Booked my first birthday gig =D

I got my first birthday gig! I'm excited! The only thing is that the woman who booked me said they're going to have lots of kids, and she only booked one hour. I tried to get her to go for two but she didn't... and I'm a little nervous about the time coming for me to leave >_>

Ah well, its in 2 weeks... the party is themed after the movie Madagascar... better get to work on my jungle animals!


PS: The folks waiting on drawings from my other thread... I'm so sorry for the delay Much has been going on... but I will get them done ASAP!

PPS: Finally got internet back at home too Yay!

Congratulations, you go girl! You will do great!!! Just be yourself, relax and have fun.

Make sure that you let the Mom know how many faces you can paint in an hour. and to keep you from being the bad guy let her choose who will be painted in that hour. Maybe Send her an e-mail to confirm and say something like ' Painting my fast faces, about 6 minutes per face, I will be able to paint 10 children in an hour, If there are more children, please select the ones that you want to be painted' (if you can paint 4-5 min faces up the number to 12....but don't estimate higher/total faces then your highest/longest time....better to appear quicker when you're there then not give her what you said you could).

I'm a slow painter myself. I like to take time with the kids, and give them their time to shine. I can now paint about 12 faces an hour, which for me is really really fast.

Best of luck and let us know how it all works out for you. I'm sure others will be able to give you some great first party tips as well.

Jenny

Jenny is absolutely right! I always have a two hour min. and will write right in my contract the cost for each additional 1/2 hour. Stick to your guns and about 10 minutes before it is time to finish, find the mom and let her do the dirty work or agree to additional money.

It is so hard at first, but stick to it.

Remember, you are a business owner.

Ditto all of that! And congratulations - that's great! If you can, see if she's willing to pay for extra time if there's a crunch and kids still want/need paintings - if yes, then go with that, if not - then when your hour is up and she asks if you can do 'just ___ more' - tell her you have another event to go to. That way you won't get suckered into staying longer for free.

How many is 'lots'? When you get there, ask her if she has a total (better yet, ask during your confirmation call before the day), and if it's more than you can do in an hour, remind her again that you can only do __ faces/hour.

Good luck!

Congrats on your first event, that is great!

I agree with the others as well. Confirm with how many you can paint in an hour and don't go over that hour.

Let us know how it goes and if you get any pictures.

Thanks ladies! I appreciate any and all advice, and of course the good luck wishes I'll be sure to fill y'all in!

Wonderful Savvy! I'm happy for ya! Ditto on the others' advice. I always tell the parent that I will paint until THEY come over and stop my line, so if they want to pay for one hour, they'll want to start shutting the line down 10 minutes before. It's a nice way to tell them that it's their responsibility to tell the kids that are left that they won't get painted.

Don't worry though, you probably can paint faster than you think you can. Not everyone will want to be painted, and the turn out for most parties I've been to has been lower than expected (no one RSVPs anymore these days).

You'll do great! I can't wait to hear how it goes!

Congrats on your first party! I always state on my booking form and on my website, that I can paint approximately 10 faces an hour. That way, it's up to them how long they want you to stay.

Good luck!

Go Savvy!!! With all the excellent advice here you will be encouraged not to sell yourself short. I lacked confidence on my first 3 or 4 bday parties and painted for the agreed to price until noone was left to be painted. Too soft and nice - so don't be like I was! Now- I ask how many kids and tell them the rate for the extra half or full hour if it exceeds what I can reasonably paint! I also offer paypal payment/invoice option if mom doesn't have "cash" to pay what she owes at the end of the party.

I always keep a google map print out of the party directions and type in the "notes" section - the host name, time, email, phone, amount paid, birthday kid and age so I have a record of my travel time, mileage and all the details for my records. (in case of doing real taxes or insurance concern)

Birthday parties are one of the most fun gigs, since they are more intimate and laid back. Usually moms invite you in to have some food or pizza. The birthday kid is usually psyched to be first and treated special when you get there while mom and dad are running around finishing the details! I always try to get there 10 or 15 min early to setup my spot.

Good luck! I think you will have a blast!!!

Good luck and congrats! I just did my first 'all girl' party this last Saturday! It was booked for only one hour, and then more girls showed up because the weather was bad and they couldn't do soccer ball practise.

I ended up staying a bit later (the mom was bringing me hot chai tea and snacks)...so I stayed a bit late, but didn't ask for more $$. She ended up tipping me really well and took a bunch of cards to pass out for me.

The girls all also gave me 'glam shots' that I can use so I didn't have to rush and we took tons of photos! So I got photo rights and these girls were beautiful! 13-14 years old and wow! So it was worth it!

Thanks eveyone!

Its the day after tomorrow... I'm really nervous!

It's always nerve wracking at first. I remember when I first started out last year, I'd have a nervous feeling all day and be shaky with my first few faces. Don't worry this will pass. Have fun!

I felt nearly sick before every gig for quite a while when I first started out. Stage fright for painters? LOL. Of course, afterwards I always felt great and realized there was no reason to be so nervous.

Glad to know someone else gets stage fright too! It's not as bad as speaking in front of a audience but I am definitely nervous in the beginning.

Hope I never have to speak in front of a audience again. Ever.

I did my first big gig at Easter with another face painter who has twice as much experience as me and I was really nervous. But when I settled down and started to paint I was fine. I was pleasantly surprised by how well I got on too. I still get nervous before parties but I'm getting better.
Hope you get on great Savvy!

Nervous? Not me... stick me in front of an audience and I turn into a smoked shoulder!!

It went great! Thanks everyone for all the advice! I handed out some flyers (because I couldn't find my business cards! >_< ) So hopefully I'll be getting some calls soon!

Great, congratulations!!

way to go!

Congrats! Now tell us what you learned from the experience!

It's always good to get the first one over you. Confidence builds!!!!

Thanks y'all!

Metina: I learned to keep my business cards with my other supplies To make sure I set up in a well shaded place from now on too... it was shaded when I first set up but the sun found me and tried to destroy my paints!

And that being nice can get you cake. It was delicious lol

I've heard that you can layer ice packs under the trays to help out on hot days. My kids have some great flat ones that would work awesome for that.

Never tried it though.

so did you end up just doing one hou?