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Everyone stumbles. But it’s not how hard we fall that counts: it’s how we pick ourselves up. Sometimes, things don’t go the way we plan, and we’re faced with incredibly difficult circumstances. But if you can push through the way this young mother did, something wonderful can happen.
Taking care of people is what Honorine loves to do. She’s a nurturer at heart, especially when it comes to her husband and children. But it used to be extremely difficult to fulfill her family’s most basic needs — like water. That’s because Honorine lives in a rural village in Madagascar, a village that until recently had no clean water for its citizens. So every day, Honorine would wake up at 3:00 in the morning to start an arduous journey to go get a 19-liter can of water for her family. It was time-consuming, tiring and expensive. When she got home, it was straight off to the rice fields to work long, hot days. Her children had to get themselves ready for school.Even worse, the water that she worked so hard to get wasn’t even clean. The family used it not only to drink but also to cook and bathe; but then they started getting sick. Everyone in the village did. The Tragedy of Having No Clean WaterA disease called bilharzia swept over the village. Caused by parasites in dirty water, the disease means worms enter the drinker’s intestines and veins. These worms can cause permanent organ damage and even death.Honorine knows too well the pain of death. When her son was just two years old, he suffered and died from a mysterious stomach illness that they’ve never been able to identify. It wasn’t much later when Honorine herself fell ill.“When I got sick, I could not work,” Honorine remembers. Not be able to work was nearly a death sentence for herself.But luckily for her and her family, besides, being a nurturer, Honorine is also someone who is joyful by nature. She finds the good in everything. And it wasn’t hard to find the good in the news that charity:water, through their local partner Helvetas, was going to bring water to Honorine’s community.How a New Era Was Ushered in Because of One Organization“When the tap was finished, everybody screamed,” Honorine remembers with a big smile. “The children and the adults alike all yelled, ‘The water pump is finished! The water pump is finished!’”It brought drastic changes to the lives of everyone in the community. They no longer had to make a long journey in the name of obtaining questionable drinking water. And soon after a clean water source was secured, the disease bilharzia disappeared from their rural village.Now that Honorine was healthy and less exhausted, things were looking up. And just that little more free time afforded Honorine a dream. She wanted to open a restaurant. She and her husband had always run a small store selling coffee and sugar. In the days of fetching water and sickness, it had been all she could do to keep the store functioning and work in the rice fields during the day. But now, with access to clean water, Honorine could think of expanding her little stand into a full-fledged restaurant.Which she did. Nowadays, Honorine and her husband are selling chicken, soup, pasta and more. Her specialty is banana bread.How Clean Water Makes Life “Less Difficult” “We’re only able to have a restaurant because there is clean water,” Honorine explains. “We use water more than anything else, up to 10 jerry cans a day just to clean all of the utensils. Before, I never thought about starting a restaurant because water is difficult here. But since the installation of this clean drinking water, we feel blessed.”She feels blessed in many way, not the least of which is being able to care for others. “As I am a mother, I enjoy taking care of things,” she says. Now, she gets to spend more time with her children in the morning and help get them ready for school. “When people come here [to the restaurant], they talk about their lives. I love welcoming people.” The local fishermen come regularly to Honorine’s restaurant after a long day of work. She loves listening to their stories.“Things are less difficult,” Honorine says. “The small restaurant greatly improved our lives.” Now, instead of endless journeys and crippling illness, Honorine talks of studying abroad and of her children making better lives for themselves outside the village.How One Woman Proved the Importance of Not Taking Things for Granted“I will make my restaurant grow,” she says excitedly. The extra income she earns allows her to properly feed her family and pay her children’s school fees, but the arrival of clean water in the village means, to Honorine, that the sky is the limit.With clean water, which is something that so many people take for granted, Honorine’s entire life was turned around. Her physical health, her finances, and her opportunities suddenly increased. She started to dream of a future that would have been unimaginable before the installation of the water pump.Clean water also allowed Honorine to find her entrepreneurial spirit and embrace a new future full of hope for her and her family. “We are happy,” she gushes, “really happy.”
