Point 78: Legislative Update – Christina Shull

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In the last three months, following the debut of the Legislation and Regulatory Affairs Committee column in Issue 77 of The Point, there have not been many new actions to report. For many states, very little happens on a regulatory level at the beginning and end of the calendar year. This tends to be a time when many government agencies are winding down their fiscal year and budgeting tends to be tight. The end of the year is also a time when scheduling issues frequently arise due to federally observed holidays between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

While the Legislation and Regulatory Affairs Committee has not been very active assisting with new regulations or legislation recently, the timing worked out well with our Committee Chair, Steve Joyner having knee surgery in November. If there was ever a good time to be out of commission, a slower time for the committee is probably as good a time as it could get. Luckily, Steve’s surgery went well and he’s back in action! However, please note that while new regulations and legislation have been sparse these last few months, some of our committee members have ongoing regular involvement in Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) and National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) projects which were both discussed at greater length in the previous column.

Some members of the Legislation and Regulatory Affairs Committee have been using the slow season to work on a substantial and exciting project. Over the last several months, “save the date” postcards for the 2017 APP Conference were sent to various health department officials in the hopes of generating interest before state budgets were finalized. The APP offers a free Conference pass (with the exception of the “piercer only” classes) to health department officials who book in the APP room block. A printable copy of this postcard has been included. Feel free to share it with your local health department officials. With our recent outreach efforts and your help, we hope to increase the attendance of these officials at future Conferences.

Now that we are a few months into 2017, legislation is starting to picking up momentum. Work has begun with a new state, in addition to the states and countries that we have been in touch with previously. If you know of regulations or legislation being added or reworked in your area, please contact us at legislation@safepiercing.org.

Point 78: Confessions of a Funeral Director – Angie van Dijken

1 Comment read Issue 78, Lifestyle

While I was growing up, my parents started their own funeral business. My dad was a sacristan and had several jobs to make it happen. In those times, we were stereotyped as crows who wore top hats and long, black frocks. My mom was the one with all the necessary licensing and qualifications, but she wasn’t allowed to perform funerals. The industry was accustomed to funeral directors being men, so initially my mother worked mostly behind the scenes. In this farmer’s region, change is not accepted quickly. Being the first female funeral director in the area, it was difficult for my mother to prove herself to others in the funeral business locally. We were viewed as the competition, rather than colleagues or friends. As an example, a group of pallbearers were shared between several undertakers; we were often last when it came to planning. As a result, we were often short on people when pallbearers were needed. It was a constant struggle and respect was not easily earned. Yet, my parents persevered and built a name for themselves in the region.


As a kid, I always helped out after school to earn extra allowance, so I already knew the ropes. When my parents expanded the business with a new hearse, my dad asked me to become the driver. At the time, I had no formal education and was working as a bartender; I took his offer. Despite my past involvement with the industry, I had to prove myself to the men who drove hearses for other directors, similar to what my mother had to do. As a young woman in the role normally assumed by men, I worked hard to earn that respect. They saw how well I could handle the car – I could turn, twist it in any corner or small road. The competition was still intense between funeral directors. No one would offer any guidance, and even though people are free to choose their funeral homes, if rival directors noticed you were encroaching on their territory they would go so far as to slander you to potential clients.

After over eighteen years of working as a licensed care and body restorator and manager of the company, when the time came my brother and I didn’t want to take over the business. We grew up in the field, but it was never the career either of us would have chosen. We stayed at our jobs until our mother retired in 2012. In preparation for her retirement, I started to seek a new career path and began an apprenticeship at a local tattoo shop in 2010. Tattoos and piercings always inspired me. Even though I had to hide my body art, I loved having it and always dreamt about owning my own shop. It might be weird to say considering my previous line of work, but I guess I have always had an interested in working with bodies.

So I started to seek and absorb every piece of information that I could find on piercing in an attempt to gain as much knowledge about it as possible. I quickly established that I couldn’t find much about it in Holland. Thankfully, the world seems a whole lot smaller thanks to things like the internet and Facebook. I started to read all kinds of educational forums and websites, as well as befriend other piercers via social media. The longer I dug around, the more amazed I became in regards to this industry. Colleagues have been very friendly, taking time to answer any questions I have. I’ve sent countless messages through Facebook and gotten many helpful answers from so many people. I was nervous to attend my first BMXnet Conference because I didn’t know anyone, but again, people were friendly and caring, right from the start. Piercers are genuinely interested in you and open for a conversation, which is so much different than what I was used to from the funeral industry.

After almost seven years of piercing, meeting many more people, and learning what they all do to help the industry, I’m still impressed by it. Colleagues work together, educate each other, and share information, no matter who you are. Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been a piercer for years, there’s always someone that will cheer for you or push you harder to reach your goals. In our industry, people will make you feel at home while reminding you that if you stand still, you don’t get anywhere. If you really want to get somewhere you need to work hard and fight for it. However, most piercers understand that it’s a whole lot easier if you have help. I know there are many different industries out there and competition can be hard, but after comparing my experiences in these industries, I’m happy and proud to be a piercer!

