The Side Hustles

Well, you all answered and now I’m delivering. I was surprised when I saw that you all were split evenly on what you wanted to read about! I’m thrilled that you want to read about the business side and the personal side. I thought I’d start with personal, and what my other jobs are.

I’ve been a babysitter for years. I started taking care of children when I was a child, seriously the first baby I helped to take care of was when I was 12. I took the Child Care class at a local hospital and became a Mother’s Helper within weeks. From then on, I was taking care of children. Fast forward about 5 years and that’s when I started the long-term job of watching 2 children which turned into 3 about two years after I started. I’ve been helping them every summer starting when I was in high school. I was lucky enough to be able to help them every summer during my college years, as well as other college breaks. They have become like family to me and I have loved watching the children grow up. I’ve never been full time with them because their mom is also a small business owner so she has the privilege to work from home and makes her own hours as well.

About a month ago I picked up another babysitting job. On Mondays, I take care of a 6 month old named Olivia from 8-5:30. She’s a sweet little baby with a terrible sleeping schedule and what seems like about 6 teeth coming in. All I have to say is, “mommas, how do you do it all day, every day, alone?!” Her parents are so incredibly nice, she’s adorable and the job itself isn’t very hard physically but mentally? Oh, dear Lord, I feel completely drained at the end of the day. I love it though. It’s teaching me so much patience, how to multitask better, and to appreciate the small things…like eating my lunch before 2 pm. Truthfully, I love jobs that test me and teach me. If you aren’t learning anything from your daily activities, how much are you really benefitting from it? Money isn’t everything, although it sure does help!

Olive got to visit Annalise with me one day

As I’ve gotten older, having a steady income has become a necessity, rather than something I wanted. This meant I needed to find something else, which resulted in me starting to work at a Bridal Shop a couple of days a week. Annalise Bridal is not only a place where I feel comfortable but I also work with some amazing women. I enjoy coming into work and helping brides find the dress of their dreams. I get to dress up, meet new people and help them work towards the best day of their life. The shop is beautiful and calming. The dresses are stunning and it’s so much fun! The job has taught me how to adjust to different situations, be patient with adults, which is completely different from being patient with people under the age of 10 and learn more about the gown side of the wedding industry.

The last job, which I don’t even consider a job most of the time is working for Kat, the owner of Dear Sweetheart Events. I don’t consider it a job because to me it’s more of a privilege. While, yes, the work is challenging, it’s also so incredibly rewarding in so many ways. I met Kat about 5 years ago through Katelyn Alsop, you can read more about that here. I help Kat with some of her weddings on the weekends and I also work with a handful of brides on my own as well. I am where I am in my business because of the opportunities Kat gave me 4 years ago.

When I’m not juggling the cutest kids, I look like this…minus the cute clothes! Photo by Nicki Metcalf

Each of these jobs teaches me new things every day. I have learned more about myself in the last year than any other time in my life. It’s stressful having 3 different consistent jobs, working for another wedding planner and myself, but it’s also worth it. I have developed a routine that works for me amidst these jobs and I like the schedule I have. I work for myself in the mornings on Tuesday and Thursday and babysit the family of 3 in the afternoons, babysit Olivia on Mondays, and work at Annalise on Wednesday and about 1-2 weekends a month. Friday’s, I complete any other work I have and then I sit and take time for myself. The days are so incredibly long for the most part and having a day off doesn’t really happen. This life is crazy but it’s so worth it and one day I will only have one job and that will be to make amazing women’s wedding day dreams come true!

These kids love ice cream