Agent/Bartender or Bartender/Agent?

I don't know about where you are, but where I am, many agents are wearing more than one "work hat."  A fellow author calls it "slash" syndrome or something like that.  Indeed, I am, myself, in that category. Part networking and marketing coach/author/speaker/and information marketer.  This holiday season, I've noticed more than one agent out there tending to the other side of their slash.  I know three agents who are doing direct sales with skin care lines, one selling jewelry, lots into Team National, two into some form of advertising sales, and one who tends bar at a favorite pub.  Since our waterfront community has suffered a bit with the market, I can well understand why a good many agents have made a decision to find a sideline.  In fact, the woman who is tending bar now will tell you she makes more money doing that than she did as an agent, so I'd say she is a bartender/agent instead of the other way around.  But, she also says it is a great way to meet and network with people.  Who else are you going to talk to when you are at a bar with no one you know?  She's got a genuine, outgoing personality and everyone seems to like her.  She's been around as an agent for a while and is fairly well-known.  Could be this gal is onto something.  My guess is that during this season (of heavy socializing), she'll pick up more leads and make more friends (and tips) than another agent who might send out a few hundred post cards.  There is something odd about bartender loyalty.  I've seen bar clients offer to take their favorite bartender on cruises, offer them their summer home in the islands for a vacation, bring extravagant gifts from their travels, give them their cars to drive when needed, hook them up with attorneys, and even get so attached that they propose marriage.  I'm sure there is a flip side there somewhere, but how bad could this be if you know what you are doing?  Could it possibly translate into increased real estate business?  Point is, if you've thought about adding a slash/something to your agent title, think about how the other side of that slash could actually improve your ability to network, gain leads, and generate success for your real estate business... and, how it might positively impact other areas of your life.  Any investment of your time and effort should reap a certain amount of reward.  Happy Holidays -- and I'll have a nog please...with rum.