Here's a few ideas for making extra money for high school and college students* this summer:

1. Mow lawns. The summer months are here (assuming you live in the U.S.?). Lots of opportunities with lawns out there. My uncle does this during the end of spring and summer. It’s a nice side business. You can use your own equipment or see if the neighbor may have it. An extra $20-30 a week per lawn would come in handy.
2. Freelance Writing. People will pay for writing articles. A blog is a good place to start.
3. Get a Newspaper Route. There is nothing like riding a good bicycle, having a good arm, waking up and working at dawn. Early risers would love this job. People with a determination to make some extra cash could enjoy this too. This job can generate an extra $500-$2000 a month easily.
4. Become a Dog Walker. People get paid every day to walk dogs. Lots of people have pets. Yet they work too much or just prefer for someone else to handle certain aspects of pets training. Why not offer this service to people in your neighborhood?
5. Sell stuff online on EBay or Amazon. Do you know a lot about some niche segment? Say baseball cards, comic books, specialty toys? Find a niche and start making a profit!
6. Become a mystery shopper. Mystery shoppers can work flexible hours. Sometimes you even get to keep your purchases! Note: Avoid companies that want you to pay a fee up front.
7. Babysit some kids. Know a family with kids? Baby sit them for cash! Parents are always looking to go out on a date or run errands. Sometimes even voluntary babysitting can eventually turn into money.
8. Write a Book or an eBook. Are you an expert at something? Are you a good story teller or good at poetry? My wife published a book of poems in 2010. Her first book and we broke about even. eBooks are really cheap and becoming more popular as well!
9. Tutor students. Do you play an instrument? Are your particularly good at Math, Science, English, History? If you speak any other language (Spanish, German, or French?) tutoring kids or even adults can be profitable. I did this in high school and made $10-15 an hour. My sister does this and charges $15 an hour. She’s a full-time student and not even 20 years old yet!
10. Run errands for the elderly. Get to know people in your community or church (if applicable) who may need to go to the bank or for you to get their groceries.
11. Fix people’s PC’s. Start out with family/friends. Computers are always breaking down or having viruses. I have a friend
12. Do consulting. Know some programming languages? Charge $50 and put a decent website together for a startup business. Web design or graphics design is always a good place to start. Start out cheap and build your reputation and portfolio. Businesses always need their sites updated, promos with graphics, etc. I have a cousin who makes about $1200-$2500 a month depending on the business on this. He has been doing this for a little over a year now.
13. Sell Digital Photos Have a decent camera? Offer to do some photo shoots for free. Then as word gets out you could start your own photography business.
14. House Sit Vacation season is upon us. This can be a great 1-2 week gig. I got free rent for a couple of months one summer by staying at someone’s house.
15. Join a Focus Group Google “Focus Group” and see how many hits you can get. There is always some company willing to pay a little something for your thoughts, opinions, etc.
16. Paint See a neighbor’s house that might need painting? Ring the doorbell and ask them if you could offer your services. They provide the paint and tools you provide the labor.
17. Sell Stuff From Home See what you can sell at Half Price Books or eBay. Then sell whatever else you can in a garage sale. Remember one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
18. Clean homes. People don’t always want or (supposedly) have time to clean their homes. Not the most luxurious job but a great opportunity to make some extra money. My wife did this while in high school and even college.
19. Find Odd Jobs on Craigslist Neighborhood adds and word of mouth not working? People always need things done. Do you have a truck and are able to help some people move furniture? Or perhaps paint? Or de-clutter someone's garage? Or perhaps mow some yards?
20. Deliver pizzas at night. Tips, Tips, Tips! Even if it’s just for the summer it’s a great way to generate some cash.
21. Go back to school. Sometimes going back to school for certification or a BA in Business or other field can open up new opportunities. Getting a masters or a MBA could be a useful tool in making oneself more marketable. I did this and after hard work in almost 6 years of school landed a job making double what I used to make.


Thoughts? Comments? Constructive feedback? Any more good ideas to add to the list?

*Updated to specify this list was intended for high school and college students.

focus on your main job and be really good at it.

The newspaper route option is interesting - I did not know there was real money in that.

I made $3-4,000 per summer mowing lawns all throughout high school. Oftentimes the vacant homes make the best customers - the realtor is happy to have a nice looking lawn for $25/wk and never thinks twice about it.

But Bichon makes a sound point, depending on the quality of one's first job. An extra $5,000 in your raise is equivalent to 200 lawns mowed

People delivering papers in my area (Pittsburgh) would never make the type of money mentioned in the OP.

The easiest time to get a paper route is in January. It's almost impossible to wrest a route from an existing route-holder in the months leading up to the holiday tip season. Still, it's not that lucrative, and not particularly compatible with a day job.

Okay perhaps I should restate the innitial part of this thread:



This was in response to Champion1229's thread on his/her "Long Term Plan"

Thanks.

I like the idea of blogging and focus groups. I am totally an Internet addict and dont mind spending some extra hours writing on subjects that interest me. If I am good, ill make some money. It requires nothing, just some time out. So its a good idea for people who enjoy writing.

I think that you have the right idea OP.

Starting to think like an entrepreneur - especially in high school / college - will pay dividends down the road. The money you make will be miniscule, but the experiences that you will take away (how to build a customer base, how to advertise / sell, how to generate repeat business, etc) will serve you well for the rest of your life.

Lol these were things I thought of in college. I was just posting to help out another poster (Champion1229) as stated above on another thread. This person is 15 and looking at plans for the future including savings/investments/college. But yes the earlier you start looking towards the future the better! Thanks for the encouragement.

His post was not all that entrepreneurial. The things he posted are more like 2nd jobs, than a route to being an entrepreneur.

Nothing wrong with 2nd jobs, but there's a big difference.

I disagree. I re-read Eagle's list, and most of his suggestions would count as "self-employed," not working for someone else. As such, they'd be considered "small businesses," which is really the essense of entrepreneurship. When you run your own business, you learn what makes a business work, from the top to the bottom. You learn how to draw in customers, how to meet their needs, and how to focus on the most profitable aspects of delivering the service/product you specialize in, thus maximizing revenue.

I'm not saying that's entirely entrepreneurial, but it's at least in the same ballpark, in my opinion.

curious, are you an entrepreneur? if so, what is it that you do?

In addition to my 40-hour a week day job, I also own my own small business as a wedding photographer. While I don't consider myself an "entrepreneur," I can see how owning your own business builds many of the skills and experience necessary in order to take it to the next level, if one so desired.

en·tre·pre·neur -- noun -- \ˌäⁿn-trə-p(r)ə-ˈnər, -ˈn(y)u̇r\ : one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise

While some of the ideas would indeed be considered second jobs, many of them would be great ways for high school or college kids to make some money on their own, without punching the clock at their local McDonalds. Something like painting a neighbor's house may seem pretty mundane for an established business-person, but it may very well be the entrepreneurial spark that a young person needs to start them down the path to self-employment and becoming a true entrepreneur.

Billy, how are these suggestions any different than the way you describe your own entrepreneurial beginnings?

The newspaper route was not an entrepreneurial endeavor, it was a job. It did a great job of motivating me to do hard work young, but I was not an entrepreneur. My sports card company was an entrepreneurial venture.

newspaper routes, house sitting, delivering pizzas may get someone motivated to make money, but the people who do them aren't entrepreneurs.