Money Making Ideas For Teens

Do you have the urge to party and like to perform? If you enjoy singing, dancing, playing an instrument, clowning or some other fun activity that people enjoy watching, you may enjoy becoming an entertainer for parties and events. Entertainers have a great value to any party and can earn some good money.
If you've been active in local community or school talent shows and the theater, then you already have the ability and the platform to sell your talents. Prepare professional business cards to hand out at the talent shows you are active in. People will be thrilled to be able to book a real honest to goodness entertainer who they have seen perform at an event. You already have an audience, so why not turn them into clients?

You'll need an "act" or a selection for people to choose from. A unique or clever business card is fitting for this type of business. Contact people who have seen you perform and let them know you are in business. People will be thrilled to be able to book a real honest to goodness entertainer who they have seen perform at an event.

If possible, participate in every talent show you can in order to get your name out there. You definitely also want to volunteer your talents at fundraising events, retirement homes, children's hospitals, and the like. This type of exposure is invaluable as a means to get your name out in the public in a very positive way. Plus, it just feels right to share your talent!

When you're not performing at the parties, you'll have a chance to mingle with the guests. Not only is it fun, but you'll have another opportunity to sell your talent for another party. What a great way to mix business with pleasure.

You may have a group of friends who are similarly talented. Why not work together? Re-work your prices accordingly and plan your act together. It may be more fun to work as a team. Then, the team can do a little mingling and possibly gain even more bookings for events.

This is similar to the first idea, except I'm limiting it to just parties. Juggling is a great way to get a business going for a teen. It's a lot of fun, and easy to get started. You can provide hours of entertainment as a juggler since friends and family will enjoy spending hours watching you! And turning juggling into your own personal business is a great way to make money and have a good time in the process. Opportunities to practice your juggling and share it with others are abundant!

To begin with, you'll need to know the basics of juggling, of course. You can learn the basics from someone who already juggles, you can get a book from the library, or you can go online and find a website that shows you how to get started. Juggling lends itself well to teams, so perhaps you'll want to pair up with a partner, or a group of friends. The promotion tips mentioned above still apply here. You can also hire yourself out as a tutor of juggling. And if all else fails, fancy yourself as an artiste and take your act to the streets

Okay...so this may not be the most fun way to make money, BUT it is fun to get paid twice!

If you've ever helped out at home during a garage or basement cleaning day, then you may already be an expert at this one.

Let's face it, few people like to clean out the garage or basement. It's one of those things where everyone procrastinates until the place is in such bad shape, they don't have a choice but to hire someone to do it for them. That's where you come in.

A garage or basement cleaning business is perfect for a teen since you don't need a lot of experience or tools. You can make a lot of money helping other people in their desire to finally get organized. There's almost no overhead costs involved; just the cost of advertising, a good pair of shoes, and some good gloves. You don't need any kind of special equipment. Most times the client will provide you with the items you'll need to take care of the cleaning such as plastic bags, boxes, brooms, garbage cans, and storage containers.

Besides sweeping and getting the garbage out, another thing you'll want to do when you clean a garage or basement is to neatly arrange and organize whatever is left that your client is keeping. This can be a challenge, but it'll be something the client will appreciate-and it can bring you extra business down the road because you "went that extra mile" and helped really get their cluttered area looking nice.

Make Money Twice...

One young friend cleaned out 2 basements/garages. He walked away with $200. This happened in one weekend. His clients did not want to keep the stuff, so he paid my husband $50 to haul it away in his truck. The following weekend, this teen had a garage sale and made close to $350 on the "junk" he got for free. He recruited several pre-teen cousins to work the sale so he wouldn't have to be there the whole time. Clever!

Set Smart Goals - Begin with the end in mind and have a clear focus on what you want to achieve.
Make Reading A Habit - Personal growth reading and business reading are essential if you want to be a success.
Use A Planner Or A Calendar To Keep Track Of Your Schedule.- You want to be careful not to double-book yourself or you could harm your business reputation.
Be Available- Make sure prospective clients have an easy way to get in touch with you via telephone or email. I strongly suggest you get voicemail. Make sure the message is professional. Same for email. Separate your personal and professional accounts. Ditto for social network sites- FB, Twitter, MySpace, etc.
Make Sure You Are Legal - If you need any licenses or permits to operate your business, get them ahead of time. If you are selling a product or service that requires sales tax, you'll need to apply for a resellers permit. Which leads me to...
Keep Good Accounting Records - ask for referrals to a good accountant or accounting program. You may not need the accountant until tax time, but at least start with a good program.
Always Conduct Yourself As A Professional While Working - Go the extra mile to provide good service. Under promise and over deliver. Dress for the part. Do not use foul language. Practice good manners. Advertising is good, but word of mouth is always so much better. And you never know when a potential client/customer is watching.

