I'm ready to scream!!!!!!!!!

What is with people trying to book at the last minute???? I mean, Halloween has only been Oct 31st for how many years now?

After many years of drought for the season (people would say you must be busy at Halloween - I'd say nope) the last three years have been taking off big time, every year getting crazier.

This year takes the cake! I've turned down FIVE body paintings - I have one booked on Oct 30 (she inquired back in June, booked in August - put down $200 cash non-refundable desposit... that's the kind of customer I like!) and I have been booking steady since September.

I've been getting at least five inquiries every day since Thanksgiving (that was Oct 11) and have got myself booked from Friday night till Sunday dinner time. And my last minute guys from the last two years haven't evey called yet.

I just got an inquiry from one of my night clubs... they want me to go over and paint their staff on Oct 30 Told them they can come at 1:30 in the afternoon or 11 p.m....that's all I've got left.

I put that ad on Kijiji on Oct 18th and I've been getting lots of response - and several confirmed bookings - one guy is a fullbody latex burn!! He's going as a car fire victim.

Anyway... just needed to get it off my chest as I am frustrated with people thinking I am available anytime - just call in advance!! I hate turning down jobs that I really would LOVE to do!!

Send them to INDY!!!!! I have nearly NOTHING booked for the weekend!

I've been advertising for it all month, but it's only the last week or so that more are falling into place. I said I'd fill blanks with walk-ins, but who wants to take that kind of chance whether or not they'll have a face on halloween? It's certainly not bad considering this is my first year trying to do halloween at all really.

JBax wrote:Send them to INDY!!!!! I have nearly NOTHING booked for the weekend!

Or to Surrey! I have one Halloween party booked on the 30th, and a radio station has been inquiring about the 31st, but other than that, nada. Drives me batty since everyone goes, "you must be SO busy at Halloween!" and I think "I WOULD be, if you guys all stopped asking if I was busy and actually booked me" - sheesh.

I haven't even had as many inquiries as last year, and I think I only posted an ad once then. I hope I get something else for this weekend!

My crazy-busy weekend was LAST weekend - which happened to be the weekend I stupidly planned a trip out of town. I turned down or gave away EIGHT jobs for that Saturday. Ahhhh!!! What the heck??

I'm booked solid on Halloween, but have Friday all open & some of Saturday open. Do any of your people want to fly to FL
I had an almost body painting but she spent too much on her costume. A also have my Haunted House, but it's been hit or miss.
I need more work... just spent $800 to fix hubbies car... engine trouble.

I am crazy busy as well.......... 1 party Thurs, 2 parties and 2 private appts Fri, 2 parties saturday and 5 priv face painting appts and 1 full body painted devil, and then a ton of priv's on sunday......... ::breathe!!::

I've gone for years with people saying, oh you must be so busy, and it was dead. Kinda like the pretty girl and the prom - nobody asks because they all think someone else asked her.

Anyway... I've been doing make-up for 13 years and this is the result of years of marketing and word of mouth... FINALLY.

The club called... they took the 1:30 pm spot 6-8 Doormen (aka bouncers) all DEAD by different means - so one run over (finally a use for a tire tread!) one shot, one burned, on cut throat.... etc. Should be a hoot. They are bringing them over to my place to get painted too.

Had another guy call who wanted to be body painted as avatar... I asked if he wanted prosthetics too... he hadn't even thought about that...

My regular last minute walk-ins are going to be outta luck I think.

...Shannon, if you look out your window on Friday and see a red Ford Focus pull into your driveway, don't worry. That's just me, coming to benefit from your overflow.

haha...halloween isn't a big thing over her...yet...only did the one zombie last weekend...and that's it...

Shannon...You are my Obi-Wan-Kenobi...teach me!!! I am booked with festivals,and some parties,I was too busy to commit to my Halloween house for the hours so I had to drop it. But, I always have a ton of people ask about the Halloween paint but never any really good appointments that stick. How do you market it??? Also, I have been thinking that you need to make an FX video of this cool stuff so that I can buy it. Would love to get into that....a burn victim...awesome!!! I want to see it!!!!

Shannon I'm going through the same thing. For the past 2 months I've been getting calls from corporate event planners trying to schedule me 3 or 5 days in advance....I mean really, are you serious? I have to turn them down and they would be much better gigs than the 1 or 2 hour parties that are already booked...and never mind the mums who call on Friday to see if I'm available the next day for a birthday.
So frustrating!

I hear ya... I've gotten a ton of calls in the last week, but they're all out of luck! I met a woman almost two months ago at a gig and she booked me for saturday evening like a month ago, she's got a group of people going to a masquerade ball so I'm painting masks on all of them. Then about two weeks ago got a call from a guy who found me online who wants me to paint his prosthetic mask and then finish it on his face saturday. He got me the mask already so I can work on it ahead of time, which is nice, but I told him I'd have to come over to finish his makeup at about 3 o'clock saturday because I already had the other group booked in the evening. I'm leaving my morning free just because on top of everything I moved this week and my house is literally all in boxes still!

