A question of personal safety...

This is all good information. I really hadn't thought of it before. We can't take our personal safety too serious.

Originally, this question came up because I took my first private party at a stranger's house. No bad vibes during the booking, got the deposit fairly quickly, everything seemed fine. The party was yesterday. And my heart nearly stopped when my gps announced that I had reached the location and the house looked desolate - no cars, no balloons, no signs whatsoever of a party. I was just about to turn around and go home when I happened to catch the address on the contract (which was laying on the passenger's seat, luckily!). I had transposed a couple of the numbers. I ended up having a blast at the party once I found the real house! All's well that ends well.

Thanks again for all the input!

HillbillyDiva1 wrote:My Daughter was my apprentice for a couple of years and because I'm disabled she does most the heavy lifting. If you aren't as lucky as I am maybe there is a art student in the local high school or college that might want to apprentice you.

My kids are 8 & 9, I was considering taking one along but I thought it might be a bit awkward/unprofessional since they're still a bit young. I really like the idea of an art student as an apprentice. Gonna keep an ear out for one.

anniel wrote:... I talk to private clients to get a "feel" before I commit...chat 'em up while "finding the right spot in the planner". If you feel ill at ease, "oh, I'm sorry, I seem to be booked that day/time".

Soooo important!! Between taking down allllll information from them and letting them know you are writing it all down, and a deposit and last but not least...LISTEN TO YOUR INSTINCTS!!! You can't always control who will be at a party, but for the most part, good people know good people and if we listened to that 'little voice' we all have, we would almost never get into trouble that could have been avoided. We are taught that it is 'rude' to make snap judgements, to not give people the benifit of the doubt or to judge a book by it's cover. That is all true. BUT when it comes to working alone and your safety, better to have passed up a nice person by accident than to convince yourself you are just 'being silly' and putting yourself in harms way. Getting hurt or terrified or having something happen to your paints is not worth the few $$.

Because I don't take clients that I 'don't like' (translate to that hinky feeling) I've never had a safety issue. The worst that has ever happened is that my wallet was stolen by a neighbor boy (who the mother hated but he would not go away short of a sound beating and apparently the whole street knows is a bully and theif and isn't allowed near almost any of the kids) but thier good son finked (even upon threat of beating and death from the bad kid) and brought it back. This was my own fault. I normally lock my wallet in the trunk or I have it zippered up in a pocket, zipped in my purse, zipped in a luggage bag that is then stored at my feet and I didn't do that this time. My bad! Even with fantastic families it never hurts to take a moment to ensure proper personal and property safety.

Good thing my hubby doesn't work on weekends, anyway if don't know the person or the family I am going, I always let my husband put some of my stuff inside the place (table, chair, tent), anithg is a good excuse!, so they know there is someone outside waiting for me!!!

Also I always ask them where do they found me, if anyone recommended, so I will know who they are, because I recive some funny calls that the information sounds very incongruent like one I have the girl told me that she found me at google, but I make reserch (because I never post anything like it will apear at it), she told me like she wants a setion of face paint so then she will know if she want the body paint also, I gave her my rate because and told her that I will charge her by hour to do everithing in one setion depending of the desing, she said that she want a second setion for the body paint if she wants it, and I said ok and ask for the design she want, to have an idea and work in some desings to show her that day, she said Africa was the topic and she will send me some pics, I thougth it was grate that topic is so big so I can work wonders on it, but instead she just send me a pic of a kid with Africa map on the face , I said who will pay two setions of two hours each just to draw a map on the face?, and then I told her I will have an assistand with me and she ask a woman assistand AND she will be alone, very unusuall, so in the e-mail I recived it was from a beauty salon, I checked the address, and the salon address and doesn't match at all that salon doesn't even exist, I just told her that I have a family situation and I won't be able to work because I was going to be out of the city.