Re: $$
Posted by Kenzi on November 16, 1999 at 01:57:06:
In Reply to: Re: $$ posted by Catherine Cartwright Jones on November 15, 1999 at 20:14:43:
I agree with Catherine...check out your market and see what it will
bear. You may want to keep your prices low to get in on the
market...and then let your clients be walking billboards for you
(give them lots of business cards to pass along to the people who
will invariably ask where they got their henna done).
As you get better and as you are more sought after, you can justify
raising your prices.
If there are salons/tattoo places in your area that do mehndi, ask
them what they charge. This may seem a little sneaky but it's you
research...especially important since there isn't a lot of market
research available for the henna sector! A lot of henna websites
list their prices to give you more of an idea.
Catherine is right. In NYC the charge for a square inch is roughly
$10 and the hourly rate is about $35-40. I usually charge about $15
for one side of one hand or foot and then give a discount if they
have both hands done, or both sides or whatever (kind of like 60
cents a piece, or 2 for a dollar).
It depends also on how much of that square inch is covered with henna
so try to be flexible with that, and make sure to agree upon a price
with the client BEFORE you begin the work. Sure you might scare them
off with the price you come up with for the work they have in mind,
but explain to them how long it will take (so they understand that
you are not just slapping on a stencil but rather putting in your
time and creativity), and give them alternatives (as in, doing a
smaller version on the design, or less complicated, or doing just one
hand or one side...then if they really like that they may want to pay
more to have more done).
Good luck!