Krups Citrus Juicer Giveaway
CONTEST CLOSED! THANKS EVERYONE (Funny stories)
Craving some homemade lemonade or limeade? Fresh orange or pomegranate juice? Not only do these freshly squeezed juices make top-drawer drinks, the maximum-flavor juices can be used to create fantastic marinades and salad dressings, desserts and more. Right? Holy lemon meringue pie!
I can’t believe the Krups folks (thank you Pristina) were generous enough to let us give away another of this super duper item that retails for $149. You read it right. We’re giving away a big summertime present to one of our beloved Cookus Interruptus fans.
Here’s a little resume for the Krups Citrus Juicer:
- Efficient citrus reamer ensures complete extraction and accommodates both small and large fruits
- Built-in sensors activate juicing process once the press arm and fruit are in proper contact
- Stainless Steel housing & pulp filter
- Power 130 Watts
- Select from manual or automatic options
- Use the motorized lever for convenient pressing of large quantities of fruit
- Anti-drip pouring spout dispenses juice directly into glass
- No-mess removable drip trip
- All removable parts are dishwasher safe
Impressive eh? How to enter to win this rock star juicer:
1. Be a subscriber of Cookus Interruptus Not a subscriber yet? Type your email address in the subscribe box right up there on the right above the blue navigation box. There’s also a place to subscribe on our home page (upper left).
2. Be a friend on Cookus Interruptus facebook. Not our facebook friend? Easy. Go to the Cookus Facebook page and click the thumbs up “like”.
3. Did you start a money making venture as a child or teen? Like a lemonade stand? Tell us about it in a sentence or two. Here’s my story: As president of the Thespian Club (drama) in high school I was charged with raising money to help pay for somethings. Can’t remember what. The gay choir director at our church had an in with local florists. In December Mr. M. helped us round us mistletoe and we sold ribbon-tied sprigs in the hall. Big hit with most of the high-schoolers (some of the guys had no idea what it was for ( 
Okay. Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment to this blog post (not facebook) with your response to enter.
4. Contest ends at 5pm on July 28th . Check your email on July 30th. The winner will be chosen by random.org. If you don’t respond to your “winner” email within 24 hours, we will choose a new winner.
Tags: citrus juicer, contest, giveaway, Krups, lemons, limes
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when I was about 10 years old (40) years ago! I sold Barbie cars that I made out of shoe boxes. This was way before all the crazy choices our girls have now!
Comment by jan sharp — July 25, 2012 @ 8:24 am
When I was in high school I played my violin for outdoor weddings at a local park to make some cash.
Comment by Tracy P — July 25, 2012 @ 8:24 am
When I was in junior high I made jewelry and sold it to fund a family friend for a missions trip to Hati, and ended up raising thousands of dollars for the cause!
Comment by Jacqueline W. — July 25, 2012 @ 8:27 am
When I was a teenager way back when a friend and I formed a lawnmowing service in the neighborhood to raise enough money for baseball equipment to play games in the neighborhood. Charged a whopping $2.50 for the whole shebang, cut, trim, sweep. We felt rich with moolah . . . and opportunity!
Rob Schachter
Rob@RBSconsulting.org
206-679-9561
Comment by rob — July 25, 2012 @ 8:32 am
When I was about 5, I sat outside my house with my best friend, Nicole, selling “lemonade,” a.k.a. tap water, to passer-bys with my four person plastic tea set. Sadly, there was almost no traffic at 2:00 pm in my suburban neighborhood and the only person that came to talk to us was the mail man. He gave us a nickel. My first sales experience.
Comment by Julie — July 25, 2012 @ 8:42 am
I made and sold friendship bracelets in highschool. I didn’t make much money but they were super fun to make!
Comment by Stephanie — July 25, 2012 @ 8:48 am
I worked at a fruit stand every summer, when I was a child. I am not sure if that was the beginning of my love affair with fruit, or if I love fruit in spite of having to get up at 3am on weekends just to go to huge freezers and load pallets of nectarines onto the truck, but either way, I have fond memories of sitting at the roadside stand and of interacting with customers at the weekend farmers’ markets, and I still try to get my fruit/veg locally, to support those individuals who still do what I did, because I know how hard they work!!
Comment by Donna — July 25, 2012 @ 8:50 am
After I did a mime skit in the gym during our all-school high school Homecoming rally, the organizers of the Homecoming Dance hired me to be a roaming mime providing entertainment during the dance. They paid me $100 per hour, the most I had ever earned per hour in my life!
Comment by Consuelo — July 25, 2012 @ 9:06 am
When I was 13 my boyfriend and I parked cars in the field by his house for our county fair. A car drove over his foot ( ouch) and we spent a lot of time kissing in the parking booth!! But we made some good money at 13!!
Comment by Carlene — July 25, 2012 @ 9:07 am
As a preteen during the summer I watered people’s yard and house plants while they were away on vacation.
Comment by Leticia H — July 25, 2012 @ 9:13 am
Had a lemonade stand around age 7 with my best friend Tiffany. In a week, we made $30!! Riches to a couple kids in north Idaho in the late 1980’s.
Comment by Morgan — July 25, 2012 @ 9:21 am
When I was ten, Paul Klotzner (rest his soul) taught me how to use his plow and set up irrigation and let me use a half-acre of his farm to plant sweet corn. After harvest, I sold it off a card table at the nascent Olympia Farmers’ Market. My spot was right next to pig farmer Jake Purvis (rest his soul) who watched out for me and taught me eye-contact was the best way to start a sale. I sold the ears for $1 a dozen. It was the sweetest corn EVER.
Comment by Eileen R — July 25, 2012 @ 9:23 am
I might have been in the 6th grade and I somehow joined the Colombia House Record and Tape Club (13 records for 1 cent). Every month I received a catalog of available records and tapes and it would have photos of bands and singers, so I decided I would cut out the photos and make stickers from them using adhesive paper. I sold stickers to friends at school for 25 to 50 cents a piece. Business became bad when I no longer was a part of the record club.
