AniaR
01-31-2013, 05:34 PM
I want to tackle a tricky subject here, so I need a disclaimer. This post is in NO WAY directed to specific people in the community. I know many of you have written to me about questions etc, but this post is a reflection I have after writing about it in my upcoming book, and dealing with a mass amount of emails every day.
I am constantly messaged by upcoming mers on how to run their business, or tail makers in the same line. Now, I KNOW everyone starts somewhere. We don't always have the answers or know which direction to go and we go to others for help, and that's fine.
But, I want to say two things.
If you're already offering your services as a professional mermaid- but you haven't figured out what those "services" are, stop offering them. For instance, if you are booking birthday party gigs but have no idea what you should do at them- you should not be booking the gigs yet. Or if you're trying to advertise for corporate events but have zero clue what you should do- you should not do that. The best thing you can do for yourself if you want to do these gigs but have no clue where to start- is to volunteer. Set yourself a number of things you'll do for free. I did 3 parties that were "practice" parties before I decided on what services I COULD offer, and what I wanted to offer. I didn't just know off the bat. Volunteering at a public event where others already volunteer (Like world ocean's day) is another great way to gain experience and know what you can offer. Think about it. When you're getting close to working age- you have no experience to put on your resume. So what do you do before you start applying for part time jobs? You volunteer, you get some training, you help out at events and go to workshops. Then you know how to handle responsibility and be accountable and employers know that while you haven't worked and been paid yet- you have the right skills.
I really really really feel, (and I believe some of the other long-termers do as well) after all my years in this community and working as a mer that too many people think that getting the tail is the hard part, and once they get it things fall into place and they're automatically a professional. Getting the tail is not the hard part. It's generally the most time consuming part. It's actually figuring out what you want to do and how to do it that is hard. I can give you all the advice in the world but until you actually TRY some things, you wont know. It's unfair to test out practically everything on a paid gig, and it makes you come across as someone brand new. When Mermaid Ama wanted to do mermaid stuff with me I made her do 3 training parties. I didn't tell her ANYTHING to do besides a few little hints and left it up to her to figure out what she was comfortable with and how she wanted to handle herself. After 3 parties, she'd gotten into a great rhythm and now she's paid for every gig she does and has a sense of confidence and is comfortable. You also should LEARN TO SWIM before calling yourself a professional mermaid. I can't tell you how many emails I get from people who can't swim at all! I couldn't swim very well when I started. SO I PRACTISED and LEARNED before I started becoming a professional. I'm 100 times better than I was before, but you don't see me going out for gigs that focus on underwater performing because I am not there yet.
In that same line, making 1 tail does not make you a tail maker. With tail making being perceived as such a lucrative business anyone who makes one tail suddenly wants to make it their full time job. Sure, that can be a great goal, but you need to log some hours, make more tails, swim and test them, and actually sell them to people before you're a "company". What we're seeing with a LOT of tail makers right now, is people figuring out as they go. People should always strive to improve but we've all seen the trouble it brings when you start out with one material than switch to another etc. Before Jesse went and became an official tail maker, he made several, and tested the HELL out of them. Yes, he's always going to improve... but he made sure he got over that first hump before charging. Raven? She made at least a dozen and modified several before even considering being a tail maker. In fact, the very reason we kept her a secret when she made my tail- was in case she decided she DIDN'T want to make them and sell them, or she hadn't quite figured it out yet. She took the time she needed, experimented with materials, learned the hard way, before she started charging. When you look at all the tail makers who are well known or at the top- they all have a similar story. I used realistic tail makers as my example because that's what I have the most experience with- but Foxmoon and Aquatails have a similar history too. Also, if you've never swam in a mermaid tail before, that's something you should probably do before trying to sell them. There's a few people who have emailed me about jumping on the band wagon and I tell them in order to understand what clients want they really should swim in a tail before making them and selling them.
I said I'd say 2 things but I have an add on afterthought...
Finally, on both of those topics, I'd really like to see people re-think their language (even me, I'm working on it). I'm finding the community is getting to a place where we put things down as if what we're doing is more important. I don't mean putting down specific people. I mean putting down fabric tails because you have no clue what goes into a fabric tail and simply like realistic ones better. Or, perhaps you put down working with kids simply because it's not something you LIKE to do. (I'd never do a kid's party, that's degrading! *rolls eyes*) I see it a lot on mermaid blogs, and sometimes even in people's bios. It doesn't make you look better, and it doesn't make you look professional either. It makes you look rigid when most people want flexibility. It's fine if you don't like something or approve of it, but that doesn't mean that what YOU do is more important than someone else simply because you prefer it. I've had my website and other stuff evaluated a few times through small business programs locally and it's one of the big things they pointed out. I used language like "unlike other mers...." and they pointed out- clients don't want to read your list of "don'ts" they want to see your list of "dos". If you're a professional tail maker or have aspirations to be one, talk is just talk until you follow through. You can go on and on about what you would and wouldn't do as a tail maker after watching others and still end up stuck in their situation through no fault of your own. When you're constantly proclaiming how great you're going to be and how much better you'll be- people are going to EXPECT greatness. God forbid you find yourself in a situation where you can't live up to expectations. As many of the tail makers will tell you it's a crappy spot to be in, and the hole only gets bigger before you're able to dig yourself out. So be mindful
In both regards, being a professional tail maker, or a professional mermaid... it takes time, it doesn't happen over night, and you will NOT succeed if you have NOTHING to offer. It wont fall into your lap. And it can take a long time to get going. Take the time to build things up in the beginning and you'll be rewarded in the end. It took pretty much 3 years before I got my mermaiding to a professional level where I feel like I'm doing what I want, getting paid what I deserve, and not being limited. It didn't happen over night.
