A Celebration of Independence

Kiss & Tell: Kiss Your Excuses Goodbye. I Will Tell You.
by Christina Waschko

For the third season I’m dividing my time as self- employed videographer and as employed brand ambassador, representing Canada’s biggest bank.

For five weeks I’m part of a huge hostess team. The Royal Bank of Canada is spoiling their Avion visa card holders with a specially designed Holiday Boutique in the biggest mall in British Columbia!  For five weeks I’m wrapping gifts for the bank’s customers, serving complimentary snacks and beverages, take in their coats and parcels and make sure our banks customers are being well looked after during the hectic holiday season.

The job is fun, (aka, no hard core, technical knowledge or expertise is required), it gets me out of the house (and my sweat pants), let’s me mingle with other ambassadors and many, many bank customers. Plus, it adds holiday money into my bank account.

All seems well. And it is. Because this is only a five week program.

As entrepreneur I find it harder and harder to fit into a specific employment mould. Especially when it comes to representing an institution like a bank.

We are required to wear a uniform (ok, the trousers and cardigan are black. And as you know, black makes us look elegant and slim).

We are required to be helpful, friendly, nice and tactful (nothing wrong with that. It’s really hard to bite your tongue though when some customers are taking the mickey and bring their own, huge coffee containers and ask for a refill- or grab handfuls of complimentary snacks for later on).

We have to stick to strict rules when it comes to wrapping gifts: only five gifts are allowed per day/customer. They need to be purchased on the same day from one of the shops in the mall.

Fair enough! However, it turns a bit silly if you stand in line and you only have one tiny present to wrap but still need to wait until all the other 65 gifts dropped off before yours are being wrapped.

As you can read, life is good on planet Christina. All my worries evolve around the inflexibility of my current brand ambassador program. We need to worry about something, don’t we?

What I’m really trying to tell you is this:

Being employed has its perks:

You don’t need to worry about anything other than doing your required job. You can dress up (or wear a uniform) and receive a steady income.

On the other hand it can be soul crushing! It crushes your creativity. You can’t let this amazing person you are shine through. You can’t be Brand Christina- you are part of somebody else’s brand. You need to fit in.

And with this fellow entrepreneur, I salute you!

I salute you with all my heart. I admire your creativity, your guts to produce. To keep on going when the going gets tough. To be flexible in your approach, to be able to break your own rules and to shine as the wonderful person you are!

Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday Season!