Posts tagged body mod studios

Point 75 – Guest Spot Etiquette – Frankie Pistone

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The Point Issue 75 Cover

Frankie Pistone headshot Frankie Pistone
Self-employed Piercer

The opportunity to guest spot is a great way to learn and grow as an industry professional. Spending time behind the scenes in studios away from your own home studio allows you to get a first-hand view of how other reputable shops operate day-to-day, as well as how other artists apply their knowledge and skills. It’s also a great way to be exposed to a broader range of personalities while learning about piercing in varying geographical areas with a differing client base.

Of course, one of the main goals while guest spotting is to always be respectful and accommodating to your hosts, the clients, and other employees at the studio. It is important to keep in mind that the routines in the studio you are visiting may be different from what you’re used to; do your best to follow existing policies and procedures. You should make sure that your tools are consistently and correctly processed and your room is kept stocked. It is important to show up early, focused, fed, and ready for the day. The way you carry yourself and the work ethic you apply is an extension of who you are as a professional, so give every guest spot your best and appreciate the opportunity you have been given.

Being open and flexible with different piercing techniques can be an essential attribute when guest piercing. Every studio will have different techniques and some of the tools you normally use may not be readily available for you, so it is important that if there’s an item or tool you can’t live without, you are prepared by bringing it with you.

Also, if you have any stipulations regarding pay rates, or commissions, guarantees, lodging, tips, special accommodations, travel, transportation, etc., it’s best to discuss everything pertaining to your guest spot before you decide to accept the position. Do what you can to make sure there is no confusion surrounding any of the details for your guest spot. Outlining everything in advance is a good idea. However, shared written documentation between you and the studio you are visiting will help clarify expectations and avoid miscommunications.

For those artists covering for a conference attendee during the week of APP Conference and Exposition, don’t be sad that you’re missing out; think of guest spotting as an equally valuable learning experience. This exercise in versatility can be a very helpful trait to have, it is a great chance to test your ability to adapt to new environments, techniques, and people.

Point 75 - Guest Spot Etiquette - Frankie Pistone

Point 74: Tech Tips for the Studio

Comments Off on Point 74: Tech Tips for the Studio read Business Practices, Issue 74, Social Media & Safe Piercing
The Point - Issue 74

Julie Taylor headshotAprilThomasJulie Taylor & April Thomas
APP Outreach Committee

We don’t use machines to create beautiful piercings, but for most of us, being a piercer involves much more than the installation of jewelry. As our jobs as body piercers become more multi faceted it is now common place to find more efficient and economical ways of doing all of the parts that now make up our job. This is where we can use technology; it can make many of our tasks more efficient and improve workflow; the integration of multiple technological tools can provide even more benefits. In this article we will take a quick look at some of the ways piercers can currently use technology in their studios to improve efficiency.

Point of sale system (POS)
– Create your next order automatically based on custom targets
– See inventory instantly
– Manual counting of each piece is required less often
– See sales in real time from home or away
– Track a variety of statistics, from best sellers to busiest time of day
– Use reporting features to identify business opportunities or trends

Client tracking software (sometimes integrated with POS)
– Set up and maintain client reward program
– Single out groups for marketing (birthdays, top gold purchasers in the last 6 months, all nostril piercings this month, etc)
– Generate contact list for an email newsletter
– Send reminders for check ups and other appointments
– Access sizes, wish lists, dates of services and other details for individual clients
– Commit phone clients by booking and scheduling appointments

Accounting software (also may integrate with POS)
– Track even more statistics
– Have year end figures ready at tax time
– All calculations are done by the software
– Handle payroll

Digital waivers
– Nothing to file or store, saving time and space

CCTV cameras
– Watch business from afar
– Added security

Online appointment booking (sometimes integrated with POS)
– Access schedules from home or away
– Clients can book themselves, reducing phone calls and emails

Social media
– Lower priced or free, targeted, advertising
– Easily respond to clients in a frequently used platform
– Scheduling software allows the streamlining of posts to multiple platforms over multiple days in one session.

Website
– Showcase all your info and portfolios together with aftercare, driving directions, links and more
– Collect data from here to shape marketing efforts
– Digitally book appointments to commit online shoppers
– Integrate with search engines for higher SEO results
– Integrate with social media (provide links between)

Cloud storage & file transfer systems (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc)
– Share photos and documents among team members
– Work on projects from home
– Less (or no) risk of losing work as a result of hardware failure

Google maps
– Show business by name
– Makes clients’ experiences easier
– Reduce calls for directions

Mobile phone
– Take photos to help line up paired piercings, show clients ear or other placements that are hard for them to see, as well as portfolio photos
– Access your portfolio anywhere
– Use software for many of the above tasks while at home or away, including POS, CCTVs, Google, social media, and more (this article was written entirely with the Google Docs application)

Each one of these categories of technology could have an entire issue devoted to it. This quick reference was not meant to provide you with the information to best implement and utilize each of these technologies within your shops and business models. Instead, we hope this quick reference will help readers determine which technologies could make a meaningful impact in their studio. Hopefully this reference guide will allow you to isolate an area or procedure that can be improved upon and give you the tools to begin the research process.