| Also, take 15 or 20 nice photos of your
standard $3 to $12 designs, featuring names, cartoons, sports
scenes, cars, and other popular motifs. Make sure that you
have a good selection of subject matter. Thios will show
that your work appeals to a broad range of people's interests.
Whenever you have a booth set up, be sure that you take
pictures of it. These should also be included. If you do
not have photos of a booth, you can take along past issues
of Airbrush Action and show them the photos of the
booths I have detailed in my articles and just copy them,
if appropriate. Airbrush Action's May-June 1994 issue
highlights low cost workspace setups.
After getting all of the components together, arrange your
portfolio in an artistic manner for review by potential
employers.
THE NEXT STEP
Decide on the commitment that you are willing to make to
this new business prior to talking to anyone about a job.
Many factors will influence this, such as family obligations
and your regular job.
Most T-shirt shop owners who might say yes to letting you
set up are also very likely to insist that it be on a trial
basis. Knowing this, I normally take the initiative by being
the one to suggest that we set up on a temporary basis.
When planning how to present your business ideas to the
store owner at the interview, I recommend that you put forth
the idea of using the airbrush operation as a promotional
tool during a normal but short gift-giving time like Valentine's
Day or Mother's Day. Knowing that the business is already
going to be good at these times, your new airbrushing promotion
will surely do well, and you'll end up looking like a winner.
Negotiating a longer-term setup will then present no problem
because you will have become a valued commodity. That is
why when first talking to store owners about setting up,
anticipating their apprehensions beforehand can put you
in the driver's seat in the long run.
THE INTERVIEW
It's a common courtesy to make an appointment for your meeting.
This way you will get the time with the owner that you will
need to present your program. Do not wear an airbrushed
T-shirt to the interview; dress and look very conservative
and neat. Right from the beginning of the interview, show
respect and deference to the store owner, just as if he
or she were a CEO and you were applying for a $50,000-a-year
corporate job. (Depending on your ability and the shop's
location, $50,000 can be quite realistic.) Explain to the
owner that airbrushing is becoming a mainstream retail offering
in the imprinted sportswear industry and that it could really
add to the overall appeal of the store. Make sure the owner
knows that above all else, the store comes first. The airbrush
operation will be there to enhance an already successful
business.
Put forth your understanding that as a part of the shop,
it will be your intent to become as much a part of the normal
day-to-day operations as possible, making sure to follow
all of the pre- designated policies of the shop, and that
you expect no special personal considerations. In other
words, on a day-to-day basis, keep your artistic ego in
check when dealing with the store owner and other shop employees.
They know that you are good, but don't expect them to tell
you so everyday.
Tell the shop owner that your airbrush offering will include
designs in all price ranges, with special emphasis on inexpensive
designs, and that your interest is mainly volume sales.
You intend to sell as many T-shirts off the shop's racks
as possible, and to do this, your prices will be kept very
reasonable. This is a big factor. An artist doing four $50
car designs and spending all day on them may take in $200
gross, but the shop sold only four shirts. By contrast,
if your display concentrated on $3 to $12 designs, the same
$200 in airbrush sales would translate into 20 or 30 T-shirts
being sold for the shop. It's easy to figure out which scenario
the shop owner would prefer.
All things considered, of course, you still want to do
expensive designs, but understand what pays the bills, both
yours and the shop owner's. Express to the owner your expectations
of how well you feel the airbrush promotion will do in a
given period. $200 in airbrush sales a day on weekdays and
Sundays and $400 on Saturday is a pretty fair estimate.
Make sure you get across to the shop owner that you are
a "people person" able to relate well to customers. Knowing
that you can communicate well, the owner will put a big
plus mark in that column for you when evaluating your interview.
During the entire interview, keep your portfolio under the
owner's nose, and refer to it often. A picture is worth
a thousand words!
MAKING THE DEAL
If the store owner likes your ideas and says yes to the
concept, now it's time to talk money, commitment, and job
description. There are standards that both parties are expected
to follow. For the artist's part, these are as follows:
- You should be expected to keep normal prearranged posted
hours, during which time you will be on duty.
