How much to charge per hour.

I am very new to this face painting and since i started in january I have had about 5 gigs already, and I have yet to make a set price. My first gig I charged 40.00 for 2 hours. (aahhh) Only because I only hade the basic kit and hadnt practice to much and It was only down the street from my house. The 2nd party Ihad I charged 40.00 an hour because It was like 25 miles from my house same with the 3rd and 4th party. Last weekend I did a party and charged 50.00 an hour and It was like an hour and 15 min away from my home and I had my kit set up and everything. am I charging too much or too little? I hope I make sense and you all can understand what im saying. lol..

I was thinking of keeping my rates at 50.00 an hour within 10 miles and a small fee after all. what do you all think?
What do you all charge and do you charge for your travel?

I charge 50 an hour with a 2 hour min..and thats mostly all in a 60 mile radius of my home...

It depends on your skill level and your area.

It's perfectly fine to charge a lower amount when you're first starting off, as long as you raise it along as you improve and get faster and better.

When I first started I charged $4 a face, with no minimum. It was such a pain in the butt! After I discovered the forum, I decided to change to an hourly rate of $60. It's been great. I have a steady amount of gigs coming my way. Once and a while someone will scoff at my price, but there's at least 5 more people lined up and happy to pay my hourly fee.

$60/hour is quite low compared to others in the forum (and around the world), but in my small town, I think if I went much higher I'd run out of business. So that's why it's important to judge your potential market, and look at other face painters to see how much they charge.

I'd definitely recommend finding a price you're comfortable with, instead of just choosing a random number. It'll make you sound more confident when you tell your rate to potential clients, and there won't be the chance of hurt feelings when one of them finds out you charged them more than another.

I have an idea, why don't you charge what others in your area charge , instead of undercutting established artists. We should be helping each other out , and not trying to devalue what we do. Just my 2 cents

Shelley... I don't think she's trying to undercut anyone. It doesn't make sense to me for someone just starting off (who is probably slower & not as skilled yet) to charge the same amount as an established, highly skilled painter.

I know I sure as heck wouldn't charge as much as Mark Reid if he lived in my city... LOL.

I think, as an introductory rate $50/hr is fine. I don't think that it is necessary to "match" the people in your area or that choosing to charge a little bit less is deliberately "undercutting." I can't imagine having a 2 hr minimum... my parties only hit 2 hrs when I'm doing a show, face painting and balloons AND there's more than 13 kids. We all work differently, we all do different amounts in different times and we all have different needs monetarily for our time. So, while the cost of our materials, etc. means that it isn't really worth anyone's time to go for less than $50/hr, it isn't spiteful either.

Perry Noia wrote:I think, as an introductory rate $50/hr is fine. I don't think that it is necessary to "match" the people in your area or that choosing to charge a little bit less is deliberately "undercutting." I can't imagine having a 2 hr minimum... my parties only hit 2 hrs when I'm doing a show, face painting and balloons AND there's more than 13 kids. We all work differently, we all do different amounts in different times and we all have different needs monetarily for our time. So, while the cost of our materials, etc. means that it isn't really worth anyone's time to go for less than $50/hr, it isn't spiteful either.

I've only done a few 2-hour parties. Most people in town only have around 10-15 kids at their parties, so it wouldn't make sense for me to make them to book me for 2 hours.

Yes But so far the parties I have done have been huge parties and I have painted the full 2 hours and stood 1/2 an hour extra with no pay. I guess ima little embarressed to ask for the extra. Thank you all so much. I was also wondering about contracts should i print some up?

It also depends where you live, city, state, country?

Yes you need contracts with a deposit

Ouch, Shelley. I don't think the OP was trying to devalue established artists. She stated that she's new at this and seems to be charging relative to her skill level and ability.
I've been charging less than some of the locals since my skill level was lower, but I'm about to raise my prices to reflect the new level of skill I have reached.
(current is $60 for the first hour, $40 for each additional hour. Moving up to $60 per hour, for simplicity and to reflect my skill.)

My rate is $60 an hour max 12 faces and then $40 an hour for each additional hour. I also charge an additional $10 an hour for balloons with a max of 15 kids an hour for them. And balloons by themselves is $40 an hour, only becuase the supplies are cheaper and the wow factor is a little less. But heck, it costs at least $140 for any other kind of entertainment around my area, and there really are not very many places in general that you could host a little ones party at, so I think it is a good deal! Most people dont know other face painters work to compare good vs great and if you can get through 10 kids an hour, you will be fine. If you have trouble painting that fast, just bring a flier or a board with like 12-20 faces on it that you know you can do in that amount of time. Or work at them so you can do them. At least that is my two cents:)

How much you charge per hour should not be based on what others are charging but rather on what you want to earn....profit and what your expenses are. So you should do what the others in your area have already done, figure out what it costs you and then add profit. This is a business...you will have costs and expenses, like training, practice, product, equipment, insurance, gas, vehicle maintenance, clothes, advertising, marketing and of course don't forget your own insurance (health) and of course there are taxes to pay. Sorry there is no easy answer...just add it all up and divide it out to see what YOU need to charge.

Imagine then, that you are charging $50 an hour, you attend 1 convention (total cost including room and travel about $1000) buy one set of paints for about $200, get some basic brushes $50, insurance for about $150, don't even count anything else...Just the above for now. That's a total of $1400. Which will mean that you have to work 70 hours just to pay for that.....and you haven't even considered that you want to get a cart for your stuff or that you will need to pay a car payment to have a car if you plan on driving to your gigs. Gee, That's a 1.5 hour gig every week without even being able to pay for all the costs involved. How are you going to pay your mortgage, car payment, or eat? That's why when you figure it all out, the cost is up there.

Shannon has a worksheet on her site, it's very eyeopening and extremely helpful.

Most of the parties that I have done have been between 15 to 20 kids,, I have not done any small parties..but would be willing to go an hour for a smaller party of 12 or less...but where I live i have to drive for the most part 10 to 20 miles..the parties here in town have been around 5 to 10 miles..and the festivals i do are at least 45 miles..to 60 .

I charge $75 for first hour (1hour minimum) and $35 for each additional hour. I can only paint 6-10kids per hour

I base my price on the amount of kid, not the hours. My price comes out to $5 a face for most parties. My minimum price bracket starts at 20 kids for 2 hours. If a party has 10 kids they get charged for the full 20. If there are 22 kids, then the price moves up to the next bracket. If they need me for another hour, mo money

In the beginning, started out $50 a party, but I got tired of that real fast! I have to walk away with at least $100 from a small party for it to be worth it to me

Best is to look at your area to get an idea of pricing. Try to find all the other painters within an hour or so of you and get an average hourly rate. That way, you're in the mix. But, definitely don't stay longer without getting paid! Be honest with your clients, but if you're charging the going rate, you WILL gain confidence. If you can produce the same quality work, there is absolutely no reason why you can't charge the going rate. Your clients will probably even be impressed that you are doing so well in such a short amount of time!

There are a lot of expenses in the business. Make sure you are covering them and making a profit.