Will you ever stop expanding the kits and make $$?? And other random thoughts.

In another thread, someone asked (I think they were joking but it made me think) And I just wanted to share my perspective on things...feel free to agree, or disagree...or share your own thoughts.

Fun2Play wrote:I'm wondering if face painters ever make any money that they don't spend on face paint, glitter, kit, etc, etc? I know the suppliers are making money at least! Not sure I am though.

Slightly off the painting topic...but yes, there is money after supplies! LOL I spent the first year and a half buying 'stuff' and now I am pretty well set for most things, I know what I like, and now my purchases are small (black, white etc) I also bought in bulk when I could. (15 pounds of glitter anyone?) Maybe I am out of the norm? My business has never COST me money, it has totally paid for itself. Self sustaining. And this year...I finally stopped spending on frivolous stuff (toys for mom!" and _I_ put the roof on our house!!! I am so proud of myself for that. I mean all along, I paid for fun stuff and little bits and bobs here and there so that it didn't come out of the family budget...but this was my first big save and purchase. Next year, I am aiming for a hot tub, but sadly, I think I should repair the chimney that is falling apart ($3500 to fix a chnimney???SMH) or put new windows in first...urgh...no fun.

Another thought...I know that the tiny arty style split cakes are expensive...BUT consider this... I bought one of the custom TAG one strokes, IIRC it was around $12?? I forget. But anyhow...I charge $8/face at most of my PPF jobs, and that ONE split cake is used more than any other one, for a design that takes me less than 2 minutes. In the first half hour of the job I am thinking of...I did 5 of those princesses...$40...cake paid for, and into profit right away...HUGE time saved not making it myself, and not sponging each colour individually. Win-win... I used less than 2 of them for a 2 week fair...and it EASILY made many hundreds of dollars...off of less than $30 spent. So for those of you who make your own, GREAT...but don't always get caught up in the dollars and cents...sometimes time is money...that little cake will go a long way!

Ok, that was al random...but just thought I'd share. LOL

So, in the end...there is hope! And what I found worked for me...is making big purchases to save money eg. the bulk glitter order, _OR_ at conventions and sales, I bought big. (Got the Prisma pallet from someone at a convention for a huge discount, or I would never have tried it, but again, the one single prisma (hot) has paid for the whole pallet many times over. If I look at the little picture "OMG!! $14 for ONE split cake???" Or, the big picture "$120 for a pallet, that I can do roses, rainbows, dolphins, fancy eyes with, use it for one full day at the fair, (12 to 15 faces depending on the event, then the rest is pure profit" Just my perspective. (And yes, I know we don't all have expendable cash...but aside from my first pallet purchase...all of the $$ has come from gigs.)

Anyhow, enough rambling...thanks for peeking into my brain

Great points and megga congrats on earning enough to do your roof! That must feel amazing!!!

I agree that the cost of the paints, compared with how many faces we can potentially get out of them, is very good.

It's just finding the face painting jobs to bring in that revenue... and resisting buying more and more paints just because they're pretty or we're intrigued by a new brand/colour combo/product etc... (*guilty face here*)

I also like to quietly think to myself how quickly I've paid off my supplies! If you use a cake once or twice, it's usually already paid for itself! It's such a nice feeling to be able to feed your shopping craving AND make a profit from it. Not many hobbies can do that... so yay us!

(Also, 100th post! Yippee!)

You are right! I try to buy bits on sale, save where I can, and look at the profit I can make when I buy something like a split. I am still in that first year, getting it all down and figuring out what is going to work for me. Tommorow is one of my pay off days...a ppf festistival craft show that I know is going to be busy, and then a salon event in the evening at my hourly rate.

I have invested in a few extras, and really, my daughter doing tattoos while I paint has been a big boost to my profits. The compressor was an investment, but it has paid for itself. Tommorrow, I am going whole hog, hair feather extentions, henna, glitter tats, air brushing. My hope is to have two chairs full for the entire time. I have boxed hair feathers for stocking stuffers, and will be selling 10 kid parties for $50 as holiday gift certificates, a big discount. Even paying her $10 an hour (and she is thrilled, because she is only 15) she pays for herself before an hour is out. Crossing my fingers that it is a blow out day.

I have not run my numbers for the year, but I did not expect to turn a profit in the first year. I did it right, got insurance, filed with the state...it feels good to know that next year I will be spending less, and just restocking with white, black, and the odd spit here and there.