 

Point 78: Update from the Secretary – Aaron Pollack

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This has been an exciting year so far for the APP. First off, thank you to everyone who participated in our 2016-17 Elections. These elections were to fill four positions on the Board of Directors. Steve Joyner, Jef Saunders, and Cody Vaughn will all be returning for second terms on the Board. Brian Skellie will be joining the Board at the conclusion of Conference 2017. Congratulations!


Camp APP hosted a great group discussion on the potential to add rose gold to the initial piercing jewelry standard for Membership. After discussion with APP Members, past board members, and jewelry manufacturers, the Board voted to include the following in the Initial Piercing Jewelry Standard for Membership:

“Gold (yellow, white, or rose) is appropriate for initial piercings if it is solid 14k or 18k, alloyed for biocompatibility, and free from nickel or cadmium. Gold higher than 18k is too soft for body jewelry because it can easily be scratched or nicked. Gold lower than 14k, gold plated, gold-filled, or gold overlay/vermeil jewelry is not acceptable for fresh piercings.”

Registration is now open for the 22nd annual APP Conference & Exposition! Check your email for your invite, or through our website at www.safepiercing.org to get registered.

Point 78: Piercing Statistics – James Weber

1 Comment read Business Practices, Issue 78, Statistics

For several years, adult video streaming site PornHub has released statistics on the viewing habits of their users. Wondering what search terms are most popular with online porn consumers? What country has the highest percentage of female viewers? Who the most-searched fictional movie characters are? How much viewership dips during the Super Bowl? Want to know how each of last year’s Presidential debates affected porn viewing in the United States? It’s all in PornHub’s 2016 Year in Review. Regardless of your attitudes or tastes regarding adult films, it is fascinating to see a snapshot—albeit from a single, English-language adult site—about adult video viewing habits worldwide. In this spirit, we decided to take a look at our own 2016 piercing statistics for the services we offer at the studio. While we don’t have access to the tremendous user data and demographic breakdown that PornHub does, we can easily break down the number and type of services we provided in 2016 through our POS system.

First, it’s important to note that new piercings aren’t the only service we offer; we change jewelry and stretch piercings for clients, free of charge, regardless of whether the original piercing was done at our studio. (Just tip your piercer!) It’s a continuing service for our returning customers, and a bit of outreach to customers we haven’t pierced—at least not yet. As a result, we did a whopping 4,062 jewelry insertions and piercings stretches in 2016. That’s 338.5 jewelry insertions per month, a little over 78 per week, and on average over 11 per day—and that’s in addition to clients we see for piercings. In 2016, 32% of our services were jewelry insertions, with piercings making up 68% of what we did last year.

2016 Total Piercings, by Type

In total, the piercers here at Infinite did 8722 piercings in 2016. This works out to an average of 727 piercings per month, 168 per week, and 24  piercings per day. If you add in our 4,062 jewelry insertions and piercing stretches, that comes to an average of 1065 procedures per month, 246 each week, and 35 clients per day, every day!

After jewelry insertions, the top five services we performed for clients were, in order: nostril piercings, nipple piercings, outer helix piercings, earlobe piercings, and then septum piercings.

Repeating the results in 2015, nostril piercings were the most popular service we offered in 2016.

We performed 1690 of them, just behind our 2015 number of 1697 nostril piercings. For the second year in a row, the nostril piercing is king—or queen, really, since the overwhelming majority of our nostril piercing clients are women.

Our second most popular piercing is the nipple. In all we did 333 single nipple piercings and 637 double nipple piercings—making for 1607 nipples pierced in 2016. Not surprisingly, in third and fourth place for most-requested piercings in 2016 were outer helix piercings and earlobe piercings, with 1092 and 1070 performed respectively. Rounding out the top five was septum piercings, with 637 done in 2016.

You can see a breakdown of everything we did in 2016, below:

Two piercings absent from this year’s list that were on last year’s are tongue webbing piercings (we did eleven in 2015) and cheek piercings (we did four that year). This could be because people didn’t request them, or the piercing staff talked clients out of them. (They are both problematic piercings: the tongue webbing for keeping it from migrating; and cheek piercings for getting them to heal.) Or maybe it’s a little bit of both.

Ear Piercing Numbers

It’s no surprise that a lot of what we do are different ear piercings. The breakdown of ear piercings done in 2016 is below:

We did 3,785 ear piercings in 2016. This works out to over 315 ear piercings per month, almost 73 per week, and an average of 10.3 ear piercings every day. These accounted for approximately 44.4% of total piercings.