Comment by Beel — July 25, 2012 @ 9:25 am
My family lived on Long Island when I was in grade school. My grandmother had a HUGE chestnut tree in her front yard and my sisters and I would use our feet to split spiny burrs to get the chestnuts out, put them in small plastic bags and set them on a roadside table for 50 cents a bag. Those were the best chestnuts!
Comment by Dale Anne Eucker — July 25, 2012 @ 9:36 am
I don’t know …I sold so many things growing up cookies for girl scouts, pizza and hoagies for Marching Band, carnation for Prom etc. I believe I even had a lemonade stand, baby sitting gigs and yard care as well. Phew.
Comment by Meg — July 25, 2012 @ 9:37 am
I sold rocks. Very entrepreneurial. I would spend hours picking the very best ones and then walked around convincing my grandparent’s neighbors how much they absolutely needed this particular rock. In my very best Ron Popeil voice, “You can put them in your plants! You can use them to hold down papers! You can…whatever!” Well, except juice them. There’s that. Luckily they never called me on that one.
Comment by Shel — July 25, 2012 @ 9:38 am
When I was in elementary school, I found out how to make “kushies” (pom-poms) by taking a lid from a margarine tub, cutting a hole in the center, and wrapping it with yarn. I took a sample into school and convinced kids there and on the bus that it would be awesome to have one. I took pre-orders, even. I figured out half-way through making the second one to-order that I hated doing it. That was the end of that, and though I’m now an avid knitter, I still won’t make anything to sell!
Comment by Jennifer B. / Brooklyn — July 25, 2012 @ 9:38 am
When I was in 6th and 7th grade, I started, “Ms. Jessica’s school of Fun” for neighborhood children between 3-5. We went through different letters, words, and numbers. I also taught the limited Spanish vocab that I knew and we put on a play for the moms at the end of the week!
Comment by Jessica Stephen — July 25, 2012 @ 9:38 am
I took small toys to school and sold them during recess (jumping frogs, jack sets, etc.) Toys were cheap and I sold them all every day.
Comment by K Gonzalez — July 25, 2012 @ 9:39 am
When I was probably 6 or so, my best friend and I thought we could make a killing by selling our artwork in her yard for people to hang in their homes. I can still remember my favorite picture of a girl with an umbrella, rain falling, and a rainbow in the sky. I definitely thought I would get rich off of that one!
Comment by Lauren Grimshaw — July 25, 2012 @ 9:39 am
To make money when I was younger I babysat all the time. I had about thirty families that would call on me so I would be working most weeks four or five evenings. I also worked every day during the summer for the same family. I made lots of money!
Comment by Megan — July 25, 2012 @ 9:39 am
When I was 11, I started an after school babysitting business.
I enrolled myself in a babysitting ’safety’ class and scheduled my mom to take me! I loved kids then and still do!
Comment by Libby — July 25, 2012 @ 9:41 am
My kids love to set up Lemonaid stands every summer. I thought of making homemade ice cream and selling it somewhere roadside??? I think nothing tastes better. Kellie Cassidy
Any flavor ideas??
Comment by kellie Cassidy — July 25, 2012 @ 9:41 am
When I was about 10 or 11, my sister and I made chocolate chip cookies and lemonade which we sold in front of our house and at the flea market.
Comment by Cara Cordoni — July 25, 2012 @ 9:43 am
I just went door to door asking for money.
Comment by Aimee Char Pearce — July 25, 2012 @ 9:44 am
My mom would have me pluck out her grey hairs for a dime a piece. Weird I know but I recall this as a 7 year old.
Comment by Hope — July 25, 2012 @ 9:46 am
As a child my friends and I would write and produce short plays and charge our parents a quarter to come see them.
Comment by Sara — July 25, 2012 @ 9:49 am
Though I was never very entrepreneurial as a kid, I have fond memories of my high school show choir’s fund raising efforts so that we could travel to competitions. My favorites were selling citrus fruit and cheese cakes (yum!). And the most dreaded was “tag day,” when we went door-to-door early on a Saturday morning offering band or choir show tickets in exchange for a donation. Ugh!
Comment by Melissa — July 25, 2012 @ 9:50 am
I was a shameless child. Instead of building a lemonade stand or mounting a bake sale, I wrote letters to my aunts, uncles and grandparents and explained how I could use some cash to buy myself some toys. Amazingly, it worked!
Comment by Billy Brush — July 25, 2012 @ 9:51 am
I did a prom fund raiser in high school when I was an exchange student in Ohio. I went around and harassed friends and neighbors, showing them catalogs of chocolate, home decorations, and nick nacks. They all bought something, as they felt bad for me having to do it
Comment by elya — July 25, 2012 @ 9:51 am
We used to bake cookies at my neighbors house and then sell them in our neighborhood, and use the money to buy supplies to have another sale!
Comment by Sadaf Shaukat — July 25, 2012 @ 9:51 am
We always had lemonade stands as kids and if we didn’t have the money in our piggy banks for the initial ingredients we would have to take a loan from mom and then pay her back with earnings. It got pretty serious we built a cart that could be brought down to the beach where we really racked it in.
Comment by Ivyrose — July 25, 2012 @ 9:52 am
I collected bouquets of colorful weeds, bundled them and sold them to relatives as bouquets of flowers!
Comment by Kimberly — July 25, 2012 @ 9:52 am
As a very young high school student (I graduated when I was 16) I made earrings out of thick leather shoe laces and seed beads, by cutting the shoe laces into strips and folding them into loops. Then I sewed on fringes of seed beads and hung some in the middle as well. I felt so wealthy when I could buy seed beads by the pound! I was very shy in high school but sold many pairs of earrings. It was great for my self confidence. As it turns out I am still in the jewelry business but now I carve gemstones for a living.
Comment by sherris — July 25, 2012 @ 9:52 am
When I was eight, my cousins and I would all have “toy sales.” We would set up little tables in the yard, and sell our toys back and forth in a mini flea market. I decided to sell ice cream cones. I totally cleaned up!!
