The school playground, especially in large schools, is a good place for trade. Children routinely exchange all manner of items on the playground. If school rules permit, it might be possible to sell sweets, chocolate, or any kind of product your fellow students might be interested in, and you might have found a way to increase your pocket change.
Steps
1
Choose your products. Consider which are the most popular things in your school? Make a long list of items in a notebook. You may only choose a few this week, but you might decide to expand your business in the coming weeks.2
Purchase your supplies. You must realize that you have to sell products for more than what you get at shops, to actually make a profit. But this can be hard. The cheapest places are corner shops, or any small shop that not many people go to. Check the place out first, because you don't want to get supplies from a place that is actually popular among students.3
Set prices for all your products. Consider this very carefully. You must increase the price over retail in order to make a profit, but if you offend your customers, they might not come back even if you drop the price. Likewise, raising prices can offend customers. You might allow them to dicker with you, or you might be firm in your prices. One place to start might be a comparison of retail prices at the grocery store with the prices you see in the vending machines. Somewhere between those two prices should be just right.4
Have change ready. Go to the bank and get plenty of cents, quarters, dimes and nickels. You don't want to be given a $5 bill, and not have the change.5
Invite customers. Start with a few, then they'll tell their friends about you. Let your popularity grow slowly.6Keep your money safe. Get a wallet or a piggy bank to store your profits.
Tips
- If the money you are making is going to charity, ask a teacher about opening your business, it's likely they'll let you borrow a table and set up your own stand, as well as letting you advertise around school. If it isn't, don't let any teachers find out. Ever. Or you'll be in big trouble.
- Remember to have plenty of stock; you don't want to sell-out one day.
- Don't reveal too much about your business to your customers. Don't reveal where you bought your items, how much you paid for them, or how much profit you're making.
- Consider this a serious business. You could learn a lot of things that will come in useful when you set up a real business later in life.
- If your parents own any sweet shop or news stand, ask them to get cheap supplies from a cash-and-carry. This will greatly reduce price, increase popularity, and increase profit.
- Be prepared for competition. If someone sells the same products as you for a cheaper price, lower your prices, but never dip below your cost ever.
- If a rival does get more popular than you, and charges so little that you can't compete, try a new product for awhile, but keep your stock if you can for when he runs out.
- Advertise. But advertise in a way that isn't actually 'advertising', if you understand the metaphor. You don't want any negative attention from rivals.
- Get a partner to help you.
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