Money making ideas for teens

As a teen I wish someone had given me some advice on finances and money making. You see, as a teen I was busy doing stupid stuff like acquiring as many CDs and other unnecessary items from the mall that I possibly could. And the best time to be a bit of an entrepreneur is when you are a teen. I mean, think about it - you have no real expenses and the whole teen entrepreneur is such a gimmick and it truly works in your favor. Sure, not every teen can be an Ashley Qualls and make millions, but there are some great ways for teens to make money.

The tried and true

Babysitting - This is something that teens have been doing for some time now. You won’t get rich off of babysitting jobs, but the work is fairly simple. You get to wear whatever you want and play with kids and a lot of time you also get to eat for free. Not a bad gig. I actually did this for a while my freshman year of college.  I got to eat for free, the kids went to bed fairly early and then I got to sit and do my homework, all while getting paid.

Mowing lawns and collecting trash - I knew a lot of  guys that spent their summers mowing lawns. They got exercise and they actually got paid pretty well. If you are in a large neighborhood there is even more potential for cash. And if there is not a trash pickup then offering to collect trash weekly is another great way to make some money.

Farm work - I grew up in the South where there were a lot of tobacco farms. So, each summer a lot of people that I knew made an amazing amount of money just by helping out on the tobacco farms. Of course, this is pretty hard work.

Tutoring - There is always a need for tutors. So, if you excel in a subject area, why not offer your assistance to someone else that could use a little help? A lot of times you can even reserve a meeting room in a local library for free to do your tutoring.

Thinking outside the box

Baking - If you have a teen that loves to bake, then this is a potential money maker.  And who can resist a teen going door-to-door selling baked goods?

Computer services - Teens that are interested in computers and can do things like design websites can offer their services to the community.  This can include everything from building computers to installing software and memory to setting up networks or other more complicated endeavors.

Blogging & website services - There are plenty of web savvy teens making money from everything from blogging to offering up SEO services.  If you have a teen that does this sort of thing for fun, why not encourage them to make a little money from it.

Art & crafts- These days more and more artists are selling their artwork on the web.  There are plenty of artists making a lot of money just by selling artwork on eBay. If your teen is more into things like making jewelry for instance there is also Etsy where your teen can sell all sorts of different art and craft items that they have made.

Writing - Freelance writing is not just for adults. Teens can get paid to write from all sorts of places. In addition to sending out queries to traditional places, there are sites online like Associated Content and Helium where writers can earn a modest sum for their words.

eBay seller - If you are teen with a keen eye for items that can be re-sold for a profit you might want to think about being an eBay seller.  This means going to yard sales and flea markets and the like and looking for things you can buy cheap and resell for a profit. Of course, you do not have to use eBay for that. You could go with Craigslist or another route. You could also offer to list items for eBay for other people in your community for a small fee.

Graphic designer - If you are a teen with some graphic design skills, why not offer those up to local businesses? Offer to do flyers, posters or brochures. You could also offer to do party invitations for people in the community.

Photographer/videographer - All you need is a decent camera or video camera and you can be on your way to making money as a photographer or videographer. Look for sports teams in your area and see if they need someone to video their games for a small fee. Offer to take photos of sports teams, pets and more in the community. Businesses, like real estate offices, also need photographers to take photos of homes.