Don’t let the fact that teens are facing one of the worst job markets ever get you down. Use your creativity to bring in cash—no job application needed. On Etsy.com, thousands of people are selling handmade and vintage items and craft supplies.
Melissa Chan*, 15, from Fort Smith, Arkansas, stumbled upon Etsy two years ago. “I started looking at things people had made, and I thought it was really cool, so I made an account and started buying stuff,” she says. Melissa had always enjoyed making jewelry, and when she wore it, she received a lot of compliments. “People who I didn’t even know would be like, ‘Hey, could you make me a necklace?”’ So in January, Melissa decided to open her own Etsy store where she sells her jewelry and craft supplies.
“It’s really extremely easy,” she says. “All you have to have is a valid bank account, a passion for what you do, and the most important thing out of everything is being able to take good pictures of your things in order to sell.” Creating an Etsy store is free. Etsy charges 20 cents to list each item and 3.5 percent of your sales, and you pay and receive money through your bank account and PayPal. If you’re under 18, you’ll need adult supervision.
“I just get to sit down, make something that I like to do and sell it,” Melissa says. “I’m really grateful that my job is really flexible. It allows me to have time for my friends, my family, my homework.”
*name has been changed.
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