I've worn so many hats over the years, I never shied away from an opportunity to pick up a new life skill. The more experiences you have, the more employable you are when the economy goes to hell...
When I was 11 I started a lawn mowing service that employed local kids. I did all of the leg work lining up jobs for most of the kids in my neighbourhood, work sheets told them what services were being provided, and they got to keep any tips. I bought bedding plants at wholesale prices from a local nursery, and we offered that service to our customers. Some weekends there were 5-10 kids working one yard! I made almost $4,400 that summer...
At 13 I started my own reptile and amphibian wholesale company that supplied local pet stores. I expanded that to include mice and rats...
I went to work for one of the better known pet stores in the SF bay area the same year I started managing and doing stand-up with an entertainment troupe my late friend Charles Amaral (You can still see him on YouTube "Magic By Charles and The Lady) myself and 5 other friends started in my sophomore year in high school.
By my senior year I was in my own place in San Francisco, finishing my senior year, of high school in Hayward; managing the magic troupe, and 3 pet stores for a couple that owned three franchise stores. As soon as I graduated, I was offered a corporate position as a "Trouble shooter" Manager. Opening new stores or re-opening stores that had closed or been closed...All over the country...
I got burnt out at that so I went to work as a hard core third part collection agent, trained by one of the men that actually wrote the legislation (Public law 95-109, the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act). I left that and went into what I have to say was the most enjoyable job ever. Driving trucks. Mostly local delivery. That came to an end August 1st 2011, when (And this is all from witness accounts, I don't remember the entire day) I reached up to pull down the rope on the rear door, I fell backwards, landing on the right side of my head, snapping my neck and shoving a disc into my spinal cord. I had a friend ride my bike home from the office, something I NEVER do...
I lost the use of my left hand for awhile, and had vertigo for 10 years.
We're all over the world, we stopped production two years ago when Marti, my wife was diagnosed with cancer... We were in business for over twenty years...