Build a babysitting business

By Maya LeBeau, of Central High School

Madi Fink doesn't even bother looking for a job, she finds working as a babysitter pays better and is more fun. Photo by Maya LeBeau

"You make a decent amount of money considering what jobs teens usually get, which is usually like minimum wage for them. And I usually get higher." -- Madi Fink

Madi Fink pulls down about $240 a month but she doesn’t get yelled at by management or deal with angry customers. But sometimes she does have to clean up spills, just not in aisle 4.

“This little boy named Joe was potty training and so I put him on the toilet and everything,” Madi said. “But he got off the toilet and said … ‘I can’t go to the bathroom’ and then he (pooped) all over the floor. “

Madi is a babysitter.

“It’s really rewarding because it’s little children and getting to know them is fun and they’re adorable,” she said. “And you make a decent amount of money considering what jobs teens usually get, which is usually like minimum wage for them. And I usually get higher.”

She started at the age of 11, first by only helping mothers with their children. Four years later, she has gone on to babysitting an average of three times a week and makes $7.50 to $10 per hour. She can babysit anywhere from 2 to 4 hours.

Madi, a St. Paul Central High sophomore, had help in building up her babysitting clientele. Her mother works at a preschool and she lives in a neighborhood with a lot of young children.

For teens who don’t have those kinds of connections, Madi recommends:

• posting fliers around,
• getting the word out through friends, families and parents,
• and volunteering in places where people would need babysitters, such as churches or schools.

The downside to this job is that it is not always regular. “It’s not always constant so if I need money soon … I can’t really determine if I’ll be able to get that much money,” she said.

Not being constant can also work in your favor, according to Madi. “You have a more flexible schedule,” she said.

Babysitting has not always been Madi’s only job. Last summer, she worked at Sweet Martha’s Cookie booth at the Minnesota State Fair in what she called an “assembly line.”

“(Babysitting) is really fun because it’s with kids and it’s never a constant thing … like it would be at other jobs like my job at Sweet Martha’s in the summer where it’s the same thing over and over again. It’s still fun because you can go outside and play with chalk and stuff. It’s fun,” Madi said.