That's all I'll say about that for now, but FYI this is a big section of my book and it covers lots of resources- many of them free- to help your professional development. :)
I am constantly messaged by upcoming mers on how to run their business, or tail makers in the same line. Now, I KNOW everyone starts somewhere. We don't always have the answers or know which direction to go and we go to others for help, and that's fine.
But, I want to say two things.
If you're already offering your services as a professional mermaid- but you haven't figured out what those "services" are, stop offering them. For instance, if you are booking birthday party gigs but have no idea what you should do at them- you should not be booking the gigs yet. Or if you're trying to advertise for corporate events but have zero clue what you should do- you should not do that. The best thing you can do for yourself if you want to do these gigs but have no clue where to start- is to volunteer. Set yourself a number of things you'll do for free. I did 3 parties that were "practice" parties before I decided on what services I COULD offer, and what I wanted to offer. I didn't just know off the bat. Volunteering at a public event where others already volunteer (Like world ocean's day) is another great way to gain experience and know what you can offer. Think about it. When you're getting close to working age- you have no experience to put on your resume. So what do you do before you start applying for part time jobs? You volunteer, you get some training, you help out at events and go to workshops. Then you know how to handle responsibility and be accountable and employers know that while you haven't worked and been paid yet- you have the right skills.
I really really really feel, (and I believe some of the other long-termers do as well) after all my years in this community and working as a mer that too many people think that getting the tail is the hard part, and once they get it things fall into place and they're automatically a professional. Getting the tail is not the hard part. It's generally the most time consuming part. It's actually figuring out what you want to do and how to do it that is hard. I can give you all the advice in the world but until you actually TRY some things, you wont know. It's unfair to test out practically everything on a paid gig, and it makes you come across as someone brand new. When Mermaid Ama wanted to do mermaid stuff with me I made her do 3 training parties. I didn't tell her ANYTHING to do besides a few little hints and left it up to her to figure out what she was comfortable with and how she wanted to handle herself. After 3 parties, she'd gotten into a great rhythm and now she's paid for every gig she does and has a sense of confidence and is comfortable. You also should LEARN TO SWIM before calling yourself a professional mermaid. I can't tell you how many emails I get from people who can't swim at all! I couldn't swim very well when I started. SO I PRACTISED and LEARNED before I started becoming a professional. I'm 100 times better than I was before, but you don't see me going out for gigs that focus on underwater performing because I am not there yet.
In that same line, making 1 tail does not make you a tail maker. With tail making being perceived as such a lucrative business anyone who makes one tail suddenly wants to make it their full time job. Sure, that can be a great goal, but you need to log some hours, make more tails, swim and test them, and actually sell them to people before you're a "company". What we're seeing with a LOT of tail makers right now, is people figuring out as they go. People should always strive to improve but we've all seen the trouble it brings when you start out with one material than switch to another etc. Before Jesse went and became an official tail maker, he made several, and tested the HELL out of them. Yes, he's always going to improve... but he made sure he got over that first hump before charging. Raven? She made at least a dozen and modified several before even considering being a tail maker. In fact, the very reason we kept her a secret when she made my tail- was in case she decided she DIDN'T want to make them and sell them, or she hadn't quite figured it out yet. She took the time she needed, experimented with materials, learned the hard way, before she started charging. When you look at all the tail makers who are well known or at the top- they all have a similar story. I used realistic tail makers as my example because that's what I have the most experience with- but Foxmoon and Aquatails have a similar history too. Also, if you've never swam in a mermaid tail before, that's something you should probably do before trying to sell them. There's a few people who have emailed me about jumping on the band wagon and I tell them in order to understand what clients want they really should swim in a tail before making them and selling them.
I said I'd say 2 things but I have an add on afterthought...
Finally, on both of those topics, I'd really like to see people re-think their language (even me, I'm working on it). I'm finding the community is getting to a place where we put things down as if what we're doing is more important. I don't mean putting down specific people. I mean putting down fabric tails because you have no clue what goes into a fabric tail and simply like realistic ones better. Or, perhaps you put down working with kids simply because it's not something you LIKE to do. (I'd never do a kid's party, that's degrading! *rolls eyes*) I see it a lot on mermaid blogs, and sometimes even in people's bios. It doesn't make you look better, and it doesn't make you look professional either. It makes you look rigid when most people want flexibility. It's fine if you don't like something or approve of it, but that doesn't mean that what YOU do is more important than someone else simply because you prefer it. I've had my website and other stuff evaluated a few times through small business programs locally and it's one of the big things they pointed out. I used language like "unlike other mers...." and they pointed out- clients don't want to read your list of "don'ts" they want to see your list of "dos". If you're a professional tail maker or have aspirations to be one, talk is just talk until you follow through. You can go on and on about what you would and wouldn't do as a tail maker after watching others and still end up stuck in their situation through no fault of your own. When you're constantly proclaiming how great you're going to be and how much better you'll be- people are going to EXPECT greatness. God forbid you find yourself in a situation where you can't live up to expectations. As many of the tail makers will tell you it's a crappy spot to be in, and the hole only gets bigger before you're able to dig yourself out. So be mindful
In both regards, being a professional tail maker, or a professional mermaid... it takes time, it doesn't happen over night, and you will NOT succeed if you have NOTHING to offer. It wont fall into your lap. And it can take a long time to get going. Take the time to build things up in the beginning and you'll be rewarded in the end. It took pretty much 3 years before I got my mermaiding to a professional level where I feel like I'm doing what I want, getting paid what I deserve, and not being limited. It didn't happen over night.
That's all I'll say about that for now, but FYI this is a big section of my book and it covers lots of resources- many of them free- to help your professional development. :)