Comment by Robin — July 25, 2012 @ 9:54 am
I made jewelry from puzzle pieces. I painted them with spray paint and glued them together in “artistic” designs and attached findings for earrings, bolo ties, pins, etc. I actually made a little bit of money, even though this was in the days before Etsy and Craigslist and eBay.
Comment by Barbara — July 25, 2012 @ 9:55 am
My brother and I convinced our grandma to let us set up a roadside lemonade stand one summer when we were visiting her. Bless her heart, she let us. It was highway 20-26 in Eastern Oregon, where logging trucks, farm vehicles and other forms of transportation blasted by us at 55 mph. Our only customer was a girl from a nearby farm who was riding her horse.
Comment by Karen Kessinger — July 25, 2012 @ 9:56 am
When I was eleven-ish, I invited my friends to a swimming match - tickets ten cents. When they arrived, I escorted them into the attic and showed them a bowl of water with a match floating in it. A scam artist of the highest degree. In subsequent years I upgraded my ethical standards considerably.
Comment by colleen preston — July 25, 2012 @ 9:56 am
My first big “business” was tutoring. I knew that I wanted to be a teacher, so I set up a tutoring business during the summer and basically spent my days in the library rotating through kiddos. I loved it, and I think the parents did too!
Comment by Amy G — July 25, 2012 @ 9:56 am
During the summers my sister and I would set up a stand and sell friendship bracelets, lemonade and snickerdoodles. We asked several stores if we could sell our bracelets at them but they all said no!
Comment by Zephyr — July 25, 2012 @ 9:57 am
In addition to being a dairy farmer, my father was a tomato-growing-enthusiast. 2000 tomato plants yield a LOT of tomatoes. As a reward for helping with the harvest (where the best of the best were sold to grocery stores) my little sis and I were allowed to sort and sell the “culls”. We loved earning a little cash and thought we were real entrepreneurs!
Comment by Lynne Lillie — July 25, 2012 @ 9:57 am
My grandparents owned a furniture store and a small a small cafe in the 70’s. I used to make and sell macreme jewelry to the customers. I don’t remember what I charged, but I had so much fun creating and being in the business environment.
Comment by Shari — July 25, 2012 @ 9:57 am
Oh, I almost forgot the best story. When we were quite young, we lived in a house with several fruit trees. My dad made us take our little wagon around the neighborhood and sell plums by the bag! Can you imagine someone doing that these days?? I don’t even remember if we made any money, but being a bit introverted, it didn’t feel much fun.
Comment by Barbara — July 25, 2012 @ 9:58 am
When I was 11, I lived near a golf course. I sold lemonade from my red wagon to the golfers on holes 8 and 9.
Sometimes they would pay me to find their golf balls when they sliced.
Comment by Missy — July 25, 2012 @ 10:00 am
My 7-year-old daughter made jewelry out of leaves, sticks, and vines and parked herself out on the driveway and sold to any walker that came by. I sat close by, and let her work her sales skills.
Comment by Nancy — July 25, 2012 @ 10:01 am
I remember one summer we had a huge yard sale. My brother sister and I chose old toys we had outgrown to sell and used our profits to take with us as spending money on vacation. It was hard for us to pick out toys to sell, but in the end we (and my mom!) were thrilled. We also had a lemonade stand at the yard sale- I think we sold lemonade for 5 cents a cup. We thought we were rich!
Comment by Caitlin M. — July 25, 2012 @ 10:01 am
Just like another person who commented- I sold rocks ( I can’t believe there are two of us in this world who did that). When I was about 9, I would go find rocks and paint them to give them mystical looks. I would load them up in my red wagon and go door to door selling them. I remember that some did by them and I was so proud of myself- Ha! Because of that generosity I try to be mindful of the thing kids in my neighborhood who sell things whether I need the items or not.
Comment by Lisa — July 25, 2012 @ 10:02 am
In high school we were trying to raise money for the drama club. So for home coming we had a mud pit wrestling match. I was in charge of mud production. This was a rather messy task since we used red dirt!
Comment by Sarah — July 25, 2012 @ 10:02 am
In 4th grade I sold a “magazine” Subscription to my best friend for .50 cents and made little, stapled together booklets with tic-tac-toe games, stories and hangman. Not the best money-maker, but the best memory by far.
Comment by Kelly — July 25, 2012 @ 10:09 am
As a teen I would make miniature dioramas from blown out eggs, miniature animals, pictures from children’s books, rick/rack, etc. Used the $ to buy Christmas presents, etc. But what gives me the most pride is having our young granddaughters set up and sell lemonade & cupcakes at a yard sale so they could help their mom do the Susan Komen 3 Day walk. There was not even one thought of keeping any of the $ for themselves. Being a blessing to others is directly related to how many blessings you receive in return. It’s never too early to teach this to our young ones!
Comment by Jane Andrew — July 25, 2012 @ 10:09 am
When I was a late teen I charged women in my mom’s antique club a fair price or percentage to train them on how to list items for sale on ebay. It lasted many years and to this day I still get a few questions here and there. They had the knowledge about antiques and I have the tech knowledge to help them sell them!
Comment by Brooke — July 25, 2012 @ 10:09 am
My mom used to have these teeny tiny lipstick samples from Avon. I went around my neighborhood selling them door-to-door. I believe I cleared 15 cents.
Comment by Kiki — July 25, 2012 @ 10:10 am
When I was seven years old, we had a big garden in our backyard. We always had excess tomatoes and zucchini. My four year old brother and I had a box on the sidewalk in front of our house in Pennsylvania. We shouted at the cars as they went by on our busy street, “TOMATOES FOR SALE! ZUCCHINI FOR SALE!” I remember being very proud of our garden bounty (the tomatoes were always bigger than my little hands), and was delighted when people would stop and buy our produce. Even though we now live on a dead end street, you can bet my kids will be out there shouting, “CUCUMBERS FOR SALE” just as soon as they are old enough.
