By Bunmi Laditan 

 
 Don Flaws has been drawing since the Brady Bunch was considered Prime Time Television. He began by copying comic book pages in his home in Upstate New York as a child and hasn't put down his sketchbook since. But please don't call him a starving artist, Don has blended business and art into a career that has flourished into a masterpiece. 

   The advice from his parents to treat art as "more of a hobby that a job opportunity", didn't stop Flaws from moving to San Diego when he was 22 to work as a caricature artist. Flaws attributes much of his artistic growth to the training he received at Sea World. After two years of caricature art there, Flaws transferred to Knotts Berry Farm and worked in the art department as a supervisor. When the Block needed a caricature artist, they called Flaws' previous employer at Sea World who recommended him for the job. The Block at Orange loved the work so much that they set him up with his own cart. 

    The exposure at the mall led to work at many private parties, so many in fact that Knotts Berry Farm saw his outside work at a "conflict of interests" and gave him an ultimatum; work for us or work for yourself. As a true entrepreneur, Flaws opted for the latter. When I asked him how it felt to give up the steady, familiar paycheck, he said, "I feel that you regret things you don't do more than things that you actually do."  Today, Don Flaws owns Flawless Faces, a company with eight employees; artists who do caricature drawings for parties, proms and grad nights ("two months of craziness"), the Block at Orange and the Irvine Spectrum. Flaws says he keeps his business successful by staying in touch with what his customers want. "99% of all clients don't want a true caricature, they want cute. (They don't want to see) their nose huge or their smile stretching to their ears." Flaw's image conscious drawing has gotten him so many referrals that his main marketing tool is word of mouth. "The customer is the person you are trying to please." Flaws says that some see that as, "compromising their artistic vision", but he explains that keeping customers coming back is his number one priority, and  when he achieves that he goes home and works on his own portfolio. 
 
    Flaws adopted a philosophy for his life when he began to work for himself. "No matter where you get your money, no matter who hands you a paycheck, always treat your life as a business." Flaws encourages students to start working for themselves in their mind, even before they start their own business. He encourages then to take charge in all aspects of your life and remain responsible for where they go with their career. When asked about the differences between working for a business and being a business owner, Flaws stated that ,"the difference is in who I answer to. As a manager of a business if you mess up, maybe you get fired, as the owner, you loose a deal and risk the existence of the business." Flaws jokingly added that another main difference between being a business owner and an employee is the source of the stress. 

     Flaws has specific advice for artists who want to generate business from their talent. He encourages them to break through the, "I'm not good enough (phase). No matter what level of skill you are currently at, there are people out there willing to pay for your work."    

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