Are you interested in becoming an airbrush T-shirt artist? If your answer is yes, then this year's series of "Tee Talk" articles is for you. This column will walk you through much of what you will need to know to get off on the right foot when getting your business venture off the ground.

Let me begin by posing a simple question: "What does owning a successful T-shirt airbrushing business mean to you?" Your first inclination may be to answer withsomething vague or grandiose like, "financial freedom" or "having my own multi-million dollar national franchise". Try to resist this urge, and instead come up with a response that is both practical and realistic for your abilities and financial circumstances.

One answer might be, "I would consider myself successful if I was making $1,000 a month operating a T-shirt airbrushing business on the weekends. This would allow me to earn extra income while keeping my 'day job' to protect my own or my family's financial future."

In my opinion, this is a realistic and attainable goal for most airbrush artists. A person with modest airbrushing ability, who is willing to work hard and has $2,000 to $3,000 to invest in setup and supplies, can achieve this degree of success.

Someone else might define success as, "being able to make $4,000 to $6,000 per month from a full-time airbrushing business." This goal could also be realistic, if the budding businessperson understood and was willing to assume the greater risks required to reap greater rewards.

A full-time airbrushing venture comes with many hurdles, from financing your business's start up and first year in operation to finding a suitable location. To make the amount of monthly income described above, an airbrush artist with above-average artistic ability and a thorough grasp of the T-shirt airbrushing business would have to have $10,000 to $20,000 for equipment, merchandise and supplies, and be willing to work eight to twelve hour days, six to seven days a week for a year to 18 months. At that point a sucessful shop owner would have paid back his initial investment. Thereafter, his $4,000 to $6,000 monthly income is virtually all profit.

We all want to succeed, but success is relative to each person's expectations. Success for you may not be what someone else considers successful, and your goals should reflect this. Meeting your goals would not be nearly as satisfying if they represented someone else's expectations of success rather than your own. This is very important with new business ventures. Having invested time, effort, and money into an idea, it is crucial to psychologically reward yourself. And realizing your initial goals not only rewards you in the short run, but ultimately gives you the drive to set and achieve new goals. With each goal plateau comes more income, which is after all what business is all about.

The good news is that starting an airbrushing business requires a relatively small investment in comparison to what you would spend on other businesses of similar size and scope. Better yet, its pretty tough to fail at the T-shirt airbrushing business. As long as you use common sense and follow basic business principles, you should do fine.

So, just how do you get started? First, learn to airbrush. I recommend viewing the Beginning Airbrush videotape with instructor Terry Hill. This video covers basic airbrush control, mechanics and assembly of the airbrush, troubleshooting, and airbrush maintenance. It contains lots of instruction and practice exercises for mastering basic airbrushing skills. It is a great resource, one that every beginner should have.

Next comes the question of tools and equipment. When you're just starting out, try to absorb every piece of information about airbrushing equipment that you find. Take your time. Whenever possible, get samples and personally test the equipment you are thinking of buying. Then, you'll be in a much better position to make good choices.

Most airbrush companies manufacture airbrushes especially suited for T-shirt painting, and it's a good idea to try out several different models. If you're going to be working with an airbrush for a living, you need equipment that you find comfortable.

When you're still in the learning stage and your budget is small you can get by with just one airbrush and a set of paint bottles to hold the most commonly used colors. Later, as your business (and your bank account) grows, you may want to invest in a larger array of air- brushes, each with its own color bottle and air hose. Having a multiple gun setup allows you to work much faster, thereby raising your productivity and profit.

Likewise, when you're starting out, you can get by with a small, ½-horsepower compressor picked up for $150 to $200 from a building materials store. Your compressor should be equipped with a holding tank for built up air pressure, as well as an air pressure regulator. Add a water trap, and you have a workable compressor without taking a huge hit in your wallet. It will be noisy, but having something to get started with is all that matters at this point. Once your workload increases, you can think about investing in a silent compressor and a heat press for drying and heat-setting colors on T-shirts.

Paint companies often offer free(or very low-cost) samples. As with airbrushes, I recommend that you try out several brands and compare the samples you receive before selecting a particular one. Experiment on a few shirts or spray colors from all of your samples onto a test shirt. Then launder the shirt according to the manufacturer's suggestions to decide which brands hold up best. Remember "good" paint not only works well in your airbrush, but also survives after customers bring their airbrushed T-shirts home and wash them.

In the meantime, if you need business advice on your airbrushing project, you can call me from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Central), Monday through Friday at 1-217-234-7555. WCA