If you’re a teenager looking to make money, now is an ideal time to find the right gig for you. With job openings at a record high, there’s a lot of work to go around if you’re looking for an in-person side hustle. The pandemic has also opened new opportunities, like running errands for at-risk people and new avenues for virtual work.One thing to note about finding side hustles is that some gigs may require you to be 18 or older in order to sign a contract. This applies if you were to become a delivery driver with UberEats, for instance, or if you were to sign up for gigs on a site like TaskRabbit. But working for yourself - or for people you know - typically doesn’t come with any age restrictions. Ready to find the right part time job for you? Let’s dive into the best side hustles for teens. Side hustles while you're still in school: from local fast food restaurants to running social media accounts Having a part time job can come with a number of benefits. First, there’s the financial part. Earning extra money can help you (and your family) feel more financially secure, give you opportunities to save up cash and allow you to buy fun things that your allowance doesn’t cover.Having a side hustle also gives you something to do. Sure, playing video games, scrolling through YouTube videos on your phone and chilling with friends is great. But if you’re looking for something more to fill your hours because you’re feeling bored or uninspired by life, adding in a part time job can give you a renewed sense of purpose. With the right motivation and creativity, instead of watching videos on YouTube, you could be creating YouTube videos for yourself or an influencer, and building important skills that are in high demand!Side hustles can help teach you responsibility. Having to be somewhere on time, complete certain tasks and generally be accountable are important skills to learn and practice before you head out into the so-called real world. Getting the hang of these skills as a teen will set you up for success as an adult, whether that is as a college student or a young worker. Having a side hustle early on is a good starting point, and will help you get ahead in the game of life. Side hustles in your neighborhoodWant to make more money? Good money, serious money? Become your own business. One way to make money is simply through helping out people in your neighborhood. While there’s definitely a ceiling on how much you can make—your customers are limited to people you know or to those who live around you—working for people in your ‘hood is a great way to start out with side hustles. You can either literally stack the cash, or build a bank electronically in a PayPal account. Especially if you’re a younger teen, working for people you know (including family members or neighbors) can be a good option because you don’t need to worry about any official age limits or contract stipulations. You’re just getting paid cash to do work people need. To get started, you can print up flyers explaining your new venture and tuck them into people’s mail boxes or deliver them door to door. You can set an hourly rate yourself or ask people what they are willing to pay you. (Either way, you’re sure to make money.) Here are some options you can try:Walking and watching people’s petsIf you love animals, consider dog walking or pet sitting. While there are pet daycare centers and dog walking apps, many people would rather trust their fur babies to someone local who they know. This is a fun way to make money and help people out at the same time.CaretakingIf you like kids, working as a babysitter could be a great option for earning money, especially if you’re willing to work nights so parents can go out. If your neighborhood skews older, you could also be an elderly caretaker and keep older people company by reading to them, having meals with them or helping them around the house. Plus, doing this can provide good experience if you want to be a camp counselor a little later on. Who knows!LandscapingIf you know how to mow the lawn (or you’re willing to learn), can shovel snow, rake leaves or pull weeds, you can earn money taking care of people’s yards. You can also offer to help with holiday decorating (or removing decor), painting, cleaning the garage—anything outdoors that neighbors could need help with. Running errands for peopleWith the ongoing pandemic, this side hustle has become even more in-demand. Offering to run errands for older neighbors and those with kids in particular can be really helpful to them and a lucrative way to make money for you. You can do it in person, or use the power of the internet and skip the trip to the store by shopping online. In person side-hustle jobsWorking for local businesses is another way to make money. These more official side hustles for teens are great additions to your resume because they show commitment and dedication to a traditional job. Your employers can also provide legitimate references for getting into college or for your next gig. Here are four options to think about:CashierMake a list of your favorite stores, from boutiques to tech outposts to food purveyors. Then, check to see if any of them are hiring. If you can, it pays to work somewhere you like to shop because employees can sometimes receive discounts. These local businesses may need more help than ever with the pandemic creating a service industry labor shortage. Food serverLikewise, think about which restaurants you enjoy eating in and see if there are any food service jobs you can apply for. From fast food to fine dining, there are a lot of options right now in particular for work. You can sometimes enjoy free meals on your shifts, which is another perk of these gigs.Tutor or coachIf you’re gifted in a particular school subject or sport, consider helping younger students with their skills. You can look for tutoring jobs through your school or the other schools in your area, or you can reach out to the parents of young people directly by posting on physical job boards around town or on Craigslist. Set an hourly rate that sounds like a reasonable price for your services.InternInternships are a great way to learn skills in an industry you might want to have a career in one day. Any legitimate business will pay its interns, giving you an hourly wage or a stipend. If you’re skilled at understanding social media, many companies look for young people to handle their accounts and this could be a great place to start. You can go from building a social media presence as an intern to becoming one of those social media managers yourself!Easy online side hustle jobsIf you have a computer, you can also make money right at home doing remote work. There are a number of online gigs and websites that need virtual workers, and it’s a popular business model for a reason. Check out these opportunities to see if one of these ways to earn cash would work for you:Working as a virtual intern or assistantIf you’re interested in interning, you don’t always need to be in-person to assist someone with their business. As a virtual intern or assistant, you can take calls, upload content to social media, take notes during Zoom meetings—you name it. This kind of job can also give you valuable experience in a field you want to break into as an adult. Creating contentThere are so many ways to create online content these days. You can start a blog and monetize it with ads. You can apply to magazine and website jobs looking for teen writers and create articles and social media content. You can start a YouTube channel