Sunday my only gig is painting at a church during trick-or-treat hours so that will be fun. I'll need the morning to recover from my own celebrating the night before anyway! I figure between those three gigs I'll make enough money this weekend to pay for Fabbulas, and that's good enough for me. I could probably fill the remaining hours in my day, but the money isn't quite worth my sanity. Plus I have my own costume to get ready!

As far as marketing, I took my cards to a local costume shop back in early September and they've been kind enough to give them out for me. I've had at least one call a day for the last 5 or 6 days for halloween paintings, and alot of them got my info from the store.

I'm thinking next year I'll take appointments at my house instead of me going to everyone else. That way I have more time to work without having to factor in driving time and having to set up and tear down everything. I think it will be alot less stressful and easier to schedule. I have been giving a few other ladies info to the people calling me, so hopefully my fellow face painters can get some business and the customers can get painted.

I got a call today for a party on Friday, and I was actually able to take it. She was sooo excited - said she almost didn't call since she knew I'd be booked.

Next year I am not going to even offer to do in-home halloween appointments. The last two years I've offered it, and ended up regretting it. I have no-shows, people who don't clue me in on what they want, people who want super elaborate body paintings on the fly... but mostly just no-shows. I'd rather book a church or corporate gig, work a couple of hours and be done.

I have been busier than a one-armed paper hanger! I love Halloween, and have several folks (my husband's boss, etc) stopping by to be painted all this week. Had a big party at a McDonalds which was intense (200 plus kids showed up - I was literaly doing halloween stencils one every 15 seconds!), and another party Saturday plus 3 or 4 more people stopping over to be painted. My hubby and I are going to a costume ball Saturday nite and Sunday I am throwing a bash at home. Im hoping theres still some fight left in my by Halloween on Sunday when it's time to party!!! By the way, the new Wolfe Bros. book has some cool Halloween faces in it. Love it!!

I do tend to have a couple of no-shows each year but the walk-ins and last minute calls MORE than make up for it.


Oh and Kristal... it takes about 17 hours to drive up here, without more than two pee breaks... so calculate accordingly!

I'm painting a Gene Simmons face tomorrow at my home. Then Friday I've got a couple home appts and then I go to a Dr's office where I'll be painting all the office staff. It's a busy office with lots of family doctors. They're letting me put up a sign and cards for ongoing exposure. Saturday I've got home appts in the morning and then a big party of 50-70 kids at a hobby farm. There's other stuff going on so I won't have to paint everyone. Then a 'trunk or treat' in the evening. Sunday I'm just taking a few appts at home.

Last night I got bombarded. There was a local church party and I had a few off the cuff calls for faces to paint. It was like an after thought to them.That is all it took...now I am getting people wanting stuff for Saturday and Sunday. But, the bad thing is I have a festival on Saturday and it is about 2 hours away so, I had to turn away Saturday work. Oddly Sunday is not as filled up though...I think it is because the holiday is on Sunday, I live in the Bible belt.

A lot of cities move Halloween/trick-or-treating to Saturday if it falls o a Sunday.

I need to fill up my Friday & Saturday more(Shannon, what time do you want me to show up:-).
Sunday is packed.
Saturday was a lot of people being wishy washy(they want me but don't want to pay , so now I have 1 festival for 2 hours & that's it. The Florida/Georgia game is in town & I was supposed to paint for it & that fell through(grrr). I wish I could find someone in RV City that would let me set up on their site
Oh well, the last 2 weeks I've brought in $700 & $900($800 of which fixed hubbies car) so you win some & you lose some!
Oh, and I have the Haunted House, it's not been a big $ maker but is a lot of fun.

BTW, if I'm sounding a bit unfocused, it's the cold meds

You guys sound like business will be great this weekend.

Things are a tad slower here, I just don't think it occurs to people to have their faces done for halloween.

I have a small "ghostwalk" event with the city and then a few appointments coming to my house on Sunday.

I have a 5 hour Haunted Trails gig on Friday night, then 12 hours on Sat at the corn maze and another 6 hours on Sunday

Liz Caswell wrote:You guys sound like business will be great this weekend.

Things are a tad slower here, I just don't think it occurs to people to have their faces done for halloween.

I have a small "ghostwalk" event with the city and then a few appointments coming to my house on Sunday.

I don't think it occurs to people either, so I'm constantly letting people know it's an option. I usually talk about hot sticky masks, that impair vision, & how much more comfortable a painted face of the same mask design would be.

Psalmbook wrote:

I don't think it occurs to people either, so I'm constantly letting people know it's an option. I usually talk about hot sticky masks, that impair vision, & how much more comfortable a painted face of the same mask design would be.

My last few festival gigs I have been trying to remember to let people know, and I put it up on my Facebook Fan Page. That is how I got a few clients coming to my house on Sunday to be painted.
Will really have to market the option next year.

I had a lady drive 60 miles to my house last night so I could paint her for work the next day. She said she is sleeping upright in an easy chair all night because she wants to win the costume contest tomorrow! I used fixative on her so it would last longer. She was really nice to come so far, I hope it lasts until her party! LOL