Here's an idea for people who have absolutely no money, but who need to raise a bit of capital
quickly. In almost any area, there are places where you can go and find wildflowers. If you're not sure, ask around. Picking these costs nothing, yet they make very attractive bouquets. By setting up a little table with wildflower bouquets in an area of heavy traffic, you should have no trouble in selling these for $5-10 each.
Last year, a team of boys came through our neighborhood, offering to paint our house number on our curb using very nice-looking stencils and light-reflective paint. Although we didn't opt for this, a lot of our neighbors did. At $5 each, they earned about $200 in a weekend... and that was just in our one neighborhood.
Here's another way to make some money with virtually zero capital. All you need is a squeegee ($5), some bulk window-cleaner ($20) a ladder ($20) and a bucket ($2). No one likes to wash windows. Even homes with housekeepers rarely get their windows cleaned. You can take advantage of this and make A LOT of part time money by going door to door, and offering to wash people's windows. For the ridiculously low price of $2 per window, there's hardly a homeowner in the country who wouldn't take you up on your offer. Yet, once you develop a technique, you can have windows looking very nice in about 3-5 minutes each. You'll have to allow some extra time for 2nd floor windows, since you'll need to move the ladder each time. In neighborhoods with at least 10 windows per house, you can easily expect to make $200 profit per day!
When a very popular movie comes out, it's almost impossible to get tickets on opening night. Two local guys have turned this fact into a business. When movies like Independence Day, Star Wars Episode I & II, Men in Black 2, Matrix 2, etc. come out, they buy tickets early and then actually scalp them right at the movie theater for $20 each. When true fans show up at the theater and are told that all of the showings are sold out, many of them will happily fork over the extra money to see the film they've been waiting for... rather than having to go home empty handed. It's downright conniving, but these guys make about $400 a night when a well-hyped movie opens.
Used books are not created equal, but people having yard sales seem to think so. You can buy an entire box of old books for $1 at a yard sale, and then turn around and take some of the better items to a used book store and get $10 or more. This might take some practice and experience at being able to spot what used book stores want, but any sort of how-to book or popular novel within the past few years will do well. Books that are local in nature are GREAT sellers. You're not going to get rich this way, but during the summer, you can hit 5 or 6 yard sales a day and earn $50 pretty easily.
Do your friends compliment you on your stylish outfits? Are people always telling you how wonderful you look? Do you always know just what to wear for any occasion? If the answer is "Yes", then you may be perfect for a career as a personal clothing consultant. Busy career executives need to look good and exude a powerful and confident presence. The wrong colors, materials or style can seriously hamper their advancement to the upper echelons of management. People are not born with style. Executives do not have the time or expertise to shop for the "right" clothes and do not know the colors that suits them or their positions. If you like working with people and like shopping and have that certain sense of style, then create a flyer and put it up in any business park
or deli where office people go for lunch. You could create a money making business that
REALLY suits your style! Executives who would be interested in such a service would happily
pay $100 for a few hours of your expertise.