about any topic you’re interested in. Finally, you can use social media directly and create content for Instagram and TikTok. While making money through these avenues isn’t guaranteed (save for a magazine or website gig), with hard work and constant hustle to create new content, you may just become the next big influencer in your free time.Designing printables and clothing If you’re talented at graphic design, you can list your designs on websites like Etsy. You can earn what’s called passive income by creating printable materials that people can pay to download digitally and then print out themselves. (Art for their homes, calendars, labels and stickers, etc.) You can also offer print-on-demand goods like mugs and t-shirts. Set your items at a reasonable price so you’re compensated for your time but also so people can afford your designs. You can use social media to promote your work, which can help you find more ways to make money through word of mouth.Reselling clothes, toys and home goods Selling any clothing, furniture or collectibles you no longer need or use can be a great way to make money. Sites like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are great for selling furniture, while Poshmark is good for selling your clothes. You can put up toys and collectible items on sites like Mercari or eBay. If you enjoy fixing things up and reselling them, you can even shop garage sales or Goodwill for great pieces and then resell them online. Selling photographsThere are a number of stock photo websites through which you can earn extra money for your photographs. If you have a talent for taking pictures, you can share your snaps on these sites and, when people want to use your images, you get paid a commission. The more photos you take, the higher the chance that you’ll be able to sell one of them. Plus, you’ll be able to build your portfolio while you make money. Doing odd jobsIf you only have time here and there for picking up extra work, you can use websites like Mturk and TaskRabbit to search for random jobs that people need done. By working on your own schedule, you’ll be able to complete the jobs you take on, meaning that you’ll make money without overextending yourself. Teaching virtual classes If you’re an expert about a certain subject or super passionate about a particular topic, you can teach a class and upload it to a website like Udemy. This is a good option if you’re not finding any in-person tutoring options in your area but you want to share your expertise. (FG Trade / Getty)Since these classes can be watched again and again (for a fee that gets paid to you), you just need to take the time to plan them and film them.Giving language lessonsYou can sign up to be an online language teacher, which is a great side hustle that almost anyone can do to earn money. Some websites look for English speakers, while others need bilingual speakers. Typically, you work with a student via webcam to help them hone their conversational skills, making this gig both fun and social, all from the comfort of your home. Transcribe interviews or videosYou can get hired by the hour to type meeting notes, interviews, videos, podcasts or any audio that someone needs to have a transcript of. All you need to do is be a fast and efficient typer and you’ll receive an hourly rate for your work. You can post on Craigslist that you’re available for work or search online job boards for people looking for a transcriber. Sometimes journalists and writers will need fast turnarounds, meaning that sometimes you can take on a gig and get paid on the same day. Taking surveysThrough websites like Survey Junkie, you can get paid for giving your opinion in various market research questionnaires. You won’t get paid a lot of money, but these surveys are easy to complete and can be done quickly. Be sure to check the age limit and other restrictions before you get started. What to use your side hustle money forThe aforementioned side hustles for teens can bring in varying amounts of money. But no matter how much you make, you’ll want to think about what to use that cash for. Here are some options that you should think about to make the most of your extra money:Taking responsibility for everyday expenses Many teens have side hustles simply to pay for their lives. If your family doesn’t have a lot of extra money, as is the case for many, many families, your side hustle will contribute to your family’s overall well being. This extra cash could be instrumental to making sure everyone in your home has enough food to eat and clothes to wear. There’s really nothing more important than being able to help provide for your loved ones. Adding to your college fundAs previous generations know all too well, student loan debt can be crushing. High interest rates and long repayment periods can keep people owing tons of money long after their graduation days. If you can help it, don’t plan on taking out loans for college. Use your extra money to create or add to a 529 college savings account. These accounts offer tax benefits, allowing you to pay for college, or even schooling before college, so you can hopefully avoid taking out loans. Investing any extra money If you’re looking to simply save money in a general savings account, look for a no-fee account that offers a high interest rate so you can earn money while your extra cash stays in the bank. You could also try your hand at the stock market in a very low-stakes way by putting money into bonds or low-risk mutual funds. This allows your money to grow while you’re not using it.Saving for something bigMaybe there’s something you really want: A car, a new laptop, a TV, a cool pair of sunglasses. Whatever it is, you can devote a portion of your paycheck to this item and save up to buy it. When you purchase something important for yourself, you’re more likely to really cherish and appreciate it. Paying off debtIf you have any current debt—a loan from your parents, credit cards or a car loan—you should use your extra money to try to pay off what you owe ASAP. If possible, you don’t want to start your adult life off with debt and getting this cleared to zero will help you start out with a clean slate.How to balance your side hustle with lifeWhen it comes to making extra money, you don’t want to work to overrun your life. You’re still technically a kid, after all. Sure, most teens can’t wait to grow up and enjoy all the benefits and freedoms of adulthood but—trust me—you’re going to miss the days of being able to use your age as an excuse to do less.So, when you choose to get a part time job or side hustle, make sure that you still have time for your homework and school responsibilities, because you don’t want your grades to slip after taking on too much at work. And try to build in some leisure time for yourself or with friends so that you don’t get burnt out. Being a teen can be exhausting and you don’t want your job to get so overwhelming that you can’t enjoy this unique time in your life. That said, building a side hustle can be a great advantage later in life, because those that can do it early will be able to more easily tap into that sense of motivation later in life, when you have more time to use it. The bottom line? When it comes to side hustles, balance is key. Hustle enough to make some extra cash and feel the sweet sense of accomplishment. But don’t hustle so much that you’re exhausted and can’t muster the energy to get your schoolwork done or hang out with friends. After all, you have the rest of your adult life to work and make money.
