How to Make Money when You Are Too Young to Get a Job
Think about what you do well., Decide how much time you can work., Set your price., Find people to hire you., Make a work schedule., Keep at it., Try doing a little extra to see if you can make more money.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Think about what you do well.
What can you do that someone will pay you to do.
Can you do yardwork? Walk dogs? Babysit? Make and sell things? Recycle paper and metal items? Computer stuff? There are many things that you can offer others, if you think hard about it.
Make a list, writing down ALL possibilities.
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. -
Step 2: Decide how much time you can work.
You still need to save enough time for your schoolwork and hanging out with your friends, and doing other fun kid stuff.
And if you play sports, or do other activities, it can be really difficult.
Kids are actually pretty busy, so it can be hard to devote more time to making money than you've got on the weekends.
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. , How much will you charge people for your service? Depending on what you're doing and who you're working for, any number of different prices might be appropriate.
Negotiate with people, but have a specific number in mind.
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. , Post flyers, ask family members for business, and ask the people you babysit for to recommend you to their friends.
Let lots of people know about your babysitting services.
Make sure your potential customers know who you are, what you offer, and how to contact you.
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 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. , Plan your time and work the number of hours you say you'll work.
If you want to babysit, try to find someone to babysit for each Friday evening, if that's the day you pick.
Do it as often as possible if you want to make money.
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 , Do a good job the first time, and make your gig a regular thing.
Ask if you can come back next week, same time, same price.
It's a lot easier to come back to a happy customer instead of finding new ones.
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 see another job that you can do, ask if they would be willing to hire you to do it.
Take out the trash and clean up the house while you're babysitting, then offer to clean separately, or for more money.
Take care of the shrubs when you're mowing the lawn, or offer to.
Ask if they've got any other odd jobs around the house that you could do.
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. -
Step 3: Set your price.
-
Step 4: Find people to hire you.
-
Step 5: Make a work schedule.
-
Step 6: Keep at it.
-
Step 7: Try doing a little extra to see if you can make more money.
Detailed Guide
What can you do that someone will pay you to do.
Can you do yardwork? Walk dogs? Babysit? Make and sell things? Recycle paper and metal items? Computer stuff? There are many things that you can offer others, if you think hard about it.
Make a list, writing down ALL possibilities.
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.
You still need to save enough time for your schoolwork and hanging out with your friends, and doing other fun kid stuff.
And if you play sports, or do other activities, it can be really difficult.
Kids are actually pretty busy, so it can be hard to devote more time to making money than you've got on the weekends.
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. , How much will you charge people for your service? Depending on what you're doing and who you're working for, any number of different prices might be appropriate.
Negotiate with people, but have a specific number in mind.
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. , Post flyers, ask family members for business, and ask the people you babysit for to recommend you to their friends.
Let lots of people know about your babysitting services.
Make sure your potential customers know who you are, what you offer, and how to contact you.
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 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. , Plan your time and work the number of hours you say you'll work.
If you want to babysit, try to find someone to babysit for each Friday evening, if that's the day you pick.
Do it as often as possible if you want to make money.
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 , Do a good job the first time, and make your gig a regular thing.
Ask if you can come back next week, same time, same price.
It's a lot easier to come back to a happy customer instead of finding new ones.
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 see another job that you can do, ask if they would be willing to hire you to do it.
Take out the trash and clean up the house while you're babysitting, then offer to clean separately, or for more money.
Take care of the shrubs when you're mowing the lawn, or offer to.
Ask if they've got any other odd jobs around the house that you could do.
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.
About the Author
Douglas Roberts
Enthusiastic about teaching organization techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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