I get questions from new Pageant Directors all the time. Quite frankly I’m getting busier all the time and its difficult to keep up with it. The following is my correspondence with Lacy Havea. She asked a lot of questions. My answers are right after the questions. These answers should help many of you new directors out.
Hey there,
This took me some time to get back to you. I usually charge a consulting fee for the amount of time it took me to prepare my answers. I enjoy helping you and others achieve Pageant Success. You may want to consider hiring me as a consultant next time you find you may need a little more knowledge to help your pageant business grow. I charge only $50 an hour and it is usually all that it takes to be on the telephone and go over techniques and ideas. Best wishes to you my Pageant friend!!!!
Please email me a photo of you and one of your winners to post on my site!
Hey there,
Sorry it took me some to get back to you. I usually charge a consulting fee for the time it tool me to prepare these answers. I enjoy helping you and others achieve Pageant Success. You may want to consider hiring me as a consultant next time you find you nees a little more knowledge to help your business grow. I charge only $50 an hour andit is usually all it takes to be on the phone to go over techniques and ideas. Best wishes to you my Pageant friend!
Please email me a photo of you and one of your winners to put on my site.
Hi Shelly,
I’m writing you here because I have emailed both of our email addresses 2 times but have not heard back from you. My letter is posted below:
I’ve wrote you a couple times with some questions and I always appreciate your nice detailed answers. In case you don’t remember me, I own BeehiveBeauties All Natural Beauty Pageant Contest.
I have a couple questions that are just eating at me, if you could please do your best and use your vast knowledge of Pageantry to help answer them for me.
1. How much money should I charge for the entry? I sometimes do just girls, sometimes include boys, and only once have included teens (1 Signed up)
Taking into consideration the recession that seems to be responsible for the ow turn outs in Pageants all across the county, I feel $75.00 is a fair price to charge for local pageants.
2. How much money should I expect to make (Just A General Guesstimate) after all expenses.
This would determine your turn out. You need about 30 contestants to make about $2,000.00 in profit. Remember, the more contestants you have, the more income you will collect at the door for admission.
Every 10 more you take in over the number of 30 contestants, should bring in an additional $1,000.00 in profit.
3. What should my budget be for the expensive items such as: Trophies, Tiaras/Crowns, Venue Rental
$25.00 for trophies in each category should be a fair estimate. If you have 6 age divisions times $25 is $150.
I start with smaller crowns for the little ones and work my way in size to the older age divisions. Generally around $25.00 for the young babies through little miss age division (7 to 9 yrs.) For older divisions, depending on a $75 entry fee, I would spend around $35.00 per crown.
if the entry fee is $150.00, I would pay around $55.00 for per crown.
It is important to establish a good relationship with a hotel that will work with you. Let them know that you are willing to encourage your contestants to book a sleeping room to help out the hotel. Depending on the quality of the hotel will determine the venue price.
Holiday Inn Hotels is a great place to start hosting pageants. They have average size ball rooms that can accommodate about 40 to 50 contestants and audience. Usually will work with you on having a dressing room for your contestants to prepare in, most hotels will comp this room if you book about 15 sleeping rooms.
Usually $600.00 to $1,000.00 is a fair price for venues to host your pageants. You can try to contact your local community theatre for pricing. They already have a dressing room and an stage as well as lighting.
4. Is it normal to have a few parents, that no matter what are just mad if they didn’t place 1st?
Of course it is normal for folks to be disappointed if their loved one doesn’t win! The CROWN is the ultimate goal! Just remind them that every child is a winner for trying and the key to winning is Practice and Preparation!
Your job as a director is to encourage both the parent as well as the contestant to constantly strive for their goals, if Pageantry is a part of their dreams, then encourage them to keep trying and polish up their performance by Practicing on their stage presence as well as gaining a little modeling experience.
5. I notice in a lot of your pageant videos, there are BIG Glittery Signs behind you and the people you’re interviewing, where do you get your stage props and backdrops? I have just the hardest time finding anything!
