We were lucky to catch up with Megan Parker recently and have shared our conversation below.
Megan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
I am definitely happier as a business owner. Being able to have more flexibility for my personal life is a huge plus. Even more important than that is the ability to contribute to my community. The valley of Los Angeles is often over looked and definitely underrated. Many of us who were born and raised here are becoming business owners and doing everything we can to lift each other up. We are putting together events to celebrate the San Fernando Valley. We put together events to benefit the LGBTQ+ community and many other meaningful, and ofter overlooked, communities. I do not miss working for someone else. Everything I chose to do directly benefits my own business. I spent many years putting in work that helped bring other business up, it feels great to be able to do it for myself.
Megan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Megan Parker. I was born in Los Angeles, CA and raised in the San Fernando Valley. I’ve always been an artist and have worked in creative fields since my teen years. In 2017 I started tattooing under the guidance of my mentors, Manny Daggers and Derek Sayeg. I only tattoo in the American Traditional style. It is important to me to be the best I can possibly be in one style instead of mediocre in several styles. The tattoos I make are clean, bold, bright, and will last the test of time. I of course love tattooing designs from flash, but I also offer custom designs, cover ups, blast overs, and gap fillers in the funkiest of spaces.
Last year in 2022 Manny Daggers and I opened our own studio called Last Laugh Tattoo in Studio City, CA. It’s a fun clean space in a really neat old building. Being able to open my own business has been a huge accomplishment. Clients often tell us how much they love coming to Last Laugh because it is a comfortable space, which of course is important when doing something as intimate as getting tattooed. We want our clients to have a good experience so they can not only leave with a good quality tattoo, but also a good memory of their time in our chair.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
I would say there are a few effective ways to growing clientele in my line of business. Of course giving clients a good tattoo that exceeds their expectations, and being able to properly communicate with them about what they want. It can be hard as a client who isn’t an artist to explain what you would like your design to look like. I have a full questionnaire to help pull out the answers I need in order to create designs. It is important to foster a positive relationship with clientele, offer a good experience in a fun studio, and of course give them a beautiful tattoo that will work as a walking advertisement for your business. Word of mouth through the community is huge. Last laugh has working partnerships with other business where we sell art or merchandise out of their store, and we also cross promote on social media. Social media is another place where you can grow clientele, but I definitely believe it is secondary to working in the community to grow your brand.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Previous to tattooing I worked as a baker for ten years. I attended art school and thought I might end up as a comic illustrator or possibly illustrate children’s books. When the opportunity to apprentice as a tattooer came up I had to take it. It wasn’t a career I had thought of before, but as I started painting flash and learning more about it it only made sense. I had spent a lot of time in tattoo shops already by that point and was heavily tattooed. I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. Tattooing is what I will do until I am unable to work anymore.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: meganparkertattoo
- Other: Studio Instagram: LastLaughTattoo