Hi, friends! I’m so glad to have you back here!
I believe so much of who we are as adults is molded by our experiences in our youth, particularly today’s topic of first jobs. I’m excited to bring to you episode 2 of my first jobs series.
A couple of months ago I shared with you all the details from my very first job experience, waitressing. While waitressing taught me many applicable skills needed for the industry like customer service, punctuality, and time management, I was needing a little extra spending cash now that I had a car and I was hanging out with my friends more. I took a second job at one of our manufacturing facilities in my small town doing office work. I took away so much from working at this facility like being relatable, keeping my workspace clean, and all the soft skills.
Job at the Local Manufacturing Facility
Working for the local manufacturing plant brought many new realizations. I could set my own hours, and I was now making minimum wage – not just the $2.50/hour server wage that was the norm back in 2004! What I thought was only going to be a job for the school year, turned into summers, holidays, and different positions around the manufacturing plant, as I tried new things and gave my best in each position I held.
A few things I learned from working for the manufacturing company:
- People make the place that you work. If you have people who care about the people they work alongside, it makes a huge difference.
- Own your mistakes. Listen to the podcast for just a couple examples of ways I screwed up over the years, but turned it into learning experiences as I righted my wrongs.
- Take initiative and be creative and innovative no matter what industry you’re in.
- Take the job and do your best!
How Do I use These Skills Today?
While I couldn’t know at the time how these jobs as a youth would manifest into an entrepreneurial endeavor, so much of what I do today was learned by doing a job I didn’t love but was vital to get to where I wanted to go.
Truly, each part of work history comes together to shape who we are as a teammate, employee, or boss today. And it is up to us as small business owners to remember those early jobs we held and the people who showed us how to be a leader, both good and bad, as we build missions and teams of our own.
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