Comment by Laura Scappaticcil — July 25, 2012 @ 10:12 am
As a tween, me and my friends started our very own Babysitter’s Club. We’d post our ads in the local grocery store, meet every week, chat about how to get more clients and discuss our current babysitting jobs. Thinking back, it’s hard to believe people actually hired us! For some strange reason, this couple asked for 2 of us to watch their 8 month old baby while they went out on the town. The baby was fed, changed and asleep by the time we arrived. Easy right? Yep, super easy…. and boring. After a while, we decided to wake the kid up. BAD MISTAKE! We had a wailing child on our hands until the parents got home. They were probably buzzed and not too happy to find their baby awake and screaming when they got home. We explained that we couldn’t understand how he could have woken up (hehe)… There was no way wanted to admit that we rattled the playpen to wake him. Anyway, we never heard back from those parents and soon enough, our babysitting business fizzled out. We had some good times though!
Comment by Christine S. — July 25, 2012 @ 10:14 am
Ok, this is not mine, but my son’s. He’s 3, and a few weeks ago he encountered a boy around age 7 selling some toys on the sidewalk. A yard sale. We bought a few little stuffed animals. My son came home and wanted to have a yard sale. So we picked 5 toys he didn’t want anymore. We went in the front yard. I called a neighbor with a young daughter. They came over and bought a bell and a ball for $1. My son’s first $1! It’s hanging on the fridge right now.
Comment by Natalie — July 25, 2012 @ 10:21 am
I played marbles, and won most of the time!
Comment by Annette — July 25, 2012 @ 10:23 am
I cut thistles in my dad’s pasture for several summers when I was 9 or 10. He paid a whoppiing 0.25 cents a thistle, thats 4 thistles for a penny. I remember I made almost $20 one summer That a lot of thistles!
Comment by kathy — July 25, 2012 @ 10:27 am
When I was a young teen I started making terrariums to raise spending money. I’d ramp up production during the Christmas holidays. It was not a huge success. I think the downfall was the fact that I left room for the plants to grow (i thought that was forward thinking), but my customers wanted a jam packed terrarium with no space for future growth. Oh well…I thought they were beautiful.
Comment by Libby — July 25, 2012 @ 10:27 am
I used to do a lemonade stand when I was a kid during each space shuttle launch day… People would park all up and down my street to get a good view, and I’d make a killing!! I even had people park in our yard for an extra charge- I lived large on candy for weeks after… Thanks for bringing up that fond memory! (:
Comment by Angie — July 25, 2012 @ 10:28 am
I wrangled up my younger siblings one morning and set up a stand to sell the surplus of wire hangers in our house — for something outrageous, like $0.75! Obviously this was not a success story, but it was a good trial-and-error experience. My entrepreneur dad was proud, but had some supply and demand guidance to provide afterwards.
Comment by Brenna Renn — July 25, 2012 @ 10:32 am
Other then selling Girl Scout cookies, I was not very entrepreneurial. I always sold the most in our state though, thank mom! My youngest daughter however, made drawings and went door to door in our neighborhood selling her art work.
Comment by Tammy Gifford — July 25, 2012 @ 10:33 am
I am a subscriber.
Comment by emily c — July 25, 2012 @ 10:41 am
I also follow u on Facebook
Comment by emily c — July 25, 2012 @ 10:42 am
My sister and I tried to sell mulberries on a sweaty summer day in Defiance, Ohio, circa 1968. We had picked buckets of them from the bush in our alley. Little did we know that everyone in town had their own rogue mulberry bushes. They looked so good to us, but they tasted like purple water. Guess everyone in town knew that, too. One kind neighbor took pity on us and bought a pint basket for a quarter. Our mother didn’t even want them.
Comment by Julie — July 25, 2012 @ 10:42 am
My sister and I Held circuses in our backyard for 10 cents admission.
Comment by emily c — July 25, 2012 @ 10:43 am
When I was 9, a friend and I wrote a neighborhood newspaper and attempted to sell it to the neighbors. I don’t think we made very much money, but it was fun!
Comment by Julie — July 25, 2012 @ 10:47 am
I was home for the summer after my first year of college. I got my best friend and girlfriend to act with me in a production of “Star Spangled Girl.” I needed a place to perform. The local park district said I could use the field house if I was a non-profit organization. So I called my high school drama director (I had been the president of MY Thespian Troupe.) and he said he would sponsor me. I got to do the show and raised a couple of hundred dollars for the Thespian Scholarship Fund.
Comment by James Sherman — July 25, 2012 @ 10:51 am
I DON’T RECALL EVER HAVING A LEMONAID STAND, OR ANYTHING REALLY
Comment by HEATHER — July 25, 2012 @ 10:52 am
As part of the gymnastics team, we did chin up contests at the local Spring Festival. It still tickles the heck out of me to see little tiny athletes best the big and tough. Power truly is not dependent on size.
Comment by Tamberlyn — July 25, 2012 @ 10:53 am
When I was a little girl I helped my grandmother in her diner. I waited on the customers and thought my tips were wonderful. I remember getting 25 cents. If they were really big tippers, I would get 50 cents. This was enough to go to the country store and buy a treat!
Comment by Bonnie Stroup — July 25, 2012 @ 10:53 am
I began my professional life in my father’s bakery in my teens selling pies, cakes, breads, and breakfast pastries. He made the best pies!
Comment by SST — July 25, 2012 @ 10:59 am
Of course we, my sisters and I tried a lemonade stand, but not very successful since we lived in the country. This is not entrapenural, but I loved riding my bike to my neighbors house to work in her greenhouse when I was 12 & 13.
Comment by Kelli — July 25, 2012 @ 11:03 am
During my elementary school days, we lived in a house that had a bus stop on the corner. During the summer, I could always count on thirsty bus-riders to buy a Dixie cup of lemonade for $0.25. I thought I was in the big time!
Comment by Rebekah — July 25, 2012 @ 11:04 am
I was a babysitter. Had many families that I babysat for, but one family in particular that I still stay in contact with.
Comment by Michele — July 25, 2012 @ 11:04 am
When I turned 12, was new (again!) in a neighborhood in Florida, I walked around the block introducing myself and my babysitting services and voila! I was the number 1 babysitter in the neighborhood by the end of the summer.
