# 12 year old needs a decent, money making job



## Mags (Jan 22, 2005)

I am sick of not being able to buy lights that I crave. My parents said that I cant buy lights because "its a waste of money". Is there a simple job that (Not childish) that a 12 year old can do for some money? Not the ol' lemonade stand or anything like that.


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## bobisculous (Jan 22, 2005)

Yard Work, clean gutters on a home(although that requires getting on the roof), painting peoples curbs with their street address on them and I could think of a few others if I thought hard about it.

Cameron


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## LightChucker (Jan 22, 2005)

There are a lot of older people or disabled people that could use a little help now and then. And there are a lot of people that are so busy they don't have time for some chores or maybe they are just lazy.

I would suggest making a handbill on your computer. Offer to consider anything, but list ideas of things you are willing to do. Then knock on doors in your neighborhood and hand it to the person who answers the door. If no one answers leave it in their door. 

Even if they have nothing for you to do at the time, things change, and they may have something for you later. So, every once in a while, walk around the neighborhood and knock on doors again just to remind people that you are still available. 

Ask the people you talk to if they know of other people who might use your help.

Instead of naming a price, I suggest that you leave the amount you are paid up to the customer. Many times, people will give you more than you are worth.

Here are some ideas:
Mowing grass, shoveling snow, washing cars, cleaning garages, sweeping floors, washing dishes, washing windows, taking mail to the post office, grocery shopping, reading for a person that cannot read for themselves, walking their dog, changing cat litter, etc.

*Make sure it is OK with your parents!*

Good luck!

Chuck


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## ACMarina (Jan 22, 2005)

Delivering papers?


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## Mags (Jan 22, 2005)

It is snowing as I type this. Should I try making some money out of this?


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## nethiker (Jan 22, 2005)

Hey Mags,

The best jobs are the ones you would do for free, yet people still pay you to do. Seems like flashlights are a passion. Why not try to "sell" your knowledge and interest in lights.

You probobly already have an expertise in flashlights beyond most adults. How about establishing a sales relationship with several dealers where you get a commission or credit for people you refer to them. Pick the lights you think are best for a variety of uses: throw, flood, general purpose, etc.... Create a resource binder with pictures and personal opinions as to why someone should buy these lights. Make your own business cards and give yourself a title: flashlight sales advisor, lumination specialist, whatever....

Then you could hit the town and visit businesses and organizations like the police dept., fire dept., highway dept., anywhere people might need a good light. If you identify peoples needs and can recommend a good product, I think you could be successful. 

Just have your customers buy direct from your dealers using your name as a reference and you don't need much to get started, no inventory and minimal risk. Even if it's not as successful as you would hope, I bet you will have fun doing it.

I'm a volunteer firefighter in Montana. We would welcome a presentation from someone like you at one of our trainings. After educating us about the new developments in LED's, you could have sold me the U2 I just bought after learning about them on this forum. Even if your dealer was a little more expensive than I could find on the net, I would be inclined to pay the extra for the service I received from an enterprising young man like yourself.

Just an idea, or you could stick to the basics for someone your age like dog walking, babysitting, and yard work...all of which if you lived next door I would pay you to do.

Greg.


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## junior (Jan 22, 2005)

How about eBay. Granted one has to be 18 years or older, but with your parents consent, maybe you can use their information or help to sell items etc. 

just a thought....


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## Former_Mag_User (Jan 22, 2005)

I like the idea nethiker proposed. I am 15 year old, pretty close to Mags_Despiser. I had some money from my birthday and Christmas, as of now it's all gone to flashlights /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif

It would be great to educate others about flashlights and find one that suits their needs! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Maybe if the dealer trusted the salesperson he could send them different lights to have as samples and show them to people.


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## Hoghead (Jan 22, 2005)

[ QUOTE ]
*Mags_despiser said:*
It is snowing as I type this. Should I try making some money out of this? 

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes!!!!!!

Go door to door in your neighborhood, ring the bell or knock and ask if you can shovel their sidewalk and driveway. If they say no, just say sorry to have bothered you and go to the next house. If they say yes, do a good job.

I have a snowblower, but when the neighbor kids ask I always let them shovel (or mow in the summer). I like to encourage kids to work. Once two little boys wanted to shovel to get money for a robot toy. The snow was really deep and they shoveled until dark. Finally their dad and I went out to help them, but they didn't quit. I had one girl mow my lawn for two years. She wrecked my lawn, but she was there every week for two years until she moved.

Go for it. Be polite, honest, kind & respectful.


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## beam_me_up (Jan 22, 2005)

My friend and I use to make a ton of money mowing lawns we'd have soo many houses lined up we had to get more friends involved in the business.....you might want to make up some flyers and try that.....after the snow melts that is /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


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## Samoan (Jan 22, 2005)

Mowing lawns in the spring and summer, raking leaves in the fall and shoveling snow in the winter. You'll end up with more money than *any* other 12 year old doing legit work.

I agree with a previous poster about letting the person set the price, to a certain point. I have found that I always offer more than would have been requested, especially with the under 15 crowd. I sometimes forget that $30 was a TON of cash at that age.


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## Mags (Jan 22, 2005)

Hmmm Nethiker, I like your idea! Although I would love to mow lawns during the summer, I dont have access to any of them nor do I ever have the cash handy to rent one. I might start on Nethiker's idea though. Thanks! But do you think they would trust 12 year olds? Maybe I should contact them online and act like an adult. Then I could fax them the list of choices of their lights....
And of course I could always ask CPF for some advice too!! I think this could actually work.


