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How Many Weddings Will Replace Your Income?

I’m Holli Chris.
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How to Create a Viable Career in Makeup Artistry: Insights From a Celebrity Makeup Artist.
Part 3: How Many Weddings Will Replace Your Income

Welcome to Part 3 of our three-part series that will finally answer the first question of every aspiring makeup artist: How can I create a viable career in makeup artistry? In Part 3, we’ll discuss how many weddings will replace your income.

This series is brought to you by celebrity makeup artist and Founder of Kensington Makeup Academy, Holli Chris. The insights that you’ll gain in this series are a part of Holli’s mission to elevate and educate the industry. 

Crunching the Numbers

Figuring out how many weddings will replace your income can be as simple as crunching the numbers. That said, there are additional considerations that can take your income even higher. First, let’s start with the basics. 

Let’s say, for example, you want to make $30,000 a year or add $30,000 a year as a side hustle. 

A basic pricing structure would go like this: $150 for a bride’s hair or makeup and $75 for a bridesmaid’s hair or makeup. The average wedding is a bride + seven (typically five bridesmaids and two additional attendees). $150 + $525= $675. Factoring in travel fees and makeup kit costs, it would take a total of around 50 weddings a year to earn that $30,000.

While it’s very helpful to have a general breakdown, keep in mind that $30,000 is a vanity number. There is still additional income such as gratuity, other events, and trial runs. This also does not take every operating cost into account. At Kensington Makeup Academy, we teach aspiring artists how to maximize profits and time through streamlining procedures, “free” marketing, and utilizing technology.

Leveraging Industry Trends

An incredible way to increase your income as an artist is to keep an eye on industry trends and jump into them where you see fit.

  • Fill your weekends and more: A few years ago, it was not customary to have a non-Saturday wedding. Today, Fridays and Sundays are extremely common. Even weekday weddings are more common today. 
  • Think beyond the wedding day: Artistry services are being utilized more than ever for tons of wedding-related events such as bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, engagement photos, and more.
  • Add touch-up services: More and more brides are loving touch-up service on the wedding day. You can even offer a touch-up bar at the wedding reception. That could make for a long day, but a very profitable one.

Increasing Your Income With Creative Scheduling 

There are additional opportunities for increasing your artistry income depending on your schedule. Here are a few creative scheduling ideas to lean into. 

  • Seasonality: You can travel between markets with different wedding seasons so that it becomes wedding season all year around for your business.
  • Cultural weddings: Indian weddings tend to fall in the off season and last multiple days. These weddings are not only some of the most incredible, but also the most profitable for artists. 
  • Delegation: There’s a quote floating around social media that goes something like “I wanted to quit my 9-5 to run my business, and now I work 24/7” … and oh how true that can often be. That said, there are ways to maximize your time. One example is delegation. Hiring other artists and building out a team can be a game-changer. 

Putting it All Together 

Figuring out how many weddings will replace your income is essentially a three-step process. Start, of course, with the basic math. Then, think about any industry trends that you can lean into to increase your income. Finally, take a good look at your calendar and see if it makes sense for you to implement some of the creative scheduling ideas noted above.

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