Use your facebook account for a free gallery and get a facebook page for your biz, too.  I always go to these meetings painted or glimmered.

Also, mercifully we have a Northeast Ohio Face Paitners Association.  There is another in central Ohio that we will meet with for a jam in a few months.  It's great to have other face painters to offer whatever you can't do if you need to throw up at the last minute.  That's one of the reasons I wanted to have this forum map where everyone is!

I had a vendor booth at a local venue that was so inexpensive and fun!!!  It got my feet wet and I have decided that I need to push my 'brand'.  I sewed a seriously fun table cover in fluorescent green and had all my help in fuscia and khaki with a bright color scarf, nametags with my logo, and signage that I had fun making myself.  AND, recently I bought a cheap chunk of carpeting 5X8 and used acrylics to put my logo on it.  It looks so good!!!  So, I have a 'look', a logo and name and I stay professional and fun and I'm busy and having a blast!

I have face painted for other businesses for barter.  I will get a free portrait sitting with my family and several free adjustments with my chiropractor!  Almost as good as cash...

Well, this seems to have turned out to be more of a brag than advice, but I hope it helps!!!
 

[Sherry]

Nice!  So much useful information.

Do you think face painting is more unknown in your area? 

[AMAZINGface]

Oh, it's here alright.  Maybe not in great numbers.  There's just enough business for everyone, and I'm going about getting my share differently than anyone else.

Also, some of the vendor shows I've been doing have had free face painting by stringy, middle aged women in denim capris using (GASPPPP) acrylic paints in a muffin tin.  Painted (dare I say poisoned...) kids come up to me with embarassed parents pulling them away.  I wear a 'no acrylics' button and my signage says I only use the right products.  You can't beat the investments we've made in the right stuff, not to mention the results don't compare!!!!   Well, unless your'e doing one-stroke on a vase or something.....!!

Have a great day, all!!!

Daina