There are some things that will be more profitable than others, and some just won’t be possible. Scratch out anything that involves materials that you don’t have, or can’t happen where you live. Below, you’ll find specific sections about babysitting, doing yard work and housework, washing cars, and finding other creative ways to make a buck as a kid.
Figure out how much time you can afford to spend making money and set a strict time-schedule for yourself. Can you work as many as five hours on Saturday? More? Make sure to clear you plan with your parents, always. They may have other responsibilities for you that you need to keep in mind as well. Do the math, if you’re trying to save up for something. If you can get $7. 00 per hour, it will take about 40 hours over the next month to get $300. 00. That means 10 hours/week.
You can set a flat rate (“I’ll mow your lawn and rake your leaves for $25”) or you can set an hourly rate (“I’ll mow your lawn and rake your leaves for $6 an hour. “). If your job will take a long time to finish, consider an hourly rate. If you can do it fast, but it’ll be tough, go for a flat rate. Find the minimum wage in your town, and make it slightly less than that. Some people have old ideas about how much to spend on something like this, so it’s good to have an update figure. Make it seem like you’re a bargain. Find out how much a pro service would charge for doing what you’re going to do. Low prices will get more people to hire you. If you’re trying to save up, you may want to make it quickly, but you probably can’t go charging people a $100 an hour to do yard work.
If you live in a neighborhood, knock on doors. Introduce yourself and talk up your new business. People love the idea of hiring a neighborhood kid, usually. Find a place where your customers are likely to be. If you want to mow lawns, hang up a flyer in the local area. Don’t tell anyone why you need money. Instead, tell them how you will make their life easier or better by hiring you. For example, you are not offering to rake leaves. You’re selling less work for them and a beautiful yard.
Put in the work. If you finish up early one day, spend the rest of the time you had for work knocking on doors or posting flyers. Don’t close up the store just because nobody’s shopping. Work quickly. If you want to mow lawns, you may think it would be smarter to spend a bunch of time mowing one and charge more, but that’s not appealing to customers
If the customer is happy, then ask them to recommend you to other people. Also ask if they would arrange a meeting for you.
If you could do a variety of chores at one house, that’s worth it. You don’t have to lug your stuff all around the neighborhood all day. Just go one place to work.
Stick close to your house. When you’re first starting out, make sure to pick a house that’s close to your’s, so your parents can help out if necessary. If there’s an emergency, you’ll be close to home. If you live in an apartment complex, this could be a really great way of making money. Offer to watch kids and have them dropped off at your own house, so your parents can help out if necessary.
Generally, babysitters need to be around 12-13, at least. You need to be enough older than the kids you’re babysitting so that they’ll respect you, and so that you’re capable enough to take care of them on your own.
Games Books Art projects Old toys Outside toys or sports stuff Dress up supplies
If you don’t know how to do something, be honest and ask the parents to demonstrate before they leave. Asking lots of questions helps to demonstrate that you’re a good listener and serious worker.
Remember: You’re not there to have fun. If they paid you to have fun, everyone would do it. It’s called work for a reason. Don’t let yourself get grumpy because the kid wants to watch Finding Nemo twice in a row.
Lots of kids will disrespect babysitters and say things like, “You’re not my mom” when you try to get them to do something they don’t want to do. Expect that it will be a challenge and prepare what you’ll do in advance. If the kid wants to argue with you, or starts getting hyper, don’t get swept up in the drama. Be calm and quiet, and distract the kid with activity. Sometimes, when kids get excited, a little snack will help them calm down. Most kids won’t admit when they’re hungry, but provide some cut-up apple slices and they’ll pipe right down.
In an emergency, always call the parents and call 911 if something serious is going on. Don’t be afraid to act in an emergency. That’s the sign of a good sitter.
If you don’t live somewhere with many yards, you can still do this. Just get a ride to a neighborhood where you can get as many yards as possible in the same neighborhood. The closer together the yards, the easier your job is. Elderly neighbors will be the most willing to hire young kids to do this.
Ask your parents to stake you to equipment costs, if you don’t have access to the mower yourself. Ask for an old mower for your birthday. [5] X Research source In some cases, people might want you to use their equipment, if it’s available. If you can use their lawn mower, all the better. Set aside some money for materials. You’ll need to pay to have the gas tank filled and ready to go, if you’re mowing lawns. Or, see if your parents won’t help you pay for gas.
For this job, all you need is a sturdy rake and some leaf bags. In some cases, you might not even need the bags. Cheap, light, and easy.
Even if you live in a place with really great weather, gutters need to be cleaned out regularly to avoid sticks, leaves, and other debris getting caught up in them. Since this involves getting up on a ladder, or on the roof, it’s maybe the most dangerous of all these jobs. You might want to double-check with your parents.
Picking fruit, like peaches, apples, cherries, and berries Pruning grapevine Helping process wheat, or other grains Digging potatoes Detassling corn Gathering chicken eggs
Think about which of your neighbors work during the day, while you’ve got summer vacation. If you’re around and can walk the dog while you’re not doing anything, that’s easy money.
Clean up the kitchen and do the dishes. Take out the garbage. Tidy the living rooms. Tidy up the bathroom. Tackle the garage and attic. Keep your room extremely clean.
You can help people set up email accounts, Facebook pages, and other social networking. Help people load pictures and edit them. Help with printing and copying. Find older people who need help figuring out their technology. Start with your grandparents, and see if they’ll talk to their friends, or other acquaintances about hiring you to help with computer-related stuff.
If you can’t get an allowance from your parents, try a different tactic. Next time it’s your birthday, don’t ask for presents, ask for money.
Sell baked goods. Open a lemonade stand. Play music or sing. Sell food. Sell home-made jewelry. Sell your art.