When I started, it was difficult to assess what I should buy and what would bring the biggest ROI. I've got it down to a science (controlled chaos?) now. I still have occasional experimental purchases (HATE the neon rainbow arty cake that looks pretty but doesn't have good color payoff). I now know what I need and will consistently use. I agree the temptation to keep buying with the hope that you'll make *more* money from that one magical one-stroke cake is strong!

Everything is paid for with earnings (including a convention this year and next year), and I have decent profit to spare.

A little to add,

I am a creative person, I love scrap booking and all the pretty things that go with it like tools, sticker, storage, machines, bobbles, ect... there are many other craft items I have bought over the years because, because, because... . I don't buy crafts any more unless they help with face painting (almost nothing). In fact I have sold most of it, because I almost never used it.

When I found face painting(again) I fell in love. It satisfies my burning desire for color, creativity, art. The bonus is that every thing I invest, whether it be time or money. face painting isthe first crafty thing that substantially benifits my family. My husband and son run the air brush tattoos, my daughter paints faces and my other daugter does glitter tattoos(they can all do both kinds of tattoos really). We have spent wonderful time together creating and organizing our business. Of course they don't want to be painted anymore, and have really come to hate glitter , but it is all expressed with light hearted sarcasm.

Everything I have purchased has been paid for by face painting. Registered, insured, 3 tents, chairs, kits, air brush tattoo kit, glitter tattoos ect…In most businesses you have to be in for 5 years to begin to make a profit. We make as much money, and have as much time as we choose (invest time/effort to get more gigs and you will make more money, and by the same token take as much time with your family as you want). Face painting has improved the quality of my life, and my life with my family. I remember reading in Halloween thread about Shannon (who I respect immensely) making (through of hard work) enough on Halloween weekend to make 3 mortgage payments. And kudos to you Gamesgirl, to replace a roof is awesome . That is where I am headed.

As for shopping, I probably spend more time creating than actually following through and placing the order.

I have been at it for 1 year and the money is growing and the spending is decreasing. I love my work and (big bonus here)I MAKE SO MANY CHILDREN HAPPY & I HAVE WONDERFUL WAYS TO SERVE AND ATTEND MY COMMUNITY!

All of this is possible because of Metina and everyone who helps manage the forum as well as everyone on this forum, and, well...YouTube has helped a little

Congratulations to all of us for investing in something we love.

Lets FACE it, we don't have to die to go to Heaven, we are helping to create it on earth.

Laurie

Laurie Shoultz wrote:

I have been at it for 1 year and the money is growing and the spending is decreasing. I love my work and (big bonus here)I MAKE SO MANY CHILDREN HAPPY & I HAVE WONDERFUL WAYS TO SERVE AND ATTEND MY COMMUNITY!

All of this is possible because of Metina and everyone who helps manage the forum as well as everyone on this forum, and, well...YouTube has helped a little

Congratulations to all of us for investing in something we love.

Lets FACE it, we don't have to die to go to Heaven, we are helping to create it on earth.

Laurie

I love that Laurie!! I'm also finding that this can be a VERY profitable endeavor!! Those on this forum that are struggling to get started... keep working at it!! My first couple of years painting, I literally worked out of a tiny Ben Nye pallet of colors. I had black and white wolfe in full sized cakes, but that was it. (oh, and glitter). My stuff was bare bones simple, but I made a LOT of kids VERY happy.

My one peice of advice is to expand from just doing birthday parties and do some PPF events!! I make most of my money in October. This year, I worked two or 3 days a week and made enough to pay about 6 mortgage payments.

Unfortunately, I haven't done any awesome summer gigs yet, but I had brand new babies this summer and passed up a lot of opportunities. Next year, I'm hoping to do several large city carnivals and fairs. January 1st all of my vendor apps are going to the cities!!

Yay for making money doing something we love!!

Kat wrote
"My one peice of advice is to expand from just doing birthday parties and do some PPF events!! I make most of my money in October. This year, I worked two or 3 days a week and made enough to pay about 6 mortgage payments."

That is amazing. would you mind elaborating on how and where you painted and how you charged. This is probably another thread but I did not quite know how to market myself for Halloween. I Think Shannon said she does it at her house by appt.


Thanks

I hate shopping and only buy what I really need to accomplish a task, be it facepainting, housecleaning, meal preparation or anything else. I know that's totally not the stereotype of an American woman, but that's me. Creating makes me happy...stuff does not.

My first year in business I spent $17000... and made $35. (that includes getting my make-up diploma/training, kits, etc.)