Facial and Oral Piercings

We performed 2427 different non-ear facial piercings in 2016, including nostril, septum, eyebrow, and bridge piercings, and 312 oral piercings, including lip, labret, beauty mark, philtrum, and tongue piercings. Facial piercings accounted for approximately 28% of total piercings, while oral piercings accounted for under 4%.

Genital Piercing Numbers

Lastly, we performed 330 genital piercings in 2016: 217 female genital piercings, and 113 male genital piercings. Measured against our total numbers, genital piercings account for just under 4% of our total piercings.

The most popular female genital piercing, by a large margin, was the clitoral hood piercing—it was number eleven on the overall list of most popular piercings—with a surprising five Princess Albertina piercings done last year. The most popular male genital piercing was the Prince Albert piercing, followed closely behind by the frenum piercing. Robert and Ed also inserted fourteen genital beads on nine different clients.

Piercing Totals by Category and Piercer

How does this break down by category? Facial piercings account for 28% of what we did last year, oral piercings 4%, ear piercings a whopping 44%, nipple piercings 19%, genital piercings 4%, and navel piercings a small 1% of our totals.

It goes without saying that we do a lot of piercings. We’re not the average studio though. We’ve been in business over twenty years, we have an amazing staff and reputation, and we’re also in a large city (the fifth largest in the United States) without a lot of competition. (Restrictive zoning regulations limit the number of tattoo and piercing studios in most areas of Philadelphia.) As a result, we’re easily one of the busiest piercing studios in the U.S., and these numbers are in no way indicative of the volume of clients seen in an “average” studio, if there even is such a thing, so these numbers shouldn’t be seen as representative of the volume of services performed at other studios.

We have four piercers on staff—with two scheduled together on weekdays and all four scheduled and rotating through weekend shifts—with various guest piercers helping us out during any staff transitions and/or during extended vacation times with our regular staff. If we track the piercing totals by piercer, you get a breakdown of the percentage of piercings performed by each member of our piercing staff. Robert and Andru both saw a quarter of last year’s clients, with Eduardo seeing slightly less. (As head piercer at the studio, Ed’s responsibilities often mean some of the other piercers are seeing clients while Ed is taking care of other pressing matters at the studio.)

We had a few months at the beginning of the year, between the departure of John Logger and the hiring of Zach, when we had quite a few guests seeing clients at the studio. You can see the breakdown with the accompanying chart.

Our Clients, by Gender

Lastly, who are the people coming in for our services? Unfortunately, we don’t have detailed demographic data on our clients, such as age or location. We can pore over release forms for much of this information, but that is prohibitively time-consuming. What we have done, though, is go through last December’s clients’ forms to determine the gender breakdown of our customers. While it’s obvious more women than men come in for our services, it was surprising to find out just how big the discrepancy is. An overwhelming percentage of our clients are women, in reality just under 90%, while a little over 10% of our piercing clients are men. This also includes our numerous trans clients. (This is why we refer to “female” or “male” genital piercings, but break down our clients between “men” and “women.”) We also have quite a few clients who identify outside of the gender binary, but at this time their numbers are few when compared to the total client numbers.

In contrast to our lack of more detailed information on our clients, Facebook has excellent (insidious?) tools for demographics. Through our page analytics, we’re able to get an age breakdown of our Facebook fans: 50% are aged 25-34; 22% are aged 18-24; 17% aged 35-44; 8% are over 45 years old, with less than 3% under 18 years old. Unfortunately, this most likely says more about Facebook’s audience than ours.

Whew! Congratulations if you’ve made it this far. Statistics can be either fascinating or tedious, and we hope we’ve presented these in enough of an engaging way that everyone can geek out on these numbers as much as we did.

 

Point 78: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint in the Piercing Industry – Kendra Jane B

1 Comment read Business Practices, Issue 78, Lifestyle

The idea of being a more environmentally conscientious business is not new, although it is not necessarily the first thing you think of in reference to tattoo and piercing shops. At home maybe you are already living a greener life; upcycling, sorting your curbside recyclables, and buying your food locally. Meanwhile at work, the computer stays on all night, you use only one side of printer paper and the climate controls keep it a constant 68 degrees all year long. It’s easy to let the green routine slide at work, since it’s not technically your space. However, you may fall on the other end of the spectrum, being the shop’s outspoken green warrior. The nicest thing about working towards more sustainable business practices is that these changes can be eco-friendly while potentially reducing overhead costs. So even if the benefits to the planet are hard to see, those benefits to your bottom line may be more visible.

It is hard to know where you can improve if you don’t take a measure of where you are currently. Some areas of your shop may be very green, while you may have room for improvement in other areas.  Rather than just going into this with guesswork, I would encourage you to keep measurable data on how well you are doing in the sustainability realm. The simplest way is to use any one of many online carbon footprint calculators. Once you have done the calculations you will have a great baseline to work from. Although some of the ideas listed are small and easily implemented, others are larger and much more in depth undertakings. This means that it is important to remember this is not an all or nothing scenario and in fact each small thing you do to create a more sustainable shop environment will add up over time.