- Your display of airbrush designs should be kept current.
In 1995, don't have displays that say 1994! During a long
stay, expect to update your display with some new design
each month.
- You should help pay for advertising that is directed
mainly toward the airbrush portion of the shop.
- The airbrush booth should be cleaned from top to bottom
ona daily basis.
- You should pay (wholesale) for any shirts or items you
accidentally ruin while airbrushing.
- You must agree to the "customer is always right" policy.
Never argue about anything with an unsatisfied customer.
Offer to paint the shirt over or return the money. No
exceptions, ever'. It's the store's reputation you are
dealing with here, and the bottom line is, you are just
a guest.
As for the store owner, the following criteria will apply:
- Provide a front-and-center spot for the airbrush booth
in the shop.
- Keep a full inventory of blank "airbrushable" goods
in stock at all times. No exceptions'.
- Make sure that other shop employees make an effort
to help sell the airbrush- ing whenever possible. For
example, if a shop employee is applying a transfer design,
the customer should be asked if he or she would like a
nice design featuring the name of the wearer on the back
or blank side of the shirt. The shop employee should then
direct the customer to you to complete the sale.
- The store should mention the availabihty of airbrushing
in all store advertising.
- The store owner should be supportive of your efforts.
GETTING PAID
Various formulas exist to determine how much is fair to
pay the shop owner to rent space for your airbrush operation.
In all cases, the artist pays the shop a percentage of gross
sales in the form of rent. Some shop owners might want to
pay you by the hour. If that's the case, say bye-bye and
walk out. Never work by the hour— it's written in stone
somewhere!
To arrive at what you should pay and be paid, here are
a few guidelines. Your ability should be reflected in your
pay. An artist who is very productive may command more than
one who is not. Be realistic about your ability. Do you
maintain your own equipment and supplies? If so, you should
be rewarded for this by paying a smaller percentage to the
store. Some shops require that you not own your equipment
and supplies. If the shop maintains your equipment, the
shop owner should be compensated in the form of more rent.
The location of the shop is also a big factor to consider.
A shop in an expensive rental agreement with a mall will
require more rent from the artist. Expect to share in the
burden of the higher rent if you want to share in the extra
business that being in that mall brings. If a shop is in
a strip-type shopping center where the rent is not as high,
the owner's percentage should follow suit. A shop that is
in a freestanding store along a road will most likely have
the lowest monthly obligations, and the airbrush artist
would likewise pay less.
For artists who own and maintain their own equipment, booth,
and supplies and based on gross sales of airbrush artwork
only, the breakdown is as follows:
- Mall store: artist keeps 55%, pays shop 45% rent.
- Strip center: artist keeps 60%, pays shop 40% rent.
- Freestanding store: artist keeps 75%, pays shop 25%
rent.
MAKING IT WORK
Once you're in, it's up to you to make all your hype
come true. It's not hard: it just takes a lot of effort.
Long hours and working seven days a week are not uncommon
for most self-employed people just starting up a new business,
but for airbrush T-shirt artists, it seems to be this way
always. For the long-term setup, you might consider having
another airbrush artist available to allow you to take some
time off. To maintain the frame of mind required to deal
appropriately with customers, you may find it necessary
to work on a more traditional basis. It's important that
your fill-in artist under- stands and operates your setup
the way you would.
MERCHANDISING
The merchandising of your setup is critical. Study
the basic design that the shop already has in place; then
come up with a design for your display that will complement
what's already going on in the shop. I refer you to the
article that I wrote in the March-April 1994 issue of Airbrush
Action, titled "Visual Merchandising Tips for Airbrush T-shirt
Shops." This will walk you through many proven methods of
display for airbrushing.
JUST DO IT
This article sets forth a very realistic starting point
for many aspiring airbrush artists. Putting it all together
certainly takes time, effort, money, and even a little risk,
but if done properly, the airbrushing business can reap
big rewards for anyone with a lot of self-motivation and
a little perseverance. WCA |
