Contracts?

I need a serious lesson in businessing. I have all the skill of painting and the ability to get through a line with awesome speed...but I have no idea what I'm doing in the business sense. I really need to set up a contract but I don't have a clue on wording or how to start or how to go about deposits. I've been extremely hesitant to do anything outside of a PPF festival gig because I hate asking for money. I hate telling a client "We charge this much for our services." Can't I just show up and paint and money magically gets into my pocket or account? I need help ): Does anyone have an example of a contract they use, how to bind it legally, etc. I need to get myself a manager so the only things I dirty my hands with is paint! But seriously, any help is appreciated.

My contract is on my website at www.afacepaintingmom.com. I think I took bits and peices of many different contracts and put it together, and you are welcomed to use any of it you like!

Your clients signature makes it legal, except for the law in your area that may or may not allow you to have a non-refundable deposit. As long as your contract does not contradict an existing statue in your area, it is binding if the client signs.

The paypal option for deposits is super easy, even I was able to set it up!

It gets easier to ask for money...if you have the skills, don't back down and haggle over your prices, you may have a few clients walk at first, but soon you will start to see that the percentage of people who inquire, verses booking is kind of a high ratio, so you are better of to wait for the kind of client you really want...not to lower your prices to get the bookings, because then you are stuck in that circle instead of the one you want to be in, do you know what I mean? It feels cruddy the first few times you have somebody really want you do do a party, and then balk at your rate, and it is so tempting to cave in, but if you don't, you will soon find the one booking leads to another leads to another...and these will all be clients who are willing to pay for good painting.

The smart phone ap for visa, mc, and discover looks cool too. If I had it to do over again, I would go with that instead of using my bank which is more expensive, but being able to take credit cards is very nice, if you have them on the phone, ask for the booking...I know it sounds strange, but once you know that they want to, just say, would you like to book now and put down a deposit to hold your party time? I can run the full amount of your party now so that you do not have to worry about payment at the party...some people will do this, especially if they are going to use the same credit card to pay the balance. It is always worth asking. That is the closest thing to you just having the money just end up in your account that I know of, or you can send them an ivoice via paypal...another way to avoid having to ask.

I have not had to ask for payment very often, I finish the kids, ask the client if there are any more to be painted before I pack up, and they will usually ask you how much, or just give you the check or cash. It gets easier.

Good luck! Your stuff is great, you should do well, just don't settle for less than you are worth!

Thanks so much, that is all really helpful. I've heard about the phone application and hope to have it set it in the coming year. That contract is fantastic and exactly what I need but didn't know how to say it. Thank you thank you thank you!

Oh, one thing I discoverd that I needed was to add a little statement into the contract that requries 6 square feet for one artist and a minimun of 10 for two artists. I had an event last week where they hired my tattoo artist also, and they tried to sqeeze us into this tiny alcove that was not more than 15 square feet, but in that space they also wanted to 3 8 foot craft tables, a musican, and a popcorn machine! I still said that we needed 6 sq ft per artist, but my contract does not call for it. It was a mess...so, if you have the possiblity of adding another artist in, you want to call for enough space in your contract, so that you can point to the fine print and not be the bad guy when you are trying to set up an event. Live and learn!

Shannon has some really good resources if you click on her profile. I am sure that some of my contract comes from her, not sure if hers is on there, but the wording that I use was in a lot of the contracts I searched out, and I think Shannon has helped everyone! Perry has a good contract too, I got the wording for the 501c3's from her, which has worked out for me really well.

Don't call your deposit a deposit! It is a non-refundable retainer fee ( which can/will be applied to the booking total).

anniel wrote: a non-refundable retainer fee

That is brilliant!

I had to go with deposit, my clients did not get the retainer fee language. Maybe "Booking" fee would work? I may change that. "Retainer" was just confusing to the clients I most needed a deposit from.