Ah, to be young again. Long summers, sleeping in, no school. Sometimes we all long for those care-free days. But remember some of the creative ideas you had?  Remember not having to work yet setting out to anyway? Think back to some of those ideas you had, and maybe you’ll get a new spark from an old idea.

One day when I was very young, I hung a sign on my bedroom door that said, “Rainbow Factory - $.10 per Rainbow.”  I got two customers that day - my mom and my dad, who each paid ten cents and each got a beautiful rainbow, drawn by me, with Crayola markers.

A year or two later I put up a new sign. This one said, “Butterfly Factory - From the Maker of Rainbow Factory - $.25 a Butterfly.”

I think each venture lasted a day or two. I would love to say I went on to become an artist, but for some reason I moved away from art and toward other things in college. Looking back I get a chuckle that I had such ideas, and sometimes wonder if that spirit is still inside me.

So, what did you do as a child?  Why not revisit those activities and start making money again?  Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. You Ran a Lemonade Stand
Create a new lemonade!  Buy some fruit, juice, and other ingredients and spend some time experimenting. Write down each recipe and every measurement as you go, and tweak a little with each try. Once you have something delicious and unique, you can start selling the fresh, healthy drink at church bazaars, neighborhood sales, and flea markets!  If you have any small, independent health food stores nearby you could approach them as well. Who knows, you might even find a health-conscious business owner interested in partnering with you, bottling it up, and getting distribution.

2. You mowed lawns or shoveled snow 
As a single woman I can tell you there have been many times I wished I knew of someone who was willing to handle these tasks for me. Make up a flier and create a listing at an online classifieds site like Craigslist or Backpage. Fliers could go in laundromats and store bulletin boards, and you can get to know the people in your neighborhood to see if they need help. Ask your friends if they have any friends or relatives who need help with such tasks, and remember to offer a “Friends and Family Discount.” Also, don’t forget about poop-scooping! If you don’t have a schedule flexible enough to offer pet sitting, try this instead. I know a woman who does this full-time. She offers her services for free whenever shelters or pet stores have outdoor public events in exchange for a booth for her own advertising.

3. You organized car washes
We all know there are free car washes on every corner in the summer, but instead of trying to get people to come to you, GO TO THEM!  Offer a car wash pick-up service.  You’ll pick up their car while they are at work, wash and vacuum/wipe down/detail the interior, and return to their workplace to get paid.  You might have to start with friends, neighbors, and family until you become a trusted business, or you can approach car wash operations and see if they would be interested in the idea. Now that I think about it, I’m going to see if anyone in my area offers this for oil changes, too.

4. You had a paper route 
Start a courier service.  This will likely be more successful in a larger city and you might need to tell your car insurance company that you are using your vehicle for work.  This would be a good opportunity to purchase a magnetic sign for your car, such as those offered at magneticsignsontime.com. A similar possibility is an errand-running or grocery shopping service, which could be a god-send to busy mothers or the elderly. 

5. You helped the younger kids with homework after school 
There are many sites that need online tutors. You can start at tutor.com  Or, this  could be a nice opportunity to work at home with kids in your town.  The web sites TutorLinker.com and TutorMatch.com can help you do just that. You could start your own web site advertising these services.

6. You helped mom bake cookies for the bake sale or made the pot-luck dinners
Offer an in-home cooking service or a learn-to-cook in your own home seminar. There are a lot of people who either don’t like to cook or can’t do it comfortably due to age or illness. The seminar could be every other week for 5 weeks, or longer durations for more lessons.

With commitment, any of these jobs can become professional and fruitful….even franchised. But for the Renaissance Lifers out there, they can begin as a few fun pools to dip your toes in.