Best Of
Re: Don't worry when you lose a job!
When I was in the tattoo industry we showed that kind of respect to the shops that showed it to us. People would try and start bidding wars between studios and we just didnt participate our price was our price you can pay it or you can go.
we didn't talk trash ever. In business there is so much that can draw your focus away, you cant let it. Focus on your shop and how to get better every day and when people come in make sure they leave knowing they had an professional experience.
and if the client say something bad about a competitor dont pile on. You do not grow your business by putting another down. You grow you business by showing why you are a better choice . If you do that people will come. Do not get caught up in any drama and do not react to what you competitors do make them react to what you do. The most important three words in business Professionalism
Professionalism Professionalism. When people walk back to the see magic happen they want to see it being done in a neat clean professional way. It makes a difference believe me. If you walk in to two studios one is very professional friendly and nice and another acts like the didn't give two **badword** about your project. Chances are they are going to the first shop. Which is the number one rule of business. People do not like giving there money to assholes so give them an alternative.
thats what we did as a tattoo studio and we did extremly well for over 20 years . What ever your business is doing the actual work is only a small part of it. How you deal a treat the custormes especially the unhappy ones thats what is going to define your business
what you do for the community helps a bunch. We sponsored blood drives food drive toy donations a
Benifits for people that needed help. When you decide to do a business for real you need to invest. My tattoo studio had probably close to 200.000 invested in equipment. Proffessionals look proffessional and use professional tools and they arent afraid to tell a customer no because we know what works and what doesn't and the last thing you want is a crappy piece floating around out there because it has your named tied to it now. It just seems so many people starting out in business get caught focusing on the wrong things which is everything that is not going to help you grow. Do it right and 20 years from now you may be on a forum trying to share how you made it happen and all the sacrifices that success demands
we didn't talk trash ever. In business there is so much that can draw your focus away, you cant let it. Focus on your shop and how to get better every day and when people come in make sure they leave knowing they had an professional experience.
and if the client say something bad about a competitor dont pile on. You do not grow your business by putting another down. You grow you business by showing why you are a better choice . If you do that people will come. Do not get caught up in any drama and do not react to what you competitors do make them react to what you do. The most important three words in business Professionalism
Professionalism Professionalism. When people walk back to the see magic happen they want to see it being done in a neat clean professional way. It makes a difference believe me. If you walk in to two studios one is very professional friendly and nice and another acts like the didn't give two **badword** about your project. Chances are they are going to the first shop. Which is the number one rule of business. People do not like giving there money to assholes so give them an alternative.
thats what we did as a tattoo studio and we did extremly well for over 20 years . What ever your business is doing the actual work is only a small part of it. How you deal a treat the custormes especially the unhappy ones thats what is going to define your business
what you do for the community helps a bunch. We sponsored blood drives food drive toy donations a
Benifits for people that needed help. When you decide to do a business for real you need to invest. My tattoo studio had probably close to 200.000 invested in equipment. Proffessionals look proffessional and use professional tools and they arent afraid to tell a customer no because we know what works and what doesn't and the last thing you want is a crappy piece floating around out there because it has your named tied to it now. It just seems so many people starting out in business get caught focusing on the wrong things which is everything that is not going to help you grow. Do it right and 20 years from now you may be on a forum trying to share how you made it happen and all the sacrifices that success demands
Re: House of Kolor paint
I use House of kolor in the US. ( keep in mind formula may be different outside the US) it works fine I dip after 30 min the same day so I don't know how long a window it has. I also use sg 100 and their Kandy Koncentrates both as a base coat and over the dip. That paint can be a little expnsive my go to every day paints are Nanochem for white, black, tan almost every thing else Nason/axalta . Pictures are HOK ar candy
Hydro Dipping 101 with Hydro Solutions Paint & Activator
Here is a short video of Hydro Dipping with Hydro Solutions Paint & Activator. We get asked these questions so hopefully this might help some of us out there. Got any questions please contact us at Mielke Way Coatings in the U.S. or Hydro Solutions directly in Canada.
Paint used was Hydro Solutions "Bright Yellow"
Activator used was Hydro Solutions Activator
Paint used was Hydro Solutions "Bright Yellow"
Activator used was Hydro Solutions Activator
Re: Tank Cleaning
Translation: "It's hard to see the dirt at the bottom of the tank, from all the money floating on top of it!"
(This is just what I imagine @MidOhioHydrographics says... not a direct quote)
(This is just what I imagine @MidOhioHydrographics says... not a direct quote)
Re: Compressor, Spray gun, tips
80 gallon is to big to expensive. Any other options? Anything is helpful. Like Home Depot sells smaller compressors rated for HVLP sprayers that are like 30 gallon what’s wrong with that?OK you asked for advice for "legit equipment"...then it was given...then you want to argue about it being too expensive...just what do you think "legit" is?????
