First Restaurant Gig! YAY!

With the confidence that all of your successes gave me, I contacted my friend who is the marketing director for at least 3 of the local Chick-Fil-A restaurants and asked her about helping out with face painting for some of their special events. They have a "Disney" night coming up that she said she would love to have me at. They can't pay me in $ (yet), but can give me coupons for meals for my family (and we eat out A LOT so, I'm ok with that) and I might be able to put out a tip jar. PLUS, they will advertise that I'm going to be there on all the flyers they send out for these events. Those flyers go to local camps, preschools, elementary schools (during the school year), etc., so I'm getting free advertising in exchange for a couple hours of work. I can also market myself and put a business card in the hand of every person I paint. I know it's not ideal in the sense that it's not a paid gig, but my weekends are not as busy as I need them to be since my goal is to have enough bookings to quit my day job in time to start school in September! Hopefully, all the exposure to the families at these events will get my phone ringing again!

I hope it helps to get you some additional gigs or birthday parties.

I've had a weekly restaurant gig for 5 years... then last year I took on a 2nd one that couldn't pay me until it was cleared with their corporate office. I painted for tips for months because I thought it would be a worthwhile investment, since Radio Disney was there right alongside of me... Well, it finally got cleared with their corporate office - but I was to be put on THEIR payroll... That job ended right then and there.

I just got in with my local chic fila. I wanted In there bad for all the reasons you listed. I offered them a promo night if I could put out a tip jar to try to recoup cost. I am hoping it turns out as additional work with them . Good luck with yours. Let us know how it turns out. I hope we both don't get burned.

Congrats! That's great news. All exposure is good exposure, and if nothing else it gives you live and wiggeling canvis to practice on and free meals for you and your family! (I love chick-fil-a, I think I may need to have some for lunch today.) Another thing I've learned helps exposure is listing your events on your business facebook page, if you have one. When people check you out, they don't know that you are working for coupons, they just see that you are affiliated with a major corporation. I try to list all public events, even ones that no one show's up to, for that reason. It makes me look busy and valued as a painter, no one knows when the event is a flop or I'm volunteering for free, they just see that I'm working a lot so I must be AMAZING and highly desired. I just got a contract with the mall in my city which is going to pay great, all of the free stuff pays off.

So, Ronnie. They wanted to basically pay you $8.00 an hour? That's just stinky after all that time. Grrr.

I am so jealous!! Way to go. I tried to cut the same deal with Chick fil a and they blew me off. Ah well. Their loss!

I've done my local CFA a couple times and they paid my full rate.
But they don't have a regular kids' night, so it's not a regular gig.