Little Ole Me //
Hello, I'm Jimmy, also known by various aliases such as Little Jimmy, Jimmy Grinds, That Jimmy, Jimmy Neutron, and simply Jimmy. I respond to all of them when duty calls.
Although you may not have heard of me, I've been quietly working behind the scenes, pulling creative strings for several well-known brands. Building brands has been my passion for as long as I can remember.
Now, let's go back to the beginning.
On May 12, 1981, I was born at precisely 12:00 noon (I've always been punctual).
Growing up in Ferguson, Missouri, right in the middle of the map, I led a typical childhood. I engaged in regular kid activities like shooting B.B. guns, making mixtapes, playing hockey, riding bikes, and enjoying Nintendo games. Being an only child, I relied on various hobbies and interests to keep myself occupied. These pastimes eventually evolved into small hustles and opportunities to make money.
My grandma played a crucial role in my ventures, as she was the mastermind behind dubbing VHS tapes for the entire family. After renting the latest releases from the local blockbuster (which was actually a grocery store back then), she would send me to buy blank VHS tapes. Like Oprah, every family member ended up with their own copy. It was all about distribution, supply, and demand. I even thought about selling some of these tapes to my friends at school, especially the rated R ones that my grandma had no clue about. My first hustle was dubbing VHS tapes, but don't worry, FBI, I saw the warning, although I didn't care much. Besides, you guys have bigger problems to deal with than me and my grandma. Trust me on that. Having some VHS money in my pocket was nice, but it didn't fully satisfy my desires for Nintendo Gloves, GT performer BMX bikes with pegs, and a lifetime supply of pizza. I needed to expand my operations.
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The next chapter of my entrepreneurial journey took a more environmentally friendly turn. I got into the aluminum can recycling game. I started collecting cans, even bringing my own and using a can crusher to fit more into my mom's Pontiac Grand-Am. I would then take them to the recycling truck every week. However, the four or five dollars I earned each time didn't add up to much. So, I decided to involve my neighbors and family members, turning them into suppliers. Before I knew it, I had 10-12 suppliers, consisting of aunts, uncles, and neighbors. My mom and I would make the rounds, picking up bags of cans until we realized we needed a better logistics provider. Enter my dad and his pickup truck. All this time, I couldn't help but think how crazy it was that people were throwing money in the trash. But even with all the cans and money involved, I still couldn't afford the Nintendo glove and Jordan 5's I needed to make a statement when I returned to school after summer break. So, one day, I had the idea of adding a couple of small rocks in the cans before crushing them and sneaking a few loaded cans into each batch. Surely, it wouldn't be noticeable amidst the sea of cans in the back of that 18-wheeler. After all, my buyer had to be sitting on a lot of cash.
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After getting caught by my parents due to the weighted can controversy, I decided it was time to move on. I started my own lawn, garden, and snow business. Now we're talking about real money. On any given snowy day, I gladly sacrificed feeling in my fingers to earn a quick hundred dollars by shoveling snow and tending to lawns. Rinse and repeat.
While other kids were busy with lemonade stands and car washes, I was taking things to the next level. I sold balloons filled with flour as stress reliever balls (unfortunately named "uranus balls" due to bad marketing and an even worse product). I also cashed out on baseball card collections and ran some of the most significant garage sales my neighborhood had ever seen. My signs could be spotted from miles away, and my childhood was filled with epic entrepreneurial adventures. But then, the magic stopped... high school graduation arrived, and the question of "now what?" lingered.
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To be continued...
