Victoria Benedetti (https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-benedetti-5a71b233/) is our special guest on today's episode of PDX Small Business Network Podcast (http://pdxsmallbusinessnetwork.com/). She is a tattoo artist in Southeast Portland who owns and operates her own private tattoo parlor. Together, Victoria and I talk about what got her into the art of tattooing, how long she’s been at her own business, and to sort of debunk some myths about the entire process while educating people (myself included) on what they can expect when they enter her tattoo parlor. Let’s get started!
IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN:
* Where Victoria got her start! A Portland native, Victoria has been an artist her whole life and has a degree in graphic design from Portland State. In addition to traveling around the world, she’s spent the past 13 years doing custom designed tattoos for people in her own private studio!
* Victoria explains the process to us slightly, explaining that before anything serious happens, everyone gets a free one-hour consultation so they can articulate what they want. For her, it’s fun to meet new people and understand what their thoughts are on getting a tattoo. However, in the end, Victoria claims that the connection she has with her clients is the most important—she’s the artist who can bring their vision to life, but she needs a concept and an idea from the customer, first, before she can execute it to perfection.
* Victoria also explains how much it can help for people to do a quick Google search on tattoos and the whole process, or to even visit her website in order to read the FAQs and informational pages. Since tattooing has become pretty popularized with reality television, people often think they know more than they do about the process. Since tattoos are permanent, Victoria needs anyone interested to know that what they’ll get it something they’ll carry for the rest of their lives, so knowing what you want before going in is highly important, as well as making sure that getting a tattoo is what you truly want in the first place.
* Victoria talks with us briefly about the pain experienced during a tattoo, first confirming that the process does hurt. However, how much it hurts varies from person to person—if you’re someone with a high pain tolerance, it won’t be as much of an issue as opposed to someone with a very low pain tolerance. Additionally, the part of the body you choose to get the tattoo on affects how much pain you experience, as some places are extremely tender and exposed.
* Victoria talks to us about the importance of finding a tattoo artist that you connect with. For her, it’s about a positive exchange of energy—you want to find someone you click with and someone that you like. It doesn’t necessarily have to be someone who does a specific style you’re looking for since most artists can do a lot of different styles and techniques. It’s about how much you connect with them, and how you resonate with them. Having a personal connection with someone is important when you start the process! Tattoos are powerful, and you want to make sure that the person you receive it with is on the same wavelength as you are.
* Victoria tells us about the first time she got a tattoo, stating that it was kind of hard at first. Being an artist herself, it’s hard to choose what you want doing first, and it wasn’t until she had a very powerful experience that she knew she wanted to be reminded of that experience. If you’re not really sure of what it is that you want, Victoria encourages people to wait on it. Once you have the right experience or feeling, of something you want to be connected to, you’ll know.
* Victoria also talks with us about cover-up tattoos, stating that it’s a popular request she often gets.