Then every year my ratios got better, then I started to make more than I spent. What I earned covered what I spent on going to conventions and competitions.

Then I got smart and stopped buying for the sake of buying and only bought when it was billable to a customer or absolutely necessary. That really increased my bottom line.

Took until last year to have to actually pay taxes! On my books I've been in the black about 7 years but after my accountant gets through with it I don't owe. Last year I made enough that even with the deductions I had to pay tax on the business earnings.

And this year is already better... so I guess I'll be paying Rev Canada again. Bummer.

It took me until year three to turn a profit.
Thankfully I was able to pay for everything through gigs though, as I went. Tables, chairs, signage, advertising materials, supplies.
I do admit I like to buy and try out new splits and such, they are so pretty and shiny and new! But sometimes I talk myself out of buying new and making my own from extra paints I may have.

Now that I have moved, I may be back to square one because I am not working nearly as much as I was previously. I am having difficulty marketing myself here, and honestly wondering how much I want to put in $$ wise since we will be moving again in 18 months.

Working on compiling a list of local fests, so I can get applications sent out in January. That should help.

Hubby is making me do a spread sheet so I'll let you know before April 15th! I know that it's paid for itself but I don't know how much profit yet.

D.

but what about all the pretty colours.

seriously though, I buy lots of things,as I am in first year of business but also in that is banners, tent, tshirts etc etc. I am at the point where I have that side covered this week and will only have to spend a bit on it now.
But in regards to paint I have a different philosophy as I am at home weather I like it or not for the next 5 years as my son isn't aloud access to after school care- Long story (sucky government policys)
So... I am face painting but I also love it.... So My husband and I talked about this and for business 20% back into products needed and another 10% for wants.
Why? as neither of us want me to stop enjoying doing it. mabye in time it will change but knowing that I have those little urges met for wants makes a big difference I don't Over/binge spend then and get what I need to keep going. It also means I am still really loving face painting ( actually more as Time go's on) as in a sense I still get to play, try new products and still have fun. It gives me I sopose Job satisfaction. and in life I would take a slightly lower paying job if I enjoyed it more so... much of a muchness to me.
It is a good system for me any way. and given my situation 70% of profit is still money, we would not have been able to have due to our circumstances for the next few years.

If you want a spreadsheet... I have one on my resources page you can download and use to track expenses (it is set up to figure out your cost per face but is easy to switch to a general ledger).

The link is in my signature.

I've worked for someone else when I painted at the Theme park and making 50 a hour is better than 9 and being able to try new things without a mile and a half of red tape. It hasn't been a great year here but that is just the local economy talking. I wouldn't be in the top 25 painters on this forum but I know I'm in the top 5 in my area and that makes me happy. Now if my partner my Daughter and I can find a happy medium. She likes stream line and I like all the bells and whistles.

Laurie,
I wish people would just come to my house!! I'm not that awesome yet. lol. But... I am REALLY lucky in October. I have a gig at a little boutique village that brings a LOT of people. It's free to bring your kids and they have activities and a witch hunt. So.. on the weekends I set up outside one of the stores. (I basically pay her a booth rent and represent her store). I do pay per face. $3-$10. I paint 12 hours straight on Saturdays. About 9 hours on Fridays. Some Thursday evenings depending on the events they have going on. On good days I paint almost NONSTOP and I've been painting there for enough years that I can whip out some pretty nice Halloween cheek art in under 60 seconds. $5 faces in 2 min. $7 faces in 3-5 min. I'm in PAIN by the end of the weekend, but it's worth it, and the day flies by! The best part is that there is SO much traffic that I get a lot of business cards out. I don't think there is anything equivalant to what I'm doing... but I would check out farmers markets and corn mazes.. things like that.

I've never been in the red. I bought my 1st kit (a bunch of snaz, brushes, sponges, etc) from Sillyfarm 6 yrs ago. I've shifted & expanded since then. My 1st few years I didn't make much, but once I got the hang of the business side of things gigs started coming. I now budget about 20% of what I make to go back into the business. This buys the paints & other goodies. I still like to try new things, but find if I like the new thing it will replace something else(one paint color for another, etc). My goal is for my kit to not get any bigger. If it can't fit in the Fatmax setup I don't want it.

But, if you moderate your spending, you can easily make money.

I'm in agreenment for PPF & Artycakes. They make the line move fast & time is money. Prisma cakes are the same. I do make my own Prisma style cakes. But, I usually use paints that have large hols in the center & slow my line down. I replace them w/ a full new paint & take the edges to make Prisma style or arty style cakes.