Let’s start with the physical environment and structure of the studios we work in and own. This can be as easy or in-depth as you want it to be. On the simple and easily accomplished end of the list you can start with switching to LED and other energy-saving light bulbs; even a small change like this can create a measurable difference in your building’s energy usage. The shop can purchase energy-saving models of office equipment, such as Energy Star-approved computers, LCD monitors, printers, and photocopiers. When your electronics have reached the end of their life, make sure to recycle them through e-recycling companies or manufacturer take-back programs. Make sure the option you choose has some sound data-wiping procedures in place to keep your data secure.

You aren’t working all hours of the night (at least I hope not), so why does your computer need to be on? Turn off everything you possibly can before you leave the office each day. Make sure to keep lights off in unused rooms throughout the day and turn off all lights when leaving. This can be simplified by installing motion sensor light switches where applicable, or consolidating electronic plugs so you are able to turn off minimal power strips or switches at the end of the day. Make use of power management options on electronics, such as programming the computer to turn off automatically at a certain time each night, just in case it is forgotten. You can also set your monitor to turn off after a few minutes of inactivity. And never leave things like cell phone chargers plugged in when you’re not using them. They still draw energy, regardless of whether there’s anything plugged into them.

One of the easiest things an office can do to reduce waste is to keep an eye on paper. Paper makes up about 35% of the waste stream – even though it’s one of the easiest materials to re-use and recycle. You don’t need to print every e-mail. Just organize your inbox to make e-mails easier to find and reference. You can encourage others not to print unnecessary paperwork as well. Make back-up copies of important files and keep them on an external drive or cloud storage, instead of storing boxes of paper files. When you do need to print important documents, make sure you use a sustainable paper, and set your printer or copier to print on both sides of the page.

The idea of going paperless is still a future reality for many places. That being said, many shops throughout the world have successfully gone to paperless options for waivers and aftercare. There are well known programs which will allow you to sign PDF files digitally, as well as create PDF documents with signature fields for clients to sign. There are also different digital programs made specifically for tattoo and piercing shops. In fact we even offered a class taught by Alicia Cardenas at our 2015 APP Conference about going paperless.

Second to the paperwork we create in our shops is the paper that just shows up. Junk mail may be one of the most wasteful things known to man. There are free services that will remove you from mailing lists, in hopes of eliminating waste before it starts. If recycling bins are not already easily accessible, this can be another quick, easy office upgrade. Put them near water coolers and next to the photocopier.

Another super easy addition to your sustainable shop arsenal is a digital thermostat with program functionality to lower the temperature when no one is in the shop. Take your heat conservation the extra step if your shop is located in a climate that would benefit from some winterizing; seal windows and doors so heat or cold air is not escaping and seal gaps in floorboards.

If studio structure improvements are possible, there are many things that can be done to increase the building’s energy efficiency. Install insulated windows for better temperature regulation. Look into a tune up for the heating/cooling systems to make sure they are operating at peak efficiency. Buy energy-saving appliances that are Energy Star-rated or look into upgrading old equipment like inefficient boilers or furnaces. If you’re lucky enough to be able to afford a shop remodel, go green from the floor to the skylights. Use eco-friendly flooring options made from renewable or recycled materials. Use sustainable fabrics made from hemp or bamboo for window coverings, or get them second hand. Lengths of bamboo make great curtain rods, too. The sustainable options are only as limited as your imagination.

Now that we have looked at a few simple things (and a couple more involved as well) let’s step outside of our own shop and look at what our neighborhoods and cities offer. Working with other like minded businesses to support and cross promote one another is a great way to not only decrease your carbon footprint, but to increase your business. As an added bonus, you’ll be building great relationships. Chances are, there are businesses in your area that are also trying to improve their sustainability. Network with them and use their services when you can. Part of being a green business is ensuring that your supply chain is green too. Seek out green vendors for your business needs, whether it is printing business cards, hosting your website, or manufacturing the products you sell.

Of course there are always additional steps you can take to make any shop more sustainable, and the only way to make progress is to know where you’re headed. It is important to keep up with environmental news and green business trends to identify areas you can improve on. Making checklists of green business practices to implement and setting deadlines can ensure that things get completed in a timely manner. As you make changes, small or large, it is important to keep measuring this progress. As you make a major change, review energy consumption reports of the building and re-evaluate using carbon footprint calculators. It’s easy to get gung-ho about being greener, only to have the efforts fall by the wayside when a busy time hits. Create a positive environment where positive change and growth towards sustainability is embraced even in an industry where being disposable is encouraged! Revel in the many ways we can work to reduce our carbon footprint.

