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Owning and running a tattoo shop is expensive. in the current industry climate it is very unlikely to find any established artist who will work in any shop for somebody who isnt a tattooist, simply because there earnings would be cut in half every week. For an established tattooist its easier and more economical to just open their own studio. Any tattooist who would be willing to work will likely do so for a year or so then leave to open independently. this is a huge problem for an owner because they will take the business with them.
The tattoo industry at current is saturated. There is more studios opening now than betting shops and supply is beginning to outweigh demand. for a tattooist like myself, the only way to survive is to take 100% of the cashflow. i could not afford to split my wages with a second party.
There are entrepreneurs opening studios and doing well however, but only in high traffic city centre areas and you will generally find artists willing to be employed in a centre as demand is higher. But to be successful doing this you need to have a very high budget which can easily roll into high end 5 figure costs. You need to have a high advertising budget and must be employing the best artists who will demand a higher cut. The only studios i've seen doing well in city centres are either collectively owned by a number of artists or owned by somebody with a very big wallet. As far as costs go for a small studio employing 2 artists, monthly breakdown.
Electric: £50 p/m
Shop Rent:£600 p/m
Water: £30 p/m
Ink-Needles-Other: £200 p/m
Medical waste: £50 p/m
Council waste: £40 p/m
Advertising-web hosting: £50-60 p/m
Health licensing: £30 per artist p/m
Business rates: £100 p/m
Tax (based on minimum wage): £60 p/m per person
You also have to factor in general costs, up keep/ travel/ lunch dinner/ insurance/ collateral budget.
This is the general average monthly costs for a small tattoo studio. An average tattooist in a small studio at current will generally take around £350-£400 a week, this changes during off season (winter) from october to march the takings can fall dramatically. I have a consistent custom base and make around £250-£300 p/w during this season. it isnt uncommon to have a a bad week either where you can take very little, expect one of these every 5 weeks or so.
If you are employing a tattooist they have to be decent, if you employ a bad tattooist or below average they will have lower rates or will give your studio a bad reputation. with the competition in the industry at current people will take there business elsewhere if they dont think the work is up to scratch. i see below average tattooists charging £20 p/hour in studios who used to charge £60 per/hour. and the best ones in the local area are dropping theres to £50 p/hour. which is a dramatic drop from the average £80 p/hour 5 or 6 years ago.
You then have to factor that a decent tattooist will not work for any less than a 50% cut and will likely demand higher. if i had to work for a studio i would need 65% to cover my outgoings.
So look over this information and weigh everything up. i dont have a problem with a non tattooist owning studios but they have to do it properly or it will fail, and as somebody who watched several studios, owned by people who have been in the industry for years fail, i can tell you its not a pretty thing, people can end up in huge amounts of debt. And its very very easy to lose money with a tattoo studio if you dont know what your doing, or even if you just have a bad season.
So my advice would be to wait a few years until the industry is stabilized before opening a studio, because in the current climate its not a good idea and could wipe your bank account clean. If you are going to go ahead then make sure you find decent artists, and have a sizable collateral budget at hand as you should expect to make a loss for some time until the studio is established. And also..expect to be constantly hiring new tattooists because if the money drops they will walk and if they're not making money the business will be making debt. Thank you :)