Quick Cash Business of the Week

Looking to earn some quick Christmas cash already? I don’t know about you guys, but I already am! And I don’t think I am the only one. Many stores started their Christmas ads November 1st…and there were some great deals in some of them. Definitely a sign of the tough economic times for so many of us.

So, if you (and your kids) aren’t scared of a little hard work…start looking at your neighbor’s yards and gutters. Seriously. Depending on where you live, there could be money for you there!  I live far enough south where it is still fall.  I am literally sending my kid out onto the deck every 2 days with the leaf blower. (And yes, I will let the yard slide a little longer than that, we just use the deck way too much for it to have 3 feet of leaves on it!) So, she has had ample opportunity to realize that leaf blowing nd removal is work. Not hard work, necessarily, but definitely work. And considering the number of trees that we have around here, it is steady work right now.  And since this is just extra money to her, and not necessarily a real business, she can charge the neighbors a very reasonable rate to go by and clear off their driveways and walkways every 2 or 3 days. It’s decent extra money to her, to them it’s much less expensive than having their regular yard service come around extra (translation:she is cheap labor!) and everybody walks away happy. BTW , a leaf blower, with a mulching attachment starts at about $40, and means easier and less cleanup. (The mulching attachment means you vacuum up the leaves and shred them into mulch, usually in a bag that attaches to the leafblower. 1 mulched bag of leaves equals about 10 bags of un-shredded leaves. Your shredded leaves are collected into the bag that is very easily emptied into a plastic bag or mulch pile for disposal.)

And an excellent add on,or possibly even standalone service to this, is gutter cleaning, if you are not scared of heights. It isn’t that hard to do, and most homeowners will pay more for this.  At least in this area, gutter cleaning is not usually done by a lawn service…you have to hire a gutter cleaning service. And most homeowners don’t like to do this themselves….partly because of the height of the roof, and partly because they regard it as an incredibly difficult task. It’s still something your kids can help with, even if you don’t trust them on the roof or a ladder. They can still rake and bag all the debris you throw to the ground.

Or, if you live further north, like some of my friends do, you and your kids can shovel and salt sidewalks, porches, and driveways. This is definitely something to keep in mind if you live in an area that doesn’t often see snow, but that may get some. Typically here, when we get snow and ice, you can really cash in on this because of the simple fact that so many people are not prepared for it…and they are more than happy to pay somebody else to clear all that snow and ice off for them! Even simply spreading salt  on people’s walkways and driveways can be fairly profitable. Especially if they don’t have any themselves.

So there you go…be a little prepared, and offer some services that are complementary (but less expensive than)  somebody else’s services, and start saving up!