I realized that you don't know me, but I'd like to give you a round of applause for what you're doing
A lot of us have DREAMED but that's all they did, they never give themselves a chance to materialize their dreams. So that's all they're doing.......dreaming......and never wake up.
There are few of us who DREAMED and dared to find some way to make it REALITY. YOU are one of the only few who's doing that.
It doesn't matter how GOOD or even BAD you think you are. It's the matter of "Sharing your love of music" with others. When you happen to have a contract to play at the Club or Restaurant..etc, it suddenly becomes "JOB" that you have to do certain songs at certain time, lots of deadlines and commitments to keep. But when you choose to PLAY at the public venues that allow you to play then it becomes "JOY" in stead of "JOB". You can choose any song to play, anytime to play and almost anywhere to play or even quit at anytime you want.
Of course MONEY is nice but is it really important than your pure enjoyment that you get to make people happy? Can we measure happiness by $$$$$ amount??
Where I live, there are quite a few of these "Street musicians" that the passer-by enjoy. And I don't think these street musicians are inferior than the ones who drive their Mercedes and pass them by. It's all in your mind to assume that YOU are better or worse than the others by considering what they do or even what they drive. People tend to judge other that way. They almost always "Judge the book by its cover"
Just do what you think is RIGHT. Disregard what the others say. Do it for yourself (and for the others who enjoy your music too). If they don't care for what you do, they will simply walk by, no harm done!!
This is just the sample of "Street musicians" somewhere in Los Angeles that is about 50 miles from where I live;
[A friendship needs a little mulch of contacts every so often-just to save it from drying out completely.
I always have great pleasure being alone by myself to play, If you're playing for any other reason, it won't last. http://youtu.be/_tkGVGOKQ8c