Why I Built TATT BIZ “Beyond the Chair”
- blackwidowtattoo2
- Nov 22
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 9
(The Course the Tattoo Industry Pretends Isn’t Needed)
I’m Erika Armstrong.
25+ years tattooing, custom-painting hot rods, and airbrushing anything that stands still long enough.
I’ve owned shops, worked in shops, guest-spotted, and I’ve watched more talented artists burn out or walk away broke than I can count.
And after every single one of those conversations, the same sentence always came up:
“If I had known what it was really like… I wouldn’t be in this mess. I feel broken, washed up, and honestly not even sure what I’ve done with my life. I dedicated everything to an industry so fucking volatile it chews you up and spits you out. I WISH someone had taught me the business side. I wish I’d been warned.”
And to be honest—I feel the same.
So I stopped waiting for “someone” to step up. I stopped waiting for the industry to suddenly become supportive. I took the plunge myself.
I built my first version of this course in 2015 because I couldn’t find tattoo staff who had the full professional package—like any other contractor or trade. Everyone who applied either had a drug problem, no professionalism, or simply wasn’t someone you’d trust with your clients.
So I built my course, advertised it, and took only five placements. The course wasn’t about making money—it was about finding staff for my shop who actually had customer care and fucking service.
I created an interview process and an integration incentive system so they gained real work. I kept four of those artists, and I believe two of them are still in the game today.
Now let’s talk about the absolute magnitude of shit that got thrown at me just because I dared to run a course.
It didn’t matter that I was literally paying staff to train inside my own studio.
It didn’t matter that I was trying to raise the bar, build real professionalism, and give new artists a legitimate career path.The rock trolls still came out swinging – keyboard warriors, bitter “artists”, and even industry “representatives” who should have known better.
And now, as the same voices crawl out of their caves again (they always do), every single attack only proves why this course is more relevant than ever.
Let’s be crystal clear: I poured my own money, time, blood, sweat and soul into that shop. I built a structured, generous training program that set apprentices up for life – something most shops never bother to do.
Yet a handful of loud, mediocre nobodies with sub-par portfolios decided they got to judge my competence and tear me down in public. Some of my own team even listened to them – people too weak to carve their own path, happy to throw stones at the one person actually trying to lift the industry up. This is still a marginal male-dominated trade, and the tall-poppy syndrome has to stop.
If someone is running their business, paying staff, and raising standards – stay the heck out of it.
That’s exactly why I created this course: so the next generation learns the right way, from someone who’s actually done it – not from the cheap seats.
Business Beyond the Chair isn’t another flash-in-the-pan course.
It’s the course I desperately wish 22-year-old me had:
before I signed my first 70/30 (guess who got the 70) contract
before I worked for “exposure” and gave away designs for free
before I watched the shop owner pocket six figures while I lived on toast and baked beans, praying the power wouldn’t get cut
before I got tangled in an industry ecosystem riddled with affiliates and criminal ties I wanted no part of.
It’s the course I needed before I opened my own studio and learned the hard way—through bruises, heartbreak, and massive financial losses—that passion alone doesn’t pay rent, insurance, or super.
In 2025, thousands of artists are still trapped in the same broken, outdated business models while the cost of living has tripled.This course teaches you how to charge what you’re worth (and that it’s more than okay to do it).
It teaches you that not everyone in this industry is your friend. If I’d had this back then, everything would have been different.
Now it’s here for you.
I’m in this for the long haul, committed to passing everything forward. I hope I can help you reach my level—and even surpass me—having a more fortunate experience than the trauma I carry.
Inside, you’ll find the actual numbers (Business Metrics):
• What it really costs to run a Chair / Business in 2025
• How much you should be taking home (and why you’re probably not)
• How to price time so you’re not subsidising the shop
• How to open your own shop in 60-90 days without going bankrupt
• Contracts, boundaries, and how to fire a client without burning the industry down
• The legal red flags that can shut you down tomorrow
• And the mental-health tools that keep you from becoming another statistic
No fluff. No gatekeeping. No“pay your dues” nonsense.
Just the raw, unfiltered business education that should have been mandatory the day any of us picked up a machine | gun.
Because, talent is common.
Survival isn’t.
If you’re tired of guessing, tired of being undervalued, or tired of watching good artists disappear because nobody taught them how money actually works…
If you want to get into the industry but feel scared…
If your dream feels out of reach or is starting to feel more like a nightmare…
Then this course is for you.
Pre-sales are open now – Limited Availability + Safe Professional Community, where we can grow toghether.
Click the button to stop 'hoping' the industry changes—and start building the career you actually want and deserve.
– Erika
Still in the chair.
Still fighting.
Still passing it forward.
