Job Description
I've been self-employed most of my life. This means I've rarely had a company guarantee me a regular check. Instead I had to get up every morning and do the work to find clients, convince them of my value and get them to pay me. This is very hard work but the rewards of being your own boss are well worth it for me.
I've been a musician where I toured the world performing for audiences. This was a thrilling job but it required a lot of patience, focus and stamina. I was away from home 30-50% of the time. Also as a musician I recorded music a lot which required discipline, creativity and a lot of practice to get good. I've played with bands where the band management took care of all the details like booking the shows and arranging the travel. I've also played solo which required me to do everything - write the songs, market and sell myself, book and schedule tours, negotiate payment, make the travel plans, book other musicians, etc.
I became an entrepreneur when I opened my first guitar repair shop. I had to learn to repair guitars of course, but I also had to learn to run a business - how to treat customers, how to be better than my competition, how to market my services and how to organize all the office work it takes to run a business.
I was a management consultant for almost 10 years. Companies would hire me to work with them to improve their relations with their employees. This required listening a lot - to managers and employees, then figuring out what needed to change to make the employees satisfied. It was a very rewarding job.
I also worked for 8 years as a public servant for Kitchener Public Library and the City of Kitchener. At the library my job was to raise money from the community to build a recording studio in the library. This required building relationships with a lot of people and being able to very clearly communicate my ideas. At the City of Kitchener, I was the Film and Music Officer so I worked to attract film production to shoot in the city and I took care of them when they came. On the music side I developed programming to make music more accessible to people who needed it most in our community. Again, this was very rewarding work.
I am currently a self-employed public speaker. When companies need someone to give their employees a pep talk to motivate or inspire them, they call me. I work closely with each company to develop a custom speech that meets the needs of the employees. I enjoy this very much.
Relevant School Subjects
- Arts
- Business
- Guidance and Career Education
Areas of Expertise
- Government
- Performing Arts/Entertainment
Career Story
Union ironworker > University Student (administration of justice) > Retail Store Manager > Graduate Student (industrial organizational psychology) > Social Worker > Management Consultant (organizational culture) > Entrepreneur (Guitar Repair) > Musician (Wilco, Blue Rodeo) > Fundraiser > Film/Music Officer > Public Speaker