Ways to make $$$? (high school student)

I have been working since I was 11yrs. Me and my brother started a lawn business. We cut grass, trimmed trees, and basic gardening for the elderly people on our block. In middle school I got my first job with clean and green. Then came the manys years of great summer jobs in high school. I worked as a daycare assistant with little kids and toddlers. Then surf camp, where I taught them to surf and swim. Then at the youth center for at risk youths as a case manager assistant. I have had a lot of fun jobs in the past. Also in high school I sold homemade candy because I went to a private school that didn't have any vending machines. I made a lot of extra cash with the candy.

If you are good at cooking or baking you could try selling small treat size items at your school. Are dog walking for busy pet owners. Tutoring younger children or baby sitting is also a good way to make some extra cash. Hope this was some help to you Judy and good luck.

I'm curious about etsy and stuff, too.....I think I asked something similar before and someone answered with making only around $300 a year (college tuition ...but every little bit helps)...

I remember in high school a lot of students sold 'black market' things like cheesecake, candy, brownies, and cupcakes to fundraise for big trips, like our French class's trip to France and Spain or the band and choir tours (which usually cost around $1,000, but they also worked at concession stand fundraisers as a non-profit group, which.....got them less than minimum wage for the amount of work they did). One of my friends sold lollipops made from candy melts the last few months to help pay for dorming this semester, which I think got her somewhere between $100-200...
There's also paid internships for high school students. Sure, they usually pay just minimum wage, but they also look pretty good on college apps (like, I used to volunteer at a local science center and they gave us the option for applying for a paid internship after fulfilling 150 hours of service)...a lot of people at my high school also found summer (paid!) internships at local hospitals

With any online craft site, being 18 and having a bank account (and usually a PayPal account) are necessary. On Etsy and similar sites, I've only been able to pull in $200-$300 a year, but for my craft the restocking of supplies usually made me break even or left me with little profit.

I say just have yard sales and bake sales if you can. Bake sales are nice because baked goods are very cheap to produce in huge quantities. Yard sales are good to organize with a whole neighborhood or even just a few houses, because then you can sell things you don't want anymore so you have money to buy what you do want.

Etsy. Think of a few things you like to make and make well, then make a range of them and sell them on Etsy

I'd say that if you're just starting out, you're probably not going to make a lot of money selling crafts online. It takes most people a little while to start making any money with sites such as etsy. What you might want to try is to see if there are any craft fairs with cheap booths in your area, because in my experience that's a lot easier. If not, try the typical high school jobs like babysitting, raking leaves, and shoveling snow!

for people that are interested in etsy, it's hard

I spent well over $300 just to start my shop (with samples only), and that's not including the tools i needed for it (cos i bought them for school, not for the sake of business-- if I included tools, I'd have spent prolly $500 at the time of starting)

businesses don't normally break even until 2+ years later
this year, I made ~$3500 off etsy, but spent $1800 on it (including start up costs, from here on, profits should only get higher .. hopefully!).

it's a lot of work, and just putting dark, grainy pictures online won't cut it (not saying your pictures are bad quality cos i haven't looked at them, but a lot of people do this and wonder why no one looks at their stuff)

i say this cos it seems you don't have much money now, which means you may not even be able to afford start up costs...


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how old are you? why can't you work a normal job (like in the mall)?
i've worked at a chinese restaurant , at a stupid dunkin donuts, etc. for extra money. it's not easy, but if it pays, then go for it!

Being 15 years old, I can't legally work at any store, so I crochet scarves, hats, and other amigurumi things for my friends around school.

The problem with Etsy is that buyers need an account and a credit/debit card (which not a big majority of high schoolers have), and you have to deal with shipping & that mumbo jumbo if your customers live far away. This is why I've decided to just sell to people at my school; I have a Facebook page where I have photos, price lists, etc. and then I just meet up with my customers at lunch or during class to deliver their products. I've only been selling for 2 months but I've made about $250 in profit so far (the key is to buy in bulk and use coupons when purchasing supplies)
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Crafting is a good idea for a business, but it takes a BIG chunk of your time. (Also my wrist is almost always sore from crocheting so much -_-) You could always go with the classic babysitting/lawnmowing/yard sale stuff. Or if you're old enough, I'd say just go out and get a job at a real store/restaurant/etc.

Good luck!

I make a lot of sales through word of mouth on Facebook. Don't use your personal page if you can help it, keep the sales to a business fan page. You don't want to be giving everyone all of your personal information. You'll have to factor in shipping costs, but it's often worth it when you have the chance to connect with return customers, and (if you're good at what you do and offer great customer service) their friends, and their friends, and so on. Use sites like pinterest or stumbleupon to promote yourself (make sure to link back to wherever you're selling from). I have a few return customers who just happened to come across my work on those sites and decided to buy from me.

I personally am not a fan of etsy, especially since they gave the green light to all those tacky resellers and factory-made, mass-produced junk. The fees are a bit high, and raising your prices to cover those fees is not something you want to start doing right off the bat as a new seller.

Definitely try local craft fairs or any vending opportunity that doesn't require a license. People are much more likely to buy things when they can see and touch them first. Stick to events with a low booth fee until you figure out your average takehome from each event.

If you can sell at school, that's a great way to connect with your customers face-to-face. I know my high school forbade selling anything on campus for personal profit, but lots of kids sold candy to raise money for school trips and things. Get your friends to promote for you. If you're making things that can be worn (like jewelry or t-shirts or anything like that), maybe give a few samples to friends. Whenever anybody asks where they got the item, they can tell the person that you made it.

Around were I live there are two shops that sell locally made good, were I like to sell my stuff. One time a woman that owned a shop in Seattle saw my merchandise and asked to sell my stuff at her shop. So just look on yelp or something, and see if there are any shops near you that sell locally made goods.