My Tractor Forum banner

I want to make money

2K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  littletractorguy 
#1 ·
Hi, I am looking for a new way to make money during the summer. I normally buy broken mowers in the winter and early spring and sell them for a profit. But that normally slows down around June.

So my question is what kind of work can a 14YR do? I was thinking about mowing lawns and doing landscape. I really like doing yard work which I know is pretty rare for today's youth, but I was raised to know the value of a dollar. I already mow my grandmother's yard but I only make $20 every 1-2 weeks. My only issue is I don't have a mower to drag around to peoples houses so they would already have to own one. Do you think I could earn a little money doing this, or do people that own their own mowers rather do it themselves.

My reason for wanting to earn money to get my private pilot's license. I have wanted to fly ever since I was very young. I obviously need money for a car in the future as well as misc for myself. I would like to have at least $10,000 by the time I am 17. So any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

To the moderators, I don't know if this is in the right place so if you need to move it that's fine.
 
#2 ·
Hi Skyflier2,

It is refreshing to see someone your age willing to develop a strong work ethic which is so lacking among a majority of kids in today's time.

Cutting grass is an excellent way to make some extra money. I have a brother 3 years older than I am. So when I turned 13 and my brother turned 16 my dad got us into the grass cutting business. We cut an average of 20 yards per year for 7 years. It was a way for my dad to keep me and my brother busy and out of trouble while making extra money. By the time I turned 15 I had saved enough money to buy a good used Chevy S-10 pickup truck before I got my driver's license.

One thing I would suggest by reading over your post is it is very apparent you know what your lifelong passion and career will be which is a pilot (commercial or otherwise).

What if you checked with your local airport to see if they have a mentorship program or offer you an odd job of some sort working there which would put you bumping shoulders and swapping elbow grease with those in your future profession which would also be a great way to learn more than you would otherwise but also able to make money at the same time.

Another thing you could check is if you live in a farming community. In my hometown there is a local farmer who farms about 6,000 to 7,000 acres of row crop land. They plant corn, soybeans, wheat, and cotton. We would work for them during the summer months... they love kids with a strong work ethic who love doing hard work and are dependable. And you learn SO MUCH from farmers it is unreal. Hard work, long hours but refreshingly rewarding too..

Maybe I will think of other ideas later on... but those are a couple to think about....

Mikah
 
#6 ·
Thanks you for your ideas. I do live in a rural/Amish community with a lot of farms, in fact my dad was a farmer. The farm work is probably out of the questions though, as I have severe allergy's to most bovine and equine species.

I have a couple of thousand so I could buy a mower, money is not the primary issue. The primary issue is my parents don't have time to trailer a mower to each place.

The biking is a good option but with my dad being a paramedic/firefighter he constantly responds to calls, in which kids got hit while riding there bikes or buggies. So they don't like me riding my bike except on specific biking trails.

I am home schooled so time isn't a issue and I have a pretty flexible schedule. I could help with corn/bean harvest as I can drive a tractor, in fact I almost got a job like that last year, but he didn't need me after all. I can do pretty much any work as long as they don't need me to be with animals.

It's a good idea to check with the airport as well. Most pilots I talked to are super friendly to me, unlike most people nowadays.

I will keep looking and seeing what's around, Thanks for your suggestions.
 
#3 ·
Sounds like you definitely know what you want to do which is awesome.

I have kids that are getting close to your age which makes me feel old.

Are you looking for a push mower to mow lawns or a ride on? Certainly a decent push mower is not overly expensive especially if you have a bit of cash saved up from restoring stuff(you cant beat a used mower here, especially a slightly older 2 stroke or something similar). If you have a bike you can find a small trailer and cover a pretty decent amount of area with a push mower in a small trailer. (You said you didnt mind hard work, haha).
 
#4 ·
Brings me back!! I started out about 13 mowing lawns. Started with one big lawn, and then being I was in a new housing development, and the builder liked my work, I started mowing for him. I would mow the houses from the time the landscaping was done, till they sold. From doing that, I few locals would have me do some work for them. It really worked well, I made some money, and learned a lot. I did not have my own mower. I used my stepdads equpimnet, and fuel, and he got half the money. It was a lot then, but now that I am older, I understand why he did it, and I learned a LOT about the real world. After a few years of that, I went into some house painting, then once I got old enough, I got a steady job washing dishes in a nursing home. As for advice... if you get a job mowing for someone do your best.. Ask them if they have any friends that neew help with anything. And really.... be open to other ideas. Frankly a LOT of people enjoy mowing.. but hate other parts of maintaining there houses. Be open for off jobs. Weeding and mulching flower beds. Fall leaf pickup. branch pickup if you live in a wooded area. The list goes on and on.. There is a lot of grunt work that is needed to be done around a house, and tossing a few bucks to a local kid to help is a pretty good deal for a person that's getting a bit older. The key is ask... "What do you need help with" Get your name out there... word of mouth is the key!
 