Trung Vien's parents moved from Vietnam to Australia "with basically nothing -- not a word of English and no experience or qualifications,” he said. But years later, he has managed to build up $10 million of property holdings and a promising pandemic-proof business. A Domino's effectVien's parents were hard-working immigrants who wanted the best for their son. So when, at 24, he told them he wanted to skip university and leave his relatively high-paying financial planning job to open a Domino's pizza shop, they were shocked. But even though he knew nothing about business, he liked the Domino's brand and the franchise model was scalable, so he took the plunge.“My parents said, ‘you can’t go into business, you have to go to uni and work a corporate job and be safe’, but I didn’t tell them that in my first year I made more than double the amount I had made at the bank,” he told News.com.au. "It was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life."Trung VienVien continued to be successful. In 2013, he bought a gym and started buying up properties in Brisbane.He worked extremely hard and rarely took any vacations, but the Brisbane real estate market dropped and he found himself “up to his eyeballs” in debt. Still, he owned $10 million worth of properties.“I did it by working hard and not taking holidays because my long term goal was to put cashflow into my investments."Trung VienHe took a break and found a new opportunityVien decided to take a much-needed break and his creative juices started to flow. He thought about his friends who were stressed out with their jobs, kids, and marriages, and noticed they were all losing their hair.“I thought, you know what, there must be a good solution to this problem and seeing my friends are facing it, it must be happening everywhere,” he told news.com.au.So in March 2020, he launched Hair Folli, a hair care brand that uses “superfood” Kakadu plum to treat the problem of hair loss.He didn't expect the company to do well right off the bat -- it was launched at the start of a global pandemic after all. But, “After the first two or three weeks we had a couple of hundred thousand dollars in sales," he said. "We had launched with a lot of hype because we knew there was a gap in the market."Vien said he expected the company to rake in $5 million in profits in 2021, a number he attributes to not having to pay huge overhead to sell in brick-and-mortar stores.The entrepreneur attributes his success to his hard-working immigrant upbringing.“Hearing my parents’ story makes me want to work harder to prove to them that ‘hey, I can make it big’ and provide an awesome business to the people in this country who gave us so much opportunity,” he said.Loosen the grip to boost creativityWe've heard the story before -- person from a hard-working immigrant family makes it big. And it's always motivating. But an enlightening detail in this story is that when Vien decided to stop working crazy hours and take a vacation, he was able to find a passion project that appears to be on its way to major success. So take this as a reminder that hard work begets success, but so does loosening your grip to allow the creative juices to flow. More uplifting stories:4 Years Ago, He Was Homeless–Today, He Bought His First HousePoor Man Who Missed Job Interview To Save A Life Had Employers Lining Up To Hire HimDomestic Abuse Survivor Marries The First Responder Who Saved Her LifeBrooklyn Landlord Cancels Rent For Hundreds Of Tenants, Setting An Unprecedented Example For Others
2020 has been a tough year for many businesses, and some companies have had to do the unthinkable and lay off employees to survive. But one smart and compassionate leader had a better idea.Sometimes communication really is the name of the game. When CEO Dan Price realized his company, Gravity Payments, was in a precarious position, he turned to his team. Instead of eliminating roles right off the bat, he asked employees for their opinions on what to do. “Your team is so much smarter than you,” Price told Entrepreneur, reflecting on his trust on the people he hires. “Give power to your people, be honest and democratic. They will find solutions that you can’t see.”An unusual CEO movePrice has always looked at business a bit differently. A few years ago, he took a giant pay cut so that he could instate a $70K minimum wage for his employees. So now he turned to those same employees for advice on how to to save their jobs.He gathered his team of 200, and together they came up with an idea. Rather than laying off anyone, they were all going to volunteer for a pay cut. “I thought it was crazy,” Price says. “I figured we’d waste a week’s worth of time to learn it wouldn’t work.”Prioritizing people paid off However, it ended up working. And by the end of summer, he was even able to pay back all his employees for the cut they had taken.