Know your capacity
October 17th, 2011When I got started doing balloons and face painting, I was at several events where the kids had to wait in very long lines before it was their turn. As a professional, it made me work to get faster, but it also made me realize that it is important to know your capacity.
There have been several times where I have been invited to an event where the planners expected hundreds of kids. I have learned to ask how many kids they expect and will NOT hesitate to recommend bringing in additional support. I am not doing this to help my friends get paying gigs, I am doing this to help myself get future gigs. I have learned that people are much happier when they don’t have to wait in line for an hour. The tips are bigger and more people stop to ask for my business card.
My current estimate is that a face painter can paint a child’s face in 3-5 minutes. I know several face painters who can do it faster, but that is a good starting point. Kids can slow the line down by not knowing what they want or by not wanting to hop out of the chair when they are done. Based on 3-5 minutes per child, a face painter can paint between 12 and 20 faces in one hour. I usually say 15 faces is a good average. This means that a three hour event with about 100 kids would require at least two if not three face painters to meet the demand. (Not all kids will want to have their faces painted.) I try not to get too involved with cheek art. For the most part, I don’t think it is any faster unless it is just a simple rainbow. Since cheek art is smaller, it is often more detailed.
I usually consider balloons a little easier. I can do 25-30 one or two balloon creations in an hour. When doing fancier designs or larger balloon sculptures the numbers drop. But, I will still try to bring in the support needed to meet the expected demand.
If for some reason, I am unable to bring in additional help for a large event, I look for ways to decrease the demand for balloons or face painting. Just about everyone will get in line when things are free. If the kids need to use tickets to go on rides or play games, I can decrease the demand by suggesting that the kids also need to use tickets to get their face painted or to get a balloon. Now, the kid needs to decide between another ride or a balloon.
At a recent event, we had four balloon twisters. The previous year, there were only two balloon twisters at the event and people waited in line for 45 minutes to an hour. Having the two additional balloon twisters was a great help. People still waited 15-20 minutes in line, but we were able to take a little more time interacting with each kid and gave them the balloon they wanted. Yes, it cost the event organizers more money, but in the end, people were much happier.