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Saturday, March 19, 2005

Business Ideas - Make Money with No Money

The following is a list of several small side incomes you can make without much startup capital (or none at all). High school students, broke college students or anyone looking to score a little extra cash can take this advice. This list goes contrary to the saying "It takes money to make money". I feel there are tons of ways to make money, but people never pursue them because they seem "menial" or "not worth their time". Well here are a few things you can do to make quick cash without a formal business plan, investors or anything of the sort.

1.) Sell Water. That's right. Buy a 24-pack of bottled water, ice it, then sell on a hot day. Your $3.00 investment has turned a $21 profit in a small amount of time. This may seem like something only a bum would do, but trust me, you will learn more from this experience than in any marketing class. Water can be substituted with soft drinks, hot coco etc.
Easy Factor Rating: *****
**Tried this experiment on 4-03-2005

2.) Mow Lawns. If you don't have a lawnmower, borrow one. Go around a neighborhood offering your service. This business works particularly well for younger kids. Live in a cold area? They substitute lawn mowing with snow shovelling. You can ALWAYS get people to pay for this by lowering your price. Surprise people by offering to shovel a driveway for $3 if you are having trouble finding business. Some money is better than none, and you get plenty of excersize!
Easy Factor Rating: *****

3.) Powerwashing. Rent, buy or borrow a simple power washer and clean driveways and houses. Driveways will take 30-40 minutes depending on size. The real goldmine here is cleaning houses. This job will fetch over $100 and requires only a telescoping ladder and a bit more risk. For younger kids, their 30-40 minutes spent power washing a driveway will fetch about $20-$30. The trick here is to start off one house at a low price, then pitch to the surrounding houses showing off how clean their neighbors driveway is. Getting a company to hire you is even better. Gas stations, property management companies all need power washing services, but this may require some heavier duty equipment. Power washing can be done on any lazy Saturday afternoon where you are doing nothing better. Take before/after pictures and show off your work during your door-to-door sales pitch.
Easy Factor Rating: ****

4.) Accounting. Know accounting? Then become a part-time book keeper for a small business. These part timers get anywhere from $14 to $22 an hour for their services. Accounting CAN be self-taught, but a class is recommended. I know two accountants who make very nice livings working out of their garage. I see ads in the paper looking for part time book keepers all the time. You can educate yourself or hone your knowledge for free with books from the library.
Easy Factor Rating: *

5.) Get a job. Duh. If you feel totally inadequate to take a little risk and make money for yourself, or you need a more steady income, just get a small job. Even though I make enough money on the side, I still hold a job for the added income. If you are not picky about your job and just need some quick income, work at a coffee house, or in fast food etc. Get a job as a janitor, helping hand etc. These areas are always looking for non full time employees. You can get hired very quickly if you apply to those types of positions. Jobs are great, but you must obey the orders of others, often perform duties you may dislike and revolve around someone else's schedule. The other ideas on the list give you more freedom to wheel and deal as you please.
Easy Factor Rating: *****

6.) Computer Cleanup. If you are decently computer savvy, charge a small fee for cleaning up slow running computers. My old 800Mhz Dell desktop can still outperform most personal computers that are four times as fast because I keep in squeaky clean of viruses, spyware, adware etc. Go door to door asking "Is your computer annoyingly slow? Got crap popping up on your screen all the time? Well I can help you solve that problem in 20 minutes." I figure you will get quite a few people who would pay $10 - $20 (Or way more!) for your few minutes of service. Simply install all Windows Updates on their computer, install Google Pop-Up Blocker, download and run the new Microsoft Anti-Spyware program and BAM....more efficient computer. I do this for friends all the time, and they can never thank me enough for saving them the frustration of a brand new computer that runs painfully slow because of spyware. I see a huge market for this service. This is a GREAT way for a computer savvy student to make some quick ca$h. Total costs for software = $0.00. Every program I mentioned was 100% free. Who says it takes money to make money??
East Factor Rating: ****

Of course these are only a select few ways to generate small amounts of cash. These ideas will most likely not get you rich, but making cash is better than sitting around and being idle! Also, the experience you gain from trying out these ideas is more valuable than anything learned sitting in a classroom.

