I'm thinking about doing a Kids party business...how would I get started in this?

When I was little my mom had a little business where she'd dress up as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Clowns, Barny, Baby Bop etc..... and go to schools and birthday parties and entertain kids for a certain amount of time by taking pictures, playing games, and singing songs........Well she quit doing it a while ago and I want to pick it up.....the problem is that I'm 18 years old and my mom refuses to help me do this....But I saw that she made good money doing it....and it seems as though I can't get a job right now because the job market sucks and I don't start school until the spring and my dad is riding me about getting a job and going to school and not having to ask him for stuff....so how can I get this business started?? What steps should I take to get this thing rolling again?? (Even though I'm low on cash)