What a great topic...I was thinking the same thing..I need to sit down and work things out, I am presuming at this stage I am still in the red..I have made some enormous purchases this year.But it is paying off and I am gettin very busy with many bookings taken for next year..YAY! However I have a question for Shannon, What did you do in your first year to make that amount of money?. That is some serious cash and I would love to bring in that kind of money. I have done some radio advertising just to make sure everyone hears about Face Creationz. Word of mouth has been enormous and thats great. My small town has really got behind me and I so appreciate it. I really want to take it to the next level , I feel I am on the right path and I only have a couple more purchases...Mind you then there is the glitter tattos,,air brush system that I would still like..Argh I have been in business since Febuary so I am giving myself another 6 to 8 months to get those things..Any how I would love to hear your strategies Shannon.

It took me about 18 months to figure out what I liked and what I didn't really need or use. I'm very happy now with everything. I've made way more then what I've spent.

If you are working more then you are spending, you should be fine! I've had a gig just about every weekend since June. Some weekends 2 or 3 gigs. I don't even advertise, but on my personal facebook. I've got at least one weekend booked every month until May.

I've got 2 or 3 one stroke cakes I need to restock on next month and then I'm set.

freedspirit wrote:! However I have a question for Shannon, What did you do in your first year to make that amount of money?. ......Any how I would love to hear your strategies Shannon.

Ah.. think you mis-read it:

My first year in business I spent $17000... and made $35. (that includes getting my make-up diploma/training, kits, etc.)

Now I make about that much before expenses doing it part-time. Trick is to keep the expenses down.

Well I have to say that I'm pleased my comment on another thread has sparked such a lively discussion

Yes, i was (sort of) joking. I've only been painting for about 6 months, so am still in start up mode and getting drawn like a moth to the flame to all things shiny, colourful and potentially profit making! One thing always leads to another. And I have discovered that I have a real talent for shopping online, like many of us i suspect!

So far I think I have made fairly good choices and I have a wide range of splits and one strokes in my kit; some pre-made, others I have made myself. I am fairly well set up now and I don't have a lot left on my wish list. Although I need to replace red very soon (having already replaced white/black a couple of times but now I get 90g pots) and will probably be tempted to buy one or two more split cakes / one strokes... maybe.

I have a website, which I created via wix and pay $5 a month for (plus registering my domain name $40 for 2 years)... and a facebook page. I've invested a small amount in business cards, postcards, and banners... and a little more in paints, glitters, stencils, pigments, those colourful faux feather hair extensions, storage/display etc... a market umbrella, a chair... insurance too of course. it all adds up! Actually, I think the forum is a distraction from doing my accounts - I've been meaning to get to that for a while...

Oh, and I invested a fair chunk of future earnings in a workshop in October: difficult to estimate the ROI on that one, but definitely picked up some new skills and refined techniques which is personally satisfying at least. Plus met some awesome fellow painters. BONUS!

I have been getting my fair share of work, that's for sure. I am becoming a regular at the local markets (once/month) and occasional at others. I have several clients that have already rebooked me and I have quite a few gigs coming up over the next couple of months. I have developed a good menu board, built for speed and impact...

So it's time to get offline and actually put my accounts together. I have no doubt that this will be a profitable venture long term, and I am already at the point that of having enough paint / glitter as necessary (honestly, I don't have THAT much - just enough )

So it's nice to read all your thoughts on the subject and be reassured that there is a bright and shiny future in this 'industry' for me. Quite honestly, I'm really enjoying it on so many levels, I don't think I could give up now. And I've often said to my partner: face painting must be one of the very few arts that brings in quick cash.

Oh ..How funny Shannon..My eyes were really lighting up at $35,000...SIGH....Oh well we will just keep on plugging along.

No prob... If I made that much I'd have to get a Tax Number and start reporting quarterly...

I finally crunched some numbers today, and vowed to stay on top of it in the future... ie, as soon as I've purchased something it goes on my spreadsheet.
Actually, I was a little shocked to see how much I've spent over the past few months... around $3500, which includes training, paints, glitters, stencils, my market umbrella and a few other things. It sure does add up!!!

Seeing as I owe my credit card for most of those purchases, I am thankful that I am well on my way to repaying it. But my goodness, I didn't expect to have invested that kind of money already.

Ah well, at least I have plenty of work coming up, and I'll be going back to my official job p/time from mid January. Must focus on paying down that credit card though.