Jobs?

[Rip's Girl]

I've had the idea burning in my head for a few months now to get a working lines GSD puppy, possibly to train in SAR...

Well, tonight I brought it up with my mom, and I told her that the average price I'd seen for a good quality male GSD pup from highly titled working lines is about $1200-$1500... (Emoticons finally have a good use) Her expression: - -


But she'd been considering it for awhile, and now she came up with the brilliant idea of me raising the $1500 on my own since she already paid that for an expensive dog (Ripley)

So... now there's me, kind of overwhelmed, and this thread...

Any suggestions for a job that a 14-year-old can do? I'm adventurous, I'll try mostly anything.. (Oh, and there are NO baby-sitting jobs available around here since nearly every 14-year-old is doing that. )

•Grace

[Carrie]

Not only is your education and good writing abilities showing up, but I see that you're industrious too!

Well, hmmmmmmmm.....let's see. Are you musical or artistic? What are your talents, hobbies and interests? (besides dogs) Actually you could be a dog walker for people you know who work and have a problem by having a dog. But only do it for dogs you know well that are gentle and safe and that you can physically control. You could go around and explain that you're learning a lot about dogs and if they have a behavior problem, it could well be that the dog just needs to be walked and attended to a little while they're at work. And you're just the person to do it. But only work for neighbors that your parents know and trust.

Perhaps you could tutor a younger child in reading and writing. Do you like to work outside? What about helping out with neighbor's yards or inside house cleaning? Do you like to bake? You could take orders from your neighbors for cookies, cakes, special breads and sell them. Just figure out how much your ingredients cost and put a value on your time and then add a reasonable percentage for your profit.

Whatever you think of, think of the person or people you are wanting to work for or sell something to. Find out what their problem is. (everyone has a problem and everyone needs you to fix it) Point it out to them in a subtle way, a round about way...in fact, ask questions in such a way that they have to be the ones to realize and tell you they have a need for something rather than you telling them point blank.... and then expound on how you are just the person to help them and/or your product is going to solve their troubles. Explain how you will do this and how reasonable your cost is. But first... know something about the person you are selling something to, what their interests are, what they NEED. Then go in for the kill. LOL.

I'll be thinking more on this. And see what else someone comes up with. I'm sure there are lots of ideas.

Carrie

[Taz]

Wow, Carrie covered most of my ideas. Whats the legal age to work where you are? I started out at a gas station, and loved it. I got to work outside, meet some great customers, and thats were my passion for cars started.

[Lil'Paws]

Yes,it sounds like Carrie covered it all. Just figure out where your interest lie and go from there. If its something your interested in yourself.. you'll be more motivated to do it..Let us know how it goes...

[Carrie]

Taz, I think that sounds great and how interesting that that is what led you to like cars so much and know about them. Cool. These days, depending on the area I guess, it is a little risky working at convenience/gas stores. They say they're high on the list for hold ups. LOL. But I think where Rips girl lives is probably pretty low crime.

I don't think I've covered it all......at all. LOL! I know there are some more ideas out there! Let's put our heads together.

Here are some things I remember doing when I was a teen:

When I was young, maybe a couple years older than you are, I gave some neighbor kids piano lessons. I could read music and had already been playing the piano for some time. So, I started them.

I also gave riding lessons to a few kids on my horse. I didn't have to go search for anyone...didn't even think of it. Someone saw me training my horse in an arena and they came and asked me if I'd teach their kid to ride.

When I was the legal age, I think 17 or 18, I took life saving, 1st aide and the water safety instructor class. I had already been on the swim team since I was very young and wanted to use that skill for a job. So, I then was a life guard and swimming instructor for several years. At that time, it was a very well paying job for my age because there was some training involved.

Of course, I babysat and took care of people's animals when they went on vacation. (there's something else you could advertise that you do...again, just people you know....eh-hem, your Internet mother speaking. LOL)

What about doing people's laundry. Would your folks go for that? They might not like the extra wear and tear on their machines. But, you could collect working people's laundry (if your Mom would drive you around to pick it up) and bring it home, wash, dry and fold. You'd have to have a system so you don't co-mingle the clothes. LOL. Wouldn't that be awful if you gave some big burly man a woman's lacy undies and bra? Well, that's an idea, but you can tell I'm grasping at straws. That doesn't sound like a real rewarding job.

Do you like to work with plants? Do your parents have a greenhouse? Hmmmm (just thinking) I would love a greenhouse. I'm very into gardening. You could maybe do something with that...if you enjoy it....make up flower pots in spring to sell around the neighborhood....indoor plants that you propagate from cuttings. (Cheap!) Good profit....especially if your parents buy the greenhouse. LOL.

So, just keep thinking of things that you like to do and what people need or would like to have done.

