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How to Start a Face Painting Business

Do you want to start a face painting business? If YES, here is a complete guide to starting a face painting business with NO money and no experience. It is no longer news that all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. This is one of the reasons why loads of creative entrepreneurs all around the world are making good bucks from the face painting business and you can become part of them if you are creative, artistic and interested in the business. Face painting is part of what adds fun to parties and carnivals.

Facing painting is not restricted to kids and teens alone; adults are also indulging in the fun. This type of business is not capital intensive and you can start the business from your savings. If you are hardworking and you have the right network in place, you can generate your start-up capital from one business deal. Usually party or carnival face painters charge based on their discretion but on the average, they charge about $100 per hour.

One good thing about this type of business is that you can combine it with other businesses without over working yourself. As a student who is interested in making money while studying, you can start your own face painting business; it will not affect your studies in any way if you know how to manage your time.

Starting up a big time face painting business may not require a huge startup capital, but it needs a significant investment capital, solid planning, and attention to details in order to keep your business profitable. If you are diligent enough and if you have good business/marketing strategies, you can build the business from just one outlet to numerous outlets across different cities in the united states of America from the sale of franchise.

Starting a standard face painting business just like starting any other business might not be entirely easy, but one thing is certain, it is a straight – forward business that can generate huge and steady profits if well positioned and properly managed.

People often think that starting a face painting business does not require any technical or professional skills, but you need to learn the art of face painting, have good business and networking skills, and of course have customer service skills if indeed you want to build a profitable business.

Lastly, before launching your face painting business, endavour to read this article and you will be well equipped. You can start your face painting business from a small town in the United States and if you are consistent and creative, it won’t be too long before your brand becomes nationally recognized.

18 Steps to Starting a Face Painting Business

1. Understand the Industry

The face painting business falls under the tanning salons industry and the industry includes companies that provide indoor and out tanning services through UV tanning beds and booths, as well as spray-on tanning services and face painting services. Some operators in this industry are also involved in running complimentary services such as health spas, fitness centers, mobile tanning locations, beauty parlors and hair salons et al.

In recent time, the tanning salons industry has grown as the United States consumers have enough money to spare for services such as tanning, face painting and other health and beauty services and products. As a result of this development, the demand for personal and other luxury services has risen as consumers increase their spending on discretionary items and services.

It is expected that from 2016, the growth in this industry will plummet as health concerns mitigate improving macroeconomic conditions. Going forward, the tanning salons industry is expected to generate more income through the sale of sunless tanning beds and other merchandise which will to a large extent take care of financially empowered consumers who are looking towards making luxury purchases.

Statistics show that the United States tanning salon market (face painting services inclusive) exceeded the $5 billion mark in 2011, with industry growth having slowed to around -1 percent for the five preceding years, according to research from IBIS World. The American Tanning Institute estimates there are around 30,000 indoor tanning facilities in the US. These facilities employ more than 150,000 people and serve close to 30 million customers.

The Tanning Salons Industry is currently in the growth stage of its life cycle. Statistics has it that the Tanning Salons Industry in the United States of America is worth over $5 billion, with an estimated growth rate of 2.1 percent. There are about 30,000 registered and licensed tattoo studios in the United States and they are responsible for employing about 150,000 people. It is important to state that no tanning salon company can boast of having a lion market share in the industry.

Research conducted by IBISWORLD shows that Ultraviolet (UV) tanning generates about 50.9 percent of the industry’s revenue. UV tanning can be done in tanning beds or in tanning booths. One advantage of tanning booths is that they take up less space; typically, 10 to 15 square feet, which is about half the room needed for a tanning bed.

As a result of this, companies can install a greater number of units and maximize their number of customers. Furthermore, tanning booths are sometimes preferred because they are more hygienic. Nevertheless, the traditional tanning bed remains the industry’s standard. Tanning booths or beds are outfitted with fluorescent lamps that emit UV in a similar spectrum as the sun. The average session lasts between 10 and 20 minutes.

The face painting business will continue to blossom because people will always want to feel among when they attend parties and carnivals et al. Despite the fact that the industry seems over-saturated, there is still room big enough to accommodate aspiring entrepreneurs who intend opening their own face painting business in the United States of America.

The face painting line of business is very open to any aspiring entrepreneur who has acquired the required training, skills and perhaps professional certifications to start his or her own face painting business. Just ensure that your salon or studio is well located in an environment with the right demography and you will be fine.

