The use of skill of imagination in the production of beautiful things through art might not be a popular business but it can produce a high generating income.
This is what an 18-year old student believed after he discovered his talent in drawing since elementary days.
At the age of 14, Royen Billones, started to accept payments for his drawings as his starting point to engage into business.
Royen, a second year Civil engineering student of the University of the Visayas, can perfectly turn a living image into a hand drawn or a pencil sketch image such as human figure, pet, complex background, and any object for artwork.
For him, two customers in a day can already suffice for his school allowances since he earns P100 each for his final products.
Basically, his prospect customers were only his classmates and his friends, yet eventually more and more people come to him and ask for his service. So far, he is proud of continuously serving customers.
However, the greatest help that this talent has done to his life is when he was accepted to be the lay-out artist and cartoonist of UV's student publication, The Visayanian.
In return to that success, he now enjoys free tuition from the university. "Nalipay gyud ko kaayo hasta akong ginikanan. Wala na sila'y problema sa gasto sa akong pag-skwela ug sa allowance."(I am very happy as well as my parents. They no longer have to deal with problems such as tuition fee and allowance)
The expense for his all drawing materials is taken out from his self income.
Other services that Royen offered to his customers are caricature making, and charcoal painting.
Nevertheless, he is planning to expand his small business and someday join the list of the professional artists. He even dreamed to become someone like his idols, Leonardo Da Vinci and Michael Angelo.
This coming Sinulog celebration, he is already booked to render henna tattoo services for his friends.
Indeed, skill acquired either by experience and or by study can help an individual to succeed, while the best venue to achieve it is to invest such skill in business.