The number of ways an enterprising teen can make money is staggering. Some ideas are geared toward geographic location. For instance, living in the middle of a city, mowing lawns may not be appropriate, because there may not be many lawns. However, with a bit of planning, a good idea of objectives, and some perseverance, there are many ideas for a teen to make money.
How much they make and how well they do largely depends on the teen, rather than the market. This can be surprising to many people, but it is true and it can be seen, by talking to those who are successful and those who aren’t as successful. Attitude makes a huge difference.
Here are some great ways for teens to make money:
Mowing and raking yards
Especially in suburban and rural areas, many people want to have well-maintained and good-looking lawns. However, they may not always want to or be able to put out the effort to do the work. A teen can get good money by doing it for those people.
There is naturally an initial investment in a mower, a weed eater, and a lawn rake, however this can quickly be paid for. For example, in many places in Oregon, people have little problem with paying $20 to $40 to have a small lawn mowed and trimmed. More is often paid for larger yards.
That may not sound like a lot, if a mower, weed eater, and rake are needed, plus gasoline to run them. Look at the potential in earnings, though. A small yard may take a half hour to mow and weed eat. That amounts to $40 to $80 an hour. It gets better, too.
If the job done is a good one, the people are likely to want the same teen to do the work, week after week. When a lawn is healthy, that can mean getting as much as $80 every few days to a week. The more satisfied customers there are, the more advertising there will be from word of mouth.
At this rate, it doesn’t take long to pay for a $100 lawnmower, $100 gas weed eater, or $15 garden rake. After they are paid for, the main expense is in the gas. A small yard may take a quart of gas to mow and weed eat, so even at $5 a gallon for fuel, the cost is less than $2 per lawn.
When fall arrives and the leaves start to fall, mowing tapers off, but raking picks up. If a rake is already owned, the overhead expense can drop to nothing, since the lawn doesn’t grow as fast. Again, the price is usually around $20 for a small lawn, or a little more if the lawn owner doesn’t supply the bags. Both teen girls and boys can make money this way, and it is a lot more lucrative than people might imagine.
With 10 clients, that is $200-$400 a week. That isn’t too bad for 5 hours of work per week.
Shoveling snow
In snowy areas, the earnings continue. When the winter hits and snow is dropped, people and even businesses will pay to have the snow shoveled from the walkways. The effort is greater, but the income is also more frequent, depending on storms. If a teen shovels a sidewalk, two or three times a day, at $20 a pop, it adds up quickly. One teen named Scott, 13 years old and living in Klamath Falls, Oregon, earned $4,000 in December alone, a few years ago. That was all for shoveling snow when it was needed, for about 10 people.
Pet care
People often have and love their pets. They may not have the time to take them out and to walk them. Getting $10-$20 a week for doing nothing more than spending 10 minutes twice a day, can end up meaning some pretty good money. People are likely to pay even more if they are going out of town and are willing to have you check on the pets, and make sure they are fed and watered.
Babysitting
This is quite lucrative and a good moneymaker. Males can excel at this, if they are responsible, and though usually females get hired for it. People want and need to get out and get away from the kids, sometimes. Standard rates run from $2 to over $5 per child, per hour. That can end up being a lot of money, especially if a reputation is built up to show that the work is responsible and the focus is on the kids.
There are simply so many other possibilities. In a fishing area, raise worms, for instance. It is easy and cheap, but can be good money. Raise or breed animals, as another example. If you have birds that breed easily, there are often people willing to pay for them. The same is true with most other animals. Purebreds often bring a higher price.
Let your mind loose, but remember that there are thousands of ways to make money for a teen. Have the right attitude, and work with what you have available in your area.