I was self employed in my 20s working as a freelance announcer. I had always had the gift of the gab and a good speaking voice so doing this was a no brainer and a welcome change after many years of retail sales. I mostly worked in department stores where I would either speak from the store's public address system or on a portable speaker for work in individual departments spruiking whatever sales were happening. I also managed to find work on the lucrative social circuit as a Master of Ceremonies. My cushy life came to a halt when I married and realised I needed steady employment. So I went into journalism.
Years ago, for a summer, I had my own rodeo column in a free local small newspaper. It was called "Cody's Rodeo Update" and, since I was a member of a rodeo association and got a rodeo magazine in the mail, I knew everything about upcoming rodeo's and the contestants. I even covered a Circuit Finals. It was very easy writing, but turned out that being any kind of writer just wasn't in the cards for me.