 

Point 78: Financial Sustainability for Your Business – Christina Shull

1 Comment read Business Practices, Issue 78, Technology

Business sustainability in the piercing industry generally requires financial planning, unless you plan on living with your parents for the rest of your life or you have landed a sugar daddy or mama. Knowing and doing what it takes to keep your finances in order is important. Regardless of whether you are a staff member or the owner of a studio, both positions require a healthy cash flow and good money management skills. I am going to lightly touch on a variety of financial planning topics that apply to everybody in the piercing industry and I encourage you to use this article as a jumping point to explore these topics and start working towards better financial success.

Understanding your cash flow is as important for staff members as it is for business owners, although hourly or salaried employees do have an advantage in this due to having an income that can be more steady and predictable. It is crucial that you truly know how much money is coming in and how much money is going out. The understanding of your income to output is necessary to start budgeting and improving your financial situation. Take the time to estimate what you might spend on various purchasing categories and then compare that to what you ended up spending. You will probably be very surprised to find out how much you really do spend on certain things.

Some examples of different expenses as an individual or business owner can include:

Business:

  • Inventory
  • Piercing supplies
  • Janitorial items
  • Payroll
  • Office supplies
  • Advertising, printing  

Personal

  • Groceries
  • Gas
  • Medical bills
  • Pet care/child care
  • Clothing
  • Entertainment and dining out

Both Personal and Business:

  • Rent
  • Insurance
  • Utilities
  • Loans
  • Telephone
  • Internet

Tracking your current spending habits can be done in a variety of ways. I can tell you from personal experience that the various apps available are easier for tracking personal spending. They are just so much simpler to use than trying to keep track of your spending habits on paper. I have tried a handful of different apps and discuss my two favorites below. There is no excuse for not trying out one or both of these apps, because both are available as free downloads.

Mint: Personal Finance, Budget, Bills & Money – This application is offered by the makers of Intuit and TurboTax, and if you have ever used programs from either company, you know that many of their products are straightforward and easy to use. This program provides a more complete picture of your finances by bringing together your bank accounts, credit cards, bills and investments so you can get an overview of where you are at. There are also some great features such as staying up to date on your credit score (and getting pointers for how to improve it), bill payment reminders (to decrease the likelihood of being late on a payment), and the ability to create budgets. My favorite thing about this program is that you can sync your various financial accounts with Mint, so your financial transactions are automatically updated and you only need to manually enter cash transactions.

Every Dollar: Budget, Manage Money, Track Spending – This application is offered by money management professional, Dave Ramsey, who is one of the leading experts on financial planning for retirement and eliminating debt. This is a great program for budgeting, and I love the ease in which you can view how your monthly spending was planned, compared to how much has been spent and how much is remaining. However, you cannot sync this with your financial accounts unless you pay a $9.99 monthly subscription to EveryDollar Plus. I like the formatting and ease of entering and editing transactions a little more in this program.

Overall, I personally favor the Mint program more due to the free financial account syncing and additional features offered.

Once you have a sense of how much money you are making versus how much you are spending, you can start budgeting. I know budgeting sounds boring, but trust me: it is going to make a world of difference in your financial future. It is easy to casually spend money as things come up. Planning your spending for the month makes it is much harder to randomly spend money, allowing you to strategically cut from one or more categories as necessary. For example: you will be more likely to think twice about blowing a hundred dollars on things you don’t need when you start deducting that amount from your grocery money. When you have the basic budgeting down it is time to start adding in some new expenses that might not be in your current budget. Putting money into a savings account monthly or even bi-weekly is one of the easiest things you can do to start creating short-term financial stability. Having an emergency fund can be vital to staying on track financially if you experience a setback. These emergency savings can keep you from going into debt if you end up with unexpected medical bills, home or auto repairs, sudden unemployment, or any of the other stressful surprises that life can throw your way. When I first started my business, I was hardly paying myself because I invested most of my business income back into my studio. Even then, I started by setting aside $50 a month. Later on,  I bumped it up to $100 a month, which wasn’t missed much from each paycheck even though I was only paying myself a small salary.

Setting aside money for your taxes is another crucial part of your budgeting and planning. Whether we are talking about individual or business taxes, it is a wise decision to set the money aside for when they are due. If temptation to spend the money is too great, there are a handful of ways to minimize the temptation. Increasing the amount of taxes that are deducted from your paycheck is the easiest way to have your taxes paid in full at the end of the year or at least get close. Maybe you’ll even get a return! If the money is taken off your check before you even cash it, you won’t have to worry about the money burning a hole in your pocket. This works well for hourly employees and salaried workers alike, and is very easy to setup and update as needed. Since direct deposit can usually be setup to transfer money into multiple accounts, I personally have my salary automatically deposited into two separate accounts. Every two weeks, one account gets half of my mortgage payment and the other account gets the rest of the money. This allows me to always have money set aside for when my mortgage is due. If you’re doing the math, you’ll realize that I am also able to make one additional full mortgage payment a year on this system, which has a very positive impact on my loan principal, especially early in the agreement. Having money automatically transferred into savings, or into an account for taxes, is a great way to avoid the temptation of spending the money. Talk with your accountant about paying quarterly or even monthly if you are not currently required to do so. This is especially helpful for independent contractors and certain business entities that only need to pay their taxes after the end of the calendar year. These smaller and more frequent payments can feel more manageable and attainable to many people.

