19 Things I’ve Done
Since I was a little kid I’ve always looked for ways to make a buck.
In primary school I remember selling lollypops for 50 cents each from a bag of 50 that cost me a few bucks.
The day I could legally take a job delivering newspapers at 12 I had my application in with the local rag. I fudged my birthday “accidentally” to get my first hourly wage job so I could start pushing shopping trolleys a couple of months before I turned 14…
I was hungry.
The number and breadth of jobs I’ve had is a source of amusement for friends, when I invariably bring up the time that I had some job that they’ve never heard of before — adding to a long list of surprise employment in their minds.
Their source of amusement and my source of pride.
Many of these jobs I held concurrently. At one point I was working from 6am to 4pm at a bagel shop, 5pm to 11pm waiting tables at a restaurant, then driving medical samples across the suburbs for the rest of the weekend.
So here’s the list.
- Free newspaper delivery, Geelong Independent Newspapers
- Newspaper hawker, The West Australian
- Shopping trolley assistant & general hand, Supa Valu Supermarkets
- Kitchenhand, Chicken Treat
- Night cleaner, Coles butchery department
- Dishwasher (and later waiter), Thai restaurant
- Barista, bagel shop
- Waiter, the Witches Cauldron
- Medical courier, Mayne Health
- Motorcycle delivery driver (and later sales/marketing/logistics), Vmoto motorcycles
- Telesales, contract
- Photo booth sales, independent*
- Nightclub promoter, Cassette*
- Ad sales, Mr Chop*
- Marketing manager, 360 Desktop
- Managing director, Native Digital*
- CEO, Elto*
- Product Manager, GoDaddy
- Consultant, independent*
Those with an asterisk* were working for myself. I’ve omitted all of the ones that never went anywhere, had little to no revenues, or that lasted less than 6 months.
Right now I’m on sabbatical, taking time out to figure what I’m going to do next and where I can make the most impact.
I’m looking forward to adding #21 to the list.