Call this a pet issue of mine, if you will. Most articles offering advice for small businesses will suggest hiring college students for administrative tasks. Now, don’t get me wrong, college students are generally smart, responsible and inexpensive. However, in my experience High School students can be all of the above.
High Schoolers who work are generally extremely motivated – they need the money to keep up with the trends – they need the experience for their resumes and even for their college applications. The average HS student is more than competent to do filing, record keeping, etc that would otherwise be keeping you up late into the wee hours. Most of this is work that they could do after school or in the evenings.
Not all HS students are suited to waiting tables or delivering pizza, and not all are suited to bookkeeping or keeping excel files. Obviously, you need to check them out – ask for a transcript and see what level they are in their studies. However, I highly recommend checking out this untapped market for admin help.