Eliminating debt is a big aspect of financial success and happiness. Budgeting and planning is the most effective way to start chipping away at debt. You can find a lot of wonderful and manageable tips on eliminating debt through a wide variety of books and programs. On a very minimal salary, I paid off tens of thousands of dollars of debt that I had acquired before I became a business owner. I was also able to use these techniques to improve my financial situation enough to purchase a home less than two years after I opened my business. There are many different approaches and theories for the best way to pay off debt and these techniques alone could be an entire series of articles.

Want quick suggestions? Create projections and plan accordingly. Don’t let your tax burden at the end of the year be a total surprise that results in scrambling to come up with the money. If you are a business owner, you are most likely required to pay taxes quarterly or monthly, as mentioned above. If you are an independent contractor, you should be planning for when you need to pay your taxes. Talk with an accountant, SCORE mentor, tax advisor, or other professional who can help you figure out how to project your estimated taxes and how to measure the projections throughout the year.

The big finale to this article is a very long and daunting subject that would need much more time to cover extensively. Thankfully, you can attend a course at the 22nd annual APP Conference this year on the subject: “Do Piercers get to Retire? Financial Planning 101 for our Industry.” Retirement planning is crucial in an industry that does not have retirement plans offered commonly as a benefit. I hope to see that change in the future and personally have retirement plans for my studio staff written into my ten year business plan. However, until the industry starts offering retirement plans, it is up to each of us individually to plan for our retirement. I encourage you to sit down with a financial advisor and talk with them about how you can get started investing in your future.

There are plenty of resources available to help you come up with a financially successful plan, including a plethora of information on the internet, investing and financial planning classes, countless books and programs, and various business professionals. Talk with friends and colleagues as well, maybe they have some great ideas and insight that you can adapt. It is never too early to start working towards a brighter financial future!


 

Point 78: Sustainability – Learning to Cultivate – Jared Karnes

1 Comment read Issue 78, Lifestyle

The idea of being a more environmentally conscientious business is not new, although it is not necessarily the first thing you think of in reference to tattoo and piercing shops. At home maybe you are already living a greener life; upcycling, sorting your curbside recyclables, and buying your food locally. Meanwhile at work, the computer stays on all night, you use only one side of printer paper and the climate controls keep it a constant 68 degrees all year long. It’s easy to let the green routine slide at work, since it’s not technically your space. However, you may fall on the other end of the spectrum, being the shop’s outspoken green warrior. The nicest thing about working towards more sustainable business practices is that these changes can be eco-friendly while potentially reducing overhead costs. So even if the benefits to the planet are hard to see, those benefits to your bottom line may be more visible.

It is hard to know where you can improve if you don’t take a measure of where you are currently. Some areas of your shop may be very green, while you may have room for improvement in other areas.  Rather than just going into this with guesswork, I would encourage you to keep measurable data on how well you are doing in the sustainability realm. The simplest way is to use any one of many online carbon footprint calculators. Once you have done the calculations you will have a great baseline to work from. Although some of the ideas listed are small and easily implemented, others are larger and much more in depth undertakings. This means that it is important to remember this is not an all or nothing scenario and in fact each small thing you do to create a more sustainable shop environment will add up over time.

Let’s start with the physical environment and structure of the studios we work in and own. This can be as easy or in-depth as you want it to be. On the simple and easily accomplished end of the list you can start with switching to LED and other energy-saving light bulbs; even a small change like this can create a measurable difference in your building’s energy usage. The shop can purchase energy-saving models of office equipment, such as Energy Star-approved computers, LCD monitors, printers, and photocopiers. When your electronics have reached the end of their life, make sure to recycle them through e-recycling companies or manufacturer take-back programs. Make sure the option you choose has some sound data-wiping procedures in place to keep your data secure.

You aren’t working all hours of the night (at least I hope not), so why does your computer need to be on? Turn off everything you possibly can before you leave the office each day. Make sure to keep lights off in unused rooms throughout the day and turn off all lights when leaving. This can be simplified by installing motion sensor light switches where applicable, or consolidating electronic plugs so you are able to turn off minimal power strips or switches at the end of the day. Make use of power management options on electronics, such as programming the computer to turn off automatically at a certain time each night, just in case it is forgotten. You can also set your monitor to turn off after a few minutes of inactivity. And never leave things like cell phone chargers plugged in when you’re not using them. They still draw energy, regardless of whether there’s anything plugged into them.