If we could all get by with a $125 compressor do you REALLY THINK we would spend more just "because"?...
You new guys on the forum...sometimes I swear...if you can't afford an 80-gallon compressor and some quality guns to start producing a quality product? You better quit now...
The last 13 years I have been in this business? That road to success has been LITTERED with guys that thought they could start a business on a shoestring with cheap garbage...only to find out that (OH BIG SECRET?) that you CAN NOT....I REPEAT CAN NOT!!! get a quality "legit" product with second-string cheap equipment...that you are going to have to replace anyway because it wasn't built to BE a "legit" piece of equipment...
You don't like that answer...tough...not one single guy with that attitude has lasted as long as the guys who heeded the advice to "buy once...cry once"...and even then those of us who managed to survive had to replace 25% of the equipment we thought was going to be the answer...only to outgrow it and need a different answer because the application changed....
It's mind-numbing really...
Newbie: "Hey dude I want a Mercedes ride but I only want to pay for a Pinto"...
Old guy: "Well my friend you may need to save up and buy a Mercedes"...
Newbie: "No can do Amigo...I need a Pinto that rides like a Mercedes...so can I buy a Pinto and some air shocks...should work right? I see no reason it couldn't work...they both have 4 tires"...
Old guy: "You are officially taking up too much oxygen on this planet...please castrate yourself to keep from reproducing...Have a nice day"...
Re: An Artist working with hydrographics....
When I was still operating my hydro business we were doing a lot of custom shoe work. It's a huge industry, but one challenge is the shoe decorators that are most recognized for their custom shoe work (via airbrush, paint) and are doing the professional athlete ones are dabbling in hydrodipping and doing it in a bucket and they look like crap, but because they are the well known decorators people are buying them up left and right. I was fortunate to be partnered with a good friend and one of those 'well known' shoe customizers and he would have me do anything on his projects that required hydrodipping because he knew I was a professional and they would come out looking factory; then he would work his airbrush magic for the rest of the shoe. We had a great partnership and landed shoes in the hands of the likes of that guy with the last name Timberlake, another guy that is known by "Snoop" and numerous NBA and MLB players, etc. There is definitely a market for the custom shoes, but it is one niche for hydrographics that is being totally destroyed by hacks and the youtube "experts". Spent so much time in the custom shoe market showing customers online/youtube crap versus what my professionally processed results were. I have also seen where Nike and Adidas have now begun dabbling in the hydrodip process for some of their high-end customer/custom shoe events...
The prep work and attention to detail required for the shoe market is very high so if you are doing custom shoes don't sell yourself short and price them accordingly. There's my two sense as a now former fellow professional hydrographics shop. I definitely miss doing shoes though!
The prep work and attention to detail required for the shoe market is very high so if you are doing custom shoes don't sell yourself short and price them accordingly. There's my two sense as a now former fellow professional hydrographics shop. I definitely miss doing shoes though!
Re: Average wage for experienced dipper
Sorry if my remark hit a sore spot.
I sometimes forget that "new comers" may not be indoctrinated to our humor.
We all rib and poke at each other, sometimes really harsh.
But it's really all just "locker room" humor.
Like @Libertyman said, the group of guys (and gals) here is outstanding.
I've never seen an industry like this one..where people will openly teach you all their tricks. And hold nothing back.
@K2Concepts has SO many videos, explaining so many different aspects.
It's very common for him, when somebody asks a question.. instead of just saying "blah blah blah", Jim will make a video giving detailed instructions on what needs to be done and how to do it. For FREE! FREE!!!
I've found that no where else...
(That's one of the reasons I pay for a membership here. )
And it's not just the three admins (3 amigos). There is a core "group" here that is very active. And nobody holds back info. Freely giving...
Anyways, I gotta go. Apparently making videos runs in the family.. Jim's mom wants to make one..and she's FREE also!
I sometimes forget that "new comers" may not be indoctrinated to our humor.
We all rib and poke at each other, sometimes really harsh.
But it's really all just "locker room" humor.
Like @Libertyman said, the group of guys (and gals) here is outstanding.
I've never seen an industry like this one..where people will openly teach you all their tricks. And hold nothing back.
@K2Concepts has SO many videos, explaining so many different aspects.
It's very common for him, when somebody asks a question.. instead of just saying "blah blah blah", Jim will make a video giving detailed instructions on what needs to be done and how to do it. For FREE! FREE!!!
I've found that no where else...
(That's one of the reasons I pay for a membership here. )
And it's not just the three admins (3 amigos). There is a core "group" here that is very active. And nobody holds back info. Freely giving...
Anyways, I gotta go. Apparently making videos runs in the family.. Jim's mom wants to make one..and she's FREE also!
