COLORADO SPRINGS — A ten-year-old boy is spreading joy throughout the Colorado Springs community with his one-of-a-kind business.
Cruz Sanchez created "Cruz's Chalk Art Greetings" for the summertime. He travels around town to different homes and businesses drawing colorful greetings on sidewalks, driveways, and front porches. Each session is $4.00, and includes birthday, graduation, and event greetings.
"I like being creative, making other people happy, and making money," said Cruz.
He came up with the idea after asking his parents, Jacob and Danielle, for an XBox to play the video game Halo. Since it was more of a "want" than a "need," they encouraged him to find a way to earn the money for the console himself. His mother told him about an annual chalk art competition in Austin, Texas, and he loved the concept of doing chalk art greetings for the community.
"I thought it was going to be a long road to the Xbox," said Cruz.
However, Cruz has done surprisingly well since the launch of Cruz's Chalk Art Greetings. He has completed seven jobs within the community, including greetings for a lemonade stand, graduation, birthdays, business and event advertisement. He is booked for an additional 15 jobs.
"I love drawing balloons, fireworks, and beach balls," said Cruz. "I have learned the value of a dollar. scaleability, and if you're having fun while earning money— you don't have to work a day in your life," said Cruz.
Since creating his business, Cruz has improved his drawing skills. He's learned how to draw bricks into letters, how to make bolded letters, and shading.
"He has always shown an interest in art, how it is created. We've enrolled him in several art classes over the years, and he is always interested in drawing and different mediums. He has sketchbooks, markers, crayons, and pencils. He goes through them quite often," said Jacob Sanchez.
"In the summer, he'll be doing a summer camp at Cottonwood Center for Arts. They have a bunch of really cool art programs, and he is excited to do it again this year," said Danielle Sanchez.
Jacob and Danielle wanted to teach their son responsibility.
"He is realizing that he has limited time to do the art, requires resources, and the number of jobs is stretching him pretty thing so he is thinking about bringing in his friends to help with the workload. He is learning scaleability which we weren't anticipating," said Jacob.
The couple hopes this inspires other parents to nurture their childrens' ideas.
"Just because something hasn't been done, doesn't mean it can't be successful and to try it out. Especially if it includes something that the child is interested in and support that passion and try new things because you never know when you'll hit a golden idea," said Jacob.
"I am excited to do more chalk art greetings in the future," said Cruz.
For information on how to book chalk art greetings, click this online form.