Comment by Shaun Rose — July 25, 2012 @ 11:06 am
When I was a kid I started a sidewalk chalk drawing business. For a few dollars I would come to your driveway and draw a pretty picture to brighten up your path!
Comment by Jess inch — July 25, 2012 @ 11:06 am
My sister and I would pick dandelions for my Dad. We would bring our full soup cans to be inspected. He would pack down the weeds and send us back out. Only when it was so full that he couldn’t pack it down any more, would he give us a dime. Good times!
Comment by Stephanie — July 25, 2012 @ 11:07 am
Yep, tried the old lemonade stand when I was about 8 years old. Where I lived is considered desert so I figured it would be popular in 100+ degree summer heat. But I don’t think I made more than 10 cents! Go figure!
Comment by Esther — July 25, 2012 @ 11:09 am
As a middle schooler, I sang “What Child Is This?” each Christmas Eve at midnight mass. It was fun to stay up late and get paid a little even though I was just in middle school. One year, my mom made me a special dress out of black crushed velvet with a white bow and I got to buy new shoes. My last year singing at that service, my mom made me a beautiful renaissance-style dress. I wish I still had it. It made me feel like something special. (now I wish I would’ve thought about charging when my mom asked me to sing “Amazing Grace” for the Walmart greeters each time we went to the superstore! Chh-Ching!)
Comment by Micah — July 25, 2012 @ 11:14 am
I made a “small fortune” selling cinnamon toothpicks to my schoolmates when I was in the 6th grade.
Comment by Steve K. — July 25, 2012 @ 11:20 am
Tried the lemonade stand when I was 5 with my best friend in 115 degree Las Vegas heat right outside my apartment building. There was lots of car traffic, but no foot traffic. So we only sold to some of our neighbors that felt sorry for us, melting in the hot sun. It was straight out of the can powdered pink and yellow lemonade. Didn’t make much money, but we sure drank alot of lemonade to stay cool. =]
Comment by Lana Holt — July 25, 2012 @ 11:24 am
When I was in grade school, my dad had a great rhubarb patch in his yard. I would pick a bunch and sit on the front steps of our yard and try to sell them to passersby. I don’t think I ever made that much money. It was fun though!
Comment by Leah — July 25, 2012 @ 11:35 am
When I was in high school. I mowed our small town cemetary during the summers. I will always remember a headstone that I mowed around and the name on the headstone was Merry (yes it was really spelled “Merry”) Christmas. It always made me smile and wonder what her parents were like to give her that name.
Comment by Tiffany — July 25, 2012 @ 11:36 am
I sold my beautiful created spirographs door-to-door.
Comment by MariJo — July 25, 2012 @ 11:37 am
I started a “lost dog” business. I schemed to hunt down someone’s missing dog for fee. My mom still has the sign I made (eyeroll). Not sure anyone took me up on the offer..
Comment by Erin Macfarland — July 25, 2012 @ 11:37 am
I went door to door with a bucket of soapy water and a sponge offering to wash people’s cars for a dollar…finally some kind elderly lady had the gumption to tell me simply “no honey I can just go to the carwash for that.”
Comment by megan — July 25, 2012 @ 11:54 am
I bought a pair of love birds (because I wanted them, not for the money) but when I found out how much they though I imagined selling baby chicks and raking in the cash. Haha, they never hatched any eggs. Oh well!
Comment by Juliana Caton — July 25, 2012 @ 12:07 pm
In 3rd grade, I had the ubiquitious lemonade stand. Kool-aid lemonade was the mixture of choice and of course, I watered it down WAY too much but those kind folks on my block were nice about purchasing a small Dixie cup for $0.25 and complementing me on the recipe.
Comment by Robyn — July 25, 2012 @ 12:11 pm
My sister and our neighbor were dissatisfied with our allowances when we were around 8 or 9. So we decided to open a movie theatre. Naturally. There was an empty lot between our houses, which seemed the perfect location. I figured my lumberjack cousin would happily take down all the trees and build us a log movie house. Since we had engineered our own outhouse design, all we needed was a movie projector. We built this using a shoe box and a flashlight. The movies would be independent films. Films that we drew with crayon on wax paper. With a plan like this, how could we go wrong? Perhaps the most absurd part of our plan was that my mother would bake cookies to sell at or concessions stand. If you knew my mother you would agree that her baking cookies is about as likely as our homemade movie projector actually working.
Comment by TBJ — July 25, 2012 @ 12:34 pm
When I was a kid, I had a few enterprising ideas to make money. One of them was to take all of the mail from my neighbors mailboxes and sell it door to door. I didn’t get past the first house before realizing it was a bad plan. Other ideas were: cookie stand, lemonade stand, dog walker, garden weeder, babysitter, girl guide cookie sales…
Comment by Debbie — July 25, 2012 @ 12:40 pm
I grew up in a family owned Dry Cleaning, Laundry and Tailoring business. To make some cash when I was in grade school, My Grandmother, with the permission of some specific customers, let me start my own boutique laundry service. I would wash, dry, fold, and package peoples clothing. Had some appreciative clients and made money too
Comment by Bob Zat — July 25, 2012 @ 1:08 pm
Wow! I was the queen of babysitting and in essence ran my own daycare at 15!
Comment by Leslie — July 25, 2012 @ 1:25 pm
When I was a kid, we used to sell Cool Aid on the street. That is a lovely give away - I have made 3 big batches of lemonade this week - all squeezed by hand!
Comment by Ina Gawne — July 25, 2012 @ 1:32 pm
As a teen, a friend and I made killer veggies burritos and sold them at a “Jerry” concert. Made about $75 bucks. Didn’t get into the show, but enjoyed the freakshow outside!
Comment by Sandy — July 25, 2012 @ 1:33 pm
When I was in junior high I made and sold handbraided bookmarks out of thin yarn. I went door-to-door in my friend’s neighborhood since I was at her house every day after school and sold the most to a local teacher
Comment by Jodie Kilpatrick — July 25, 2012 @ 1:35 pm
When I was a little kid, I was hired by my Grandma to do some “Meme sitting” I think she gave me 25 cents for the afternoon.
