While some businesses may come and go, the tattoo industry has proven resilient for decades. Today, there are roughly 21,000 running tattoo studios across the United States, and the American tattoo industry rakes somewhere around $2.3 billion worth of revenue every year!

Customer demand has been steady for the previous years, and it’s not challenging to notice why budding entrepreneurs and artists continue to deliver interest in commencing their tattoo shops. However, managing a tattoo shop isn’t just about funding and exhibiting your portfolios.

A tattoo studio software is an ideal solution that streamlines the overall operations to help you operate your shop like the complete badass you are. But, before we get into that, let’s dive right to the tips on how to run a tattoo shop.

Find the best possible location

tattoo shop best location

[Source: Rostylan]

Setting up your shop in a feeble locality is, indeed, a surefire way to shoot yourself in the foot before you even begin with your business.  

Owning a tattoo shop at a retail center, like a shopping complex, is a sought-after choice, but these shouldn’t be your only choice. 

  1. A flea market can be a great place to consider operating your tattoo shop. One, it gets moving foot traffic from audiences who are usually there to spend money. Second, it helps you save money for a brick and mortar store. 
  2. Never undervalue the accessibility of assembling a tattoo shop in your home. It’s an excellent idea for artists wanting to build up their portfolio and setting up a clientele base.
  3. About half of Americans between 18 and 29 have at least one tattoo. Hence, another great space to set up a shop would also be near a university campus!
  4. Opening up a tattoo shop near a common transportation route is also a smart way to make sure that people without vehicles can make their way to your tattoo shop. Having said that, setting up shop near public spaces is a great idea.

Keep social media presence a priority

Social media is a treasured tool for all kinds of trades and businesses. It’s low-cost and easy, and a quick way to put your brand name out there. It’s simple: you can begin to start with publishing engaging and relevant content on your profiles. Further, keep inviting people to ‘love/like’ and ‘share’ your designs and artwork, also keep it well-updated with good reviews and ratings. It also helps to run some campaigns after having strategies for tattoo shop advertising.

This easy task increases your viewership, and chances of filling in your chairs. So, keep publishing content, and don’t forget to keep working your way out with hashtags. Hashtags hold the power to get your work more acknowledgment and in the hands of the right audience! It’s one of the most underrated tattoo studio marketing strategies ever.

Be a master of tattoo tools!

It’s reckless for tattoo artists to skimp on their tools. There might be several places to cut back on expenses when trying to run your professional shop, but your tools should never be one of them. For instance, you may consider trying out a free tattoo studio management software.

Indeed, tools don’t make the tattoo artist. However, state of the art tools ensure you stay well updated with new skills and techniques, and provide the best artwork you can for your clients. High-quality tools are the cleanest and safest investment you can ever make for your tattoo shop!

Getting licensed, setting up your tattoo shop at the right location, and getting started with social media are few basics, to begin with, but once you’ve nailed these basics, It’s time to switch gears and level up with customers and appointment management.

Your customers should be #1

Customers are the foundation of every idea, argument, or process for every business, and the same stands true for ours. With customer management set in place, you get to plan consultations to understand if they’re pleased with your services, and in case they aren’t, you had the opportunity to turn that around!

You can audit their history, get a good grasp over what pleases them, and which services they avail the most. This information can be a real game-changer; you can advance your selling methods, accelerate your customer experience rates, and grow your tattoo business at scale.

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Organize your appointments in one place

The moment you start experiencing much of a client rush at your studio, that indicates excellent progress. Still, it can be overwhelming at the same time. The crowded seats and the increasing number of clients flowing might make it hard to manage everything exquisitely, but with a robust tattoo appointment software process in place, you can handle it like a pro!

Allow your clients to cancel, reschedule, or schedule their appointment without any trouble. Further, figure out which staff members have free slots and assign them accordingly. Hence, you can run multiple processes and save yourself valuable time.

tattoo booking

[Source: Aron Visuals]

Appointment and customer management are essential for your tattoo shop, but trying to pull them off manually can be tiring. Enter TattooPro.io.

The software will lessen your manual and time consuming, and allow you to focus more on other essential tasks. On the other hand, it enables you to manage bookings, schedule appointments, maintain records, and manage deposits, run marketing campaigns, and much more.

There’s so much you need to do to run your tattoo shop – your plate is going to be full! Fortunately, there is software out there to help manage the more technical aspects of your tattoo shop. TattooPro.io makes the experience more convenient for tattoo shop owners like you and your customers.

Don’t waste another moment contemplating, get in touch with us today!

FAQs: Running a Tattoo Business

In addition to customer and appointment management, what are the other features a tattoo management software has to offer?

In addition to the two mentioned features, our tattoo software has an array of features and capabilities to offer. Run SMS and email campaigns, establish a POS system, manage your employees, take care of bookings, maintain records, and manage deposits!

How can I make my tattoo shop more profitable?

You expand your services to more than just tattooing. To make your business more profitable, you can,

1. Offer body piercings.
2. Sell jewelry for piercings.
3. Sell local artwork.
4. Carry an inventory of aftercare products.

Host special events. For instance, a Breast Cancer Awareness event. It’s a win-win situation for both parties: survivors can get a custom piece, and you gain exposure to a whole new set of clientele.

Do I need to protect my artwork and design while running a tattoo shop?

YES! As a tattoo artist, you should seek protection by attaining a good grasp of copy-righting and trade-marking. These laws can be complicated and need counsel. Your tattooing style or pieces of artwork and designs are worth protecting from other artists' use without approval and authorization.


Featured Photo by Obi Onyeador on Unsplash