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CHAPTER NINE
THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY
As a makeup artist, you will likely be freelancing at some point, which is ultimately running your own business. This section breaks down the many aspects of the business side of things that you need to know in order to run a successful, money-making makeup business
TRADE FOR PRINT (TFP) & BUILDING A PORTFOLIO
When you’re starting out in the industry, you will often have to work for free to gain experience and build your portfolio. One of the best ways to do this is to participate in Trade for Print. This is when you work with a photographer, hairdresser, and model for free to grow your portfolio. Everyone involved works for free, and everyone then gets the images for their portfolios, so it’s ultimately a win-win-win. Look on Facebook to find photographers and groups in your area, then ask to collaborate. The great thing about TFP is that you can be the creative director since you’re doing it for free, and it’s just a matter of collaborating with the photographer and model. You need a proper portfolio to get jobs, so try to do this once a week for a few weeks (at least). Also, you should make sure that the photoshoots are centred around the type of makeup that you want to specialize in. For example, if you want to work in bridal makeup, set up a bridal photoshoot.
PRICING YOURSELF
The first thing you should know is that you never want to undervalue yourself. If you make your prices too low, you will attract the wrong clients, look like an ammateur, and lower industry standards. If everyone is collectively charging around the same price as a beginner, then it raises industry standards as a whole. Your price does depend on the area that you live. For example, Toronto and other large cities will be more expensive than a smaller town a few hours away. However, anything under $70 is generally too low for the industry.
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