Cash in on your special skills!

WITH the exam season drawing to a close, its time for some fun, adventure and quick bucks! Summer jobs and summer projects are a dime a dozen but if you are the enterprising kind, you can do lot better than slogging in the sun. With some clever, innovate ideas you can operate from the cool confines of home and what's more, get to be your own boss too. Here are a few ways to 'cash in' on your special skills and make a neat profit.

Crhche: Kindergarten and primary school kids enjoy holidays, but parents have a tough time keeping them engaged. Although summer camps are mushrooming like never before, parents would certainly prefer to send their kids over to a small play school in the neighbourhood.

You could take in kids, in the age group of 4-12 and make it a fun filled vacation for them. Arrange for board games like carom, scrabble and chess, story sessions, music and so on.

If you can also get them to improve their vocabulary, spelling or handwriting, nothing like it. But beware of making it seem school like!

Painting and sculpting: If you are good with the brush and can infuse some vibrance onto canvas, then paint you must, this summer. Teaching is the best option, since youngsters are keen to learn oil painting, sketching, pot painting or even calligraphy.

Sculpting is another area that evinces ready interest, and if you are one of those few proficient in the art, then you can expect a good crowd.

Candle making: Candle making is a relatively new area but is never short of ready takers. If you know some basics, it is possible to work wonders with a little ingenuity. To begin with you can concentrate on waxwork in glass or simple and small figures and shapes.

Library: If you are a book lover and own some of your favourite authors' works, setting up a small library should suit you. Look for a veranda with a separate entrance or a makeshift garage. Rake out your cupboards and dig into old trunks to bring out the Enid Blytons and Amar Chitra Kathas. You will never be short of young readers. Also, you could ask your bookworm friends to pitch in to build the library collection.

Interior decoration: If you have the talent to infuse some sparkle into the interiors and have a good sense of colour coordination and can balance various elements in a room, then go ahead. You may not get to work on big projects anyway but certainly a friend or a relative would like you to do their drawing room or study, or even a balcony! Acquaintance with software like CAD (computer aided design) will definitely add value to your services.

Computers: This is one area that is perennially popular. If you own a PC, it is a good idea to conduct classes for beginners. If you are adept at MS-Word or Power Point, you can help out professionals with their projects and presentations. Internet browsing is one area that is in demand with more and more people, including the elderly, taking interest in e-mails and net surfing.

Gardening: If you have a green thumb, garden management is for you! Friends and neighbours would not mind shelling out a small amount to see their plants blooming well. Summer is the best opportunity to offer your services since it will be a blessing in disguise for families who are planning to travel during the vacation.

Bonsai is another good idea if you are an adept. Due to constraints of open space people are increasingly patronising bonsai. Also, it has great aesthetic appeal.

Coaching: If figures and numbers are your first love or if you have a knack for explaining the toughest of theories with interesting parables and analogies, then take up tutoring high school kids. The idea is not to build a conventional classroom environment, but to impart some informal learning.

There is no dearth of ideas for the summer. Keep exploring more options like public speaking, pottery or writing for local publications. You can even club your interests or tie-up with like-minded friends. So put on your thinking caps, and convert them into a profitable venture.

sailaja.hyd@cxknetworks.com

RL SAILAJA