Origins of the hustle…
When I was a kid and needed milk money, or lunch money for school, I had to dig around my Dad’s change box in his room while he let out grumbly snores a few feet away in bed, wading in and out of consciousness. There were always nickels and dimes. Rarely quarters. I was never greedy, knowing that I’d really only be stealing from myself. But it was never enough for the good stuff at school. The holy grail of childhood- the snack aisle. I knew I’d never have the best clothes, or coolest anything. But dammit, I wanted the snacks. And as I got older and my clueless single parent dad decided that it wasn’t in the budget for my own personal hygiene products….. “What!? You can’t share deodorant or shampoo with your brother?” I quickly realized how the world worked.
And so, my self-sufficiency was born. My resolve solidified. I knew I needed a hustle. Years away from “legal” work, I began to find the loopholes. Selling my own neighborhood newspaper for $.10 a copy. Folding pizza boxes in the basement of a dingy pizzeria for $5 an hour, under the table. Raking leaves. Selling candy for school concerts and pocketing an extra buck here and there.
Since then, the hustle has never stopped. Ice cream scooper, video store clerk, hostess, waitress, telemarketer, bartender, shot girl- (google it!), English tutor, writer, editor, corporate chef assistant, marketing coordinator, house cleaner, fine dining server, restaurant manager, beverage design consultant, wine and spirit wholesale distributor…… and now the biggest hustle of all, mother.
At midlife, I often look back and marvel at the strange little path I’ve weaved to this point. In addition to being a parent, I oversee a team of wine and spirit sales professionals. (Both similar in a lot of ways. 😉 ) It’s a pretty interesting job, to be honest. Which is saying a lot for me, considering how most things don’t keep my attention for too long and somehow I’ve managed to hold down the fort and be pretty productive over the last 5 years.
I work in an industry where it is not only encouraged to try wine at 9am on a workday, but in some cases, required. I get to drag a wine bag around and sell booze to people. Or sit in the office and play mental chess with strategy and business development ideas. There are certainly much worse jobs.
And along the way, I meet a lot of interesting (Re: bat-shit crazy) characters, eat a lot of really amazing food and drink a lot of fabulous booze.
I thought, what a shame it would be to not share some of that life with you all. Of course with a heavy smattering of family photos, parenting fails and misadventures.
Looking forward to sharing the hustle with you.
C
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Sonia a Taylor-Smith
May 25, 2017 at 8:34 pm❤️