2. Conduct Market Research and Feasibility Studies

  • Demographics and Psychographics

The demographic and psychographic composition of those who patronize face painting businesses cut across people of all genders and age group, hence the demographic composition of a face painting business is all encompassing.

The truth is that when it comes to face painting, tanning and other related services carried out by standard tanning salons or face painting studios, there is indeed a wide range of available customers. In essence, your target market can’t be restricted to just a group of people, but to all those who reside around the locations where you have your face painting studio or salon and who have the purchasing power.

So, if you are thinking of opening your own face painting salon business, then you should make your target demographics all encompassing. It should include everyone that attends parties and carnivals.

3. Decide Which Niche to Concentrate On

It is important to state that there is no known niche area when it comes to the face painting salon business. Every player in this line of business is basically involved in carrying out services expected of a standard face painting salon. It is also common to find face painting studios engage in other related services such as balloon twisting, makeup artistry services, party planning services, mobile tanning services and sale of party and Halloween costumes et al.

The Level of Competition in the Industry

No matter the level of competition in an industry, if you brand and promote your services or business properly, you will always make headway in the industry. Just ensure that you are good at drawing creative art on the faces of people, you can deliver excellent customer care services and you know how to attract and reach out to your target market.

But over and above, there are several face painting businesses, complimentary services businesses such mobile tanning salons, makeup artists and any other businesses that also carryout face painting services scattered all around the United States.

So, if you choose to start your own face painting business in the United States, you will definitely meet stiff competition amongst these face painting studios. Besides, there are larger face painting studios and tanning salons that determine the trends in the industry and you should be ready to compete with them for customers.

4. Know Your Major Competitors in the Industry

In every industry, there are always brands that perform better or are better regarded by customers and the general public than others. Some of these brands are those that have been in the industry for a long time, while others are best known for how they conduct their businesses and the results they have achieved over the years.

These are some of the leading face painting studios in the United States of America and in the globe;

  • Glitterbug Face Painting and Balloon Twisting
  • Color Me Face Painting Orange County
  • Daizy Design Face Painting
  • Perth Face Painting Company
  • Face Painting By Shelly
  • com
  • Angies Paintbrush Face Painting
  • Stacey’s Face Painting, Inc.
  • Fun FX Entertainment
  • Macon Faces Face Painting
  • Body Paint Misbehavin
  • Face and Body Art International
  • Smiley Orca Face Painting
  • BRUSHWORKS Face Painting by Miss Connie
  • Glitter Designs On You by Becky
  • MiaJoya Face Painting – miajoya.com
  • Oddzin Ends Michigan Face Painting
  • Sandra Bates’ Face Painting
  • Four Corners Face Painting
  • Dianne’s FunnyFace Painting
Economic Analysis

If you are looking towards successfully launching a business and maximizing profits, then you need to ensure that you get your economic and cost analysis right and try as much as possible to adopt best practices in the industry you choose to build a business in.

Face painting business is not a Green business; as a matter of fact, you will come across several face painting studios, mobile tanning salons, make-up artists and any other outlets that also carryout face painting when you drive through town.

So, you should carry out thorough market survey and costing of what is required to rent a space where you are expected to open your face painting studio business and the amount required to purchase working tools and supplies needed for a face painting business (brushes, towel, color pack, bowl, apron, and disposable shower caps and other supplies) and also the cost to successfully run the business.

Over and above, if you are considering starting a face painting studio business, then your concern should not be limited to the cost of renting a studio facility and purchase of work tools and supplies, but also on branding and how to build a robust clientele base and business network. The truth is that if you are able to build a robust clientele base and business network, you are sure going to maximize profit in your face painting business.

5. Decide Whether to Buy a Franchise or Start from Scratch

The truth is that there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to choosing how you intend starting a business. Basically, you should be guided by your overall business vision and mission statement.

If you are looking towards starting a face painting business, you would have to start from the very scratch because you can hardly find any face painting studio that is into franchising. It is a business that has pretty low entry barriers hence, it is open to all and sundry.

Besides, starting a face painting business from the scratch is less stressful when compared to other small scale businesses which usually require detailed groundwork before launching the business. With face painting business, you should just try as much as possible to get the right employees, face painting skills, tools and equipment, build business relationship and network with key stakeholders and then leverage on every marketing tool at your disposal especially the internet to market your services.

Please note that most of the big and successful face painting studios around started from the scratch and they were able to build a solid business brand. It takes dedication, hard work and determination to achieve business success.

