Charging at birthday parties...

Hey,

I have a simple question.. do you charge per hour or by the amount of kids at birthday parties?
what are your reasons for choosing?
i currently charge per hour but im thinking i should go the other way..

charging per hour you are on a strict time limit and most of the time i go over. i just get caught up in the moment.

i thought instead if i priced it at 10, 15, 20, 25 kids and came up with a set price this might work.

whats are your thoughts?

My price is full faces for 10-12 kids. That is what I can easily accomplish in an hour. At a festival, I have done 20 an hour...but that is fast and furious and impersonal. I will not do that at a birthday. So, in theory, I am pricing by the hour...but the parents have a number in mind and they know exactly what their charge will be before I even arrive. Did that all make any sense? LOL

Expanding a bit on my thought here... some painters in my area charge $20/hr, some charge $80...I charge more Parents can't really shop based on price because what I do in an hour, is very different than what the $20 painter does. so I eliminate that issue right away...no need to worry about how much or what you will be getting. The other thought is that if I charge by the hour, and for some reason it takes me 1.5 hours to do 10 kids...and the next party takes me 40 minutes for 10 kids...should the first party really pay extra? (assuming they were all on time of course)

hhmmm this party this weekend is for 12 kids and i am going for the hour, and im charging $80. the lady is actually my hair dresser and we talk ALOT! sooo im not really worried about timing or pricing really but its good practice, im actually doing a trial run with her and offering my face painting/ photography package just to see how it all goes to weather im going to make it something i will offer in the future. i have done up and feedback sheet for her to fill out and im thinking what better way to get the answers but from the ones who are hiring. hmmmm lots to organise.

I do it on straight time. 2-hours at the price of 1.5 hours for a max of 15 kids, $10 for each additional kid over 15.

Around here 15 is a large party so I've only ever had more than 15 on two occasions... usually because the mom's want to be painted too.

I stay for the 2 hours. If there are only a few kids they get everything painted and tattoos...

I charge by the hour and have started telling folks that I can do 10-12 children in that time. I used to just say by the hour and being lax on the number, but have really run into doing the fast and furious stuff like Gamezgirl said, which is fine but I don't like it. A party can get quickly out of control if a number hasn't been made clear and I have learned the hard way.

hey gorjess..

I too charge by the hour and I find I now have it down pat..I can do what I say I can do. I always tell them to make sure they have booked enough time for everyone to get done in a comfortable amount of time. I have'nt gone over time yet..YAY. On one occasion at a very large 1st birthday I had to be hired for an extra half hour and then as I was packing up, parents started paying me per face. I would'nt mind painting an extra one or two faces if thats all there was left to do though.

I guess its trial and error to find what works for you.

BTW.. Jody i love your Avatar,,very cute!

I found it hard to say it one way or another, so I say it both ways. Here is how I have it set out on my website, I think it's fairly clear and gives options. I haven't done very many parties, but I take both menu books with me to each party because sometimes the number of guests turns out different than the host expected, and I put away the full face one if there are more than expected and vice versa.

Birthday Party Pricing (one hour minimum required):
Small party: $75.00, approximately 1 hour
Up to 10 guests - Large designs (Full or 3/4 Face)
Up to 15 guests - Small designs (Single Eye, 1/4 Face or Cheek)

Medium party: $140.00, approximately 2 hours
Up to 20 guests - Large designs (Full or 3/4 Face)
Up to 30 guests - Small designs (Single Eye, 1/4 Face or Cheek)

Large party: $200.00, approximately 3 hours or 2 painters for approximately 1.5 hours
Up to 30 guests - Large designs (Full or 3/4 Face)
Up to 45 guests - Small designs (Single Eye, 1/4 Face or Cheek)

I keep track by painting a tick on my wrist for each face I paint.

Good idea on painting a tick on your wrist! I had a party this weekend, there were WAY more children than she said would be there, and once I get started, it is hard to say how many are there all running around, because I am painting!

I have done the hourly rate thing, 10 to 12 an hour, but I like Shannon's take on it...may be changing soon, and keeping a tick on the wrist!

I charge per hour, but let them know if I can paint about 15 children & to plan accordingly. I rarely go over time. I have in my contract that all entertainers will end promptly on time so we can make it to other parties/events. We will stay longer if we have no other previous engagements & then I have a 1/2 hour payment structure written into the contract. I ask the parents to please figure out extended time before the party begins since it wasn't a lot of time(and looks so unprofessional) to discuss $ in the middle of the party. I also have it in my contract that if there are multiple entertainers then they all need to be extended.

I like the idea of a tick on the wrist as well. I tried poker chips but we kept forgetting them and tried to write down amounts, to much time.
I'll give it a try, thanks.

Thank you Freedspirit, in my last Avatar I looked mean so thought I'd try to lighten up the look a little.

Oh and I like the tick idea, too. I always wonder how many people I have REALLY painted and never know.

Psalmbook--thanks for the idea on extending the other entertainers as well---how smart (since often we're together)--puts more responsibility on the host for the stragglers coming in as to whether they REALLY want you to all stay, or if they just keep adding children "freely"! (Like,"it's just one more, one more, one more...& it's not 3 minutes overtime you gave them anymore...)

I actually just recently started charging per hour instead of per face, and it's been working out well so far. I also make sure to specify how many kids I can paint in an hour.

I used to charge $4 per face, and sometimes would end up driving all the way to someone's house, waiting around for them to set up a space for me, and only painting 5 kids. All that work for $20? No thanks!

I painted at a birthday party last weekend with my new $60/hour price, and even though less kids showed up than she thought (6 instead of 10), she still happily paid me the $60.

What's also nice about charging $60 is that it works out to $1 a minute. So if I have to stay 10 minutes later, it's easy to do the math and give them a new total.

I charge for up to 12 kids, then 13 to 20 kids... over 20 and we have to talk hourly because the number of faces I can do becomes more of an estimate than a guarantee. Usually at a party, I will stay until they are all painted up to the number of kids they told me.

The ticks on the wrist! So simple but amazing how many of us never thought about that! LOL!!! THanks for the idea!!!

this post came at just the right time. I was wondering how to work out my rates for parties so thank everybody for all the good advice.

ticking the wrist!!! GENIUS!!! sorry, I know this is old, but this is so smart, I have to comment!

I'm a non driver in NYC. I now charge $50 non refundable to hold the date, this covers transportation and lunch.
$150 for first 2 hours at the moment of arrival with 15 mins set up and 30 minutes clean up, $80 every hour after that.10 faces per hour=6 minutes a face for face masks.full face designs take 10-15 minutes so I start 4 faces at a time and put down the undercoat while that dries I move to details- voila- 4 faces 20 minutes. extra services I charge extra and charge for full service eg. balloon sculpting $180 for 20 children/1 hour this is a time consuming and physical service $80 per hour after that
and can take hours.Reminding the client that this cuts into the face paint time so that each service is strictly timed.