How to Start your Own Tattoo Business

When starting any business, it’s important to gain any required training and/or education. When starting a tattoo business in particular, there may be certain training, certification and other requirements that must be met prior to opening a studio. Because of the nature of business, you will need to know how to properly sterilize the equipment and educate customers on how to care for their new tattoo in order to prevent infection. The best way to learn about local license and/or industry requirements is to call the local business office and explain the type of business that you would like to open.

Once your training and any necessary licensing are both successfully completed, it will be time to apply for a business license. This piece of paper is very important and must be displayed in your tattoo studio each and every day. The best way to do this is to place your business certificate in a frame and display it on the wall.

Now that you have a business license and any other special licenses required by your local business department, it’s time to choose a location for your studio. Ideally, any place of business would be located in a high-traffic commercial area. The more people that pass by your business, the better likelihood that they will stop in. In addition, when you advertise your business or try and explain to someone where it is located, you don’t want to have a lot of difficult directions. Instead, a simple ‘in town’ or ‘on main street’ would be ideal.

When it comes to advertising your new tattoo business, start small and work your way up. Because your business is new, you are probably working with a limited budget. Don’t worry, most new businesses are. That’s why there are alternate forms of advertising that can help you to get the word out about your new venture without spending a fortune. First and foremost, purchase a large sign to display outside of your business. Make sure that your business name, grand opening date and any special price offerings are noted for every passerby to see. In addition, decorate any windows in your store with samples of your work recreated as clear window adhesives.

Rather than starting out with a large print advertising budget, try writing a press release and distributing it to local newspapers, magazines and/or radio stations. Place flyers throughout town as permitted and on the bulletin boards of local stores. If you can afford it, offer a tattoo giveaway and special grand opening prices during your first week of operation. You may also want to consider contacting local radio stations with your plan to host a tattoo giveaway. This approach requires that you allow the radio station to award the winner on air, which will result in even more publicity for your new business when the DJ mentions the contest sponsor.

As a final thought to starting your own tattoo business, make sure that you explain the importance of proper tattoo care to your customers. Creating a reference sheet will help to keep your customers informed and will remind them of how often to change the bandage and how to avoid infections.

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