A middle-aged widow in St. Louis, who owned a large house and grounds in a good residential district, but who was short of ready money, evolved a plan for establishing a nurses’ bureau in her own home.
From physicians, hospitals, city directories and friends, she obtained the names of nearly two hundred nurses, and from the greater part of these she secured permission to place their names upon her list, with their addresses, telephone numbers, wages asked per week, etc., and with the understanding that they were to pay her a certain amount as commission for obtaining positions for them at any time they were not engaged. They were to keep her informed when they were engaged, with the length of time so employed, and the means of reaching them quickly when necessary.
She then advertised in the classified columns of the city papers to the effect that she was prepared at all times to supply nurses at any time, and notified the doctors and the hospitals of this fact.
She further utilized several of the unoccupied rooms in her home, as well as the aid of one servant, by taking a number of the nurses to board with her, so as to have them ready for sudden calls, and in this way offered facilities not theretofore enjoyed by either the nurses or those needing their services. Within a few months she was enjoying a living income from her novel venture, and rendered excellent service to nurses and patients alike.
PLAN No. 149. DRESS-CUTTING SCHOOL
Almost any woman who wants to learn dress-cutting can do so by using one of the numerous systems now on the market, and it is an easy matter to get one of the charts that give complete instructions.
Some women learn quickly, while others are slow. But here is one who made a good living out of it. Having thoroughly mastered the chart, and being naturally gifted in matters pertaining to the fitting of garments, she proceeded to open a school for teaching the dress-cutting art to others who wished to learn.
To each pupil one of the charts is supplied, together with personal instructions needed in most cases, and for these services and supplies she makes a moderate charge. The first lesson she gives is on garments belonging to the pupils themselves, and as others come in with dresses to make she names a reasonable charge for making these, and even then her prices are much less than those of regular dress-makers. The pupils do the main part of the work on these dresses, as part of their instructions, while the lady gets the pay for the finished dress.
She not only gets paid for the tuition of the girls and the dresses they make but also a commission on each chart sold to her pupils, and in this way makes a very comfortable living. After she became well established, she also gave employment to some of the more apt and dextrous of her finished pupils, and thus enabled them to make good wages for themselves.