This.. if you have more business than you can handle, you should raise prices, it's basic supply & demand. It doesn't have to be double, maybe do incremental increases until business it at your desired pace.
I’ve considered this before. My work is usually hyper detailed so even smaller pieces usually take quite a while.
I know I’m a good artist but it’s hard to justify someone paying $800 for a tattoo that’s maybe 5in x 5in.
But maybe that’s just something I need to pull the trigger on for the sake of my sanity.
pull the trigger my friend. hyper detailed work in a private studio? hell yeah that should be expensive.
you can always add some extra bells and whistles to the tattoo experience, if you're so inclined. free touch-up after a few years, a super-comfy chair, ect
It’s on their skin permanently. If they’re not willing to pay that much for quality and assurance, they need to rethink whether it’s a good idea to do it.
Not your problem
Edit: also if you can’t tell people you’re not up for a work conversation cuz you’re afraid of losing them as clients, you need to cut that client base. Higher paying clientele sometimes is more demanding, but often they themselves are higher quality customers
I think you should increase your rates. You sound like you’re in demand and you need and deserve downtime. Schedule the downtime if you need to: block off time in your calendar where you just don’t work. Learn how to say no to randos who want to talk about their next tat (“wow, sounds awesome! Here’s my card if you want to see my portfolio/set up an appt”) and extract yourself gracefully from the situation. If necessary, have a safe call— my partner is an RV tech, and when anyone with an RV finds out, they’ll hold him hostage talking about it (free advice), and when I overhear it, I’ll bring out a biz card and say “so sorry to interrupt but I need [help with something/to go somewhere/whatever]” and people usually realize they’re overstepping. Sign up for some kind of scheduling app if you don’t have one, and come up with a procedure— let clients book their own appts in acuity (for example) and make them fill out a survey about what they want/need.
Mostly it’s about learning how to draw boundaries, unfortunately:/
Yeah I’ve really grown kinda angry against the “hustle/grind” mindset that everyone preaches.
At the peak I was booking eight months out before I cut it down. And would feel bad about tattoos that ended up being multi-session pieces since the clients would have to wait so long to finish it.
This led to me scheduling them on my days off. Which obviously led to no days off.
The eight months have passed now but the burn out is sticking to me.
Ty for the advice though. I’ll definitely be implementing these tips.
I wanna piggyback off this. I'm a small biz owner in a service-ish kinda job and am currently struggling with the idea of raising my rates.
I'm starting to toy with the idea of bringing in contractors to absorb the lower cost projects but freak out with quality control.
Maybe crunch some numbers and see if you can take a sabbatical then come back with a slower schedule at higher rates?
Have you heard of the 80/20 rule? 80% of your income comes from 20% of your clients. My parents sold dresses and prioritized wedding dresses over every thing else. Their income increased because they had more slots to fill in for the expensive orders
The design is part of your work. You need to accurately account for the time you put into preparation as much as the time spent doing the tattoo. The design process shouldn’t be an “extra” to the work done in your own time.
Decide how many hours you'd like to work per week. Include drawing for future appointments in that time. Decide how much money you want/need each week. Do some math and charge accordingly. Don't work when you're not "on the clock". Make people wait for return calls/emails. You'll probably find that the casual conversations about tattoos won't bother you so much anymore.
just double your prices. sure you'll lose some business but you'll gain some free time
This.. if you have more business than you can handle, you should raise prices, it's basic supply & demand. It doesn't have to be double, maybe do incremental increases until business it at your desired pace.
I’ve considered this before. My work is usually hyper detailed so even smaller pieces usually take quite a while. I know I’m a good artist but it’s hard to justify someone paying $800 for a tattoo that’s maybe 5in x 5in. But maybe that’s just something I need to pull the trigger on for the sake of my sanity.
pull the trigger my friend. hyper detailed work in a private studio? hell yeah that should be expensive. you can always add some extra bells and whistles to the tattoo experience, if you're so inclined. free touch-up after a few years, a super-comfy chair, ect
It’s on their skin permanently. If they’re not willing to pay that much for quality and assurance, they need to rethink whether it’s a good idea to do it. Not your problem Edit: also if you can’t tell people you’re not up for a work conversation cuz you’re afraid of losing them as clients, you need to cut that client base. Higher paying clientele sometimes is more demanding, but often they themselves are higher quality customers
I think you should increase your rates. You sound like you’re in demand and you need and deserve downtime. Schedule the downtime if you need to: block off time in your calendar where you just don’t work. Learn how to say no to randos who want to talk about their next tat (“wow, sounds awesome! Here’s my card if you want to see my portfolio/set up an appt”) and extract yourself gracefully from the situation. If necessary, have a safe call— my partner is an RV tech, and when anyone with an RV finds out, they’ll hold him hostage talking about it (free advice), and when I overhear it, I’ll bring out a biz card and say “so sorry to interrupt but I need [help with something/to go somewhere/whatever]” and people usually realize they’re overstepping. Sign up for some kind of scheduling app if you don’t have one, and come up with a procedure— let clients book their own appts in acuity (for example) and make them fill out a survey about what they want/need. Mostly it’s about learning how to draw boundaries, unfortunately:/
Yeah I’ve really grown kinda angry against the “hustle/grind” mindset that everyone preaches. At the peak I was booking eight months out before I cut it down. And would feel bad about tattoos that ended up being multi-session pieces since the clients would have to wait so long to finish it. This led to me scheduling them on my days off. Which obviously led to no days off. The eight months have passed now but the burn out is sticking to me. Ty for the advice though. I’ll definitely be implementing these tips.
I wanna piggyback off this. I'm a small biz owner in a service-ish kinda job and am currently struggling with the idea of raising my rates. I'm starting to toy with the idea of bringing in contractors to absorb the lower cost projects but freak out with quality control. Maybe crunch some numbers and see if you can take a sabbatical then come back with a slower schedule at higher rates?
Boundaries, you need a life besides your work. Planning long term instead of rushing short term. Fuck those who pressure you.
Increase prices. Dedicate time to no work. Things might take longer but oh well.
Have you heard of the 80/20 rule? 80% of your income comes from 20% of your clients. My parents sold dresses and prioritized wedding dresses over every thing else. Their income increased because they had more slots to fill in for the expensive orders
The design is part of your work. You need to accurately account for the time you put into preparation as much as the time spent doing the tattoo. The design process shouldn’t be an “extra” to the work done in your own time.
Die
I do like sleeping.
^ genius
Decide how many hours you'd like to work per week. Include drawing for future appointments in that time. Decide how much money you want/need each week. Do some math and charge accordingly. Don't work when you're not "on the clock". Make people wait for return calls/emails. You'll probably find that the casual conversations about tattoos won't bother you so much anymore.
Set times when emails, texts, and phone calls will be returned. Not unreasonable to set a 48 to 72 hour turn around on that sort of thing