WOHOO! Finally gettin' in good with the Chamber of Commerce!

Hey everyone! Ater years of bugging, calling, and card sending, My Mom and I have finally gotten in good with the county chamber of commerce! We are now booked for the 'First Fridays' in the Art district to come and set up every first friday of the month during summer as well as to set up for the 'Taste of Michigan City' and the 'Taste of La Porte' events. Now, they asked us for our rates....

We thought that we were just gonna show up and charge per face like usual... Buuuuut.. if they're willing to pay an hourly fee and then we paint for free, I hear that's a much better gig.

So, my question is, what should we tell them? The profit has to be split between the two of us, and we're not 100% clear on the hours yet either.

Do you have an hourly rate or do you only do PPF?

I have an hourly rate, a half-day rate and a full-day rate.

The actual $amount will vary by area... what do other painters charge in your region?

You have to weigh that one for sure. Quote too high and you could lose the gig. too low and you are missing a huge opportunity to make 90 bucks an hour with ppf.
I charge $20 more per hour for "corporate" or unlimited painting than I do for parties. Maybe you can give them the option. "either $85 per hour (or whatever you want to do) to paint the patrons for free, or I can charge the patrons at the event, and there is no cost to you."

Well, we have an hourly rate for parties... $80/hour for just face painting as a non-clown. But mostly we do PPF at events. This is the first time we've had an opportunity for an hourly rate for a large event.

Since there are 2 of us, would quoting $150 an hour be too high? It sounds really high to me... but then, I'm not used to this kind of thing.

Shannon, what are your all day and half day rates? What do those cover? This idea fascinates me...

Half-day = up to four hours for a flat rate which is essentially charging for 3.5 hours at full hourly rate. INLCUDING breaks and set-up time.

Full-day = up to seven hours for a flat rate which is equivalent to 6 hours at full hourly rate. INCLUDING breaks and set-up time. Any time over the seven hours is charged at full hourly rate (i.e. overtime!)

For non-profits/charities I offer them four hours for the price of 3.25 hours... but it has to be non-profit paying me, NOT some company wanting me to donate to their fundraising event.

Depending on the events/locations, etc. I do sometimes offer some variations... I do some full-day gigs for a flat $500 plus travel.

I discount 10% for 4 hours or more or if it's 3 hours or more & multiple entertainers. For events like this, make sure you can use a tip jar. You will most likely recoup your discount if you get tips.

With 2 painters, I would say $150 per hour is more than reasonable. You're actually making less than your hourly, and you will be working twice as hard. I decided my corporate clown rate was going to be higher than my usual party rate. It felt a little high, but I stuck with it and got booked by Tesoro for a 6 hour festival. Let me tell you... I twisted more balloons in 6 hours than I thought was humanly possible! I did NOT stop! I EARNED every penny of that higher rate!!

Tilly great news I've always said it's good to get associated with your local business association or CC. Some CC's will have a discounted membership fee for businesses that don't have a store front. They do help quit a bit with marketing in your area.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I sent them a quote yesterday for our hourly rate times the number of hours they decide to have us there with a 10% discount for over 4 hours. We'll see what they say! This thread has really got me thinking about the notion of Half and Full-Day rates that have previously never occured to me.

I'm thinking of a half-day rate of $360 (for a 5 hour gig for one painter) and a full day rate of $720 (for a 10 hour gig for one painter). Does that sound reasonable? Sorry if y'all think I'm asking too many questions regarding pricing, just looking for some pointers.