Busy season - Quiet season.

Hey everyone,
I've noticed in some posts people referring to their 'quiet seasons' which I'm assuming is winter..... and I'm getting a little worried. We are coming out of summer here in OZ (Autumn started 2 weeks ago) and I'm worried about my business dropping off.
I have been booking 1 - 3 gigs every week since I started advertising in Feb, which has been great, but has been just enough to keep my head above water. If it dies down I'm going to have to find some temp work doing something else
my other option is to start avidly advertising to indoor kids cafes and perhaps directly aim my marketing at school fetes and local festivals instead of birthday parties??
I have one gig booked for next week and then I have the option of working ppf at a BIG show at my own expense... then Nothing.... not good.
The only thing that is on my side is that Australia has very short and usually pretty light winters in comparison to a lot of you guys in Canada and the USA...... no snow, temps of about 12-18 C - my daughters birthday is in late May which is our first month of winter and we always have it in the park, last year I think it was about 20-22 degrees Celsius (sorry don't know what that is in Fahrenheit)
So part of me thinks I'm worrying about nothing - wouldn't be the first time!
And part of me thinks I should be moving my naughty word on this so I don't get a period of NO bookings.
So (If you are still reading - jeeze I dribble on!) how do you manage your quiet periods?
What is the longest you have gone without a booking?
What sort of marketing changes do you make according to seasons?

Thanks for the help
Tash

"moving my naughty word on this"
hahahahahahahaha should of spelt it the aussie way, that always gets around the spell checkers! lmao
Should have said bottom...... naughty me.

you may not find a big difference since your winters are so mild... in fact, since it would be less scorching outside, it might even pick up a bit? All you can really do is ALWAYS push, no matter what season it is. It always takes at least a month or two or three for any advertising or pushing that you do to have an effect.... so by the time you notice a drop, there's going to be a drop for a bit.

We're barely staying above freezing here right now and I'm starting to see my stuff pick up, so just keep on plugging.

My busy season(s) are May through to the end of August, and then the end of November through till Christmas.

Deadzones are usally September and January... and April for some reason.

That's for face painting.

Theatre season is September through May and I usually have a show running... so even if I don't have FP gigs I have theatre or other projects on.


AND I have a dayjob.

This is my first year doing this, and so far April is turning out to be my busiest month so far. Isn't it strange how it's different in different areas? I painted 60 kids in 3 hours at a soccer tournament yesterday and was already sweating my design off because the humidity was already inching up. I have outdoor gigs booked through the end of May (and those are at night), but no other festivals here until November because our summers are brutal and no one wants to be outside unless they're in a swimming pool LOL

howdy. i am from australia as well and the local play cafe's wont allow face painting because the kids might get it on the equipment but maybe the ones in ur local area might be different. My oldest girls b,day is also in may the 25th i haven't even started to advertise yet. will have to start thinking about it soon (sigh).

You can try painting at a local restaurant thats kid friendly (but not too cheap) for either tips or pay as a way to advertise yourself and keep you busy during the week. Out here, Fuddruckers is the way to go and not so much CiCis and I'm thinking its b/c of the Price difference... the more a parent is willing to pay for food, the more likely they'll pay for a party? I dont know, maybe its just me...

I, like Dawn, am in the Southern part of the US. As she said, our summer months are brutal. I REFUSE to face paint at outdoor events between Memorial Day (May) and Labor Day (September), unless it is paid by the hour, and they pay my "outdoor premium price" for summer.
I really try to push temporary tattoos, glitter tattoos, and henna during the hot months, and even then, I push for an indoor venue.
I have actually found that when it comes to face painting here, the cooler months are busier anyway because people are having indoor parties and want a fun activity that can be done indoors.

I'm working on my second year (started Aug 2009.)

This is what I have observed for my state (Massachusetts)

January - DEAD

February through May - NON-STOP

June & July - VERY LIGHT (I had to aggressively search out events and festivals that didn't cost and arm & a leg to participate)

August through December - NON-STOP, BEGGING FOR MERCY BY THE END OF THE 5 MONTHS

I'm so grateful for this business, it has carried my family through some really tough economic times. I'm throwing a huge bash (75 family members confirmed to attend!!) for my daughter's first Communion at the end of April and without FP, it would not be possible to have the party.

I wrote this original thread post nearly year ago now and I have learnt I was concerned about nothing. I had three weekens all year that I wasn't booked and I was very gratefull for them. I had heaps of trouble trying to give myself a weekend off - still have this problem.
I just started an adwords campaign and now I'm juggling jobs and doing some awesome gigs - just got booked by Universal studio's who want to pay me $150 for 45 mins work. I'm a happy girl.
And I too wouldn't be where I am today without the help of this forum. It has been an invaluable resource. My work and my business has flown ahead with all the things I have learnt here. I'm constantly called for advice and help from other painters who tell me I seem to have all the answers - they don't know it's come from a whole international group of the best artists in the business..... meaning this forum.
I hope Metina is aware of the support and blessing she gives us every day.

Tash wrote:I wrote this original thread post nearly year ago now and I have learnt I was concerned about nothing...

...And I too wouldn't be where I am today without the help of this forum. It has been an invaluable resource. My work and my business has flown ahead with all the things I have learnt here. ...they don't know it's come from a whole international group of the best artists in the business..... meaning this forum.
I hope Metina is aware of the support and blessing she gives us every day.

Thanks for the update Tash -- From what I've seen of your work, it is hard to believe that you started in just the past couple of years

And regarding the forum and Metina, I totally agree -- I'm still a newbie and haven't really started promoting my business and though I've taken some fantastic workshops, the information I've learned on the forum is invaluable and appreciated so much.

So thank you again, to Metina and all the fabulous and talented artists on this fantastic forum!!!