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## cobb (Jan 22, 2005)

I agree with all of the above. Being disabled, I wouldnt mind paying someone ten or twenty bucks to get or unload my groceries. Besides yardwork, helping little old ladies or disabled people, I guess the paperroute is the alternative. I doubt you could get much of a real job til you are 15 or so and can get a work permit. Of course then you are likely to get something around min wage with limited hours. So the real big bucks would be in areas where you get tips. Paper routes arent tha tbad, most large cities have small routes with evening and morning deliveries. 

Dont dump the lemoade stand. Have you considered a coffee stand if you live near a major highway or stop light? What about hot dogs, muffins or something like that? In the city of richmond at most stop lights I see guys with large containers asking for money, in the middle of streets vendors. I had the great idea if the vendors were stationed at the corner and had runners, they could sell more to the passing cars when the light stopped them. 

With any of this, you need to do something unique to set yourself apart. Most do it with service. Maybe you can use your parents line if you do not have a cell phone to giv eout your number on cards to folks who may need you to do yard work or help? Maybe try to do it in a short amount of time when you are not in school. 

Ive had grand ideas myself to make money, but none of the legal ones work. I use to try to sell the stuff Ive built for my wheelchair and low vision problem on my site and ebay with no luck.


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## theepdinker (Jan 22, 2005)

Mags,
This been mentioned already(partly).
If a young kid shows up at my door asking for work, I or my wife can always find something that needs done.
Maybe we don't have time or interest in doing the job.
We may just want to encourage the kid to work.
Adults usually enjoy the company of polite & hard working kids.
Kids that are willing to do chores. The chores they could not get their own kids to do without hounding.
As was said, print up a flier for RENT A KID.
CHORES DONE CHEERFULLY.
Then list the household chores you can do & any ideas you've seen here.
You might end up with more customers than you can handle.
It's nice to be able to choose who you want to work for.


Theepdinker

ps. the sales consultant thing works for some people but is not as sure to make money as simple labor.


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## freefall8 (Jan 22, 2005)

Most towns have recreation departments that hire teenagers for various jobs...recycling center, leaf disposal etc.

I am also a pilot, and the small airports by me all use teenagers to wash, and fuel the planes.


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## leukos (Jan 22, 2005)

I'll second ACMarina in suggesting a paper route. If the local papers hire 12 year-olds then go for it! You'll probably make more money than any of your friends and you'll learn a lot of other valuable skills as well. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif


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## Wylie (Jan 22, 2005)

Hi Mags,
This is the perfect time of the year to get started on the money for a lawn mower. There is snow on the ground as you have mentioned and plenty of people would like to have clear paths to walk. 
A snow shovel costs a lot less then some of the flashlights I have bought and stands to make you a lot more more then the flashlight does.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif

At your age I had a paper route, I did lawn care for businesses in the area I lived and got paid to watch younger kids so the folks could go out and relax.

Good luck,
Wylie


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## nerdgineer (Jan 23, 2005)

Good luck, but don't forget to keep up with your studies. Lots of these (us) older guys are buying toys with income from the educations they acquired earlier.

School is the investment for your future flashaholism, and no other investment will have as good a return...


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## sjb269 (Jan 23, 2005)

This might sound crazy to a 12 year old kid, but if you find a job, save a percentage of what you earn, lets say 10% for starters. This could possibly be the the single greatest piece of advice I could give you. Take another percentage, (your money your choice) and designate it for your hobby. How could a parent argue with that?


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## MaxaBaker (Jan 23, 2005)

I'd say snow shoveling or mowing lawns.

On any random day in the summer, I can go out and earn 80-100 bucks. That's more then my mom makes at her job.

Snow shoveling seems to be a harder job for mass amounts of profit. Seems to be that most people do it themselves these days. Actually, there is a guy that goes around my town with his Snowblower and destroys all of my chances by doing other peoples walkways for them for free. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rant.gif I wish that thing would just blow up.

Today I actually made 60 bucks. Not bad I guess, but snow dissapears fast so it is a job that you have to jump on.

One quick question. What would all the adults on this forum say that the average price would be for mowing a average sized lawn? I usually ask for $15 and the people always say that my price is cheap comparitively. One Older fellow said that he paid a guy $40 bucks to do it because he thought that was normal. I usually end up getting a tip though. I'd say my average is $20 per house with tip and charge price.


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## ACMarina (Jan 23, 2005)

Average sized lawn? How big are these lawns? My grandparents is about 10 paces by 20 paces. It takes about 15 minutes to do it by hand. Mine is 3.5 acres, it takes well over 2 hours on a ZTR. And I've never been to Jersey, so I don't have any idea. .


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## garsea (Jan 23, 2005)

All the above advice about mowing lawns and shoveling snow is great. But one other important piece of advice I can give is to look respectable. Clean cut and appropriatly dressed etc.


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## MaxaBaker (Jan 23, 2005)

I guess when I say average lawn I mean something that takes 45min. to an hour to hand cut. Sorry


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## LightChucker (Jan 23, 2005)

[ QUOTE ]
*garsea said:*
Clean cut and appropriatly dressed etc. 

[/ QUOTE ]

*ABSOLUTELY - great point!* 

Personal expression works both ways. That is, you have a right to dress any way you want, put holes in your body anywhere you want, the right to tattoo your body from head to toe if you want, and wear oversized pants that hang from your *** if you want. [/b]But remember, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/poke2.gif potential customers and employers also have the right to express themselves.[/b] That means that if they find your appearance offensive /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/str.gif they will not even hire you to shovel s**t. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sick2.gif

That's just the way it is.

Chuck


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