Comment by Marty — July 25, 2012 @ 1:41 pm
When I was a kid we made a bunch of stuff with those plastic interlocking beads like key chains and necklaces. We set up a table on a busy street and didn’t really sell much. I think my stepdad was our biggest customer.
Comment by Amy — July 25, 2012 @ 1:42 pm
When Home Makeover was down the street, We made lemonade and put the cups and drink in a wagon and sold to the construction workers.
Comment by Joanne — July 25, 2012 @ 1:49 pm
Aside from the usual lemonade stands and babysitting gigs, one of my favorites was going around the neighborhood picking plumerias to make lei’s for my parents house guests at their monthly parties.
Comment by Cheryl C. — July 25, 2012 @ 1:54 pm
At the age of 8 or 9, I ran around the neighborhood cutting flowers from people’s yards. I then turned these pilfered posies into “jewelry” and other fine goods, which I then sold at the street corner mailbox across from my house for a pretty penny. My mother was not at all incensed that I put my life in danger by talking to strangers in their cars or that I stole flowers from neighbors. Good times.
Comment by hillary — July 25, 2012 @ 1:54 pm
When I was younger, my sister and I would sell gladiola flowers on the side of the road that my grandmother grew in her garden. I don’t remember what we did with the money, but I don’t think we ever shared it with my grandmother, despite all of her hard work (sorry, Ma! but you certainly grew some beautiful flowers- love and miss you)!
Comment by Lindsey — July 25, 2012 @ 1:57 pm
i had a lemonade stand when i was around ten years old in a neighborhood with lots of new houses under construction and the carpenters were my customers. they were nice!
Comment by Francesca — July 25, 2012 @ 2:02 pm
my mom had a huge garden and during the summer I would enter veggies, fruit and flower arrangements in the local fair - I would win money. That is how I made money in the summer during high school.
Comment by marilyn — July 25, 2012 @ 2:15 pm
When I was very young I smartly concluded that my father would play two roles in my life, dad and employer. Growing up on a large farm, there was never a lack of jobs every day of the year for my father to hand out. Walk beans, mow the ditch, bale hay, feed steers, harvest crops, clear snow, it all had to be done. As I grew older, I found that his expectations were not to hand out jobs, but rather that jobs that needed to be done, just get done. I didn’t do this work for free, he rewarded me handsomely for hardwork. Growing up, I often resented that my start up venture was all about being a hired hand. Now, I am thankful for how he taught me to be resourceful, how to prioritize, and the outcomes of working hard to achieve a goal. The one lesson I learned, and learned well, was to never be without a good set of tools at your disposal (hint, hint, juicer qualifies as a tool!)
Comment by Nan — July 25, 2012 @ 2:22 pm
When I was in high school I decided that my friends needed to eat healthier so I started taking tofu, salad, and fruit to school to sell to my friends instead of the cafeteria junk. After a few apples were sold, I was left with a very large bowl of tofu, salad, and a reprimand from the principal that said “Try selling food in our cafeteria again and you’ll be in big trouble!”
Soon after I started cleaning houses, and worked my way through college scrubbing other peoples toilets.
Comment by Alison — July 25, 2012 @ 2:38 pm
When I was about eleven or so, I glued wrapping paper cutouts of sweet little girls in sunbonnets to wooden spoons and attached ribbon to them for people to hang in their kitchens. It was the 1970’s when that kind of thing actually held some appeal. They sold at a church bazaar. To this day, I am amazed that anyone bought them but it was kind of my customers to encourage me. I think that they were probably fairly awful, but I saw myself as getting paid for my art and was quite proud.
Comment by Danielle — July 25, 2012 @ 2:49 pm
When I was in grade school (’70s), I was really good and fast at macrame, and I sold bracelets and necklaces to the girls at school. I also sold some big hanging plant holders and owl wall hangings to friends of my mom. When I was 13, 14, and 15, I spent the summer working in the farm fields of Michigan “de-tassling corn”. Made me decide I did indeed want a college education!
Comment by Paula Perez — July 25, 2012 @ 2:59 pm
When I was a teenager, I babysat in order to earn money.
Comment by Judy G. — July 25, 2012 @ 3:32 pm
It was late autumn…1960…my best friend and I gathered fallen birch in the woods, sawed them into logs, drilled holes for candles and decorated these “yule logs” with evergreen and berries, then went door to door to sell them. We made $20 each, enough to buy Christmas presents. We were 14 and $20 went a long way back then.
Comment by Nickie — July 25, 2012 @ 3:43 pm
When I was about 8 my ister and I used to make up little plays and charge our family and friends 10 cents to attend a performance. As I got older I sold girl scout cookies, had lemonade stands, babysat and did all the different “fund raisers” for school.
Comment by Lori — July 25, 2012 @ 3:48 pm
I started and had several successful summer ideas. The most profitable was a summer gig building raised garden beds for people. I created a flyer had my own pager (high tech stuff). Hired two high school friends and we build about 30 raised garden beds. Kept us out of trouble and we had plenty of movie money.
Comment by JD Northwest — July 25, 2012 @ 3:50 pm
My earliest $$$ raising ventures were scrounging and scavenging the streets, alleys and bushes for returnable bottles. We kids realized it was truly “free money” to us. Heck, those large quart beer bottles were 3 cents apiece! A good hour of scrounging could fetch 50 cents or more. As a 6 or 7 year olds in the early 60’s, that was big MONEY to us!
Comment by Kath — July 25, 2012 @ 3:58 pm
As a child I did a lot of stuff to make money, babysitting since age 10, painting and cleaning apartments at age 12, and by the time I was 15 I couldn’t wait to have a “real” job at McDonalds. Unfortunately, I never learned how to manage my money and bought shoes and paid for gas to go to the beach instead of saving it.
