Angelo's hired me on as a bus boy when I was just 14 years old. It was my first job, and I loved it because it meant I got out of the house and had a chance to make money. Although looking back, I don't think the owner much appreciated my greasy, teenage chin-length hair and baggy pants.

Yup, I did it. For about six months, I was the unhappiest I had ever been in a job. Nevertheless, I had a Camaro I needed to put gas into, and anyway, I remember thinking, I wasn't too bad on the phone. Perhaps those skills would come in handy later, I rationalized.

The picture your looking at is the remnants of what once in my 17 year-old eye, Mecca - Ray's Blue Bar. I played in high school bands with my friends that frequented the venue, but I soon found a new love (and my first real taste of entrepreneurship) as a show promoter. Under a label called Dinner Table Productions, I made anywhere from $325-$500 a show, after paying both the bar and bands. It was a glorious time!

In between real jobs, I always found myself creating opportunities to make money. I would comb golf courses collecting, cleaning and selling balls back to the pro shop for cash. When I found out my neighbor was a quilter, I convinced her to let me sell them on eBay and keep half the proceeds. Once I even dismantled my Nissan Maxima in my parent's driveway, selling the entire car piece-by-piece. A month later, I sold what was little more than a frame and body to a salvage yard.