I work for a D list celebrity

[thislittlelightofmine]

I am employed as a personal assistant to an artist with various business endeavors in mind, including building a hotel, merch, and a coffee table book publication among other things. My primary challenge lies in working with almost no budget to execute these projects. My employer expects me to recruit an intern who would essentially work for free, without providing them a valuable learning experience in exchange.

Everything I have presented to him that was cheaply done he did not like. He also does not know how to lead which I understand is fine for an artist but they don’t even have a manager. There are many personal projects that he wants me to accomplish and gives absolutely no direction. He just wants you to show him something and then he will decide if he likes it. This would be okay if we had a Kim k budget to throw money at the problem but when I say we have nothing I mean nothing. They have me for hours on FB marketplace looking for a size window that doesn’t exist because they won’t pay $400 for the home they want to Airbnb but will pay $500 for a fishing boat charter.

I’m finding myself questioning whether I'm not working hard enough or lacking the optimism needed to tackle these issues.

I have taken chances without his knowledge to hire a professional and everyone I presented those jobs to him he loved them!

 

[sinan]

@thislittlelightofmine Just about everything you wrote is worth quitting the "job".

 

[lovergyal]

@thislittlelightofmine I’m not seeing anything about entrepreneurs here

 

[allenkrookham]

@lovergyal The employer is the entrepreneur.

This guy is wondering what it takes to be successful indentured servant.

 

[roonwit]

@allenkrookham Lmao pretty much

 

[tigerangel]

@thislittlelightofmine They are going to pull whatever they can from you for the least amount possible. It’s really hard to work with unreasonable people that can’t prioritize.

Find something new!

 

[613jono]

@thislittlelightofmine To hire an unpaid intern, they basically either have to learn something or get school credit.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/71-flsa-internships

I’d bail.

 

[kidwindy001]

@thislittlelightofmine Are his business ideas just copying what bigger celebrities are doing?

 

[thislittlelightofmine]

@kidwindy001 Yes, one of the locations is actually mentioned in this article!

 

[arno]

@thislittlelightofmine So are you being mean and calling John Malkovich a D list celebrity or have you upgraded Jason Priestly to the D list?

 

[613jono]

@thislittlelightofmine Try working for a C or B list celebrity.

 

[jamie2014]

@thislittlelightofmine He pays you?

 

[thislittlelightofmine]

@jamie2014 Let’s say Target would pay me more. I only took this job because I’m dealing with a health situation.

 

[elle1975]

@thislittlelightofmine The health issue might be related to your “job”

 

[jamie2014]

@thislittlelightofmine You’re lacking the optimism and need to change your perspective to continue working happily.

 

[edwinqui]

@thislittlelightofmine Is this person paying your health insurance? Sounds like they want everyone else to work for nothing except the privilege of working for Johnny D list

 

[thislittlelightofmine]

@edwinqui No benefits at all.

 

[edwinqui]

@thislittlelightofmine What's the upside of continuing to "work" for this person? What are you getting out of the deal?

 

[thislittlelightofmine]

@edwinqui Experience. I had to leave school due to health issues, and it seemed like a good opportunity to pursue that could potentially help me secure another similar remote job in the future.

 

[lylytran09]

@thislittlelightofmine Quit. Either quit or settle.

The reason I say this, is what you are experiencing is quite common for creatives and when you say “artist” I’m not sure if you’re referring to a musician or an artist. I have a feeling from your description it’s a rapper and I have worked in similar situations from a management and consulting standpoint. There’s a natural God complex that shows through and expectations will be through the roof.

Managing expectations is so important and if they don’t have the budget, they have to be creative with what they do. You can find people to fulfill roles that work off of commission but very rarely will they treat it as a serious position and anything other than a hobby.