“Businesses love to talk about caring for people,” reflected Price, but at the end, it’s their balance sheet businesses tend to prioritize.“Leaders will do layoffs deeper and quicker than needed,” he said, highlighting that it's usually the best way to recover quicker and turn things around.Business doesn't have to mean sacrificing humanity Price was determined to find a better option than making the gut-wrenching decision of letting his people go during an economic crisis. The best part? He turned to them for the solution, involving them in the process. “We’re here because of our people.”More uplifting stories:4 Years Ago, He Was Homeless–Today, He Bought His First HousePoor Man Who Missed Job Interview To Save A Life Had Employers Lining Up To Hire HimDomestic Abuse Survivor Marries The First Responder Who Saved Her LifeBrooklyn Landlord Cancels Rent For Hundreds Of Tenants, Setting An Unprecedented Example For Others
Apple. Netflix. Google. They all started with an idea and a single step.The underwear brand, Spanx, founded by Sara Blakely, was born the same way. Today, it's a billion-dollar company and Blakely is worth $610 million, according to Forbes. How? Blakely just shared her secrets in a motivational Instagram post.She didn't take 'no' for an answerWhen Blakely started Spanx, it was 1998 and she had just $5,000 in her pocket thanks to a gig selling fax machines door-to-door (oh, how times have changed!), according to Forbes. She had no experience in design, business or manufacturing, and when she tried to pitch her product she had the door slammed in her face.She finally landed her first major retail buyer, Neiman Marcus. But during the pitch meeting, she was getting the impression that this would be another 'no.' So she decided to change course. “In the middle of my meeting with [the Neiman Marcus rep], I could tell I was losing her," Blakely recounted to Guy Raz during an episode of the podcast “How I Built This” in 2016. So she interrupted the meeting and asked the rep to join her in the restroom."And I just knew it was my one shot. So I said, ‘Will you come with me to the bathroom?’ And she just paused. She goes, ‘Excuse me?’ I go, ‘I know, I know, it’s little weird. Will you just please come with me to the bathroom? I want to show you my own product before and after.'"Blakely went into the stall, put Spanx on underneath her clothes and came out. The rep looked at her and said:"Wow, I get it. It’s brilliant.”Neiman Marcus rep told Blakely in a bathroom during Spanx pitch meetingThe buyer accepted the pitch and Spanx is now a billion-dollar brand.How to achieve your dreamsNowadays, Blakely is an inspirational example of how a simple idea – a revolutionary take on women's underwear – can balloon into something great. And she continues to take time out of her busy schedule to share what she's learned.In an Instagram post, she revealed her ultimate recipe for success.“The difference between people who achieve their dreams and those who don’t is simple... It’s about action."Sara Blakely “Two decades ago, I was just a girl with a crappy day job and a crazy idea," she continued. "I didn’t have a ton of money, experience or knowledge of the industry. But I decided to go for it.”Blakely could have sat and waited and wished that, eventually, someone would listen to her idea. But life doesn't work like that. "But instead, I started doing and one day became day one, 20 years ago. And that's what made all the difference."Sara BlakelyIt starts with that first stepGolden tickets might pop up in the world of Willy Wonka, but aside from winning the lottery or being born into wealth, fame and fortune don't just fall on you in real life. If you want to make your dream a reality you have to, as Blakely says, take action. But when do you take action? When you feel ready? When you're older? When [insert opportunity] happens? No, it happens as soon as you stop letting your fears get in the way and go for it. When that is exactly is totally up to you."So what’s it gonna be? Day one...or one day?"Sara Blakely More inspiring celebrities:Why We Need To Talk About Keanu Reeves’ Girlfriend Alexandra GrantWhat Finally Convinced Jennifer Lopez That She Needed A Divorce From Marc AnthonyWhy Shakira and Gerard Piqué Are Proud To Be An Unconventional CoupleHow Hailey Baldwin Dealt With Being In A Love Triangle Involving Selena Gomez
