Funding your business - more vent then anything!

I've been making my purchasing using the excess money from my day job. My husband and I have become fans of Dave Ramsey and are on our way to becoming debt free! I'm usually fairly creative with coming up with ways to raise money but I'm finding myself at a dead end, or it could be my lack of patience and desire to get the business rolling. If you don't mind answering how were you able to fund your completed kit? Did it take a while?

Start with a basic kit....use it to practice like crazy and build up your portfolio. Get a few good paying jobs under your belt, then add any "extras" you feel you need as you go along.
I started with one of the Snazaroo Cafeteria kits, some extra brushes from Wal-Mart, and a tall aluminum director's chair. I worked on my business for the first couple years using just that kit with a few refills here and there and some brush upgrades.
My kit has changed completely since then, but my original director's chair is still going strong.

Michaels sells the Snazaroo starter kits and with their 40% off coupon in most papers, it is really cheep. A great starter paint set. I like their plastic handle brushes as well.

I started out with primary colours, knowing that I could mix anything from there. Build one colour at a time if that's what you can do. I couldn't fork out a ton of cash at the start, so I did it really basic and very simple. Then one day you will turn around and be amazed at how your kit has grown and wonder how you ever did it before without.

I started with the Kryolan 24 colour box - that's all I had for awhile. Then I bought the Snaz business kit... and that was my complete kit for about 4 years.

I painted my first gig wih a strip of paints and crayola brushes my agent gave me , moved into a snazz walking pallette and know finally into my pro pallette. It takes time or a good tax return.

I started out clowning with my costume and balloon twisting... the costume I made myself for less than $100 and the first few packs of balloons for about $20... that got me through a few gigs and it wasn't until 3 or 4 months later that I bought my snaz walk around palette. That was all I had for face painting for probably 7 or 8 months of REALLY BUSY... then I started wanting slightly bigger cakes and knew what I was comfortable with so I was able to design my own "perfect kit" (for now).

I think I must have been the slowest of the slow, maybe I still am. It took me years and years before I really had anything that I could go out with. I think that even though I had the urge, the love, the craving, as early as 1984, I really couldn't afford to get into the field until about 1998/1999. I'm really a slow bloomer. I still don't have a good solid complete set up, but I think I have 100 brushes if that means anything. Maybe when I retire!

Jenny

I got a couple of the small paradise pallets from madhattermagicshop.com for about $20 each, and I love them as a starter set, but as far as my complete kit goes, I am actually working towards it right now. I made a list of everything I wanted and their prices, and I am slowly checking them off.
As for getting funds, try selling some stuff on craigslist or having a yard sale. I just sold a sewing machine the other day for $20 more than I paid for it. It's amazing what unwanted junk can go for these days.

I had one of those round Snaz wheel palettes... and that's all I had for a really long time.

I would paint with that, a little jar of gold glitter gel, a skinny brush, a bigger brush, and 4 sponges(2 cut in half.)

I used an old jar for water, and the clients provided the table and chairs. I made my table cloth out of a shower curtain(which I got for free because it was the sample one from the local Lowe's.)

My mirror was from the dollar tree.

That was it. That was my whole kit. I could fit it in one hand or in a small bag.

Even my kit now all fits in a shoulder bag. Nothing complicated.

You can do a lot with very little. Talent, and technique will always makeup for a lack in tackle

I think I have a good start, just seems like everytime I think I'm ready to go, oops I need a chair, oops I need this...........I totally lack patience I'm so a product of the microwave generation I want it all now!

Like Ashley said, you don't need a lot to start. I have made two large (by my standards) purchases. I found a good deal on DFX kit (all the essentials - preforum) and it's still what I work from. I did a festival and used the money to make a decent sized snaz purchase. I ROYGBIV in both, white and black in DFX, some brushes and sponges. Along the way I get a cake of something special here and there. I borrowed some folding chairs from my aunt. As I work, I use the proceeds to invest some more... that's how you build your empire.

I still have a wish list, but it's waiting on my next gig or tax return.

It is good to start slowly so you can learn what you like and what you don't like and get feedback from others. If you had $500 to get everything, you'd probably end of not liking 75% of what you bought.

Metina you should set up lay away. lol

But serioulsy I budget for marketing, supplies, etc. now and work my tax deductions. And creativity ...financial, artistic, problem solving is really important. Who cares that my mirror cost me a dollar if I can rock that butterfly. I can do a butterfly with 1 color and black that could book my next job.

Magic wrote:Metina you should set up lay away. lol

But serioulsy I budget for marketing, supplies, etc. now and work my tax deductions. And creativity ...financial, artistic, problem solving is really important. Who cares that my mirror cost me a dollar if I can rock that butterfly. I can do a butterfly with 1 color and black that could book my next job.

i second the lay away lol!!! I'm laughing so hard right now lol!

i only started with a wolf palette you can get the appetizers to start they are really affordable!