#5 ·
Some ideas if you are in a rural area:

1) Detasseling corn for a seed company
2) Working odd jobs for a grain elevator (loading out corn, running scale, ammonia tank maintenance)
3) Baling hay for a local farmer
4) Odd jobs/power washer/cleaner for a John Deere (Or other) dealer
5) Raise your own livestock (I raised about 15-20 head of hogs each year in high school, but this would be very situational)

Unfortunately it may be very hard to find employment or good opportunities at your age. A drivers license is almost a must, and I think for 14 year olds you may only be able to officially work for a company in the Ag industry vs somewhere else.

Another opportunity may be working for a landscaper/mowing company. Many of them travel around in crews of 2-4 guys, so only one would be driving. However I bet some of them would pay you cash etc. and it would get you some good lawn care experience.
 
#9 ·
One thing I would suggest by reading over your post is it is very apparent you know what your lifelong passion and career will be which is a pilot (commercial or otherwise).

What if you checked with your local airport to see if they have a mentorship program or offer you an odd job of some sort working there which would put you bumping shoulders and swapping elbow grease with those in your future profession which would also be a great way to learn more than you would otherwise but also able to make money at the same time.
I agree. If flying is your passion and what you would like to go into, I would pursue doing something in this direction. Call around and see about possible internships, doing odd jobs, getting experience, etc; whatever you can do. I've found that by showing your enthusiasm and passion for your interests, those that are already in the field are more often than not apt to help someone out at your age. You may not make the money you're looking for by doing this, but you may gain experience, connections, and or a better understanding of the field to help further your future. :tango_face_smile:
 
#10 · (Edited)
Another idea is to check with a local nursery to work in a greenhouse. My next door neighbor was a biologist for TVA and as a side business he had 2 greenhouses where he potted plants and bulbs and sold to the public. They always needed help potting and planting for their greenhouse. I worked there for about 3 years before starting the grass cutting... in fact... my next door neighbor had a contract with a lot of the local banks to do their flower beds and landscaping. He was more interested in keeping their flower beds looking good and spraying for weeds. His contract with the banks also included him doing the grass cutting which he didn't want to do so he subcontracted the grass cutting to me and my brother...

So check local nurseries and see if anything turns up....

Or, another idea... and it would require some cost and would be a FANTASTIC hobby that you could do at home... and it is some work... but look into be an apiary... raise honey bees and get you a hive and eventually some supers and let the bees do the hard work and you will have some hard work as well.. but you could start small.. and start selling honey locally. You would probably want to wait until the fall before you bought your queen and started a hive... so that is something you probably wouldn't want to start right away right now.. but a lot of the local exchanges in your area will provide opportunities to learn what is involved and to network with those who raise bees for honey. You would have some expense in it... and it is a lot of work... but rewarding too... we had honey bees growing up... and loved it when we robbed them... I would make myself sick eating the honeycomb caps to get the honey out... I would check your area.. right now might be a perfect time to get started... each part of the country is different for when it is the right time to get started with honeybees. If you started today like right now... you probably wouldn't harvest honey until next year... you would have to let the colony build up.... feed them well... and let them build up their food for winter.. then start adding supers the following year where you will get your first harvest of honey... And sometimes you might could find someone who has an established colony and might would sell you one already populated and producing and they might let you leave the hive where it is until it can be moved at a better time of year... a lot of apiarist LOVE to help people.. especially young people get started with honeybees and making honey.

Also, check to see if their is a farmers co-op nearby... drop in and ask them if they have an odd job for you or they may know someone looking for help too...

For me, we hauled hay back in the day when farmers could hire good help to do square bales of hay.. I swear it is one reason why they now do round bales of hay... lack of people wanting to haul it anymore... plus it is a lot easier and takes a lot less time to do round bales than square bales...
 
#11 ·
For me, we hauled hay back in the day when farmers could hire good help to do square bales of hay.. I swear it is one reason why they now do round bales of hay... lack of people wanting to haul it anymore... plus it is a lot easier and takes a lot less time to do round bales than square bales...
+1 on hauling hay. After school I worked at our family's hdwe. store until 5:00 then my best friend & I hauled hay for a local farmer at night (he had portable lights set up in the fields) for .25/bale & gave us a $5.00 gas money bonus to boot when we finished all his fields. That was big doings 46 years ago for a high school student. :thThumbsU
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top