Painting Business - More Tips For Your Paint Job Estimating

What two things are needed to make an estimate? Answer: Time X Dollars.

Time is the job of the estimator; whereas, Dollars are your hourly rate. We get the time for a job from the historical records that we build up. The hourly rate is calculated from your overhead. Notice to all painters in caps, your hourly rate has nothing at all to do with the "going rate", whatever that is perceived to be at any given moment.

Oh yeah, paint. Paint on none of my jobs ever comes to more than 12 to 15%. So why does the homeowner get all excited about maybe saving a penny, if they buy the paint? Probably because painters want the client to think paint is a big part of the estimate. If the customer saves 10% it would be a lot; but, 10% of 12% is not much, and it can lead to headaches if you run out of paint. That's why I talk customers out of buying the paint. The first part of the process is to measure surface, and for estimating use the paint manufacturer's coverage rate with some tweaking should work for the estimate.

One thing is certain, I am glad that I liked geometry in high school. Knowing basic geometry makes the job of estimating paint jobs very easy. Square footage is length x width. Gables might look tricky but they are not at all. Draw a line down the middle of the gable and you have two right triangles (meaning) if you join them they make a rectangle. Rectangles are L X W. How do you know the height of a gable if it is too high to measure? If it is a clapboard house, we can count the clapboards, and add them up after measuring one board.

In two of our biggest items, wallpaper stripping and removing old paint on a house, we used to only do as Time and Material, we only estimate by giving a firm number. We have found that T&M is dangerous for several reasons. Although the client believes that T&M is safe, I have been in too many situations where the client was not prepared even after telling our shop rate and possible materials. And we ended up getting stuck with a client refusing to pay; because, they just weren't ready for "that big" of an amount. We rely and update our historical figures on this type of work. A firm quote will either get you the job or not; but, it won't let you finish the work and then have to negotiate for your pay.

Unit estimating or counting units is probably the fastest and most accurate method for determining an estimate. What this method does is to assign a value to a "unit". Most systems using this method will count doors, windows, cabinets, and shelving units all at the same value. If you choose the right dollar figure you are safe and fast.

There are hundreds of ways to estimate a job. We have tried a lot of them. They mostly all work, some faster than others. The fastest is the WAG method, we don't subscribe to this method, otherwise known as the Wild *** Guess Method.

Face Painting Business Tip 1 - The First Impression, You Only Get One Chance to Make It

What is it that separates a Premium Face Painting Business from the average Face Painter?

Please forgive me - I started out as a volunteer mother Kindergarten Fete Face Painter! I think that it's often us very same mother's that then go on to create, develop and establish our artistic abilities, our passions - and end up having highly regarded and successful businesses.

The following are merely my own suggestions - this is what I find works very well Nevertheless, based on my own research and feedback; it is also part of what keeps a high profile business going.

Setting up a Face Painting Business can be initially expensive, but compromising on some of these basics may end up costing your business more money in the long run. I will be writing a series of seven tips that will serve you well.

Milana's 1st tip - The First Impression - make it a good one!

• Greet the client/contact person by name with a smile. Even if it is a gig you may have done many times before, the client is still the person who pays you, and you should always aim to make sure they know you have arrived.

• Be punctual. Allow for parking, traffic, set up, etc. It is always better to be earlier rather than later. You may think that the client hasn't noticed you slipped into a large event 10 minutes late, but believe me, they do.

• Presentation - invest in 1 good quality costume or outfit that speaks "professional" all over it. From top to toe. Keep your costume maintained and clean. We always have uniformed costumes for 2 or more performers at the same event. If you can't do this, then try and colour coordinate multiple performers using t shirts and caps. It looks great!

• Set up your table to match the theme or event. A brightly coloured coordinated table cover to the ground looks professional and neat. It is also a great way to store any of your extra gear away nice and tidy.

• Paints, cloths, sponges, brushes, etc should be clean and presented neatly and professionally on your table in your set up. (I know this is rarely the case at the end of a booking

ï• Value your face painting craft. When people see that you take pride in your face painting, it sets you apart from other Face Painters. I speak to everyone with utmost courtesy and respect. I am a huge "smiler", and people notice! However, I do not allow people to belittle or speak rudely to me on my jobs. I expect people to treat me with the same courtesy I show them. I never paint an unwilling child. I explain courteously, that as a professional face painter I want children to love the experience, not be frightened by it. I offer a hand or arm painting to gently ease them into it.

• No smoking - this may seem like a basic one, but if you are a smoker - remember that while you may think you have covered all of the "smoking smells"; non-smokers can really smell it. Try and limit the smoking to before and after the face painting event, not during. Even if you are taking a designated break, it can make the difference to a client re-hiring you again. I have personally spoken to clients who have asked to only send non smoking performers/artists to an event.

• Cover tattoos. Once again, this may be basic, but uncovered tattoos can detract to the professional impression you are trying to achieve. Paint over them, or cover with an armband. (A nice sparkly headband is great for covering armband tattoos.) Remember, while there is nothing wrong with tattoos, your corporate client might not like it, and in the end you want to keep him/her happy.

• Before and after any face painting job is equally as important as the actual event. Higher profile clients like to deal with professional people. Keep your paperwork up to date. Send out booking confirmations straight away upon your bookings being made. Contact clients 1 or 2 days before the event to confirm. If you say you will phone a client back, make sure you do. Be CLEAR with your choice of payment options. Expect prompt payment. Remember you will get what you expect. Make a follow up call to thank the client for the business and ask for any feedback. This is especially good to ensure quality control if you have performers working for you in several locations. Be courteous and professional in all business correspondence - email, personally, or via phone.