Six Money Making Ideas

Money making ideas are more fun to dream up than to follow through on, so I'll keep on dreaming and let the reader be the entrepreneur. Here are the latest ideas for businesses, services and products that might make some money for those who want to lead the way.

1. Market search dogs directly to the public. Dogs work for police departments and search-and-rescue squads, but why limit them to these? Perhaps people would pay to have a dog find lost items, or track lost people that the police have given up trying to find. They could even be used to find lost pets. A deer hunter might pay for this service when he knows the deer he shot will die, but can't find the body.

2. Phones with locators. Give your child a cell phone that has a modified GPS unit in it. Anytime you call the phone, it transmits the location back to you, and plots it on the map in your phone. You can tell if a teenager is lying about where they are. You can also use it to locate smaller children who are lost.

3. A locator system for the blind. Install small transmitters at all major intersections. These would announce where they are ("Corner of Sixth and Munson.") on a designated frequency. Blind people could then buy a receiver that fits over their ear, and push a button at any intersection to verify where they are. Additional information could be added, such as what stores are nearby and in what direction.

4. Desert parasailing. You have probably seen the parasails that are pulled behind boats. Why not do this in open desert areas as well? The customer would ride a parasail into the sky, pulled behind a car. There may be a few safety concerns, but many people would gladly pay for a ride in the sky above the desert landscape.

5. List selling. Would someone pay $3 for a list of the best restaurants in Chicago? How about for a list of 30 ways to save money on insurance, or 100 ways to lose weight. These would be simple lists to compile, and if sold online as downloads, would cost almost nothing to produce. A website that sold just these simple lists at a low price might not need to even offer refunds. This could be a very simple business.

6. Bicycle boom box. You may have seen kids riding bicycles with one hand on the handlebars and the other holding a radio or CD player on their shoulder. Why not make a radio/CD player that mounts on the handle bars of just about any bike? Hop on that bike and you have a mobile party. You might want to sell a pop cooler that rides on the back-rack of the bicycle as well.

Dreaming up these money making ideas is easy, of course. Making money with them involves a whole lot more effort. Good luck!