Money Making Schemes

Nagesh answers:

Are you in need of money immediately, or are you looking for long term salary?

Short term – contact your local printers and see if they know anyone that can use your typing services. Sure, you can do student papers, except you are a student, right? That kind of goes with your schedule is the same schedule as the students who need papers done, and you need to sleep at night. (Typing student papers is for someone who doesn’t mind staying awake all night and it doesn’t affect the day time job. Lol)

Put an ad in your weekly shoppers paper for typing services, but you have to know what you’re doing before you start. I’ve done it. There are a lot of wackos out there and you’re letting some of them into your house. (My hubby is very big and scary looking – he’s a sweety, but he’s so big he’s scary looking, if you don’t know him – so I was safe. Lol) You can actually make very good money typing at home on your own, but you have to treat it like a real business, do all the corporation business stuff, get ready for the taxes issues, know how to charge, learn how to market, and learn how to use the money you get to reinvest in the business to make it profitable.

You can also make good money doing other stuff too, but it takes a lot of effort and 6-18 months before it becomes profitable. (I’m not saying you make no money in that time, but the money you make has to go back into the business to make it profitable.) You can make a blog or website that’s profitable, or learn SEO, or learn how to make web pages or learn how to write short articles for companies looking for articles for their blogs and/or websites. All that stuff is like typing at home, you have to learn how to do it, learn how to treat it like a business…and all the other stuff I wrote before.

Or, you can do the make phone calls at home for the hope of commission, too. That one depends on what you’re voice sounds like (and you need your own separate line.) If you have a kid’s voice, no one will use you. If you have a mature voice, call your local real estate offices and see if you can cold call to sell houses. (Again, you have to learn how to do it, before doing it.) No, seriously. Not kidding. One of hubby’s coworkers did that and every time he found someone willing to sell their house by cold calling, when the real estate people sold the house, he got a 2% commission. Do the math. Few houses cost less than $100,000. Most cost more. 2% of $100,000 – $2,000. (Did you just do the obvious and decide to focus on houses worth a million? Lol That’s the idea. Find the big buck houses and you get paid a better commission. Lol)

Or, if you’re moral compass allows for it, there is also those sex lines. That’s done from the woman’s own home, and they pay really well. (I would have been good at it, but it is against my beliefs to do it. Lol)

But, you want to work at home with the abilities you have now. The reason I know how to do a small fraction of this kind of stuff, is because I was willing to research it myself and figured out what I’d do with the info. You have to, too.

Nagesh answers:

Good for you!!! I love to see teens who are so focused. Starting now is really going to give you an advantage. I wasn’t a kid millionaire but I built my businesses from the bottom up and I can tell you what I did.

The very first thing is to find a need and fill it. Something that is a trend will make fast cash but is very risky. Too many fail but you don’t hear much about those. Go with something for the long term. At least semi long term as you have to keep up with marketing trends.

Your SBA (small business administration) should have tons of info to get you started and may even offer free classes. If not, the classes don’t cost that much. See if your parents can finance that for you as you definitely need to know some of the basics. You’re a smart girl and can take what you learn and research further on your own.

Then start your research as to who will be your target market and what the demographics are for the location you want to target. You need to start working on a business plan and the SBA will help you with that too. You can take your plan to them and they will go over it and help you improve it.

Then you look for investors and/or funding. This is tricky. It depends on what you want to do. If you have an item that isn’t on the market, you need to get it copyrighted first, then start researching a patent. That can be expensive and it’s usually where people stop. Apply for a patent so you have patent pending rights. Don’t use one of those commercial companies that promise to get patents for you. It’s a waste of money. You will need to find someone to research the patent though eventually.

There is other funding available too. Hit the library for the best help. Private investors are out there but they will want to take control of your business. You may have to let them for a first business in order to learn from their expertise. Private investors will only go with a sure thing so if you get one (or more) then you know you hit on something.

