I am 16 years old. I have $1000 to work with. I have the best credentials a 16 year old could have, with a 4.25 GPA, and being an Eagle Scout, and have learned to speak proficiently in Spanish. I have earned my money up to this point with yard work ( a mix of skilled and unskilled labor). Some potential ideas I've had:
Vending machines/gumball machines.
Lawn care service (Hiring other teenagers to do yard work, and make a small profit off setting up the arrangement)
-----------------------------
uild a business doing something you LOVE for two reasons:
- If you love what you do, you'll become very good at whatever it is. People who are very good at what they do tend to earn a good income for doing it.
- You're (most likely) not in a situation where you are forced by the family finances to earn money. Someday you will be responsible for your own survival and perhaps that of your family. Hold off on the boring stuff. Don't waste your time doing something you don't love at this early stage of your life. You're not in survival mode--you're at the stage of life where you should be learning and expanding your horizons.
----------------------------
Private tutoring is a good market. The highest demand at 25% is for math tutors and since 28% of private tutors teach math it is working out pretty well as far as supply and demand. Most math tutors charge around $30/hr dependent on location.
A coin operated high end (good slate etc.) pool table with cues, a couple of ball sets will cost you about 600 dollars (you can get cheaper ones though). Buy one, save the other 400 for now and enter into a profit share agreement with a business in a good location/with the right customers. This bit is absolutely key.
Wrong location? Too rough or wrong kind of clientele? You'll make nothing. The right location? Student Union is one, respectable Sports Bar (that doesn't have one already obv.) is another. The normal profit share split is 60-70/40-30 in your favour.
--------------------------------
Handy with the wrench? Like to ride bikes? Depending on your locale, I think there is a good business opportunity to have a mobile bike repair service. Riders of all types, whether commuters or avid cyclists need their bikes maintained well. But when they work M-F, they don't always have the time to bring their bikes to the shop for repairs and/or a tune up. Bikes are one of the items that are not as maintained frequently as they should be. Bring the maintenance to them. Upsell them on required parts replacements such as cables which have stretched or worn tires.
---------------------------------
1. Web Development - There's a HUGE market for it. Endless. And great job security (even if you lose your job, it's easy to get back up there). May sound long-term but here's the thing: it's free to learn, and you can start employing it within weeks. There's an ENORMOUS freelance web development community out there that will help you find work, help you make that cash, and teach you business and coding. You can start young and make good cash (had a friend who was dirt poor, wrote an app, got featured on Mashable, made 5K off his next project, threw it in my face, and now I'm a dev too). If you can't find work as a dev at 16, no worries. Make a portfolio. When you hit 18 and start talking buzzwords into business-people's ears, and talk tech to the tech people, you'll get a high paying job. If not, go for full freelancing. Had another friend who put himself through private school just by programming.
No comments:
Post a Comment