Goal
Today I want to discuss why I still work at the farmers market despite having a 9 to 5 and a family to care for.
Backdrop
For almost ten years, I’ve worked at a variety of farmers markets, selling baked goods, vegetables, and other items to customers. These farmer markets entail setting up a booth and peddling wares to interested and disinterested shoppers.
I started working at farmers markets before I graduated from college and I did this work full as well as part-time. The labor was hard and required a lot of lifting, talking, hustling, and product knowledge.
For the past few years, I’ve been working full time at a corporate office, so I don’t do markets as much. However, I still make time to help my favorite vendors from time to time.
Here are my reasons why:
Helping Others
Farmers are always looking for consistent and top-notch help
A baker who I routinely help gave me my first job, ever. I’m still grateful for that early introduction to working life, so I’ve kept in contact with her.
Unfortunately, she suffers from a disease that gives her regular seizures and makes it hard for her to work. I’ve seen this as an opportunity if not an invitation to help her with her business when I can.
I’ve noticed that other vendors that I’ve worked with have similarly found it difficult to get regular employees. Farmers especially struggle to obtain hardworking, honest, and consistent people.
This is a big reason why I’ve continued to work at venues. I recognize that being an honest and industrious person helps the good people who work at these events.
I’m half-bragging, half-dropping knowledge, but serving others doesn’t just involve feeding the hungry. Giving small business owners a reliable hand now and then is an excellent way to support people and strengthen our communities.
Flexing skills I don’t typically use
By working with a baker, I learned to bake
I’m a web designer, web developer, and writer by trade. This means I spend most of my workday on the computer. Therefore, particular skills such as face-to-face communication and physical movement aren’t exercised as often.
However, by working the farmers market, I have to flex talents I usually don’t use. I have to hustle, smile, know how to sell, etc. These are all crafts I don’t use when building a website.
I work events because I want to expand my skill knowledge. We should always seek to find new ways to flex skills we don’t usually use and working at a market is a great way to get started.
Learning new skills and ideas
By working at farmers markets, I’ve learned how to hustle
Lastly, at farmers markets, I’m able to learn new skills and concepts. When I work for the bakery, I learn how to prepare specific meals. When I work for a farmer, I learn how to grow plants.
By working with different people, I gain different experiences and insights. Through this knowledge, I expand my overall repertoire of talents and make myself more of an individual.
Conclusion
It doesn’t matter if it’s farmers markets or volunteering at the library, we need to seek opportunities outside of our day-to-day.
Even though I have a family and a 9 to 5, I make time to work at farmers markets so I can continue to benefit in a variety of ways.
Actionables
- What opportunities outside of work can you think of that you can pursue?
- If you do have outside activities, how do they benefit you? How can you maximize the benefits?
- If you’ve ever done activities similar to a farmers market before, are you still doing it? If not, why did you stop?
Please remember that it’s important to do the actionables. You’re not on this earth to simply read but to do. To become an individual, you must act more than you consume.
*Image credit to Unsplash.