Now go out there and make some !!!




Labels: ,

21 Comments:

At 5:09 AM, Blogger savvy saver said...
Those are some great ideas. I really like the powerwashing, only I'd be very careful when powerwashing someone's house. If it is not vinyl siding, you run the risk of powerwashing the paint right off of it. I have a stucco house, and it's much better to clean it with just a garden hose and a tiny bit of pressure.

If you want to do dirty work, but get paid really, really well, clean gutters. Everyone hates doing it, and I know a lot of people would pay quite a bit if someone else would do it (I know I would!). Make sure you have elbow-length gloves and a couple buckets....

erin
http://frugalgirl.blogspot.com

 

At 6:17 AM, Blogger Cap said...
the computer cleanup/update is good idea. I'm fairly certain local computer shops offer it for high labor cost.. I do it for friends/family all the time, but im not going to ask them for money heh. i suppose there is the door to door route in asking people. unfortunately solitication like that around my area is heavily frowned upon.

 

At 9:54 AM, Blogger Neville said...
Frugal Girl,
I've never EVER seen someone in my area clean their gutters! I hear people complain about cleaning their gutters all the time, but I have no experience with it. My area has mostly 2-storied houses, and there are restrictions on the types of trees you can have on your property. These trees are genenerally not tall enough to deposit mass amounts of junk into the gutters, luckily!

Cap,
When I wrote the computer cleanup idea, I was thinking "Damn, I should actually do this." I, like you, do this for my friends gratis on a regular basis, and even THEY offer to pay. Perhaps you could make tiny flyers and leave them on doors for exposure instead of soliciting door to door.

 

At 10:30 AM, Anonymous Christian G. Warden said...
No trackbacks?

 

At 1:35 PM, Blogger Neville said...
Christian,

I did a little research on trackbacks, and I'm not particularly impressed by the concept. So no trackbacks for now.

And to respond to the post on your page:
I realize you cannot setup shop anywhere and sell, but there are places you can. A certain intersection nearby my apartment in Austin allows anyone to do whatever they want, which unfortunately opens the door for bums.

Also, a lot of these ideas are better for younger kids. How harsh can cops be on a kid selling bottled water?? Well, maybe in Cali the LAPD will Rodney King the kid!...but in most places they would just get a small warning.

 

At 1:39 PM, Blogger Smarty said...
Great ideas. I used to fix computers for a small fee but I hate traveling, so I stopped. I do it more often for friends and relatives which I don't charge.

 

At 6:18 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...
Paint curbs... that right. paint curbs. make a few hundred flyers, pass them out on mail boxes (its legal to tape them to the box). put on the flyer that if they want their address painted on their curb to put the flyer in the window. the next day or two go around the area again, if they have a flyer in their window, paint the address on their curb. then charge 15 bucks. you will get about 5 percent of ur flyers, so, 500 flyers means 25 jobs, 375 bucks. spend a day passin out flyers, and a day or two painting curbs, thats 1500 a month. get number templates and reflective paint like is used for road lines. should be able to get them from a car parts store.

 

At 11:07 AM, Blogger gilbert said...
I have seen some interesting ideas for businesses. I was thinking of setting up a business for turning albums into audio files and cassettes as well also short dvd's could be turned into avi files. I've done the dvd to avi, but the others i have not done.

 

At 11:59 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...
yea, you have some great idea's . I espiacally like the bottled water one because if your a kid about under 14 years of age . you set your price to a dollar a bottle but most incomers will probably through out 2 bucks or MORE!!!!!!

 

At 8:47 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...
http://www.buildcash.org

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Essentially you are paid your Principal plus 44% of the money you participate with.
Although in the rules it states they will pay you in 7 business days after the 12 day term, they have always payed members in 4-5 business days.

