Three days ago it was my birthday. I am now 44 years old. I always tend to take stock of my life at about this time and this year I realised something. I probably have one of the best jobs in the world – Escape Room owner!
The best jobs in the world
If you Google “Best jobs in the world”, it shows lists that include things like “Chocolate consultant”, “Beer Taster”, “Lego Sculptor”, “National Geographic Traveller”, “Movie Critic”, “Video Game Tester”. “Private Island Caretaker”, “Writer” and “Hollywood Actor & Actress”.
What do these lists tell us? People like beer and chocolate (obvs!), but what else? The jobs seem to all involve the following;
- Creativity
- Adventure
- Fun
I run an Escape Room business with my brother. I actually have lots of roles in the business covering the areas of sales, finance, operations and customer experience.
A typical week
This week for example I have helped to build 4 new props and puzzles (for our brand new 1970s room that I am super excited about – launches early April 2017). I have interviewed three potential new Game Masters. And I have supported 3 corporate team build events – 1 local charity and 6 teams from HSBC and Lloyds banks (played on different nights!). Last night we had 2 teams from the local girl Rangers group, who laughed for most of the hour and who had an absolute ball.
Its a bit like reality TV
Watching the teams in the rooms is endlessly fascinating. Whilst the room and the puzzles stay the same, every single team plays the game differently. It is a bit like reality TV where you play an active part in their success (through either telephone or walkie talkie). You get to see all the inspired ideas (and some of the less inspired ones!). We hear the jokes and feel the excitement build as the time runs down. You get to play a role in exactly how the game ends and just how much fun the team have.
Excitement, Adventure and Fun
Every single person who comes to play our games (and we have had over 2,500 customers in our first 4 months) wants to have excitement, adventure and fun. The feedback that we get on TripAdvisor and Facebook (over 400 five-star reviews at the time of writing) confirms that people love it. In my job I have helped to create this journey. I then have the privilege of watching them take part in the adventure. I can’t think of many other jobs that offer that.