Money lessons from a circus performer

Running off to join the circus has never been a parent-approved financial plan, but Canadian performer Aaron Marquise makes it work. A native of upstate New York, he graduated from Montreal’s distinguished École Nationale du Cirque (aka National Circus School) in 2015 and has performed all over the world. 

You won’t hear this circus clown reinforcing the “starving artist” trope or rattling off the virtues of budgeting and eating ramen. Marquise knows how to sublet an apartment and crash on a friend’s couch to save on rent, but his financial strategy is more about keeping his career portfolio fresh. When he’s not clowning half-nude onstage, he upskills himself and opens professional doors. Four years into his clowning career, he started nabbing gigs such as production assistant for the North American tour of Disney’s “Frozen” and directorial roles in “Pippin” and “Les Misérables” at the School of the Performing Arts at Proctors in New York. He also took a role as deputy director of circus arts programming for the long-running Montréal Complètement Cirque Festival.

We spoke with Marquise about his clowning career and compared notes with another professional performer who knows a thing or two about career diversification: eight-year Canadian Football League wide receiver and 2022 Grey Cup Champion Juwan Brescacin. These unconventional careerists approach their finances differently than many 9-to-5ers, but their plans combine flexibility and practicality in a way that could benefit anyone.

Plan for early retirement — whether you want it or not

Marquise has long admired Brian Dewhurst, one of the world’s oldest living clowns, who, at 85, performed eight shows a week with Cirque du Soleil. Marquise says he has a “weird relationship” with the idea of retirement. “I want to be working until I'm old, doing what I love as long as I can,” he said. “That could be age 75 or 80, as long as my body and my brain can continue to function.”

Still, Marquis admits that, like a trapeze artist, life is better with a safety net. He’s seen peers get injured or grapple with the aftermath of life-changing circus accidents, including one incident that put a colleague in a wheelchair. “People get injured and they can no longer follow the path they plan to,” he said. “The immature part of me misunderstood that, but if something happens, or your body starts to slow down and you need to retire, you have to have some sort of cushion.” 

Today, Marquis receives a full-time salary and benefits to run the circus — not to act in it. As the sole provider to his partner and two kids, he likes this balance. He treats his independent performance art as a passion project and creative outlet while enjoying the financial relief from not paying his bills only from his shows. He advises full-time, self-employed artists to make sure they have their own insurance benefits and start retirement saving as early as possible. He recommends reaching out to advocacy groups like En Piste in Montreal or a local artist union for support, and sometimes even group rates on financial products. 

Meanwhile, professional athletes also have notoriously short careers. NFL players average about 3.3 years (unless you’re an outlier like Brett Farve or Jerry Rice). According to Brescacin, the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA) offers a retirement savings plan and contribution matching after an initial vesting period. Brescacin has contributed to this plan during his eight years in the league, accumulating what he considers a “decent” amount set aside. That’s a good thing, because he’s already thinking about his next chapter as physical challenges have grown for him with each year in the league. Things came to a head in early 2023, when he had an opportunity to join the Saskatchewan Roughriders on the main roster and another injury plagued him. 

“The pain was excruciating,” Brescacin said. “I realized I could handle the physical pain, but the mental toll was becoming too much.” He started putting feelers out for the next chapter of his pro career. Which brings us to point No. 2.

Consider dual careers, but don’t call it a ‘backup plan’

Juggling is not just a circus skill but a critical ability for any professional today. Prepare yourself for career evolutions, Marquise said. For artists and athletes alike, that may include roles such as coaching, serving as an adviser, or directing. 

As the weight of his injuries mounted, Brescacin reached out to the person who is now his boss, expressing his interest in doing receiver training at the gym. Coaching and mentoring seemed like the perfect complement to another life-changing decision he’d made around the same time: to go back to school for a master’s in counseling psychology.

“After meeting a colleague for lunch and discussing my plans, things just started falling into place,” Brescacin said.

This is not to say you should plan for failure or sabotage your ambition with the traditional notion of a plan B. Instead, think of your career and financial portfolio as an interconnected system of revenue streams, hopefully all building upon one another. By the end of it all, you’ll have amassed a portfolio of collective experiences — and a stacked bank account too.

Pick a practical homebase, and plan taxes accordingly

Performers are nomadic. But increasingly, so are workers of every industry with the rise of remote-first companies.

Marquise said lots of Canadian cirque artists choose Quebec City or Montreal as their home base, where they can buy or rent property. Living arrangements vary widely among artists — some prefer the stability of owning their home, while others might choose to rent or sublet based on their transient lifestyle. 

Personally, Marquise said, he prefers to have his own place, valuing the consistency and privacy it offers. Know your values and what’s worth paying for. Wherever you call home, though, he emphasizes the necessity to have a registered address for tax purposes, whether it serves merely as a mailing location or an actual living space. If you’re a digital or other kind of nomad, it’s a good idea to speak with an accountant to learn your area’s unique tax codes for people who earn money while living in multiple places.

Plan for ongoing and hidden costs

Most folks don’t realize it, but circus performers need their own equipment — and a lot of it. The Cyr wheel, for instance, is a large aluminum hoop used in acrobatic performances that’s tall enough to fit a human in the center. A good one, Marquise said, could range from $1,000 to $2,000. But the real budgeting comes from the ongoing transportation costs — the international shipping and air-cargo fees to get the equipment around the world. It even hits megastars and earners like Shakira, who recently said during an appearance that her “most expensive mistake” was a mechanical cobra that cost so much to make and move from city to city that she took a “big loss” on her sold-out tour. 

Car owners, homeowners, and pet owners could likely all share a gripe-worthy story about the hidden costs of long-term ownership. Oil changes, roof repair, and vet bills are easy to overlook in the initial moment of purchase. So sit down and plan out the next few years of your life’s ongoing costs. That should give you confidence for the road ahead, even if it doesn’t include a multi-city tour.

Develop a sense of identity outside of your career

Perhaps the most universally applicable piece of personal-finance advice Brescacin gave is to understand who you are beyond your professional identity.

"No matter what level you play at — high school, college, or professional — it's going to end one day,” Brescacin said. “You have a lot of life to live after that. Even if you're set for life with big contracts, there are still tragic stories of people struggling with who they are, committing suicide, stuff like that."

Yes, making financial gains and hitting career milestones can be a temporary motivator, but it’s important to distinguish monetary motivations from personal satisfaction and know which one you’re focusing on at any given moment. 

Sometimes, the two are intertwined, said Mary Beth Sales, a public-relations expert who represents athletes and professionals in the sports industry. For this reason, she always onboards clients by asking which values matter most to them before they make a career pivot. 

“I always ask, ‘What's more important to you: the money or the mission?’” Sales said. “There’s no right or wrong answer. But for me, psychologically, it helps me determine where their head is at.”

The real winning playbook is when we learn to balance financial satisfaction with a lifestyle aligned with our deepest values.