Whether we like it or not, the tattooing industry has a lot of jealousy within its ranks. There is countless reasons for this and some of them will give you the impression that a certain individual should have his head checked. His attitude won’t really register with you until you have been into tattooing a short period of time. Some people will think they own a whole town, city or county and tell you there is no room for another artist in that area. In some cases there isn’t enough business for only one, but if he is established and doing good work, he really has nothing to worry about, but you can’t tell him that. He already has all the answers. Just be very selective here, you pick your location. Never knock your competition even though he might be giving you the bad mouth all the time. It only makes proposed customers curious and they will check it out, believe me. Some tattooists get along fine together, they sort of run in a click, and if you fit into that particular click and are accepted, you’re all set.
One thing in this business that will get you accepted quickly is to turn out exceptional tattoo work. At this point, your competition knows that you’re better than he thought and his attitude towards you might even change, especially if he figures he can learn something from you after seeing some of the super work you’re turning out. Don’t brag about your work, you get a reputation in the tattoo business from other artists, not the customer. Strange as it seems, this is true. Always do your best, conduct yourself in a professional manner and above all, be a nice guy. Public relations is a very important part of tattooing, it has a lot to do with how much you have in your pocket at the end of the week.