Along the dock at an Erie Canal Marina, an ambitious and service-minded group of kids 12-16 volunteer to run errands for the many boaters traveling along New York's canal system. Known as the "Brick House Brats", this group has been operating for 12 years. The teens run errands, deliver food, and otherwise help the boaters. Yes, it is volunteer work, but the kids gain a great experience, develop a good work ethic, and have an awesome time on the canal. Not to mention, the tips. Most people do tip, so the teens can put some money in their pocket as well. An enterprising teen could organize something similar in their own area. A bike with some type of carrier apparatus would be very helpful.

If you enjoy writing, you may want to consider making money online writing. You can do this for others- like a "ghost writer" or you can make some money writing for yourself.

For Yourself- You can create a niche site and make money with adwords and affiliate programs. A parent may have to agree to the contract, so check the terms. Writing article and content pages like this one can bring in some bucks, but you have to work at it. This works by revenue sharing, as the page makes money through advertising, or sells product, you split the commission. If you chose this route, you'll need to gain some knowledge about choosing good keywords/topics.

As A "Ghost Writer" - Many site owners need help writing and submitting articles, because they just don't have the time. They may also need help with answering routine emails, setting up and posting to discussion forums and social networking sites - like facebook and twitter, or may just need some posts to their blog.

Whichever approach you take, be sure your articles are well-written, and that you've researched your topic well enough to know what you're writing about. Write in the style language that is appropriate for your client, but don't sound stiff and too formal. Be sure your writing/posting makes sense and offers valuable information for your clients.

Be dependable and always follow-through. The easiest way to get a few "clips" (samples of your writing) under your belt, is to write a few guest posts for a blog you read often. That way, you know what the readers like, and you know the blog topic well. That will make it easier to provide quality content for the blog owner. Comment frequently on the blog so the blog owner gets to know you and approach the blog owner and let her/him know you're interested in writing a guest post for free.

Start your own blog and post several times to week. That's another great way to get your writing noticed and gain some followers. Include in your bio that you are a writer who is very much available for hire.

Promote yourself through Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites. But don't be overly aggressive with your posting. One post a day letting others know you're available for freelance writing should suffice.

Basically you'll need good writing skills and a computer with a high speed connection. It's also beneficial to have some techie knowledge- likee how to work Facebook, Twitter, and blogging platforms, including WordPress. If you don't, don't sweat it. There is a gazillion how to videos right on youtube.

The internet is not just a place for teens to socialize and play video games. In fact, it can be a helpful tool teens can use to land a great summer job. With minimal internet proficiency and persistence, teenagers can use the resources online to find a great online job that will provide them with a few extra bucks in their pockets over the summer.

Maximize Talents

Teenagers can get a job more easily if they're searching for a job they can use their talents for. For instance, a whiz at English could find an online proof-reading job that would not only be interesting, but that would pay a fair amount for the work. A blossoming artist with software intelligence can make a lot of money creating custom logos or website design. By creating a list of top talents, teens can have a better idea of what types of jobs to search for.

Create Accounts with Job Search Websites

There are many different job search websites available where teens can look for work online. However, there are a few which are the most common and popular sites like Monster. By creating accounts with these sites, teenage job hunters can browse through the available jobs by category, easily finding something that would better suit their talents.

Visiting Forums

Visiting forums is a great way to learn about available online employment. Posting and connecting in forums can lead teens to get to know members, where they can further learn about other available jobs online that pay fairly. By letting other forum members know that they are looking for work, teens can receive suggestions and tips on where to look.

Social Networking

Social networking is something most teens already know how to do online. There are great opportunities to use social networking to find jobs. Social networking can help teens get the word out with their contacts that they are looking for a particular type of job. Teens will then have their contacts keeping an eye out for them, alleviating some of the work on themselves.

Create Samples

In order for a teen to find a great summer job online, it's important to create samples. For instance, a teen who is interested in writing articles should create a few samples to show to potential clients. This works the same way for logos or other types of projects. For proofreading, find a random paragraph or page of text and proofread it, leaving the correction marks to help show the quality of the proofreading.

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