However, there is other funding to be had and so you will need to research all resources to see what criteria you fit. I did not have rich parents or much cash but it can be done. The first rule in business is you never invest your own money. It’s worked for some but that’s the fastest way to lose it too. You have no way of knowing if you will get a return. If you have other sources of funding, they aren’t going to give it to you unless they think you have a great chance of succeeding.

Then you can take your item to trade shows where companies go around and look at new items. Find the shows in trade journals related to your item. You need to set up a really nice presentation and work your behind off getting contacts. Be really outgoing and talk to everyone. Print up your own business cards to save money and hand those out to everyone. Then ask for theirs. You will need to make follow up calls and letters to those you think might be able to help you.

Unless you have the money or can find the investors, your best bet is to sell off your mfg rights to someone else. Then you need a lawyer to negotiate for you. Get the highest price. With that money, you can work on your next project and look for mfg yourself.

If you have an item that you can produce yourself, such as an online business, then you can skip some of those steps. But first go to the SBA and get their help. It will be invaluable to you. And good luck! I shouldn’t say luck. Lol It takes knowing what people need, coming up with something to fill that need, developing the idea, and working as hard as you can. Believe in yourself and don’t give up. My first two businesses failed ( from lack of planning and know-how, I let others take my ideas and they ran with them) but I now own 3 and want to start 2 more. The ideas just keep coming but I abandon 100 times as many.

Edit: If you plan to go into anything like fashion or jewelry or accessories, it helps immensely if you can get a well-known person to wear your item. This takes a lot of grit unless you know someone. You can’t just write to magazine editors, they get 1,000s of these kinds of letters and you will waste too much money sending free products. Try smaller like radio stations. Get to know the people there. They might now someone or be affiliated with a larger station. Try to get invited to parties, promotions, etc. As a teen, you would make a good story so go with that angle and try to get interviews on radio and in newspapers. Hopefully a larger station will pick it up. Then you will have the opportunity to meet some well-known people and ask if they would consider your item as a gift. Never just flat out ask if they would wear it. You put them on the spot and make them uncomfortable. If they like it, they WILL wear it. If they don’t, then it’s back to the drawing board. If no one is wearing your item or wants to use them, get their feedback as much as possible so you can fix any issues.

Edit2: There’s so much I could tell you but it would take me much longer than this. But I’m trying to hit the biggest points. If you have an item that can be sold in stores, try the smaller stores first. Family owned businesses or one-owner ones. Ask if you can consign a few of your items. If they sell, they will want more. Once you have a few months track record, you can take that to larger stores. Ask for the buyers. Present your product and your sales reports. Again ask if you can either consign a few or if they will buy them outright. And again if they sell, they will want more. Then you keep moving up. In that way, someone WILL notice your products and want to get in on the action. This is where you have to be very careful and not sign away your business if there is a chance you can do it on your own. You need a lawyer to help you with this part. On the otherhand, you can’t have your business stop right there either. So there is always some risk. That’s the fun part for me.

Nagesh answers:

We were there last year. Depending on your spending habits it can range from $50 per day to the sky’s limit. I took a group of high school kids, and told their parents to plan on $50 per day to eat. Make sure you check out Best Italian…it is definately the best Italian food I have ever had! Their rolls are awesome!

Do a search on Gatlinburg to see what all attractions are there and see what you are interested in so you will have some idea what you want to carry with you!

YOU ARE IN FOR A TREAT!! BUT BEWARE…Everything there is uphill…bothways! Hehe!

Like any tourist attraction, dining ranges from fast food to fine dining…it just all depends!

Nagesh answers:

I get my dogs fixed but I don’t have them neutered, I have the vet do a vasectomy. If they want they can still mate with a femae dog but can’t get her to have puppies.

Most owners get them neutered to ‘calm them down’ and make them stop marking aside from so they can’t have puppies.

