My first birthday party gig - What to charge?

[Mermaid Miradis]

Hello merpeople!

In February I will have my first birthday party gig. It will be probably in a pool.
What should I charge for it? Because I'd like to give the mother a quote.
I thought about the following:
- pool hire
- crafting material
- special presents for birthday girls (there are two)
+ additional little gifts for all children (?)
- what I earn in the end
- travelling costs
Should the parents choose the pool they want to do it in and then tell me or should they choose the area and I look for the cheapest and best suited pool?
How much should I charge for myself (please notice that I am not in a wealthy area and that this is my first birthday party)?
What about the time i.e. how much for one hour, how much for any additional hour?
Luckily I got a merwrangler now who will take charge of time management.

Thank you so much for your help!
Mermaid Miradis

[AniaR]

client should always pay for the pool

for materials I charge per kid and slightly more than at cost, so you have a total budget to work with. - Get that as your deposit so you're not fronting money on materials

look into what the government charges for a travelling rate, that's what we do here. for us it's price per KM

I honestly wouldnt bother doing special presents for the birthday girls, they will have many from friends and family, and YOU are a special present.

I would only give trinkets to the kids, because they will likely have their own treatbags/favours etc. I fill up a treasure chest with inexpensive trinkets from party city that are themed and let them pick two.

check out my video on what to charge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPC7qTuucSE

Check out what mers around you are charging. if there's no one around you, look at similar services like clowns, princesses etc.

Just from the sounds of it you're honestly offering something I would charge a LOT for. You can look on mine for ideas. http://halifaxmermaids.weebly.com/kids-parties.html

[shimmygoddess]

Everything that Raina said! LOL

I charge $250 for an hour. Most always pool parties, use of the go pro, treasure box so they can pick a treasure and I usually have a small gift for the birthday child ( Usually something I made, like a braclet or seashell clip). The treasure box I always keep stocked: plastic coins, crystal gems (the ones you can buy cheap at the craft store), shells, stickers. YOu can go to party city and pick up a big bag of prizes...I also got some rings and some little spikey balls. ( each kid can pick 2 or sometimes 3 if it isn't a big group) That way you should have alot left over for other events/parties.

I was bringing tails with me, but have stopped that for now. If I add that back there will be an additional rental fee. An hour goes by fast, and I doubt you will have time for crafts. Most kids will just want to swim and play with you. Yes, the pool is the parents job to find and pay for. I typically come out, we do some photos..then we swim, play, chat, take photos and videos w/ the go pro..the last 10 min or so we pull out the treasure box and kids line up to pick a treasure. If I was going to do an appearance or dry gig, that is when I would pull out the crafts, books, makeup/glitter for makeovers.

[AniaR]

oooh I wish we could charge that haha we're 195 for a basic swim only for the hour. Add ons are extra. and we are one of the most expensive groups in our side of the country lol

[Hen24]

That's a fine rate I feel.

[Mermaid Miradis]

Thank you so much for your help!
I was just wondering about safety for the children (at which age should they use floating devices etc)?
When does the client pay the deposit and when the rest?

[AniaR]

get the deposit up front

find out the safety rules for the pool, they will have their own, simply follow and encourage those, and add in any you feel you need for YOUR safety

[Mermaid Miradis]

Thank you so much!
When does the client pay the rest of the payment though?

[AniaR]

usually on the day of the party

[shimmygoddess]

cash only too! LOL

[Mermaid Miradis]

Makes sense, thank you so much!

[Mermaid Tory]

client should always pay for the pool

for materials I charge per kid and slightly more than at cost, so you have a total budget to work with. - Get that as your deposit so you're not fronting money on materials

look into what the government charges for a travelling rate, that's what we do here. for us it's price per KM

I honestly wouldnt bother doing special presents for the birthday girls, they will have many from friends and family, and YOU are a special present.

I would only give trinkets to the kids, because they will likely have their own treatbags/favours etc. I fill up a treasure chest with inexpensive trinkets from party city that are themed and let them pick two.

check out my video on what to charge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPC7qTuucSE

Check out what mers around you are charging. if there's no one around you, look at similar services like clowns, princesses etc.

Just from the sounds of it you're honestly offering something I would charge a LOT for. You can look on mine for ideas. http://halifaxmermaids.weebly.com/kids-parties.html

This is so helpful! I made the huge mistake of undercharging for an event this past year because I based it off of what I was making as a princess when I worked through a party company. I charged a starting cost of like $65 for the first hour then $25 for additional hours after. Now if this was a normal everyday job that would be awesome but you can't think like that for entertainment. I only made like $145 (or $165? Don't remember) for 5 hours including a swim in the lake and meet and greet the rest of the time. That was way too long to be in a wet tail and by the end of it I was sore and cramped from being in the tail, my head and eyes hurt from not having glasses on and I didn't want to risk losing contacts in the lake, and my arms and hands were all cut up (was bleeding when I first got out of the water) from rocks and possibly glass in the water. Now they want me back next year for 2 days with 2 swims per day and meet and greets the rest of the time and they asked me to ask around for others to join me but gave me a budget of like $800. That's only $200 a day if I slit it with another mermaid plus an hour travel and they want me to set up decor in a booth so really I should get a little more then the other mermaid simply for the setup and tear down time. Oh and that doesn't include my mertender, who is my husband but should get factored into the payroll.

So yeah I don't mean to make this about me and my pricing problems but rather to show the importance of setting a good price to start with so when you are asked to come back you aren't spinning heads for asking 2x or 3x what you had been before because now I have a whole mess to figure out haha.

[Asvel]

Tell 'em that your prices have gone up in the last year.