There are parts of being a public relations professional that come with the turf. Long hours. Frantic emergency phone calls and texts. Writing press releases. Writing blog posts. However, there are some things that you don’t expect when you open your company, but just happen – especially when one of your clients is your wife’s twin businesses of Liquid Catering and The Old Cigar Warehouse. They say small business owners put everything they have into their business, and until you are a small business owner yourself, you don’t realize that they truly mean EVERYTHING.
Things just seem to disappear around the house and office. Sometimes you get a heads up, and sometimes you come home and there is no silverware. When this begins to happen to you, you have officially become a “Kitchen Sink Entrepreneur” – someone who is willing to give everything, even the kitchen sink, to your business. From furniture to food, here are five things that belonged to me that sort of vanished/went missing unexplained:
- An end table: This may not sound so bad, but there is a catch. The end table was gone for so long that when it finally returned home (about three years later), I never remembered it being in our house. It took a couple days to remember that it was once in the living room.
- The television: My wife and I don’t watch a lot of TV and hence we only have one television. I swear we are not holdovers from the 1950s. One morning I got a call at home from one of Tammy’s events that the company TV was not working and could I bring our home TV? I did. I have since learned not to be surprised to come home and find just some wires and the DVD player hanging from the wall.
- Record player speakers: Yes, we have a record player. I swear we are not holdovers from the 1950s. One day, The Old Cigar Warehouse was having some audio problems, and the speakers were pressed into service as emergency back-up. They were never used, and for once I made sure to get them back quickly.
- Ladder: I own a ladder that quite frankly I rarely ever see in my tool shed. I don’t use it much, but I do miss it. In fairness, I did get a leaf blower from The Old Cigar Warehouse in exchange.
- Silverware and dishes: I came home one night to find all of our silverware gone, most of our dishes and almost all of our cooking ware. Still not sure what happened that time, but it was back by the next evening.
Benefits of Kitchen Sink entrepreneurism? No one can question your dedication. Downside? People may be hesitant to come over for dinner parties if your dishes are only half stocked at any given time. That’s ok though. Just tell them to meet you at the Old Cigar Warehouse for a meal, and maybe a movie if they’re lucky.