Find someone that does wood work and they can make you a sign that you can reuse each year. You can also build your own banner to hang up as your back drop. One of my favorite places to get a quality and inexpensive banner is www.Buildasign.com
6. Do you have a detailed budget available now for people who purchased your Directors Kit? Maybe that can help me see where I might be making some errors.
With the pricing guidelines that I have provided for you will give you a detailed budget guideline. I usually spend about $ 2,000.00 to $2,500.00 for a local pageant. Also, for your sashes/banners, usually $15 or $20 is average for these pageant sashes.
7. Is it financially feasible to give away cash prizes? or savings bonds? if so, how much, to how many winners? is there a way to purchase savings bonds at a discount?
Not too sure about purchasing savings bonds at a discount. I offer a cash prize for the Supreme Award. The supreme award is awarded to the contestant with the Highest Score in the pageant. You can award $200.00 Cash award for Supreme. You can mention in your paper work that you must have 20 paid for supreme to award cash. I also charge an additional $20.00 for this. You can also offer a cash prize, for each divisional winner. Like $100.00, make sure you put on your entry form that you must have 7 or 10 contestants to award the cash award.
I have thrown 6 pageants so far and I have 3 more scheduled this year. My biggest problem I worry about is the amount of I work that I put in isn’t reflected in my profit margin. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE throwing pageants, it just eats up so much time for all the various details that I end up doing and time away from family, and the money I was hoping to make just isn’t happening.
First of all, get rid of the word Throwing! You host and coordinate pageants. This is a more Positive way of thinking!
9 pageants a year is too much to produce for one person. I host 6 pageants a year. This allows a break in between, a part time job and time with my family.
You will get burnt out and not enjoy the fruit of your efforts. It will take about 2 yrs. to build up a referral system that you can depend on. Visit other pageants in your area and take notes on what looks like it works.
I was just wondering if you had any tips for making things run easier, smoother. And any ideas for money making opportunities that I might be missing.
The more organized you are when your arrive at the host venue for your Pageant Production, the smoother it will run. I have someone that takes registration and someone to work the door, sell program books and to answer general questions. I make sure that all of my vendors are set up before the doors open to the public.
You can charge a small vendors fee, maybe $100 to rent a table in the back of the hall or ball room. The vendor can also be a sponsor to the pageant by donating a gift or their services to the winners. You can provide them with a half or full page ad in your program book for their sponsorship!
Have someone work the people’s choice award during the pageant. You should announce this during the time of the pageant. Give away a crown to the winner and sell the chances for $1.00 a chance or 6 chance for $5.00
Also, when dealing with older contestants like pre teen and older, You can recommend them to purchase the Pageant Success Blue Print when they are preparing for their first or next pageant competition.
The Pageant Success Blue Print is designed to prepare the new contestant for their competition. It is loaded with info that will prepare them on what to expect at the pageant from the staff to the actual competition. It will give them insight and knowledge that they will need to be their very best and to be confident in their performance. This will make Your Pageant production run smoother!!!!!
Preparation is the Key to Success!
I was planning to make this my full time job, and I know it will take awhile to establish my identity fully, but I just want to make sure it is a realistic goal that I could actually reach or should I consider this more of a hobby type thing.
Sometimes it seems that it becomes difficult to host pageants full time out of your home and be a full time mom. I recommend hosting pageants part time. This is usually about 5 or 6 pageants annually. Try keeping your events around the different holiday seasons. Folks like this way of thinking and is easier for them to remember that there is a pageant coming up.
I hope this has helped you and I congratulate you on your efforts.
Well thanks in advance for any and all help, I surely appreciate it.
Lacy Havea
Beehive Beauties
www.BeehiveBeauties.com
See You On The Run Way!!!!!
I get questions from new and experienced Pageant Directors all the time. Quite frankly I’m getting busier all the time and its difficult to keep up with it. The following is my correspondence with Lacy Havea. She asked a lot of questions. My answers are right after the questions. These answers should help many of you new directors out.