Carrie

[Taz]

Hey, I just remembered you said in another thread, that your dad has a shop. Maybe he would help you make some kind of wood crafts, and you could paint them. Do you have a Sunday flea market or something? I know in our local flea market there is a lady who makes wooden pet dish holders. They are kinda like a foot stool, with 2 holds in the top for the dishes. She takes orders too, so you can get your pets name on it or what ever color you want. The supplies wouldn't cost too much, you could make a good profit.

[Carrie]

Hey, that's a great idea! When I was a kid, my Dad had a wood working shop and made furniture and other things as a hobby. He made me a fish tank cabinet for my tropical fish. And he put me on the jig saw (a very safe kind of machine) and I cut out angel fish which I had traced onto the wood. Then I painted them and they went on the cabinet. Also, he made me a cabinet for my bathroom and used his router (sp?) and the whole front....the door was not flat, but had little squares. It was painted white enamel and on each little square I painted a little vegetable or bunch of vegetables, like turnips, carrots with tops, radishes etc....very colorful. It could be used in someone's laundry room or garage. It wasn't like fine cabintetry, but cute. I also painted flat rocks I found in the river beds....made them into insects etc.

I'm just thinking of things I did which gives me ideas that you may or may not like.

Something I've been doing since I was married was making X-mas wreaths, fresh and artificial. The artificial would be hard to make a profit, but the fresh ones, you could. I take a plain green artificial one from Ben Franklin and wire on all kinds of little, tiny ornament things; little chili peppers, birds, tiny nests with eggs in them...neat little things you can buy there. Those things add up when you put a lot on the wreath, so you have to think how much would someone be willing to pay and make sure you make something from it. They take about 1/2 to 45 minutes for me to put one together and then a big red bow. The fresh ones, you'd need to take orders for I think and make one to show as an example. You get the wreath frames and go out and cut smallish branches of evergreens. I like to use a mixture of Doug Fir, Pine...if you find some Spruce, that's pretty. You can add holly if you have some, but remind people the berries are poisonous. Cedar is pretty in there too, but tends to be shedding sometimes....same with Hemlock. But the different textures are nice. So you just stuff it till the wire thing is full and use clippers to trim. You get some green wire from Ben Franklin and use that too. It's fun and artistic. They end up looking way prettier and fuller than the ones you buy at other places as they're covered with cute little doo dads, berries, little fake oranges they sell etc. (Don't know how much you could sell them for....maybe 10 - 20 dollars more than what you see sold at Safeway. So you have to be careful how you buy the little ornaments....sales, bulk deals etc. Do your math and make sure you make something that covers the cost, your time $per hour, and then some) But you better find people with moola. LOL. But they are fun to do.

Carrie

[fireworksinjuly]

my first job was a bowling alley. I had to wait till I was 15 to be a janitor but when I turned 16 and could legally touch the deep fryer I became the head snak bar girl, untill I went to college...

Legal working age may be a problem cuz of only being 14, I know in NY you can not do it unless its a family business....

but like a small family run business may hire younger peopoe, some resturants hire them for buss kids, dishwash, etc...

[Lil'Paws]

I just thought of one.. Do you know how to sew?.. Make plastic bag holders or dishtowels that tie on the cabinets, oven door or refrig... I've dont these and there not hard to make.. You take a dish towel.. cut it in half..this way you get two for one.. lay it flat and take it and fold it in half long ways gather it.. take the fabric make it look like a small apron with the strings attached and sew them on to the towel..Plastic bag holders you use a piece of fabric 18 in. long by 8 in long sew together put elastic in both ends and sew ribbon to it to use for a handle .. Great for storing those plastic groc.. bags.. If your interested pm me I'll be glad to help with the pattern..

Carrie I make my own wreaths also.. I enjoy it..
Grace,My family have me to make all of there bows for decorating at christmas..You could do this also..Takes patience to learn..

Tammy

[Carrie]

Oh really Lil Paws? Yes, wreaths are a fun thing to make. I haven't done much of the straw type lately, but have in the past with a hot glue gun. A friend taught me to make big bows. But lately, I just buy them....too lazy.

Also there's one neat kind (do you know what I mean?) where you take a styrofoam ring and with the hot glue gun assisting, you wrap it entirely, diagonally with wide ribbon....I like plaid or red...Christmassy colors. The best styrofoam rings have a flat front and flat around, in other words, are squared off.....not completely rounded. Then you buy those tiny little fake apples, oranges, a little pretend holly berries and leaves and some cinnamon sticks. Then you make these fake dough cookies and make different shapes. I use to have a recipie but don't now. But you don't eat these. They last forever. I forget what I put on them to make them shiny...maybe fixative, a spray for painting from when I painted pictures to make it stay. Then you hot glue them all over the wreath, all sides but the back. And inbetween you stick the other little things, the apples, oranges, holly, cinnamon sticks. You can stick little mini bows here and there. It really looks cute when finished.

