When I was in my teens, I cleaned houses for awhile -self employed. I loved it. I cleaned one or two very large luxury homes once a week and each home took about 8 hours to thoroughly clean. I charged $10 an hour, and that was over thirty years ago, and they were happy to pay for a job well done.
In fact, prior to working at the bank, when I was looking for a job closer to home, I seriously considered going back into this business. Minimal costs on the front end, and I could name my own hours. Plus it would have been a good way to keep active and keep in shape.
Also, don't overlook fast food. In Shreveport a few weeks ago, I saw several signs for assistant managers at fast food restaurants, and the pay was $50,000 a year. Now - that's for a minimum of fifty hours a week, sometimes sixty. But here's the deal - career progression can be VERY FAST because the turnover rate is about 400 percent in that field. I personally know a young woman who is under 30, who is now a division manager for Subway in East Texas, and she makes about $100,000 a year. She started with Subway in her late teens, working the counter. She is 27 years old. I don't believe she even has a college degree.
I'm not saying you'd have to make this a career - but what I am saying is that you could gain valuable management experience that would be a good jumping off point for you in the future.
That being said, I also know a Burger King franchisee with no education past high school, who now owns about 100 stores. He started off driving a bread truck that delivered to Burger Kings. He's been a very wealthy man since he was about 35 years old - but he had to bust his rear for 15 years first.
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