wow, great ideas.

however, i thought about some of them, but can't really follow through because i don't know how to market my photographs on e-bay

Thanks, although I guess I wasn't quite clear what I meant. As a grown-up now, I don't have time to do the whole eBay thing - getting the junk out of the loft, taking a picture of it, putting it on eBay, and then packaging it up and posting it somewhere. If a resourceful teenager were to do that for me, and I gave them a cut, then I'd be a happy bunny.

I want to think outside the box. I don't want to do things like you said, although good ideas,or gardening like you used to do. As a teenager I see jobs are limited and not many adults want to give me a chance. Do you have any more good ideas? Also, what advice can you give me to get adults to trust me in what I do.

Thanks

Sam, the basic point of the post is "find some adults who don't have time for stuff, and get them to pay you". It doesn't really matter what the "stuff" is, as long as you can do it without screwing up, and you don't hate it. The adults could be
"just" people, or part of a business or organisation.

If you don't have any ideas, then start with the adults (or start with just one adult), and chat with them. You can be a bit sneaky, and ask them what there hobbies are, and ask how they get time for them, and if there's anything that they wish they didn't have to do that stops them with their hobby. Then you could offer to do that for them, if you think you could do it well, and you could stick at it.

As for advice on trust, my advice is that you need to earn it. Obviously the first thing is to be trustworthy (i.e. don't steal, work the hours you've said you would, do the things you promise to do etc.). Once you've got that sussed, you need to get other people to realise it. There are several ways of doing it, depending on your reputation with the adults in question.

The easiest people to gain trust from are people who already know and trust you, e.g. parents and relatives, neighbours, teachers, friends' parents, pastors, rabbis etc.

The next easiest are friends of adults who already trust you. Getting a reference or recommendation from someone who trusts you shows that you are trustworthy, even if their friend doesn't know or trust you yet.

Hardest is with strangers. Written references are helpful, as are a couple of phone numbers of people they can call to check you out.

Initial impressions are important. For example, some adults (incorrectly) assume that a greasy-haired goth in a hoodie doesn't have a good work ethic, and probably sniffs glue. Even if they are wrong, and said goth is a clean-living, hard-worker, goth still doesn't get past the first hurdle. It sucks, but that's how it works. You may have to change your appearance, smile, make eye-contact and be friendly to get past these sort of people, or you may not want to. It doesn't get any better as you get older. I always wear a suit to an interview, even though I don't like them. Idealogies don't pay my rent.

If someone is unsure if they want to give you a chance, you could offer to work the first day for free to see if they like you. That takes the risk out of it for them, which might swing it.

Be bold too. I once went round every shop in the High Street of the town I lived in and asked if they had any jobs going. After about fifty or so, someone said yes, and I worked there for several years at weekends and college breaks. I got an awful lot of rejection first, but it was worth it.

Good luck!