The company has a six month track record and it is part of a 2 year old industry which has over 500,000 members worldwide that has paid members Millions of Dollars monthly.

12 daily itself have over 84,000 members and they are growing at a rate of 1000 per day. Why such incredible Growth in one program?
Although, there are dozens of these programs online however 12 daily stands out from the rest for these following factors.

-- Pays you 44% Profit and principal in 20 days or less;
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At 10:49 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...
1) Clean windows. I used to pay a guy 15 bucks every time he'd clean the big plate glass windows on my Laundromat. He came by once a month. He simply dropped the bill thru the mail slot in the back room and I'd pay. Nice. Most retail businesses need really good clear windows. The often get mucked up by little hands. Equipment: a bucket, a squeegee and a long pole.

2) door-2-door flyers. Again for my Laundromat I advertised to the local area only. I usually got 2 - 3 teens to help with walking the neighborhood. Door hangers only, nothing in the mail box (illegal w/o postage). Could get a team of younger kids to work for you and hit up all the local businesses. This could be a fund raiser for a local kid's sports team.

 

At 8:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...
I try pet sitting and it worked great i made about 15 bucks a day just for cats u guy need to try this

 

At 12:54 AM, Anonymous Linh said...
thanks for share info
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At 12:48 PM, Anonymous USuggest said...
USuggest.com allow the bloggers to make some extra money through recommended products directly from within their blogs, and hopefully directing their readers to online retailers. As such, the respective blogger would receive a commission from any sales generated through referrals!

 

At 8:48 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...
Hello Neville! I really enjoyed reading your site! You've made a lot of money!

I'm trying to make money myself. I was wondering if you do link exchanges?

please let me know!

kumiko
xo

 

At 12:48 PM, Blogger brchcar1445 said...
Its pretty fresh to see some ideas that dont use adsense! Thanks for the great post!

http://www.probrooksphoto.com/

 

At 1:14 AM, Anonymous Duvet Dollar said...
Pretty nifty idea. I like the water freezing one. So easy yet so effective...

 

At 10:47 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...
Struggling COLLEGE stew-DENT?! WANNA MAKE about $60-200/ hour?? all it takes is a startup of $80- and a little motivation...the dude who suggested painting curbs has a good idea, butt he's only selling 25 outta 500 houses with he's lamo flyer methodology- LOSE THE FLYERS DUDE!! work on your sales pitch- go door to door asking for donations for your college tuition-err whatever, and go to a NICE neighborhood (without backlights) and say the average donation is $20-$25- I've gotten as much as $50 on a curb- butt only in the richey nieghborhoods...wear a COLLEGE t-shirt,be prepared to tell em'your major- and show em' a college ID- you can go by yourself, or have a friend follow behind you painting- as you sell- DONT HALFASS it!! you'll build a bad rep for curbside address painters EVERYWHERE!!--->> I dont normally train competition, butt if you not in RENO and what more info---> email me drbargen@yahoo.com

 

At 12:07 PM, Blogger S-J123 said...
Hi,
Im only 15 and wonder if you could give me a great tip on how to do business online.
I cannot use ebay because i do not have access to a 18+ credit card. This is the same for adsense i think because i dont think i can use my credit card for that.
Is there a way to make a bit of spending money £50 - £100 a week online or using a computer programme.
Thank you, Adam
E-mail me on S-J_69@hotmail.com
P.s I live in England

 

At 12:59 PM, Anonymous Business idea said...
Hey, I am a native German speaker and have another idea. The Germans have problems with English grammer (like me ;.)). Why dont you offer proof reading and ghost writing for zeh Germans? Or anyone else?

 

At 10:06 AM, Blogger luis said...
Great post!

If the economics don't work, recycling efforts won't either.
Http://LivePaths.com blogs about innovative entrepreneurs that make money selling recycled items, provide green services or help us reduce our dependency on non renewable resources. These include some very cool Green online ventures, great new technologies, startups and investments opportunities.

 

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