Am I the only one that went overboard with the paints when starting? I had this odd notion that I had to get a small amount of each color in each brand to really determine which one I like best. Unfortunately, that leaves me with a fair amount that I don't really use.

Trade it or do what I sometimes do and ONLY take the stuff I never use along with white and black. I think this pushes us to use stuff we may never use and discover new uses for it. Or use it for practice. I use peach complexion in place of white a lot of times when I am training someone to do spiderman's eyes. I have no other use for it, but it works well for this.

I recently rediscovered snaz white. I used it when I started, but dumped it when I "thought" I had gotten better than it. Well I started using my DFX white for the bunnies in the newsletter and had to stop it was so bad. (I know it is bad for bases, but thought I could get away with it). Then I grabbed a small three pack and used the Snaz white in it and was amazed at how well it covered and it was so creamy and light. I guess I got it to work so well becuase I had gotten better too. HUH! It is now a permanent fixture in my working kit. Who'da thunk it?

I'm a sucker for beautiful new colours, so every time I made some money, I'll spend it on new stuff I want...there are still some things on my list, such as liquid bling...I only have silver and gold now...

and I love artycakes...it's cheaper just to buy them, then to buy all colours needed and make them myself...but sometimes I do buy little cases and make some myself...

I started with 12 colours of a Bruynzeel kit and started buying Grimas from that time on, case by caes......nowadays i rarely use grimas anymore, but partyXplsion, eulenspiegel, superstar and dFX....

Amazing what gets into the kit you didn't really plan on. Snaz white is a great base and wonderful for highlights that kinda blend and become part the design.

I got snaz sparkle white for its sheerness when I do rainbow tigers, butterflys, etc in the sheer sparkly colors because the regular white was quite opaque and usually the first thing you see in the design, not the design as a whole, when I use the sparkle white.

DFX white is great for really bright teardrops & swirls. So I have three whites now in my kit - wont paint without em! I have heard there also is a metalix white that can add the glow to any color.
Susan

CABBYJ wrote: If you don't mind answering how were you able to fund your completed kit? Did it take a while?

I feel your pain. It seems like my kit is never complete.... It took me 4 months of buying paints, glitters, glues, better quality brushes piece-mail whenever I could afford it until I was actually satisfied that I had everything I NEEDED to do the best job I could.

But, there's always something I see whether it's a great brush or special color paint that makes me sigh and say, "Okay, start saving and get it in a couple of weeks."

I fear my kit will never be complete. Here's the kit I use the most, the Snaz set-up. This pic doesn't show it, but I have a whole tray of split cakes I made that I use with this set up too.


Good luck and be patient!
Cheryl

Winger1200 wrote:Amazing what gets into the kit you didn't really plan on. Snaz white is a great base and wonderful for highlights that kinda blend and become part the design.

I got snaz sparkle white for its sheerness when I do rainbow tigers, butterflys, etc in the sheer sparkly colors because the regular white was quite opaque and usually the first thing you see in the design, not the design as a whole, when I use the sparkle white.

DFX white is great for really bright teardrops & swirls. So I have three whites now in my kit - wont paint without em! I have heard there also is a metalix white that can add the glow to any color.
Susan

I always mix dFX white with eulenspiegel metallic silver/white to soften the dFX white up when I make a tigernozzle..

michellesfantasyfaces wrote:I'm a sucker for beautiful new colours, so every time I made some money, I'll spend it on new stuff I want...there are still some things on my list, such as liquid bling...I only have silver and gold now...

and I love artycakes...it's cheaper just to buy them, then to buy all colours needed and make them myself...but sometimes I do buy little cases and make some myself...

I started with 12 colours of a Bruynzeel kit and started buying Grimas from that time on, case by caes......nowadays i rarely use grimas anymore, but partyXplsion, eulenspiegel, superstar and dFX....

Hey Michelle, what kind of cases do you buy for that? I have been looking around for that a little bit.

EerinArts wrote:

michellesfantasyfaces wrote:I'm a sucker for beautiful new colours, so every time I made some money, I'll spend it on new stuff I want...there are still some things on my list, such as liquid bling...I only have silver and gold now...

and I love artycakes...it's cheaper just to buy them, then to buy all colours needed and make them myself...but sometimes I do buy little cases and make some myself...

I started with 12 colours of a Bruynzeel kit and started buying Grimas from that time on, case by caes......nowadays i rarely use grimas anymore, but partyXplsion, eulenspiegel, superstar and dFX....

Hey Michelle, what kind of cases do you buy for that? I have been looking around for that a little bit.

for the artrycakes i make myself?

I use my old empty bruynzeel cases, which fit 6 little cases, which are the exact same size cases as the little ones from eulenspiegel...so they fit in perfectly...

I bought a little at a time (and a lot some other times) over the course of 7 months. Now I am on a budget with that (well trying anyway!)..but I let myself splurge in the beginning and probably will every so often. I have spent a small fortune on paint though!