One of the easiest things an office can do to reduce waste is to keep an eye on paper. Paper makes up about 35% of the waste stream – even though it’s one of the easiest materials to re-use and recycle. You don’t need to print every e-mail. Just organize your inbox to make e-mails easier to find and reference. You can encourage others not to print unnecessary paperwork as well. Make back-up copies of important files and keep them on an external drive or cloud storage, instead of storing boxes of paper files. When you do need to print important documents, make sure you use a sustainable paper, and set your printer or copier to print on both sides of the page.

The idea of going paperless is still a future reality for many places. That being said, many shops throughout the world have successfully gone to paperless options for waivers and aftercare. There are well known programs which will allow you to sign PDF files digitally, as well as create PDF documents with signature fields for clients to sign. There are also different digital programs made specifically for tattoo and piercing shops. In fact we even offered a class taught by Alicia Cardenas at our 2015 APP Conference about going paperless.

Second to the paperwork we create in our shops is the paper that just shows up. Junk mail may be one of the most wasteful things known to man. There are free services that will remove you from mailing lists, in hopes of eliminating waste before it starts. If recycling bins are not already easily accessible, this can be another quick, easy office upgrade. Put them near water coolers and next to the photocopier.

Another super easy addition to your sustainable shop arsenal is a digital thermostat with program functionality to lower the temperature when no one is in the shop. Take your heat conservation the extra step if your shop is located in a climate that would benefit from some winterizing; seal windows and doors so heat or cold air is not escaping and seal gaps in floorboards.

If studio structure improvements are possible, there are many things that can be done to increase the building’s energy efficiency. Install insulated windows for better temperature regulation. Look into a tune up for the heating/cooling systems to make sure they are operating at peak efficiency. Buy energy-saving appliances that are Energy Star-rated or look into upgrading old equipment like inefficient boilers or furnaces. If you’re lucky enough to be able to afford a shop remodel, go green from the floor to the skylights. Use eco-friendly flooring options made from renewable or recycled materials. Use sustainable fabrics made from hemp or bamboo for window coverings, or get them second hand. Lengths of bamboo make great curtain rods, too. The sustainable options are only as limited as your imagination.

Now that we have looked at a few simple things (and a couple more involved as well)
let’s step outside of our own shop and look at what our neighbourhoods and cities offer. Working with other like minded businesses to support and cross promote one another is a great way to not only decrease your carbon footprint, but to increase your business. As an added bonus, you’ll be building great relationships. Chances are, there are businesses in your area that are also trying to improve their sustainability. Network with them and use their services when you can. Part of being a green business is ensuring that your supply chain is green too. Seek out green vendors for your business needs, whether it is printing business cards, hosting your website, or manufacturing the products you sell.

Of course there are always additional steps you can take to make any shop more sustainable, and the only way to make progress is to know where you’re headed. It is important to keep up with environmental news and green business trends to identify areas you can improve on. Making checklists of green business practices to implement and setting deadlines can ensure that things get completed in a timely manner. As you make changes, small or large, it is important to keep measuring this progress. As you make a major change, review energy consumption reports of the building and re-evaluate using carbon footprint calculators. It’s easy to get gung-ho about being greener, only to have the efforts fall by the wayside when a busy time hits. Create a positive environment where positive change and growth towards sustainability is embraced even in an industry where being disposable is encouraged! Revel in the many ways we can work to reduce our carbon footprint.

 

Point 78: President’s Corner – Jef Saunders

1 Comment read Issue 78, President's Corner

As you may know, I currently serve as both President and Membership Liaison. I feel that this is a very exciting time to be involved in all aspects of APP Membership; there are more tools at our disposal than ever before.

Technological advances have made shooting videos and photographing documents easier than ever. In years past, a new applicant would have to shoot a VHS or DVD, along with photocopies of all of their compliance documentation. They would then ship it in the mail to our office, where it was forwarded to a person on our Membership Committee, who would review it. Then it would be shipped to a second person on our Membership Committee for review.

If an applicant made a small mistake, it could take months of letters and phone calls to make an important change and appropriately document it. Now, we can instantly respond with requests for missing documents or quick fixes of minor mistakes in an applicant’s piercing studio. This means far fewer declination letters have to be sent over minimal errors. The Membership Committee sees these mistakes and then gets to engage in one-on-one health and safety education that makes a real difference in our community. The current Membership Committee (Cody Vaughn, Monica Sabin, Coyote Black, Johnny Velez, Aaron Pollack, Darrin Walters and now Sean Phillips) have my thanks for the extreme amount of applications and renewals they have processed during my term as Membership Liaison.

