Requirements for Florida

Hi guys!
I found this website, and am so grateful...
I'm just starting out...I've done face painting for friends and family as hobby..
And I would like to turn it into a business...
Now I'm just starting out....in Florida...and I was wondering? Should I get the business license before I get paid gigs? or after I've gotten a few??
Also, any tips on insurance? to get it right away or not??

If anyone here is from Florida if you could tell how to get the license I would be eternally grateful...I've found several sites but nothing concrete..and the website is sooo confusing I can find a link or anything for facepainting..specifically..

not sure about Florida.... So this is all coming from a Canadian perspective.

I would get insurance first. Most of all in sue happy America, no offence. I think it's a cultural thing, Canadians just don't seem to sue each other as much also you can't sue for 'pain and suffering' in Canada, only for monetary loss. BUT regardless I would get insurance before anything else, don't take the risk, and shop around. Ask what other entertainers in your area are using, some times groups with memberships offer low insurance through their group. Also look into makeup artist insurance.

As for a business licence, honestly unless you are going big from the start you don't really need one. Having one just makes you seem more professional and accountable to the public etc. But you don't have a store front or anything, so unless you merely want to claim your business name there is no point IMO.
As long as you file taxes correctly for your business your pretty much legal (again going from Canada standards that i know of here, check your local laws).

But yeah I'd get insurance first, work up your client base, do a few gigs and establish yourself a bit, then if you want to file your business name and such then it's up to you.

Hi jmac84,
I live in Orlando Florida and what I had to do was register my business name with sunbiz.org THEN I went to city hall here in Orlando and got my business tax reciept. I think it was $130. Then I was required to register with orange county. That was $30. They told me that I was good for the whole state of Florida then. You habe to reregister every year. After all that, then I got insurance. If you read the fine print of insurance companies, the insurance is null and void if you are not fully licensed in your state. So do all that other stuff first. It should take a week tops to get it all done if you go to the city hall in your city. Do sunbiz online. Hope this helps! Happy painting

Thank you for the above posts for the State of Florida! I am in the same position, ready to jump in and want to get some of the business side handled. So , I think the Insurance will be first dollars spent, I would also like to run a "self background check" , so I can have it in my intro letter I am developing. In the line of work I used to be in, I have had them done in Florida before, but an employer did them, so I have no piece of paper with results. Anybody have input on this subject ??? Thanks

So, no painting faces without a business registration and license plus insurance? How much does insurance cost?

type "insurance" in the search box above on the forum and you will find a bunch of threads on the topic.

rates run from $100-$150 to $300+ per year, depending on company and type of coverage.

"Colorful Day" is correct. I was helped by the local city hall. I got my "moving vendors license" from them & they directed me to Sunbiz, telling me I needed to register my business w/my "fictitious name"…
Affordable Face Magic. The order in which people do this will vary. I did it this way:

1- Researched FP'ing on the net, painted everything that
   moved w/Palmers, contacted my niece, Butterfly Kisses
   who told me about Silly Farm & taught me the basics. I then painted
everything & everybody w/Fab, Wolfe, Paradise & Mehron.
2- I decided my business name while opening a bank account    
3- Called the local Science Museum, told them I was
   brand new & got the job, not as a paid vendor-PPF!
   Still my best client!!!
4- Son-in-law designed my website & business cards.
   Lisa Joy Young suggested (YouTube) always having
   your cards on your table, so they were a priority.        
5- Found Face Paint Forum & Metina…the BEST resource & she has a
GREAT selection of everything.
6- After one year, a corporate client required insurance. Mine is K & K.
It's all on-line & is $220, but they do not cover body painting.
Look up insurance threads here on the FPF for better info.
7- The City of West Palm Beach hired me for a big event & I needed
the business license, fictitious name, county etc. FYI: I had some
major surgery last year & failed to renew on time as I recovered.
I was fined! My friend is the code enforcer. He called
laughing at me, because he knew where my attention was at the time.

OK, hope my journey helps. Today, I'm back for the 3rd year at a local school's Haunted House. I hope your journey into the world of FP'ing brings you as many smiles & as much pleasure as it does me!

Thanks for all that info. I guess I'm concerned about money. I'm not sure how to make the money to afford better paints (I'm using snaz now) plus a business license. I know you need a business license for official stuff but how did you afford all of that. Paints and brushes and making things official and business cards and everything else needed for your set up… that's a lot of money to put in hoping to make some money.

LizzyAllen & all, you don't have to do it all at once.
IMHO…you need business cards for your 1st job or ASAP. You can get inexpensive cards online from Vista, or get in touch w/John Place (Facebook or Silly Farm) & he can help you design them. This is the first choice, in my book, for advertising!
   Paints??? Metina has it here. Many people start out w/Snazaroo, then expand to Wolfe, Fab, Tag, DFX, Paradise, Mehron & the newest…Global. I'm told it's vibrant, doesn't melt in the heat & doesn't stain. You need solid "cakes" & one strokes. Use the search box here for many threads w/more info.
  Website…I confess, I'm spoiled. My son-in-law & I designed mine using "Go Daddy". We're currently redesigning/updating it. I never published my rates before, but that got me inquiries from people wanting $25/HR for the next weekend!!! As you can see, this is a business & it costs $$$ to run it! I'm going to publish my rates.
  Insurance came after a year of face painting & paid for itself w/my 1st corporate gig that required it. Lilly Walters Schermerhorn (Facebook) has a great comparison of most insurance coverages & costs. She may have it here on the forum, too.
 Go to Youtube & find Lisa Joy Young. Search her older videos re: starting, pricing, setup etc. I found it invaluable. Her how to vids are great, too. I'm hoping you've found my fav…Denise Cold. She's an administrator here on the Forum. She's a great face painter w/her own Youtube channel & Blog, great teacher, has a HUGE amount of common sense & the best, most recognizable laughter in the business. (Sorry Denise…I HAD to!

you partly have to think of it as an investment in learning and training to do your craft, and starting a business.

for comparison, if you were a fine arts major in college, you would have thousands of dollars (nowadays more like tens of thousands) invested in learning, ie your tuition.

on a smaller scale, if you just took individual painting, ceramics, photography, etc classes, you would be spending up to several hundred dollars or more for the fees plus supplies.

if you can teach yourself face painting using your artistic talents and researching information and videos, plus a modest investment in face paints and brushes, as well as getting some real life practice volunteering or getting paid, it's actually a bargain. and then there are face painting classes, too..

even adding in some business supplies and insurance, you are still talking a pretty small investment for starting a business.

Thank you everyone for all your sharing and hands-on experience!
To Lizzy Allen: I have funded all of my Facepainting endeavors with my very small Ebay business!! I'm proud of myself, no household money spent on paints, etc. I purchase online through my Paypal. I know that wouldn't be for everyone, but it's working for me.
I am still trying to get my experience down on real human faces, other than my older face
So I still in the baby steps stage....