Some people consider the saying “Jack of all trades, master of none” somewhat derogatory. My perspective is different being raised in a family business. When my parents met, my father was a devoted entrepreneur and my mother an aesthetician. After they married, my father decided to train as a massage therapist and open a spa with my mom. He also obtained his aesthetics license and they stayed in the spa business for about six years. My father began publishing this magazine and producing tradeshows 20 years ago. In addition to operating these businesses, he is partner in an advertising agency and runs a charitable foundation. He has often been accused of being a serial entrepreneur and his “spirit” was definitely passed along to his children.
Through the years, I have worked the booths and backstage at tradeshows, performed data entry for the circulations department, stocked and shipped orders for the bookstore, helped accounting with billing, stuffed envelopes and sorted lists with the marketing department, and sold spa music at tradeshows. It is a little exhausting to think of all the jobs that I have performed through the years. I have been in the editorial department for nine years now. I briefly imagined when I took the position as managing editor a few years ago, I would get to focus on one thing… editing. But I quickly learned that my responsibilities (and skills) would have to be diverse. Aside from editing, writing and managing the content in the magazine, I must also manage relationships with printers, USPS, writers, readers, staff, and so on. I coordinate photo shoots, shoot and edit video, maintain a website, and manage a small staff. And that is before I return home each night to run a martial arts school with my husband.
“Being able to adapt to multiple needs and demands will often define success.”
Multi-tasking and having diverse skills is an inevitable part of being self-employed or working in a small business setting. One might consider a person that attempts to develop multiple skills as a dabbler. But I have learned that constantly developing knowledge and skills keeps us both competitive and in a state of growth. While you may specialize in caring for your clients’ skin, learning how to master multiple skills is inevitable. Common activities in your business like selling merchandise, marketing, networking, cleaning treatment rooms, customer service, stocking the retail shelves, upselling during a treatment, or even mastering client retention, can all be viewed as becoming skilled at multiple things.
Diversity and multi-tasking is not a new concept. But, it does take on new meanings when you have so many tasks and only a few people to perform them. In the skin care industry, being a “Jack of all trades” and being able to adapt to multiple needs and demands will often define success. At the end of the day, it is not our title that is most important but rather the diverse skills we are able to acquire.
Amanda Strunk Miller Managing Editor
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