6. Know the Possible Threats and Challenges You Will Face

If you decide to start your own face painting business today, one of the major challenges you are likely going to face is the presence of well – established face painting studios and complimentary services businesses such as mobile tanning salons, make-up artists and any other businesses that also carryout face painting services. The only way to avoid this challenge is to create your own market.

Some other challenges and threats that you are likely going to face is economic downturn; if the economy is in bad shape, history has it that businesses such as face painting studios usually struggle to maintain their old customers or even welcome new customers. unfavorable government policies can also hamper the growth of your face painting business. There is nothing you can do as regards these threats and challenges other than to stay positive that things will work well for you.

7. Choose the Most Suitable Legal Entity (LLC, C Corp, S Corp)

Generally, you have the option of either choosing a general partnership, limited liability company which is commonly called an LLC, or even a sole proprietorship for a business such as face painting studios business. Ordinarily, sole proprietorship should have been the ideal business structure for a small scale face painting business especially if you are just starting out with moderate startup capital in a small neighborhood and with just one outlet. But people prefer limited liability Company for certain reasons.

As a matter of fact, if your intention is to grow the business and have chains of standard face painting studios across the United States of America and other countries of the world via franchising, then choosing sole proprietor is not an option for you. Limited Liability Company, LLC or even general partnership will cut it for you.

Setting up an LLC protects you from personal liability. If anything goes wrong in the business, it is only the money that you invested into the limited liability company that will be at risk. It is not so for sole proprietorships and general partnerships. Limited liability companies are simpler and more flexible to operate and you don’t need a board of directors, shareholders meetings and other managerial formalities.

These are some of the factors you should consider before choosing a legal entity for your face painting business; limitation of personal liability, ease of transferability, admission of new owners, investors’ expectation and of course taxes.

If you take your time to critically study the various legal entities to use for your face painting business with the ability to sell franchise and open chains of standard face painting studios all across the United States of America, you will agree that limited liability company; an LLC is most suitable. You can start this type of business as limited liability company (LLC) and in future convert it to a ‘C’ corporation or an ‘S’ corporation especially when you have the plans of going public. 

8. Choose a Catchy Business Name

When it comes to choosing a name for your business, you should be creative because whatever name you choose for your business will go a long way to create a perception of what the business represents. Usually it is the norm for people to follow the trend in the industry they intend operating from when naming their business.

If you are considering starting your own face painting business, here are some catchy names that you can choose from;

  • Clara & Tammy® Face Painting Studios, LLC
  • Face Nation™ Face Painting Studios, LLC
  • Jessica Wellington® Face Painting Studio, Inc.
  • Party People™ Mobile Face Painting Studio, Inc.
  • Universal Colors™ Face Painting Studio, Inc.
  • Brown Gal™ Face Painting & Tanning Salon, Inc.
  • Rose of Sharon© Face Painting & Makeup Artistry, Inc.
  • Angel’s Tone® Face Painting Studio, LLC
  • Outdoor Delights™ Mobile Face Paining Studios, Inc.
  • Brownie Place© Face Painting & Tanning Salon, Inc.

9. Discuss with an Agent to Know the Best Insurance Policies for You

In the United States and in most countries of the world, you can’t operate a business without having some of the basic insurance policy covers that are required by the industry you want to operate from. So, it is important to create a budget for insurance and perhaps consult an insurance broker to guide you in choosing the best and most appropriate insurance policies for your face painting business.

Here are some of the basic insurance covers that you should consider purchasing if you want to start your own face painting business in the United States of America;

  • General insurance
  • Health/Medical insurance
  • Liability insurance
  • Workers Compensation
  • Overhead expense disability insurance
  • Business owner’s policy group insurance
  • Payment protection insurance

10. Protect your Intellectual Property With Trademark, Copyrights, Patents

If you are considering starting your own face painting business, usually you may not have any need to file for intellectual property protection/trademark. This is because the nature of the business makes it possible for you to successfully run the business without having any cause to challenge anybody in court for illegally making use of your company’s intellectual properties.

But if you just want to protect your company’s logo and other documents or software that are unique to you or even jingles and media production concepts, then you can go ahead to file for intellectual property protection. If you want to register your trademark, you are expected to begin the process by filing an application with the USPTO. The final approval of your trademark is subjected to the review of attorneys as required by USPTO.

11. Get the Necessary Professional Certification

Ordinarily, if you just want to major in face painting, you would not need any professional certifications to run the business, but if you want to run a standard face painting studio that will also go into tanning, then you would need some form of certification if you want to be ahead of your competitors.