Comment by Margarethe McLeod — July 25, 2012 @ 4:23 pm
I made these ridiculous hair flower clips from green floral tape, fake flowers, and blue tacky. Needless to say, I did not make that much…
Comment by Tammy — July 25, 2012 @ 4:24 pm
I baked zucchini bread and took it around in my kid sisters red wagon - being that we lived in a farming community and EVERYONE had buttloads of zucchini, it wasn’t a big money maker.
Comment by Tofu Mom (Marti) — July 25, 2012 @ 4:28 pm
I was the neighborhood babysitter…
Thanks for the giveaway!
Comment by Steff — July 25, 2012 @ 4:34 pm
Lemonade stands were a regular thing for me as a kid. We lived on a fairly busy residential street and we did quite well. Cool-Aide was popular so we often did that. I also did a LOT of babysitting and was able to save up enough for a 10-speed bike!
Comment by JoAnn Christensen — July 25, 2012 @ 5:19 pm
I’m a subscriber
Comment by Jessie C. — July 25, 2012 @ 5:40 pm
FB friend and like this post
Comment by Jessie C. — July 25, 2012 @ 5:41 pm
I had and lemonade stand with my sister when we were kids. That was fun for helping out raising money for the community center.
Comment by Jessie C. — July 25, 2012 @ 5:43 pm
At 8-9 years old I knew I wanted to make money, my dad jokingly told me I could give mom and him a back rub for .25 cents! I offered back rubs 10x a day for a week!
Comment by Melinda Stone — July 25, 2012 @ 6:02 pm
My first jobs were selling Girl Scout cookies, babysitting and picking berries. It’s definitely not very creative or glamorous, but it paid for clothes and other expenses.
Comment by tara — July 25, 2012 @ 6:09 pm
I made beaded necklaces, and gave them away. I made clothes, and gave them away. I did needlework embroidery, and gave it away. I babysat, and cleaned people’s homes for FREE, while I was there. Sometimes I even babysat for free, but that was when people just “forgot” to pay me. I had an altruistic, rather than an entrepreneurial spirit. Funny thing, I was always in demand, and had lot’s of jobs. Still, I could have cultivated a better business sensibility.
This juicer is my chance at the big time.
Comment by Rebecca C. — July 25, 2012 @ 6:10 pm
In middle school, my group of friends and I sold “Big Buddy Bubble Gum” (a 12 inch stick of gum, multiple flavors) for 25 cents, our cost was 5 cents. At the end of the school day, our pockets were bulging with change (students lunch money). We were saving the money to buy a van to cruise in when we were old enough to drive. Our business was short-lived, the principal saw to that and we never bought the van, but it was fun. Thanks for the walk down memory lane and for the giveaway.
Comment by George — July 25, 2012 @ 6:14 pm
I sold lemons to housewives door to door. We had 2 huge lemon trees in my backyard so my product was 100% free. I usually used the money to buy dounuts from the doughnut truck that swept my neighborhood on a regular basis. Those were the days!
Comment by christie — July 25, 2012 @ 6:26 pm
When I was a kid I mowed lawns for $5 a pop…I think I either just aged myself or I sound like a terrible business person!
Comment by Sarah — July 25, 2012 @ 6:44 pm
My friends and I used to try to make money by sewing clothes for each other. Sadly, it never worked because none of us ever had much pocket money so we would end up swapping sewing jobs with each other instead.
Comment by Marci D. — July 25, 2012 @ 6:56 pm
When I was in middle school, I used to make lots of “scruchies”. At first I made them for myself and friends, then I made matching ones for my softball tournament team, finally I sold them at a local, independent hair salon - I think I ended up selling about 10 total before I got board with making them and moved on to something else.
Comment by Becca — July 25, 2012 @ 9:06 pm
I did yard work, housecleaning, babysitting, or whatever my parents’ friends needed done. In college, I once drove a Subaru filled with ski boots from MA to VT.
Comment by Elisa — July 25, 2012 @ 9:09 pm
One summer I had a bunch of garage sales to raise money for a trampoline. Once I bought the trampoline, all the neighborhood kids practically lived at my house and we bounced on that thing for years…until it wore out. So much fun!
Comment by Jaime Jean Klocek — July 25, 2012 @ 9:24 pm
When I was teenager I sold saltwater taffy door to door to raise money for our marching band to go to catalina island. I remember dreading the blank stares as people opened their doors to us. I usually ate a bag or so all on my own for consolation.
Comment by Lynn Helbrecht — July 25, 2012 @ 9:47 pm
A local music festival came to town every summer and I would set up a lemonade stand at the entrance. I made good money even after paying my mom back for the supplies!
Comment by Alicia — July 25, 2012 @ 10:27 pm
local music festival came to town every summer and I would set up a lemonade stand at the entrance. I made good money even after paying my mom back for the supplies!
Comment by Alicia — July 25, 2012 @ 10:29 pm
3rd grade, lots of construction on the street i lived on, sold lemonade to the workers, they thought it was “cute” and i made $80 those few weeks!
Comment by Beckie — July 25, 2012 @ 10:42 pm
We sold popcorn to the neighborhood kids… it actually went pretty well
Comment by maya — July 26, 2012 @ 12:23 am
In high school, we used to park cars at Joe Robbie stadium in Miami (at least that was what it was called at that time) to earn money for the Key club. A few minutes after the game started, we would be allowed in to watch the game. At that time Miami, with Dan Marino was a winning team.
Comment by Rodney Dwyer — July 26, 2012 @ 4:56 am
I must have done something beside this because I did save enough money for my class ring, but the only thing I clearly remember doing was not eating lunch and saving my lunch money. Very healthy choice, eh? Ha. Maybe I need this juicer to make up for my teenage errant ways.
Comment by Elizabeth Thomas Ladd — July 26, 2012 @ 5:06 am
I never had a lemonade stand, but my children have them when we have garage sales. They use the money to pay for things like camps or other activites that they want to do throughout the year.
Comment by Elisa — July 26, 2012 @ 5:38 am
I was the President and founder of my high school Ecology Club. My best friend Molly and I came up with the idea to put soda can recycling boxes in the classrooms (as they were nonexistent on our campus) and then we used the money we made recycling to support various non profit organizations.