I’ve seen nautered dogs who are nuts and dogs who aren’t neutered who are very layed back. As to marking if you train your dog well an unneutered dog wont pee on everything, I’ve seen many a neutered dogs who pee on everything.

Don’t get your dogs bits chopped off, get him a vasectomy it’s also safer for the dog and a much shorter stay in the way of beeing knocked out, and the dog will be running around an healed much faster.

There are far to many unwanted puppies in the world but that doesn’t mean dogs don’t want to be able to mate still. It’s like saying that people who don’t want kids should have the husband cut his off.

The first time I see a guy have his cut off so they don’t get their wife knocked up will be when I allow the idea of cutting off a dog’s to be ok.

With the right training any dog can be a wonderful dog get him into two or three basic classes at your local kennel club, normally around $60 for eight one hour a week classes.

Many people just don’t train their dog and are lazy so anything like the idea of neutering their dog to make it so they don’t have to spend the time nad money training it is a good idea to them.

Nagesh answers:

EDITED TO ADD: So what are your goals for this class? Process or product? Do you want them to be able to follow a commercial pattern, or is it more of a design and engineering mindset? What’s the ethos of your school (lots of community service or more traditional sewing for yourself?) How long do you have them for?

Right now in my area of the world, remodeling jeans and t-shirts, trimming basic tote bags and adding ipod pockets to everything seems to be hot, judging by the questions the local kids ask me.

If vests are in (and I never know), a simple lined vest is only a couple of hours for the beginners I’ve taught if I teach them commercial bagged lining methods. The fusible interfacing is what gives them the biggest problems. (Try Connie Crawford’s Guide to Fashion Sewing for the instructions). A thrift shop sportcoat or blazer usually has enough salvageable shell fabric and lining for a vest at a reasonable cost.

Crawford also has her new “Studio Sewing Skills” dvd out, with a student packet of materials for basic techniques
http://www.butterick.com/item/CC770.htm??tab=connie_crawford&page=2
http://www.butterick.com/item/CC771.htm??tab=connie_crawford&page=3

Students at at least two of the local high schools have to complete X hours of community service — some of the local students sew lined, drawstring stockings for the Fill A Stocking project, and three students made over a hundred zippered duffles for local foster kids (and they got really good at setting sport zippers and pocket zippers!).

Have you looked at Nancy Restuccia’s book, Hold it! It’s out of print but available in CD form now, but it’s also common library fodder. She has a number of interesting bags with instructions written in plain English. You can get a sample of her writing style here in the classic tote: http://www.make-it-easy.com/opentot2.html Her Humbug Bag is very fast, and you could teach the actual quilting process with it easily by quilting before construction. I think I know Nancy well enough to say that if you wanted to use that pattern, it could be made available on favorable terms.
(Humbug bags, btw, in the smallest sizes, make great Christmas tree ornaments). If I catch a couple of the kids around here who sew I’ll try to find out from them what other things are hot right now in this area.

I know that supply money is often tight for some students — have you considered making needs known to local ASG groups or quilt guilds? I’ve cleaned out a lot of old stash to local schools — all of the zippers in the duffles came from a local jobber offering a grocery sack of sport zippers for $1

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Are you the teacher, or the student? I’m from the era when (if there was home ec and shop), everybody had to take a semester of each. The guys I knew got to make cool stuff like tents and sleeping bags, and the women had to make aprons and skirts. :-p

So… Whaddya want to make? Stuff for yourself or stuff for someone else? Fancy socks? Backpacks? Totes? Fishing vests? Project Linus quilts? Heartwarmer coats? Tactile balls for preschoolers? Stuffed animals for the local cops to give stressed-out little kids? Big totes for foster kids who otherwise wind up carrying their posessions in garbage bags?
Http://www.sewing.org/html/charitysew.php
http://www.nancysnotions.com/jump.do?itemID=5&itemType=LANDING&page=creative
http://www.rockywoods.com (click on patterns)