It is impossible to fully understand the impact of internet forums, such as the Body Modification Learning Forum and the APP Non-Member Forum, in popularizing the use of safe jewelry and up-to-date health and safety practices. There was a time when jewelry compliance issues were the chief hurdle for most piercers in joining the APP. With these forums, safe piercing jewelry has become more and more the norm in shops all over the world. This welcome exchange of ideas has illuminated the path to APP membership, but more importantly safer piercing practices worldwide.

The entire APP benefits from the assistance so many of our Members have given to prospective applicants. The volunteers within the APP work so hard to make the organization effective, and they have my sincere gratitude. I also want to say thank you to those of you within our organization and within our community that supply piercers with so much health and safety information and education. The growth our organization has experienced wouldn’t have happened without you.

To maintain this growth and continue to fulfill our mission of health and safety education, the APP is taking steps to streamline the membership application process. We are doing this by developing a digital application which we are hoping to unveil very soon. This digital application should result in fewer missing documents, as well as making each step easier for applicants to understand and committee members and the office staff to process. It is my hope that this simpler, digital application will allow the APP to continue growing the way it has over the past five years.

In addition to a digital application, the APP is in the process of automating certain aspects of membership compliance and recordkeeping. Soon, internal documents will be uploaded directly to Member records, and Members will be granted access to upload external documentation (like First Aid and CPR). These records will be available to the Membership Committee and APP staff for review. This is an ongoing project in the beta phase, but I have very high hopes that it will be a huge success in making membership accessible to more and more piercers, while also making maintaining membership even simpler.

Stay tuned over the next months as we hope to see these great projects revealed to the membership.

Point 78: Letter from the Editor – Kendra Jane B.

1 Comment read From the Editor, Issue 78

When you hear the word “sustainability,”  your first thoughts might be of recycling soda cans or composting your vegetable scraps. However, the idea of sustainability is one that can be applied in a much broader sense to every aspect of life. Things such as maintaining a sustainable work life balance; which in our industry seems very difficult for many. Creating a healthy balance of piercing and non-piercing related activities is something I struggle with myself almost daily. However, I believe it is important to realize that we all need downtime and we all need to foster the passions we have in life outside of our piercing room. In the long run it makes us better piercers.

We can embrace the idea of sustainability in our piercing room by ensuring an ergonomic work environment to take as much stress off of our bodies as possible. We see many very industry specific issues that seem to arise due to the repetitive nature of our tasks. Making sure that you take care of your body will go a long way to ensuring a long and happy career.

We also need to build sustainable businesses by creating business plans and practices which ensure constant and continual growth at a calculated pace. Unchecked growth in a business is neither realistic nor sustainable, and therefore should be avoided.

We can also strive to lessen our overall carbon footprint within our shops. By making small changes in our environment and routines, we can lessen our impact on the planet. It can be as easy as not printing unnecessary receipts, switching to LED lightbulbs, or installing a lower flow toilet.

This issue will explore the idea of sustainability in its many forms and how it can impact our careers and the body modification industry in more ways than you may have thought possible. We would love to hear how you have made changes for a more sustainable career! Email us at editor@safepiercing.org

Point 78: Letter from the Editor – Marina Pecorino

1 Comment read From the Editor, Issue 78

Sustainability touches many aspects of our daily personal and professional lives. In this issue, Kendra Jane provides tips for reducing our carbon footprint through structural improvements and office upgrades. Also, Jared Karnes of Onetribe discusses sustainability and his discovery of permaculture from a manufacturing perspective. Christina Shull shares some wisdom about how to establish a solid business and personal budget, with a focus on financial planning and retirement.

For the safety of our clients and ourselves, it is an unfortunate consequence that our industry is a heavy producer of waste. I’ve often been morbidly curious to know how much weight in garbage an average piercing room generates in a day, but that newfound knowledge would more than likely make me sad.

As we look toward the future of our profession and our planet, I think it’s important to bring sustainability to the forefront of our minds. Some studios are taking on this challenge by reducing the use of supplies and tools, and thus reducing the need for additional processing and disposable products. For some piercers, this is a perfect solution, but for others, this may not be a change they’re prepared to undertake.

There’s also the unfortunate truth that our work takes an emotional and physical toll on us, making burnout a very real possibility. Long hours on our feet and standing in strange positions can lead to muscle fatigue and joint pain for many. Hectic days when breaks are scarce and meals may be a fantasy can leave us without the resources our body needs to maintain our pace. Add to that the emotional strain of taking on an especially challenging client, and you’ll be ready for bed as soon as you get home. Even some of my most enjoyable and meaningful client experiences have left me feeling drained. If we intend to sustain this profession, it’s important to remember our self-care regimen; as the Volunteer ducklings say, “What Would Paul King Do?”