The Business of Murals: Giving it Away

It might sound counter productive to give away free murals in order to get mural work. However, painting free murals in visible places is much more effective than placing ads in publications. The best advertisement for your mural job is a completed mural. You may get some people to purchase a mural based on pictures in a portfolio, or murals in your home, but to increase the chances of others seeing and desiring your murals, you will want to paint somewhere very visible. Giving murals away is the quickest way to become visible. Here are some places you can offer a free mural:

Childcare centers:

If you paint children's murals, childcare centers are a great place to put a free mural. You work will be seen on a daily basis by people who are most likely to purchase a mural. Approach the facilities director and ask if they would want a free mural painted. Try to aim for the lobby so more people will see it. Tell them you are starting a mural business and are giving away a few murals to get your portfolio going. You can ask them to pay for paints if you wish. $50 to $100.00 will cover the costs of the materials.

Hospital:

The children's wards and nurseries of hospitals love muralists. Call and ask who to speak to about donating a mural. When painting in a hospital, you will need to present a clean professional, image, and be able to paint in an active environment. Your work will surely pay off as parents will actually see you painting the mural (as hospitals never close) and work will be sure to come your way quickly.

School:

Volunteer to paint a mural at your child's school. If the school is already full of murals, offer to paint the scenery for the next school play. I once painted a living room scene for a school play in the lobby of the school. That freebie gave me lots of exposure and several jobs resulted from the visibility.

Baby shower or housewarming gifts:

Offer to paint murals for your friends and family. Limit your offers to special events like a new baby or new home so your free services will not become a "free for all". This works best if your recipient has lots of friends and family who might also want a mural. Tell them what the mural is worth and that it is only free for them. You do not want to start a trend.

When giving away free murals, be sure to:

1. Leave a stack of business cards behind so interested parties can contact you.

2. If you work quickly, try to do the mural live (where and when you will attract an audience)

3. Paint the mural in as visible a place as possible.

4. Be firm about what you are giving, set limits and specific times when you can do the work. Control the situation. When people are not paying money for your work, they fail to realize the value of your time.

5. If giving away free murals are not practical for you, consider giving a HUGE discount to your first 10 customers. Let them know why you are giving them a discount so you can put a stop to the discount when you reach your quota.