Pricing Your Face Painting - Where to Start

When I first started face painting, pricing my services was the last thing on my mind. Although I got very excited over buying new brushes, trying new paints and learning new designs (all at home, I wasn't really convinced that the idea of starting a face painting business was even a viable idea at this point), it just didn't occur to me to look my face painting through business eyes. It wasn't until I got a chance to do some face painting at my previous job in an indoor play area that I realised I hadn't got the first clue of how to price face painting.

The girl who usually did the face painting for the private parties was ill, and I was asked to jump in last minute. I was happily painting away when one of the mums asked me if I did parties, and how much would I charge. What should I say? "No, sorry madam, I just paint myself at home and don't really count as a real face painter" or pull a price out of my head and pray it's not too high or too low? Ever felt that heart-stopping, time slowing moment when you know you have to make a split second decision? In the end I gave her a price, and the next day I got an email for my first ever party booking. Sometimes it pays to be brave!

Pricing your face painting correctly is very important, however it can be a rather daunting task. It requires you to take consideration of:

• The type of event
• The prices that other face painters are charging in your area
• Your costs
• Your level of skill

The Type of Event

Firstly, you need to be aware of the different types of pricing to decide which one to use at your next event:

PPF

Pay per face events are any events that you go to, set your own price and charge customers per face paint. To get a guide as to how much to charge, consider how much other people charge for children's activities or what else is around on the day. I personally charge approximately a pound more than the average pasty is going for in that area! A bit strange but for some reason it seems to work pretty well...

The benefits of pay per face are that you have control over the price you charge and if you have a long line you will make a good profit. Events such as school fetes are a great example of when pay per face works perfectly, with a guarantee of lots of children around and plenty of entertainment.

However, if you are somewhere that has a low footfall or, as is often the case in sunny England, you wake up to torrential rain that day, then you can end up with no customers and make a loss for the day. This is even more important to bear in mind if you are going to a market day or a public event where you will often need to pay per day to hire out a stall space. You have to cover your costs!

Hourly

Agreeing an hourly fee is a guarantee that, no matter what happens on the day, you will have a set income. You should have fixed hourly prices for birthday parties and commercial events (such as shop openings or advertising days) which should be displayed clearly on your website.

Charity

Charity events are any fund-raising events. Whether to charge at these events or not is a very controversial topic, and seems to always come down to personal preference. I will be writing a blog post on this in future going into more detail, however it is up to you whether you:

1. Do the event completely for free
2. Ask for your basic costs only (travel, materials etc.) to be covered by the charity
3. Offer the charity a reduced hourly rate to book you for the day
4. Put out a tip jar and agree to keep a certain amount or percentage and anything else goes to the charity

And so on. You get the idea. If you are not confident or don't think it's worth your time, don't be afraid to say no! Simply explain that you can't afford to paint for free; it is easy if you are not a face painter to think that we don't incur costs like other businesses do, and sometimes they just need an explanation. Once they understand they may be more willing to cover your costs.

Prices That Other Face Painters Are Charging

To find out what other painters are charging you can Google to find their websites with price lists or, if their prices are not displayed, you can try politely contacting them to ask how much they would charge for a party. You can also find forums online or local groups on Facebook that will be happy to answer your questions.

You don't want to hugely undercut the local competition. This won't reflect the quality of your skills and won't get you taken seriously by customers (it could also upset local face painters in your area who feel they are being deliberately undercut). Face painting may have used to be cheap and cheerful party entertainment, but the quality and creativity of modern face painting means that this is no longer the case, so don't be afraid to charge more!

Going too high, however, could exclude potential customers that simply can't afford to hire you. Again, this depends on your target market; if you only want big business clients then don't worry about the locals, however if you would like to do children's parties then make sure you take a note of what people in your area can afford. If you are not sure then it is often better to build up your prices over time as you get more of a feel for the local market.

Your Costs

This includes:

• Travel costs
• Materials (how much paint you are using, how many gems you use, etc.)
• Stall rent costs
• Business cards/flyers
• Money that will go towards updating your kit (not just paint, but perhaps a new gazebo or table)
• Any new posters that need to be printed
• Preparation time (not just the actual painting hours, but set up time, cleaning time, practice time etc.)
• Hiring of equipment
• Food or drink you buy during the day

and, if face painting is your full time job:

• Rent/Mortgage payments
• Bills
• Food
• Car payments

and so on. Take the time to sit down and write down how much you actually spend on everything. Cost up your kit, find out how much you have spent so far (not a task for the faint-hearted painter!) as you need to cover these costs as well before you are truly making a profit.

Don't be afraid to charge more for extra services. "Add gems for an extra £1" is an example of up-selling your face painting; it may be tempting to charge the same price for everything, but even gems cost you extra each time!

Your Level of Skill

This is something that you are only going to be able to judge through experience. Don't be afraid to take pictures of your work and get feedback from other face painters, but at the end of the day you are pricing your own work. As artists we can often be very critical of ourselves, so try to take a step back and make sure that you are looking at your work objectively.

Bringing It All Together

My final message for pricing would be make sure you research your local area, have realistic lists of your costs and don't be afraid to charge what you think is a fair price. Often, as face painters, we hear "How much? For that much I could get a kit and paint the children myself!". If that's how they feel, then they are not the right customer for you. 

Remember, the hours and hours of practice, the quality of your materials and the endless perfecting of techniques means you deserve to be treated as a professional!