These are some of the certifications you can work towards achieving if you want to run your own face painting and tanning salon;

  • Indoor Tanning Certification
  • Spray Tanning Certification
  • Smart Tan Certification
  • Norvell Spray Tan Certification

12. Get the Necessary Legal Documents You Need to Operate

The essence of having the necessary documentation in place before launching a business in the United States of America cannot be overemphasized. It is a fact that you cannot successfully run any business in the United States without the proper documentations. If you do, it won’t be too long before the long hand of the law catches up with you.

These are some of the basic legal documents that you are expected to have in place if you want to legally run your own face painting business in the United States of America;

  • Certificate of Incorporation
  • Business License
  • Tax Payer’s ID/Tax Identification Number
  • Health inspection Certificate
  • Copy of license for the service support facility and/or a recent inspection report
  • Business Plan
  • Non – disclosure Agreement
  • Employee Handbook
  • Employment Agreement (offer letters)
  • Operating Agreement for LLCs
  • Insurance Policy
  • Online Terms of Use
  • Online Privacy Policy Document (basically for online payment portal)
  • Company Bylaws
  • Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
  • Building License
  • Franchise or Trademark License (optional)

13. Raise the Needed Startup Capital

Starting a face painting business can be cost effective if you choose to start on a small scale by running a mobile face painting business. Securing a standard and well – positioned studio facility and purchasing work tools and supplies needed for a face painting business (brushes, towel, color pack, bowl, apron, disposable shower caps and other supplies) et al are part of what will consume a large chunk of your startup capital.

If you choose to start the business on a large scale, you would need to go source for fund to finance the business because it is expensive to start a standard large scale face painting business.

No doubt when it comes to financing a business, one of the major factors that you should consider is to write a good business plan. If you have a good and workable business plan document in place, you may not have to labor yourself before convincing your bank, investors and your friends to invest in your business.

Here are some of the options you can explore when sourcing for startup capital for your face painting business;

  • Raising money from personal savings and sale of personal stocks and properties
  • Raising money from investors and business partners
  • Selling shares to interested investors
  • Applying for Loan from your Bank
  • Pitching your business idea and applying for business grants and seed funding from donor organizations and angel investors
  • Source for soft loans from your family members and your friends

14. Choose a Suitable Location for your Business

When it comes to choosing a location for your face painting business, the rule of thumb is that you should be guided by the demand for face painting and easy access to wholesale purchasing of face painting and tanning supplies directly from wholesale distributors. Of course, if you are able to secure a central location for your face painting studio business, it will give people easy access to your studio.

It cannot be overemphasized that the location you chose to open your face painting studio business is key to the success of the business, hence entrepreneurs are willing to rent or lease a facility in a visible location; a location where the demography consists of people with the required purchasing power and lifestyle.

If you make the mistake of renting or leasing a facility for your face painting business in a not too visible or hidden location simply because it is cheap, then you must be prepared to spend more in promoting the business and perhaps giving direction to potential customers.

Most importantly, before choosing a location for your face painting studio business, ensure that you first conduct a thorough feasibility studies and market survey. The possibility of you coming across similar business that just closed shop in the location you want to open yours can’t be ruled out.

These are some of the key factors that you should consider before choosing a location for your face painting studio business;

  • The demography of the location
  • The demand for face painting, tanning and other related makeup artistry services in the location
  • The purchasing power of residents in the location
  • Accessibility of the location
  • The number of face painting studios, tanning salons, and complimentary services businesses in the location
  • The local laws and regulations in the community
  • Traffic, parking and security et al

15. Hire Employees for your Technical and Manpower Needs

On the average, there is no special technology or equipment needed to run this type of business. But you would definitely need few work tools and supplies to start your face painting business. Some of the tools and supplies needed for a face painting business are brushes, towel, color pack, bowl, apron, and disposable shower caps et al.

You can visit shopping malls in your city to source for a complete kit or better still check online stores. You will also need computers, internet facility, telephone, fax machine and office furniture (chairs, tables, and shelves) amongst others and all these can be gotten as fairly used.

As regards leasing or outright purchase of a studio facility, the choice is dependent on your financial standing, but the truth is that to be on the safe side, it is advisable to start off with a short term rent/lease while test running the business in the location. If things work out as planned, then you go on a long – term lease or outright purchase of the property but if not, then move on and source for other ideal location/facility for such business.

