Money Fix: No summer job? Create your own

With a 26 percent national teen unemployment rate, it's pretty clear how tough it is for young people to get jobs this summer. Still, there's another route besides filling in applications and waiting for a call, and that's entrepreneurship.

"The new reality is to make the best of your situation," says Joe Maddalone, 21, of Asharoken, a new college grad and founder of the Next Generation Leadership Committee, a networking group for young professionals.

Ideas: Pay attention to what friends, family and neighbors gripe about, what frustrates or confuses them, says Jacqueline Dolly, senior marketing director of Junior Achievement of New York Inc., which teaches students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

Scout for a need you can address by tapping into your own skills and interests. Keep it simple, look for something to start immediately.

Suggestions: How about computer tutoring or setting up products such as flat-screen TVs?

Ralph Bianculli Jr., 21, has tutored kids in math, history and Spanish and run a landscaping business with friends. Bianculli, a business student at Baruch College in Manhattan, is also e-commerce director at Paradigm Group, his family's business in Syosset that makes green paper and cleaning products. So he also suggests developing a neighborhood recycling business.

Attitude: Some work may seem rote, but as with any job, it's all about how you frame it. You could see yourself as just mowing lawns, says Maddalone, who ran a summer landscaping business, or, "in my mind it was all about customer service and learning to deal with people."

Resources: Junior Achievement's tips at bit.ly/ca0RnQ, and Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship's tips at blog.nfte.com.