Hey there,
Sorry it took me some to get back to you. I usually charge a consulting fee for the time it tool me to prepare these answers. I enjoy helping you and others achieve Pageant Success. You may want to consider hiring me as a consultant next time you find you nees a little more knowledge to help your business grow. I charge only $50 an hour andit is usually all it takes to be on the phone to go over techniques and ideas. Best wishes to you my Pageant friend!
Please email me a photo of you and one of your winners to put on my site.
Hi Shelly,
I’m writing you here because I have emailed both of our email addresses 2 times but have not heard back from you. My letter is posted below:
I’ve wrote you a couple times with some questions and I always appreciate your nice detailed answers. In case you don’t remember me, I own BeehiveBeauties All Natural Beauty Pageant Contest.
I have a couple questions that are just eating at me, if you could please do your best and use your vast knowledge of Pageantry to help answer them for me.
1. How much money should I charge for the entry? I sometimes do just girls, sometimes include boys, and only once have included teens (1 Signed up)
Taking into consideration the recession that seems to be responsible for the low turn outs in Pageants all across the county, I feel $75.00 is a fair price to charge for local pageants.
2. How much money should I expect to make (Just A General Guesstimate) after all expenses.
This is determined your turn out. You need about 30 contestants to make about $2,000.00 in profit. Remember, the more contestants you have, the more income you will collect at the door for admission.
Every 10 more you take in over the number of 30 contestants, should bring in an additional $1,000.00 in profit.
3. What should my budget be for the expensive items such as: Trophies, Tiaras/Crowns, Venue Rental
$25.00 for trophies in each category should be a fair estimate. If you have 6 age divisions times $25 is $150.
I start with smaller crowns for the little ones and work my way in size to the older age divisions. Generally around $25.00 for the young babies through little miss age division (7 to 9 yrs.) For older divisions, depending on a $75 entry fee, I would spend around $35.00 per crown. If the entry fee is $150.00, I would pay around $55.00 for per crown.
It is important to establish a good relationship with a hotel that will work with you. Let them know that you are willing to encourage your contestants to book a sleeping room to help out the hotel. Depending on the quality of the hotel will determine the venue price.
Holiday Inn Hotels is a great place to start hosting pageants. They have average size ball rooms that can accommodate about 40 to 50 contestants and audience. Usually will work with you on having a dressing room for your contestants to prepare in, most hotels will comp this room if you book about 15 sleeping rooms.
Usually $600.00 to $1,000.00 is a fair price for venues to host your pageants. You can try to contact your local community theatre for pricing. They already have a dressing room and an stage as well as lighting.
4. Is it normal to have a few parents, that no matter what are just mad if they didn’t place 1st?
Of course it is normal for folks to be disappointed if their loved one doesn’t win! The CROWN is the ultimate goal! Just remind them that every child is a winner for trying and the key to winning is Practice and Preparation!
Your job as a director is to encourage both the parent as well as the contestant to constantly strive for their goals, if Pageantry is a part of their dreams, then encourage them to keep trying and polish up their performance by Practicing on their stage presence as well as gaining a little modeling experience.
5. I notice in a lot of your pageant videos, there are BIG Glittery Signs behind you and the people you’re interviewing, where do you get your stage props and backdrops? I have just the hardest time finding anything!
Find someone that does wood work and they can make you a sign that you can reuse each year. You can also build your own banner to hang up as your back drop. One of my favorite places to get a quality and inexpensive banner is www.Buildasign.com
6. Do you have a detailed budget available now for people who purchased your Directors Kit? Maybe that can help me see where I might be making some errors.
The pricing guidelines that I have provided for you will give a good idea of a detailed budget. Every Pageant is slightly different. I usually spend about $ 2,000.00 to $2,500.00 for a local pageant. Also, for your sashes/banners, usually $15 or $20 is average for these pageant sashes.
Lacy asked too many questions for this article so stay tuned for the second part when I answer the rest of her questions.
Yours in Pageantry
Shelly
Resources
www.shellythepageantcoach.com
www.shellythepagentcoach.net
www.shellyspageantexpress.com
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May 1, 2011 
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