When it comes to hiring employees for a standard face painting studio business with more than one outlet, you should make plans to hire a competent Chief Executive Officer (you can occupy this role), Admin and Human Resources Manager, Merchandize Manager, Studio Manager, Face Painting and Tanning Specialist, Sales and Marketing Officer, Account Clerk, and Cleaners. On the average, you will need a minimum of 5 to 10 key staff members to run a small – scale but standard face painting studio business.

The Service Delivery Process of the Business

On the average, most face painters work from home and operate a one man show. They go to party venues with their face painting kits and catalogue sourcing for face painting deals. Once they secure any business deal, they charge per hour and their charge is about $100 per hour.

A standard face painting business usually owns a studio and also carryout other complimentary services such as tanning and makeup artistry services. They bid for face painting contracts from event planners and event organizers especially those that handle children’s parties and Halloweens et al. Once they secure the contract, they deploy their workers, tools and materials to the party venue to carry out their jobs.

It is important to state that a face painting studio business may decide to improvise or adopt any business process and structure that will guarantee them efficiency and flexibility; the above stated face painting business process is not cast on stone.

16. Write a Marketing Plan Packed with ideas & Strategies

Running a business requires that you should be proactive when it comes to marketing your goods or services. If you choose to launch a face painting business, then you must go all out to employ strategies that will help you attract customers or else you will struggle with the business because there are well – known brands that determine the market direction for the face painting line of business.

As a matter of fact, your marketing strategy should center on creativity, reliability, swiftness, safety, pricing, thoroughness, and above all excellent customer service. You should ensure that whenever your customers hire your services, they will get excellent service. The truth is that if you are able to put the above stated in place, you won’t struggle to retain your old customers and at the same time win over new customers.

These are some of the marketing ideas and strategies that you can adopt for your face painting business;

  • Introduce your face painting studio by sending introductory letters alongside your brochure to event planners and organizers, schools, socialites, celebrities and other key stakeholders throughout the city where your face painting studio is located
  • Advertise on the internet on blogs and forums, and also on social media like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram to get your message across
  • Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in offices, schools, sport facilities, libraries, public facilities and train stations et al.
  • Make use of attractive hand bills to create awareness and also to give direction to your face painting studio facility
  • Create a basic website for your business so as to give your business an online presence
  • Directly market your products
  • Engage in road shows in targeted communities from time to time to promote your face painting business
  • Join local tanning and face painting salon business associations for industry trends and tips
  • Provide discount days for your customers
  • Advertise your business in community based newspapers, local TV and radio stations
  • List your business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
  • Encourage the use of Word of mouth marketing (referrals)

17. Work Out a Reasonable Pricing for your Services & Products

One key factor that will help you offer your face painting services at rock bottom prices is to purchase your work tools and supplies from the manufacturers in pretty large quantities. The truth is that the larger the quantities of items you purchase directly from the manufacturers, the cheaper you tend to get them.

Another strategy that will help you offer your services at the right price is to ensure that you cut operational cost to the barest minimum, and channel your efforts towards marketing and promoting your brand name. Asides from the fact that this strategy will help you save cost, it will also help you get the right pricing for your services.

You can also try as much as possible to work with independent contractors and marketers; it will help you save cost of paying sales and marketing executives.

18. Develop Strategies to Boost Brand Awareness and Create a Corporate Identity

If your intention of starting a face painting business is to grow the business beyond the city where you are going to be operating from to become a national and international brand by opening chains of face painting studios and selling franchise, then you must be ready to spend money on promotion and advertisement of your brand.

No matter the industry you belong to, the truth is that the market is dynamic and it requires consistent brand awareness and promotion to continue to appeal to your target market. Here are the platforms you can leverage on to boost your brand awareness and create corporate identity for your face painting business;

  • Place adverts on both print (newspapers and beauty magazines) and electronic media platforms
  • Sponsor relevant community based events
  • Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote your face painting business
  • Install your billboards in strategic locations all around your city or state
  • Engage in roadshows from time to time in targeted neighborhoods to create awareness of your face painting business
  • Distribute your fliers and handbills in target areas
  • Contact event planners and organizers, schools, socialites, celebrities and other key stakeholders throughout the city where your face painting studio is located informing them about your face painting studio business and the services you offer
  • List your face painting business in local directories
  • Advertise your face painting business in your official website and employ strategies that will help you pull traffic to the site
  • Position your Flexi Banners at strategic positions in the location where your face painting studio is located
  • Ensure that all your staff members wear your branded shirts and all your vehicles are well branded with your company logo et al.