The Five P’s of Painting Every Day:
How a worldwide challenge changed my business

On May 1 of 2017, I began painting every day as part of the “Inspiration to Paint” Facebook Group.  I joined 3000+ face painters around the world who wanted to improve their skills. Please note:  I was unaware that it was a monthly challenge, and announced on my blog and social media that I was IN IT for a year: 365 days…52 weeks of 7 days each!  I had seen painters all over the world being congratulated for “painting every day for a year”, so I assumed that the challenge was for a year.

What a fool am I?  Turned out that it was a good thing to bite off such a huge goal, since I am an “all or nothing girl”…one of those people that gets easily distracted by the “next big thing.”  After all, the last loooong commitment I took was in my 30’s when I went off of birth control…and I am now the proud mother of two grown daughters!

Someone once told me that “if you improve your skills 1% each day, you will be 37 times better at the end of a year.”  I don’t know if that is true, but to improve face painting skills by 1% each day does not take much effort, so…I signed up for the Facebook Group and started painting.

Little did I know that 10 months and 20 days later, I would still be at it, and shouting to the masses:  Just Do It!

Here are the five things I have learned from my Inspiration to Paint Participation.

Provocation (aka peer pressure): First thing every morning, my facebook feed is filled with painters in earlier time zones posting for the day’s theme. If I ever wanted to skip a day, all I had to do was look online and see that hundreds of others worldwide had found the time to paint something on themselves, their practice boards or a friend. NO EXCUSES!  Sometimes it was just a little design, but many times it was a massive portfolio piece that anyone would be proud to share.

I learned quickly that I had to schedule the painting time into my day, or I would be a stressed-out, frantic, maniac at 11 p.m. wondering how to get the design done in time for posting by the midnight deadline. Not Fun!

Preparation:  At first it was a big hassle to unpack the supplies, but then I started leaving stuff out, which ‘eased me into’ my daily painting time. I actually created a smaller kit of extra supplies that I leave out all the time, with my lighted mirror, wipes, bling and “selfie light ring” which attaches to my phone for the best photo quality. You can get one here.  I keep the black backdrop ( a fabric shower curtain) hanging over my bedroom door all the time. Getting a good quality photo was part of the challenge and one of the most difficult things for me, as I am extremely selfie-challenged.

I realized that “setting the environment” for this new habit, was almost as important as the goal itself. Kind of like leaving your running shoes out the night before, and charging up your fitbit. Without making it convenient to paint, and the instant reinforcement from a great pic, it was harder to motivate myself to this new everyday activity.

I am now prepared with design ideas for some of the more challenging items I may be asked to do:  a Koala on the forehead, minions, a one-eyed elf, a full face nutcracker, and a paint roller on your face…When I get asked to do the Family Fun Day at Sherwin Williams, I am TOTALLY READY!

Full Face Nutcracker

Persistence:  I had established a goal and I had announced it to the world, making me accountable to friends, clients, prospects and painty peeps. Just sharing my plan with others helped to keep me on track, and makes it difficult to drop out for a day or quit, since that would just be WRONG. 

Strangely though, I have never followed through on New Year’s Resolutions, and yet somehow I thought I could paint every day for a year?  The example shown by peers and their easily recognized skill improvement, motivated me each and every day. I saw other people completing their year, getting congratulated by painters all over the world and then there was the possibility of PRIZES!  I will do anything for a free gift! (that’s why I have a whole closet full of TOTE BAGS).

My goal setting for ITP has translated into goal-setting for other things:  running a 5K, doing free webinars, launching an online course, and even serving as a sponsor for ITP in January of 2018. Each of these things demanded preparation, organization, commitment and adherence to deadlines. When each of these goals was met, I discovered that I REALLY, REALLY LIKE that personal feeling of accomplishment!  Bring on those endorphins!

Practice:  Of course this is the BIG Kahuna, the one that everyone can relate  to: getting better with nearly everything. I got better at painting myself, which is not easy to begin with, and at blending colors, using new products, line work, making bling, being “cartoony,” speed, one stroke designs, boy faces, WHATEVER!

I am not a natural artist. I am not fine-arts trained. I can’t draw my way out of a cardboard box…or even draw the box. But knowing I had an assignment every day made me think about the subject matter constantly; do research online, look up books in the library, find past notes from conventions or workshops; and then learn to paint it on myself BACKWARDS IN THE MIRROR!

Don’t get me wrong, it has not been all rainbows and buttercups…plenty of my designs were not worth sharing on social media outside of the ITP group. But each one, even the awful ones, taught me a little something…and helped inspire confidence. The Group is a no-negativity zone, so only positive feedback occurs, unless you specifically ask for ways to improve. It’s like a getting a big GROUP HUG every day.

Promotion: This was the biggest surprise, since I really only signed up to better myself and achieve a lofty goal…oh okay, I’ll admit it, yes, win some prizes. But I learned quickly that the photos and the experience of speaking to people out and about while my face was painted, was increasing my presence on social media, making for better posts, establishing an Instagram presence and making my web site better. In addition, I had content for flyers, entire collages dedicated to specific holidays or themes, and could use these to promote party packages, or just Bella Faccia services in general.

People stop me each and every day and ask “where did you get that done?” And when I tell them I did it myself, and that I paint myself nearly every day, you can see the respect in their eyes. No doubt, it creates a whole new conversation about my business and what I could do for them.

Painting myself every day turned out to be an relatively unique business habit, ie. an anomaly in my market, and its given my my neighbors, friends and business associates something to ask me about and a reason to request my card. People notice when I am NOT painted…how’s that for a fun surprise?

My kids would call me freaky, but isn’t being an entrepreneur all about being a little, or a lot, different?  An original?  Remarkable? Don’t you want others to mention you when their friends and colleagues need someone who does what you do?  First, they have to remember you before they can refer you.

As face painters we don’t have to create something that makes others talk about us, since we can BE our work with a little sponge action, a few brush strokes and some glitter.

For me, painting a face everyday, usually my own, showed my surrounding community that I AM the face painter. No need to explain it, you see me and you know exactly what I do.

So, what are you waiting for?  Go to www.inspirationtopaint.com and sign up for April!  Get started on your journey!  I will see you in the group at the end of April, when you finish your first month!  (Don’t forget to congratulate me on my 365th day!)