Bumping into your competition

Do you ever find yourself bumping into your competition at fairs and the like?
How do you handle it when you and your competition are booked at the same event?

I am running into this more and more (i'm in a rural area) and sometimes the situation
can be a little sticky.

First and foremost, stop thinking of them as "competition" and think of them as peers. They are potential coworkers and partners. There are only one or two performers in my area that I don't get along with and I still try to stay cordial with them.

Just about anywhere, there will be enough business for the real professionals and as long as you stick to it, the less-than-professionals will likely give up when they find it isn't a gold mine right away. This job isn't much fun if you see everyone else as the Pepsi to your Coke... most of your customers won't even have heard of the others. I am always surprised when I hear that my customers haven't heard of the other clowns in the area (who have been in business for decades longer than I have).

It would indeed be great to have peers rather than competition.
the reason for the post is the manner in which they attempt to
gain business. and when you are in a rural area, there can be
plenty of overlap to compete for.

There's one henna artist in this area that...well...she just tries to make life hard for me or any others.
We've even had customers come into our booth and complain about her, no joke. I just nod sympathetically, and change the topic.
When we're at the same events we avoid each other. It's just more pleasant that way.

Honestly, we stay so busy we don't tend to notice other people at the same event. We don't have time to breathe let alone say anything. Occasionally we know someone else is there because people show up at our booth with something already on them but then they will often pay to get something else that we offer as well.

I'm really good friends with my competition so we're all hugs and giggles..lol!

I haven't run into any of my competition directly. If I did I'd be very welcoming. I'm not like that. Although I've been at events with clowns & balloon artists also an airbrush artist. I just greet them if I have time and even exchange business cards. I like to know who's out there!

I have to admit that it's sometimes hard to see other painters as your peers and not your competition, particularly if they are super agressive with their pursuits, known for disparaging other painters or subtly in-your-face about their success. We have a pretty decent network of painter here in Cleveland and our guild was founded on the premise of blurring the lines that competition can create. For the most part it's worked well, but we do still have to handle the difficult situations. If a painter is cut-throat, uber-agressive with their self-promotion (i.e., putting me on their "what I'm up to now" emails) or otherwise unpleasant or insensitive I try to chock it up to emotional immaturity, but I still try to be cordial. Will I refer business to them? Possibly, but most likely as a last resort.

I'm finding more & more new people now, so it's nice for me. I'm able to intro myself invite them to jam & hopefully create more peers & less competition. The entertainers that have been around a little longer than me are a little hopeless & I generally avoid them now

it is hard, but I try to think of it more as a frame of mind, even if it takes a lot of effort. The children don't see you as competition...

I think you should always say hello if you can. Sometimes you can't get away but at least try to be cordial. I mean if I am booked I refer to other face painters that I know of because I am obviously not going to be able to do everything. I think that for the most part people are amicable. You WILL run into some that are not interested in forming a relationship with you. I have encountered that. But, Oh well....life goes on and mine is certainly not going to end because of someone else being rude. I admit it can get a little ruthless out there at times. More people are starting to paint as the economy goes under. People see you being busy and think. " I can do that!" But, everyone can't stick to it. It takes a lot of time to build up great clientele. I try to find my own little niche in my area and do what I need to do.