I even used that fake cookie dough stuff to make a fake cherry pie with latticed crust. It looked so real that guests thought they were going to score! LOL. Finally when it was time to move from that house, I came across it and it weighed at least 10 LBS. It got shot putted into the back 40 in the woods. LOL.

Carrie

[Lil'Paws]

Originally Posted by Carrie

Also there's one neat kind (do you know what I mean?) where you take a styrofoam ring and with the hot glue gun assisting, you wrap it entirely, diagonally with wide ribbon....I like plaid or red...Christmassy colors. The best styrofoam rings have a flat front and flat around, in other words, are squared off.....not completely rounded. Then you buy those tiny little fake apples, oranges, a little pretend holly berries and leaves and some cinnamon sticks. Then you make these fake dough cookies and make different shapes. I use to have a recipie but don't now. But you don't eat these. They last forever. I forget what I put on them to make them shiny...maybe fixative, a spray for painting from when I painted pictures to make it stay. Then you hot glue them all over the wreath, all sides but the back. And inbetween you stick the other little things, the apples, oranges, holly, cinnamon sticks. You can stick little mini bows here and there. It really looks cute when finished.

Sound like we have alot of the same interest Carrie.Yes, I know the kind . I make all of my arrangements myself..I love to decorate.. As for the fake cookie dough.. I make a spice decoration for my tree (out of cookie cutters)or what ever i decide to use it for.. Of applesauce and cinn.nutmeg...They give off a wonderful smell..Makes the house smell great..

[Barrett]

Pet sitting sounds like a great job for you. I take my dog over to my friends house 1-2 times a week so her daughter can watch her. I feel bad for leaving Bailey for 12 hours while I am at work. They have two mini dachshund for Bailey to play with. It's like doggy daycare. I pay her daughter 20 dollars a day to puppy-sit. Her daughter is 14 and I feel very safe letting her take care of Bailey. It breaks up Bailey's week not having to sit at home everyday and boy does she get exercise playing with the other two dogs. When I pick her up she barely stays awake by the time I get her to the car.

Perhaps you could offer to train dogs in obedience. I don't know if you have to have a license or not though. I think that would be a fun job.

I wish you lived near me...my flight school pays kids to wash and wax the airplanes. They pay 50 dollars per plane but it is tough work. Some kids pay for their flight time by washing planes. When I get those hard working students I never charge instruction fees, I figure that if they want to fly that much and work that hard its the least I can do to help them out. It saves them 20 dollars an hour. I also choose them to fly with me when we break in a new engine. The plane needs to be flown a certain amount of hours at high rpm to break in the engine and the flight time is completely free.

[Taz]

Originally Posted by Barrett

I wish you lived near me...my flight school pays kids to wash and wax the airplanes. They pay 50 dollars per plane but it is tough work. Some kids pay for their flight time by washing planes. When I get those hard working students I never charge instruction fees, I figure that if they want to fly that much and work that hard its the least I can do to help them out. It saves them 20 dollars an hour. I also choose them to fly with me when we break in a new engine. The plane needs to be flown a certain amount of hours at high rpm to break in the engine and the flight time is completely free.

Barrett your job sounds so interesting. I always wanted to be a pilot, but my eyes are too bad(so bad that I need to get stronger glasses every 6mths or so). So when I graduated high school I took a Flight Attendant course, but my timing was really bad, the 2nd day of class was Sept. 11. Ever since the jobs here have been few and far between. I'm sure I could get a job if I moved, but this is my hometown, and I love it here. So back to school I go in Sept.

[Rip's Girl]

-Dog walking is definitely out, my neighbors' idea of walking dogs is to let them run unattended in the streets..

-Thanks for the suggestions! Tammy, I don't know how to sew very well, but I'm a very fast learner and I could probably pick up on things like that pretty quick... Carrie, in Arizona, there IS no grass to mow (LOL) but there might be dogs to walk. I could always advertise in the Phoenix paper as a pet-sitter, since I'd probably charge far less per day than any kennel would. Even like you suggested, Barrett, just a "doggy day care" thing.

LOL I actually looked at one of those scam things where you fill out surveys online and make like $20 per survey.. AFTER you send the company $100.. My friend is dying to do that..

I'll keep lookin'... Thanks a bunch for the suggestions!

[Barrett]

If you did do doggy-daycare you could advertise all sorts of things. Take the dogs for a nice swim, lots of play time and socialization, snack and nap times...LOL. Just like real day care. You could even get the dogs to make arts and crafts for their parents by using washable finger paints. You could do a little washing and grooming on the side. LOL, this sounds fun...I wish I could make enough money doing this and quit my airport job. Summer time luggage is killin by back!