YOUR TALENTS CAN CREATE CASH
KIDS KREATIVE KORNER
This Young Entrepreneur Turned His Artistic Talent into a Money-Making Venture That's Lucrative...and Fun.
By Bonnie Drew
Funny things happen to Christopher Maslanka on the way to work. People turn and stare. Little kids laugh. Toll booth attendants make jokes.
Christopher doesn't mind. So what if he wears a floppy blue hat and a bright red cap and has a big handlebar moustache printed on his face? He makes money looking this way. In fact, the funnier he looks, the more money he makes.
What does Christopher do? This New Jersey native dresses in costume as Pierre the French Artist, goes to carnivals and fairs, and paints pictures on people's cheeks. A three-hour face painting gig on weekends puts $125 in Christopher's wallet. Still feel like laughing? Or would you like to know more about how to become a face painter?
When Christopher was 15, he heard that a local entertainment company needed a face painter. He also learned that face painters earn $15 to $25 an hour. Christopher figured he was somewhat artistic, so he bought some washable paints from a costume shop and started practicing.
"The secret to making money in face painting is to get good enough that it only takes three minutes to paint a design on someone's face," says Christopher. "A full face design like a tiger or bunny face should take only five minutes."
Christopher advises starting out with simple designs like rainbows, hearts, stars, or smiley faces. After mastering the basics, you might graduate as Christopher did to creating your own designs.
He also recommends creating a character to play when you're face painting. "My funny costume and heavy French accent help draw customers to my booth," says Christopher. When he gets a gig that calls for a clown that face paints, his father (a professional clown for many years) helps Christopher apply more elaborate clown makeup and a fat red nose. He then appears as Pierre the Clown and face paints as usual.
Fall is the prime time of the year for carnivals, fairs and festivals where face painters typically get gigs. "My advice is to start small by doing school carnivals or children's parties. After you get experience, make friends in the carnival business and try for some bigger gigs."
Christopher plans to support himself through college by clowning and face painting. "I've got the perfect job for a college student," he says. "It pays better than anything else I know of and I still have time to study."
Meanwhile, he spends only one-fourth of the money he earns and saves the rest for college. "I tend to spend money fast, so I put it right in the bank."
That's a great idea.
Bonnie Drew is the author of FAST CASH FOR KIDS (2nd edition), published by Career Press (1-800-227-3371). She is also the creator of the KIDS BUSINESS software for young entrepreneurs, available from Homeland Publications (713-332-9764).
Drew is also Editor of Young Entrepreneur magazine, published by Kid's Way, Inc., a company that helps youth prepare for business and the workplace of the 21st century. For more information, write to Kid's Way at 5589 Peachtree Rd, Chamblee, GA 30341 or call toll free 1-888-KidsWay (1-888-543-7929).
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