As summer begins to wind down, I have been seeing lots of back to school stuff, which then reminds me about getting a job, starting a business and all of the fun things related to both starting back to school and starting a new venture in a job or business.
I have a tie for first job / first business, as I feel both really formed me into the entrepreneurial woman I am today.
At the age of 9, I started going to work with my dad (when I wasn’t in school) and did admin type things in the video game arcades he managed. I filed papers, sorted receipts, sorted prizes, refilled various things. It was a lot of fun and I learned so much! In addition to the admin stuff, I would also get to “work” on the arcade floor, which meant providing change to customers and giving prizes to folks redeeming tickets for certain games. Every once in a while it also meant I got to help my dad repair some of the games – which was a LOT of fun!
The very first business I had was at the age of 11…I had a few hamsters as pets and I learned that I could breed them and sell the offspring to local pet stores. I became fascinated with this process! I kept detailed records of the females, when they were pregnant, when they were due, and once they had the babies, I kept track of when we could remove them from the moms’ cage without incident (yes, there was an incident of babies being eaten after leaving them with their mom too long…lesson learned).
I have to say that both opportunities provided me with a look into entrepreneurship and personal growth as a young lady. I believe that both opportunities afforded me diligence, work ethic and the ability to adapt and learn “on the job” as it were.
How about you? What was your first job or business?