Sorry, I realize how confusing that is. I was very tired at the time.
I was wondering what your thoughts are about doing busking on the side while you do not have a gig that day. I was wondering if being a street performer could "degrade" the value of your stage show or other gigs because it could be viewed as "Why should we pay you so much? You perform for free on the streets all the time."
"Paying Your Rent" is the key and why most of us have a "Day Job" of some kind, there are very, very few full time working magicians and fewer that have an established specialty act that can be marketed. Sadly, this latter factor exist because of the stress and "misdirection" created by the hustle that goes into mere survival let alone creating that "Master Piece" so to speak.
Magic is a strange mistress and it's up to us to make key decisions when it comes to how we make your rent and represent ourselves. Most of the bigger name specialty acts luck into their situation by getting seen by the right person at the right time; my one and only big break came to me via this very manner, the rest of the time I've had to bust my butt, go hungry more than a few times and take side jobs of most every description. That said, there is another side to this that rarely gets focused on because the majority of us only want to survive doing magic. I'm referring to the business side of things and creating & selling an actual product. THIS is the second reason we take all those odd jobs; so we can reinvest at least 30% of our earnings (if you work by the rule of Joel Bauer's "Hustle Hustle") into building that Act. . . not a show, but a simple 10-15 minute commercial act that is marketable; THIS IS YOUR PRODUCT and it is up to you to create it from the ground up. Similarly, all that side work you do should lend itself, in some way, towards that goal.
Even before I started moving away from big stage to Mentalism I was working as a Reader by day, a consultant by appointment (on magic related stuff) and writing for three different New Age type publications. . . I was building an image and resume. Years earlier I was busking on the streets of Hollywood and Venice Beach as a punk rocker of sorts, because the "street kid" image is what worked with the illusion act I had built and a show called "Just Trix"
The more we are able to use opportunity in this way, the better our ability to focus on the actual goal and work towards it no matter what side line we're doing.
You mention Mentalism; if this is your goal then what's available to you for establishing & embellishing that image? What can you do to support the claims you will make as that entity and most important, how much are you willing to sacrifice?
Show biz is a brutal mistress that demand constant attention if you're to survive; especially in your early years of development. But she also demands that we pay attention to what's not hot right now and plan for the next big deal. Creating a Mental Act right now is akin to shooting yourself in the foot because every Tom, Dick & Harry out there claims to be a Mentalist -- the industry is swamped and a mind reader, even a major player like Banachek, is no longer seen as a novelty that's worth paying big money for. . . we're literally a dime a dozen in that many will take work under the national average, due to desperation; desperation to show off, desperation to make rent; desperation to meet new people and make new connections. Problem is, when you work out of desperation you loose! People smell it and don't want anything to do with it because it negates confidence. Which brings us to that other point I made, "How much are you willing to sacrifice?"
I remember when Franz Harary shared an apartment with at least five other incredibly talented individuals just for the sake of survival; everyone helping the other in some way. All major players endure such hardships unless they luck into situations or are an invented commodity -- a commercial creation a.k.a. the poor little rich kid who's parents bought his career. . . and it's grossly common these days.
The Moral of the Story is. . . .don't just take jobs take jobs that count; situations that will help you grow your character and the image you want to be known for. Be picky and don't be hesitant to work outside of magic doing things like Modeling, being a pitchman as flea markets and festivals. If you decide to busk then take on your chosen character and design what you do around your goal so as to form your image. Finally, it's ok to take a day job; 90% of actors, comics and other such artists started out as laborers, waiters and warehousemen.