I Love Tattooing Episode 3: Employee V Contractor

Explicit content warning

06/12/23 • 72 min

Globally the tattoo business is over a billion dollar a year industry and is projected to grow to 3.5 billion by 2029. The IRS has not ignored the tattoo industry.

The trend of offering the W2 option probably began in a state like California where tax and labor laws are very strict.

The days of flying under the radar in the fringes of society for tattoo artists are long gone. As the entire world moves more towards a cashless society and governments experiment with Central Bank Digital Currencies, the chances of tattooing to remain off grid are diminishing rapidly.

Globally the tattoo business is over a billion dollar a year industry and is projected to grow to 3.5 billion by 2029. The IRS has not ignored the tattoo industry.

The trend of offering the W2 option probably began in a state like California where tax and labor laws are very strict.

Previous Episode

I Love Tattooing Episode 2: Apprenticeships

Tattoo apprenticeships are a sharply debated topic. Unlike many other industries that use the apprenticeship method to train new workers, the tattoo world does not have a universally approved or recognized process for apprenticeships. Before Clay's entry into tattooing he was a welder and worked in a union shop that had a standardized structured apprenticeship procedure. In the trade apprentice Clay did, all parties knew their role and what their expectations were. Although Jack did complete a formal structured apprenticeship from a competent instructor, this has historically not been the case for tattooing. This void in the industry seems to have allowed an entire new business of tattoo schools to grow unopposed as well as enabled unqualified people to take on the role of tattoo instructor. Jack and Clay explore the issues surrounding todays apprenticeship method (or lack thereof) in tattooing today. Find us: Visit our website: https://ilovetattooing.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ilovetattooing?s=20 Telegram: https://t.me/ilovetattooing Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/ILoveTattooing/100092671900404/ Substack: https://ilovetattooing.substack.com/p/i-love-tattooing?sd=pf

Next Episode

I Love Tattooing Episode 4: Getting an Apprenticeship

Some people view tattooing as a craft, some as a trade, some as an art. They are all correct. It is all of these things and more. It’s challenging, it's frustrating, it’s rewarding, it is a way of life. Getting a tattoo is a lifelong commitment, Becoming a tattooer is as well. It will take you the rest of your life to master it and as soon as you think you have it figured out there is another aspect that you have to learn. The beginning is the biggest learning curve and an apprenticeship is the traditional and most widely accepted process for learning. But how does this work?

If you commit to learning to tattoo, you commit to a relationship with a mentor that could last years. This is not a process that happens overnight. Expect a two to three year time commitment to get to the point where you can make a decent living doing tattoos (of course its possible for this to happen faster) and a possible additional commitment to remain at the studio you learned at for another couple of years as well.