Many college students at one point or another have considered doing something unconventional to earn money. Some sell their football tickets, others sell their bodily fluids. Two enterprising UW-Madison students have even opted to sell their forehead space.
UW-Madison senior Liah Hansen and junior Chloe Britzius have entered into the world of entrepreneurship by selling advertising in the form of temporary tattoo advertisements on their foreheads. The girls hope to raise money for international travel.
Hansen and Britzius started the website, www.youtattoous.com, last February, selling space on their foreheads to companies for an increasing daily rate. The idea, according to Britzius, came from creative brainstorming.
We were just talking about how we wanted to travel and we had some money, but we didn't have enough and we're like, ‘I wonder if we can come up with something?'\ Britzius said. ""I think a lot of it was just coming up with weird ideas.""
Aside from using their money to travel the world, the girls also are donating a portion of their forehead funds to charities.
""We're giving 10 percent to charity and the rest we're going to use for traveling expenses,"" Britzius said. ""The charities [were selected] because Chloe has done work for Heifer [Project] International before, and the other two [Kids Can Free the Children and Doctors without Borders] were international charities that were interesting.""
To create the tattoos Hansen and Britzius used a special paper which could be bought cheaply online, run through a printer and self-applied. Additionally, the tattoos are easily removed.
""They're different from ones you wear when you're little, when you actually have to scrub it off; you can just peel it off. You're guaranteed to get it off when you want to,"" Hansen said.
Since their brainchild moved to fruition in February, the girls say they have sold roughly five advertisements. However, since their business plan revolves around increasing the daily advertising rate for each new advertiser, Hansen and Britzius have made approximately $780, according to the pricing model on their website.
Although the duo have sold several ads, they were originally uncertain how their venture would fare. ""We had no idea, maybe we wouldn't sell any, maybe we would sell 10, maybe we'll sell 30,"" Britzius said. ""So we figured if it did get to be more and more, different companies should be paying different amounts.""
One of those companies, Net Nerds, whose advertisement was displayed Tuesday, believes that advertising in this way can be a great way to increase student awareness.
""I think it's a unique concept and they're going to be walking around campus and Net Nerds serves the students of Madison … It really draws a lot of attention,"" said Kristen Berman, UW-Madison senior and owner of Net Nerds. ""We really want to garner the attention of students and I think this is a unique way to do it.""
Britzius agreed, but acknowledged that not everyone pays attention to their foreheads. ""It's funny, some people will come walking right up to us and be like ‘what the hell…' and get really interested,"" she said. ""And a lot of people don't notice or just don't care, so it's interesting to see different people's reactions.""
Because of the mixed reactions, Hanson and Britzius try to accommodate their advertisers by going places where their desired demographics can be found.
""We just wore one last Thursday for Patrick Properties … they wanted us to go to the dorms and more freshman classes,"" Hansen said, adding that they also hand out flyers or other materials given to them by their sponsors and are prepared to offer information about the advertisement.
The girls have no impending plans for after their upcoming travel, but Hansen, who is graduating this May, hopes to one day start her own business.
""I feel like I've learned a ton from doing this that's going to help me out in the future,"" Hansen said.
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