Address painting is a no-nonsense, no-gimmicks method of making easy money.

Over a 10 year span I have painted street numbers or "curbs" off and on in the following states: Texas, California, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. I have painted hundreds maybe even thousands of street-numbers and made a lot of money doing an easy task that anyone can do. Also, address painting also offers a valuable and practical service to your community. Many policemen, firefighters, delivery drivers, and even friends have complained about the hard-to-read house numbers. Having bright, large numbers on the curb can save lives, time, and hassle, making everyone's lives easier. If you want to get started on this great way to make quick money, keep reading. In this article I am going to explain everything you'll need to know get started making tons of money!

There are 2 basic ways to go about making money painting street numbers.

1. Passing out flyers - When passing out flyers you will go door to door, posting the flyer on the door, stating your cause for painting the street numbers. (This has been done by Boy Scouts and for other fund raising events with great success, and this is the way I painted street numbers 90% of the time I painted street numbers.)

2. Door to door solicit - When you go to door to door, ask people if they would like their curb painted. If yes, paint the curb and collect money on the spot. (I started out painting curb numbers like this.)

***VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE READ***
Before you get started, make sure the area you want to paint allows you to do curb painting. Some state and city ordinances require permits, or in some cases ban street number painting and issue civil fines when caught. (In my experience most of the time they just tell you to get lost. I have yet to be fined, or asked to leave.)

Curb painting help websites and articles:
Oregon, Beaverton street painting code compliance: Click here (as a general rule I would stay out of Oregon, just my personal opinion For what its worth)
In Northern California cops warn of street painting scammers: Click here
In Dallas, TX The city warns "Scam by numbers": Click here
*If you go looking for trouble you are most likely going to find it, take sometime to do some research on the area you want to paint, stay away from gated areas or if they seem to be a private community's as they will likely hit you with a trespass fine.

Your best bet is to find a large neighborhood, where it looks like the curbs haven't been painted in a while and need to be re-painted. Use a map and a high-lighter (yellow) to mark these neighborhoods, high-lighting the streets as you walk street to street posting the flyer on the doors. This is where you will be setting up your flyers. The next thing you'll need to do is buy your supplies for painting. These can be found anywhere from Wal-Mart, to Home Depot, and any Arts and Crafts Store. Here is a brief list of what you'll need:

Can of white paint for concrete -
3" Mini Roller tray combo (to roll on the white background) -
Can of black spray paint - This is for the address numbers, some address painters go with a black back ground with white numbers. This is really up to you. (other popular colors are green/white sometimes used, I try to replace the same color that was on the street number)
3" Masking tape - I use masking tape to mask off the area from over spray, this can also be done with a cardboard shield.
3" inch Number Stencils - paper or metal is fine. Please note: the paper is not going to last as long, but I think they do a better job how ever the metal can be soaked in paint thinner and be reused over and over again.
2" inch Scraper - This is to remove the old and flaking paint so the new number will stick and last a long time.
Scotch Tape - To apply the flyer to the front door above the door handle.
Some cardboard - Used for a over spray shield

Step One: Create Flyers
Creating a flyer is very simple. If you have a computer, any word processing program, and a printer, or can get access to one (at a library, a college campus, or even a friend), you can create a flyer. A flyer should be easy to read, and catch the customer's eye very quickly. It's very eye-catching to type the word “NOTICE” in big bold letters on the top of the flyer, and then to have a brief story about the importance of easy-to-find and read address numbers. For example, firefighters and other emergency vehicles will be able to easily find the house number since most door numbers are too small and non-reflective. A large, reflective house number on a curb is very quick and easy to read. Even the Chinese food delivery man will be thankful. Also, if you are a college student, or trying to save money for a good cause, for example, many people will love to help out and they will also get something in return. Play up your story to convince the reader to accept your offer. After you introduce yourself and write a brief story, explain what you want to offer. Make the details quick and easy to find. Make sure to include the time you'll be picking up the flyers. For example, at 8:00 A.M., or the next morning, or next week, and the price for the address painting.

A great money-saving tip for making the flyers is to set your page as a landscape format and create three mini-flyers on one page. This will save you money very quickly as you will want to have many flyers. You can either print each one with your own printer, spending money on simple black ink and paper, or you can print one copy and go to a printing shop, or copy shop. Even office supply stores and libraries have copy machines for cents per copy. You may also consider using bright colored paper to not only make the flyer more appealing, but to save money because colored paper is cheaper.

Quick Guide to Creating Flyers:

• Type NOTICE in large letters at the top of the flyer so it seem important so the home owner will read.

• Briefly explain your story and purpose for painting. My favorite was that I was going to school, and I needed money to pay for books and the flexibility to continue going to school.

• Price: Suggested price $5 - $25.00 (the price is up to you, I have had lots of luck from 5-10 dollars.)

• Your Name, give your first name or some first name.

• The time you will return to pick up flyer and paint the curb, its is best to set a return date for 24hours or the next morning so it will be fresh in the home owner mind and they wont forget to repost the flyer.

• Make sure to include the cost or donation for your service to paint curbs/street-number.

Step Two: Pass Out Flyers
Finally, you are ready to pass out the flyers in the neighborhood you chose. Get a street map and use a hi-lighter so you can check where you have already placed flyers. Make sure you check the weather before getting started – you want to make sure it is not going rain before you paint a three day window is what I look for. Make sure to place the flyer on the door just above the door handle so they can read it as they are coming in the door. Never placed them on the garage or even in the mailboxes are PROHIBITED, plus they might not read it. Placing it on the door makes your flyer seem important and worth reading.

Step Three: Paint Curbs and Collect Money
After handing them out you will have to return to pick up your flyers at the time you stated on the flyer. Some people will just place the money right on the door for you to collect. Then you can paint the address and collect the money right away. Other people will want to give you the money in person, or send it to your address. Then you can paint the address and return later for payment. Collection is not hard, most are happy to pay.

Painting addresses are very simple. First you will want to set up a box that is large enough to include all the numbers of the house, on the curb with your masking tape. This will ensure clean borders. People don't want sloppy work. Paint the area within the masking tape black. After this dries, arrange the stencils of the house number over the black box and carefully paint within each stencil. You may need to tape or hold down the stencil to make sure the numbers remain crisp. After, you may want to re-paint certain areas that need to be touched up. After that, remove any other tape and you're done!

Make sure you put on a good pair of walking shoes. It may take a few hours, depending on the size of the area you cover, but you often get your money the very same day you paint the curbs. As you keep painting you will also get more skilled at painting addresses and will be able to paint more quickly and your work will improve. This will only mean more business for you. Word of mouth is the best way to get more customers, so make sure you always paint very carefully and use a good quality paint. You might even want to look into reflective or glow-in-the-dark paint for the highest visibility. For now, though, white on black is the simplest way to achieve visibility for both day and night.

After a few hours you should have collected a large profit for a few minutes of simple painting. Easy work, quick profit! Good luck!