Valentine’s Day may have started off with best intentions, but nowadays that one day a year is a commercial juggernaut earning businesses worldwide billions of dollars.
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You don’t need to be a big business to take advantage of this day of lovers. In fact there are many ways you too can make a profit while everyone else is canoodling in a corner!
Here are my 9 ways to make money on Valentine’s Day.
#1 Hand Craft Some Cards
If you are of the arty persuasion, making custom handmade valentines card is a sure fire winner.
More and more people are swaying away from the mass produced greetings cards for Valentine’s Day, in an effort to prove their love. Custom cards can certainly fill that void, but you need to get in early, as last minute shoppers will surely just hit Hallmarks!
Etsy is most likely the best place to sell these unique creations of yours.
#2 Sell Flowers
The hardest part about selling flowers for Valentine’s Day is finding a good supplier.
If you do the leg work and find a florist or wholesaler who will sell a bunch of roses for $20 bucks or so, you can easily double or triple the asking price, turning a solid profit.
Sell them via a stand on the day or set up a website and do some social media advertising to bring in the punters.
Even if you decide to not bother selling them direct, there are numerous florists that offer an affiliate commission for leads that purchase. You can earn around 6% – 10% per sale depending on the florist, which is better than Amazon!
These florists offer affiliate programs, and there’s likely more that also offer one if you do some research:
#3 Home Made Chocolates and Baked Goods
If your artistry takes a more culinary bend, then why not offer homemade delicacies to people the day before and on the day itself?
The only downside to this is that you will need to make sure you follow any legislation regarding selling food stuffs in your area, so as not to fall foul of the law.
#4 Babysitting
Couples love to spend some romantic time together on Valentine’s but those of us with kids generally have a hard time finding someone to look after the whipper snappers!
While you can only get the one gig, you can charge a premium for it. The average babysitting gig pays $12.45 per hour, but you can easily hit the $20 or more per hour for this special day!
#5 Serenade for Money
If you have a deliciously deep or exquisite voice, why not put that to use and offer a serenade at peoples restaurant tables?
Clear it with a few restaurants (perhaps by offering them a cut), and you can sell your singing services directly there!
Another option would be busking, but with a more romantic feel to the songs than those typically chosen by sidewalk artists.
#6 Singles Speed Dating (or Party)
Why lavish all your energy on those who will be celebrating? Why not consider those who are unloved on this overly romantic day?
You could set up either a meet and greet style party for single people, or go the whole hog and set up a speed dating night.
While most bars and restaurants will be focusing on lovers, you will be able to find other venues for to hire quite easily even if they don’t offer liquid refreshments (which is a plus if they do!).
Speed dating events can be quite the little profit maker and it could even become a regular gig if things go well for you.
#7 A One Day Taxi Service
With companies like Lyft and Uber making it incredibly easy for anyone to become a one man taxi firm, you could spend the night ferrying lovers to and fro and earning a solid amount of cash from it.
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#8 Romantic Photos
If you have a good eye for a photo, pick up a Polaroid camera and head out onto the streets. Snapping some romantic moments of people on the street is a great way to make some cash.
Your average Polaroid picture will cost around $3, so selling them for $5 or more is a good way to make some quick cash.
You can even set up a stall with a romantic background for more formal photos.
If you’d prefer to reduce potential cost (taking a Polaroid and not being able to sell it), then why not use a digital DSLR camera and take down peoples details/deposit and print the photos later.
#9 Impromptu Poetry
The idea here is to take a few facts such as the couple’s names, when or where they met, interests etc. and turn it into some romantic or novel poetry.
You could sell these online, or if you’re good at creating on the fly, set up a small stall.
There are potentially a few options as well: just the raw poem, it printed on fancy paper, hand written on hand crafted paper and so on.
The Bottom Line
There are lots of ways to make money on Valentine’s Day that don’t require you to be a big business, and that can even lead to future gigs and earnings. A lot of it depends on your own skills and talents, but whether you’re a singer, a cook or a web expert, there’s no excuse not to cash in on Valentine’s Day (well, unless your other half has something to say about it!).
What’s your favorite way to make money in February?
