Creative Costumes Part 1

First Impressions For Kids Entertainers

Costumes and characters are important to me. I provide a team of clowns, fairies, super heroes and popular characters who provide entertainment services such as Face Painting, Balloon Twisting, Magic Shows, Games and Disco Parties. Come along with me in this 6 part series where I show you how I stand apart from my competitors and look like a professional in the eyes of a parent wanting to book …

Take a quick peek at what to expect …

1. First impressions count
2. Putting together your costume part 1
3. Putting together your costume part 2
4. Licensed Characters
5. Entertaining as your character part 1
6. Entertaining as your character part 2

Let me ask you this:

First Impressions count, are you making a good one?

So, we start with the typical scenario… mum decides she wants to book a party for her daughter, she wants to get a face painter so she does a Google search… 10 face painting companies pop up and she very quickly begins to narrow down her options. Based on a number of initial factors such as price range, skill set, services etc she will decide who is in her “enquiry list.” From here it gets more personal, she chooses who then to call based on her impression of you, the entertainer!

So, how do you ensure you’re making a good first impression and staying on the maybe list, hopefully even making it down to her final decision?

You’ve got to know what she is looking for and why, it’s so easy to adapt to give her what she wants when you know this.

So, what is she looking for?

Let’s face it, as much as the party is about the kids and them having a great time, it’s also about the parents; it’s about the impression they make on their friends, the awesome photos they may be able to take and also (and rightly so) they just want to be able to have an enjoyable time too!

So keep this is mind, there’s a lot going on here, so much more happening behind the scenes to make this all work, an entertainer at their party will play even a large portion of whether or not that party will be a success. Hosting a party is a big deal and they don’t want it to fail, that’s why they want a professional – do you look like one?

After every party booking I ask the Mum, “how did you come to choose us?”
The answer, after price range and skill set is always based on appearance, I often hear things like, “I went with you guys because you looked great” or, “my daughter liked the look of you, so she chose you!” It was all based on appearance.
(Point to note, its not uncommon for parents to take their kid’s online to choose their entertainer these days, so even more so we need to be visually appealing.)

So now, lets bring into the spotlight the fact that looks do matter! Why?

Because they provide an impression, your look is your brand. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you need to be “America’s Top Model” to get a job, no I’m speaking about how you dress, this is something we can control (and can have great fun doing so may I add!)

It’s no different to when you go to try out a new restaurant, you walk up to the window and have a look inside, from there you form an impression of the food and service based on the appearance of the restaurant. If the restaurant looks run down or unkempt you are less likely to go there as it gives you the impression that the food must be no good too. The food may have been the best in town, but you wouldn’t know as you never went in, impressions count!

Same for when someone goes to book you, they don’t know you, so all they have to go by is your look, so we have to present ourselves in a way that reflects who we are and just how capable we are! Mum is looking for someone who looks fun, friendly and of course professional. So we have to look like that.

So, now that we know that first impressions matter, how as entertainers do we make that great first impression? It’s in how we dress, it’s in our costume! Next month I will reveal 5 steps to creating a great costume, it’s easy and it works – stay tuned!