Comment by Colette — July 26, 2012 @ 5:40 am
I was raised on a small farm, and as a teen - right on the cusp of when small farms were being gobbled up by large farms - I started my own natural raised pork and beef business. My animals received the best care and could roam and live good lives. Both my animals and the meat won a number of awards. This was back before pasture-free range meat was ever in the public conversation. The money I earned helped me attend college.
Comment by Brent Ladd — July 26, 2012 @ 5:53 am
When I was about 13, I created and posted flyers for babysitting in order to earn my own money. Though that made me a great deal more than my childhood money-making idea, it is not nearly as interesting! When I was about (6???), my cousin and I gathered up a wagon-full of acorns and went door-to-door in her neighborhood selling them for a penny each. I think we also had some kind of deal if one opted to give us a dime instead. I recall many of her neighbors asking what they would do with the acorns… I’m not sure of all of the great reasons we gave, but I know we suggested planting them in order to grow a tree! Thankfully, most of them humored us and we made many pennies before I skinned my knee and the adventure ended
Comment by Alyssa — July 26, 2012 @ 7:12 am
I cleaned pools in the neighborhood for small payments.
Comment by sta27 — July 26, 2012 @ 8:02 am
When I was ten I wanted an alllowance. I earned 50 cents a week to keep the wood box near the stove in the basement filled.
Comment by Chere — July 26, 2012 @ 8:19 am
I never had any money making ventures when I was a kid, but my daughter has had her share of lemonade stands. One year she also drew pictures and sold her artwork at her lemonade stand. Our local firemen came with their big fire truck and bought one of her pictures. The picture is still hanging up in the firehouse.
Comment by Sam — July 26, 2012 @ 8:43 am
I used to rub my grandmother’s feet for a dollar and some ice cream. Great way to get a treat and some cash for books during the summers when I was a kid.
Comment by MagicKat — July 26, 2012 @ 8:47 am
When I was seven or eight, I painted rocks all different colors and sold them to my neighbors for their flower beds. Gave them to mom for her birthday too - boy did she wonder what that heavy box was!
Comment by LisaM — July 26, 2012 @ 10:02 am
Well, when I was less than 10, my younger sisters and I would pick the dandelions in our yard, then weave them together into garlands for your head or to wear as a lea. Then, hoping to target our buyers, we’d set up a card table in front of the house right before the workers from the local office building would walk by on their way home at the end of the day. Needless to say, despite our enchantment with our product and ingenuity, wearing dandelions wasn’t too big of a hit. I can remember only selling one of them to a sweet neighbor lady.
Comment by Becky — July 26, 2012 @ 10:54 am
I rode the Dickie Dee ice cream bike for a summer to raise money for my brother’s scout trip to Australia. I ate plenty of delicious product and still had thighs of steel by the fall!
Molly
Comment by Molly — July 26, 2012 @ 12:15 pm
Yup, sold veges on the side of the road when I was 12 - 14.Life was simple then. That wold have been in 1960 - 63.
Comment by Steve Clarkson — July 26, 2012 @ 3:56 pm
Ha, ha. When I was in 1st grade (1951!) my friend and I made “bug poison” out of “nasty stuff” from the kitchen: salt, vinegar, pepper, soap, whatever we thought tasted yucky. Then we put it into jars and sold it to the moms in the neighborhood. Of course, they bought all of it (good moms!) and we had enough change to go to the candy store to buy a little bag of penny candy (yes, there really was such a thing).
Comment by Patrish — July 26, 2012 @ 9:54 pm
When I was in high school I made cabbage patch doll. It was the year they were so popular and very hard to find. I made cloth ones from Robert Xavier’s book. Made a lot of money.
Comment by Tanya — July 27, 2012 @ 5:42 am
When I was in high school we sold carnations for Valentine’s Day. Can’t remember what the money was used for. Maybe it went to the student council.
Comment by Tess Mundy — July 27, 2012 @ 7:52 am
I never had my own start up sort of lemonade stand. I did sell cookies for girl scouts though, and I also enjoyed playing an online game where you made/sold lemonade…yea, that was lame
Comment by Stephanie — July 27, 2012 @ 6:59 pm
I do remember making some sort of craft and then trying to sell it at the front of my house, but since nobody really ever passed through that way, I’m pretty sure only my mom bought something. My son is in love with the idea of selling and has made some decent money at flea markets and yard sells - I’m trying to think of how I can help him go online, but then you have to figure out shipping too. But his favorite thing is still the lemonade/cookies stand!
Comment by Lisa — July 27, 2012 @ 11:38 pm
I tried the good ol’ lemonade stand on occasion. However, my sister had a much more lucrative job chalking IDs in high school (should I be admitting this???).
Comment by Nicole — July 28, 2012 @ 6:57 am
My father was a printer so I had him print me up fancy cards advertising my housekeeping and babysitting skills and passed them around the neighborhood. I got a lot of response and kept busy every summer in high school!
Comment by Connie — July 28, 2012 @ 12:38 pm
When I was approximately 6 or 7 years old, my cousin and I decided to set up a “Lima Bean” stand (lemonade being too common naturally). At the time we were on our grandfather’s farm which was located on a dead end road of course. It never occurred to us that almost no one drove down our road. We didn’t mind not making any money either. The only thing that impressed us was how much fun we had creating our first entrepreneurial event!
Comment by Michel (Shellie) Franc — July 28, 2012 @ 7:07 pm
When I was about 10, I started a neighborhood newspaper called appropriately the Neighborhood News. I went around our street asking questions to get my “stories”. I typed them on my mothers old typewriter and delivered them to my “subcribers”. It was a lot of work, but kept me busy that summer at the amusment of my adult neighbors who provided most of the information for the articles and were my subscribers.
Comment by Gail Duncan — July 28, 2012 @ 9:19 pm
When I was a kid around 11 I delivered newspapers, I fondly recall trucking up and down the streets with newspapers in my sled!
Comment by Jen — July 29, 2012 @ 7:32 am