My friend Tom has always been one for entrepreneurial ideas. Always trying to make money in every part of his life, he would often go from being in a hot dog costume with a sign pointing towards his hot dog stand to a human alarm clock to whatever ingenious idea that came to mind. This time, however, he outdid himself. Tom proclaimed proudly, he was officially, The Side Man of the century and had applications to prove it.
I looked at him oddly, Side man?
He responded, smiling, You know, the friendly, humorous guy who accompanies women on outings, events, parties, basically any occasion where they want to make their exes or a prospect jealous. They rent me, a good looking, outgoing guy who will give them the company they need. Best part, no commitment required!
The gig is simple, he began, explaining as though he was pitching a business proposal, Tracy Brown, 30 years old. She wants me to pretend to be her boyfriend at her friends wedding because she hasn't seen her family and friends since her divorce about two years ago.
Shaking my head in amusement, I snatched the application he was waving around.
The first question on his side man application read, What’s your name and age the second question asked the reason for hiring the Side Man? Below it, the form asked for a brief description of how the potential customer looks with pictures and something about them. Right next to these sections, I found the cost for the service: $200 per date, and if he had to go out of town, a whopping $500 a day. Ok you have applications but no clients.
Tom handed me another one, on the application, was a profile complete with a photo. The caption read, 5'5, long black hair, some say I look like Lizzo when the lights are off. She had even selected an 'in town' service for $100.
Laughing out loud Lizzo when the lights off, I handed him back his application, You know, Tom, most people become entrepreneurs to solve problems, not create them.
Tom smirked and responded, Ah, but therein lies the beauty! It’s all about perspective. Some would say I’m actually providing a service to women. A guy with a great sense of humor, decent looks and no commitments or drama!
Before I could retort, he held up a hand. Besides, isn’t it great that I’ve managed to combine my love of free food, my outgoing personality and meeting new people into a paying job? At least it’s better than being a human alarm clock, uhh?
Despite myself, I couldn’t help but laugh. After all, Tom did have a knack for turning every lemon life threw at him into profitable lemonade. Who knew there would be an actual market for renting a date?
Tom the side man, the entrepreneur, and now possibly the future author of a book titled, Turning Misadventures into Fortune. Life around him was never a dull moment, to say the least.