You’re a kid. But that doesn’t mean you don’t want to make your own money. Problem is, in most states hiring a kid under the age of 14 violates the law. What can you do?
The answer, almost always, is to go into business for yourself. And it’s not just babysitting. Any kid can make pretty decent money by trying one of these ideas, or using them to create your own ideas. In fact, some kids make more money than most adults with their businesses.
The Old Standards
Babysitting – If you love kids and you’re of legal age, you can always babysit. In many areas, the Red Cross or other agencies will offer babysitting classes that include CPR lessons and practical advice; take advantage of these before you start working.
Lawn mowing – If you have a mower and the money to put gas in it, lawn mowing has always been lucrative. Don’t forget that you have to spend money on the lawn mower, not just for gas but also to replace blades and maintain the mower. Learn to determine how much time you’ll spend on each lawn, and charge the owners accordingly, but no less than $8 an hour. Raking leaves in the fall is another great moneymaker, and if you already mow lawns you know where to find your customers.
Paper route – These are harder to find today, but some smaller papers still make paper routes available to kids. If your local regular newspaper doesn’t use kids on paper routes today, call around to the free advertising fliers to see if they pay for paper routes; your mom can certainly help you identify some of the free papers. You won’t make a lot of money, but it’s the sort of job you can do while just kicking around your neighborhood, too.
dog walking – If you love dogs and have a knack for controlling them, dog walking is something to consider. People are getting busier these days, and many don’t have time to walk their pets as much as necessary. Be ready to pick up dog poop, though, and don’t walk dogs from different households at the same time until you’ve introduced them to one another.
Hard Work Builds Character, and Cash
Cleaning garages – If you’re a larger, stronger kid with a tendency toward neatness and organization, you can make lots of money on weekends cleaning garages. Before cleaning any garage for money, do your family garage, and keep notes: did you need shelves? How long did it take? What cleansers worked best on oil stains, dust, mud, etc.? Use this information to assess other garages before agreeing to clean them. Each garage will be different, and will take you different amounts of time to clean. Never clean a garage with things that may be dangerous to you, and always make sure that the person you’re cleaning for is willing to purchase organizational supplies for the garage (like shelves) so that you can do your job properly. On the first few jobs, ask one of your parents to come along for moral support and to help you properly assess dangers and risks.
Recycling – Depending on where in the country you live, a lot of people are into recycling – but no one wants to do it. This job takes some research and garage space, and may well take some transportation assistance from the parents as well, so talk to your mom and dad before starting it. The idea is: you offer to sort your neighbor’s recyclables, put them out on the curb properly, or actually deliver them to the recycle company for them.
This is only profitable in areas where a) recycling is complicated, or b) recycling isn’t curbside, and individuals who recycle take them to centers. The really good part, though, is that some recyclables may be worth cash, like cans and plastic containers. You’ll have to research your area to find out how you can make money with this; start by calling your local solid waste disposal government agency.
(In Connecticut, some communities are starting to fine people who don’t recycle; comparing their $90 fine with what you charge can be a great selling point. Look for more states to start doing this as landfills get even fuller.)
Lawn care – Beyond mowing lawns, lawn care entails manicuring the sidewalks, planting flowers, and even light hedge trimming (but don’t use hedge clippers without adult supervision – they’re dangerous). If you have a knack for keeping flowers green and growing, you can charge about $10 an hour for this service. Do your family’s lawn first. If you wind up with the prettiest yard in the neighborhood, you can sell your services to your neighbors with just pictures.
Car detailing – This goes beyond the traditional car wash. If you’re the meticulous type who loves cars, sit down with the family vehicle and try to make it look new – clean all the lint from the seats, scrub the door liner with a toothbrush, clean under the wheelwells, and of course givethe exterior a good wax. If you can impress your mom, you can probably detail cars for neighbors. Do your own two or three times before moving out. The really good news: you can charge as much as $50 a car, more for really dirty ones. The bad news: it takes most of a day to do it properly. The best targets: moms with a lot of kids and people who are selling a new car.
Toy assembly – As toys have grown more complicated, fewer adults have the patience to put them together. If you’re a kid with a toolset and a knack for assembling things properly, you can make a little cash putting things together for grownups who don’t know what a monkey wrench is for. Charge about $10 for every hour you think it will take you to put an item together. Put up fliers right after Thanksgiving, and make up your own business cards to give to customers to get repeat business after the Christmas season is over.
A related business: hooking up electronics for the non-tech-savvy adults in your neighborhood. Often, doing both can be quite profitable.
Using Your Brains and Creativity
Selling crafts – You don’t have to make quilts or afghans to be able to sell handmade crafts. Tons of clever craft ideas take a minimum of skill and time, and mostly depend on your creativity. For example, Christmas ornaments, hair products (like the braided barettes of the 80s), simple jewelry, jingle bells for the holidays, even macrame can prove to be good sellers in the right situation. Check out craft stores and websites for ideas, and look especially for vintage ideas — these often hit trends when people come back and rediscover them. Sell your crafts online (Ebay is one place) or at craft fairs and consignment shops. You may even be able to sell them to others at school or church. If you’re handy with wood, many crafty folks make birdhouses and benches and sell them alongside the road; that’s another option.
Fixing computers – Are you good with computers? Did you set up your home system when your dad proved to be hopelessly competent? Can you get old computers to work with Vista? Hang out a shingle today! Your neighbors are buying new computers, and they’d rather pay you $15 an hour than pay $50 an hour to CompUSA! If you’re willing to do a little extra work and get A++ certified, your home business can lead to a real job pretty quickly when you’re a little older — or you can turn your home business into a professional one.
Creating websites – It’s harder to find customers for this, but it’s not hard at all to create good websites. Learn what you can about good design (Jakob Nielsen is the god of all things design) and how to put together a good website — not one filled with Flash and music, but one that’s easy to understand — and create your own site. Use this to sell your skills to customers. You can build a real business doing this, and do almost all your work from home.
Your own ad-paid website – How do you think your favorite free websites make money? Through advertising! Advertisers pay money to people with popular websites and blogs to place their ads on these sites. It’s work to learn how to find your advertisers, but if you have a great website or blog that draws lots of viewers, it’s worth doing the research. Start by looking at Google AdSense, then read up on affiliated sales (where other people use your site to sell their stuff and give you part of the profit) and search engine optimization. If you already run your own popular blog, you might be surprised at how much money you can make with it. (You may need to put the income into your parent’s name, however; some ad programs won’t pay anyone under 18 years old.)
