What is a Factotum?

Some of you may have noticed that on my website and on my business cards I refer to myself as a Chief Factotum.  This has caused a little bit of a buzz, which is exactly what I was hoping for.  I chose that title on purpose.  I wanted the title to be a conversation piece.  I wanted people to ask me ‘what is that?’.  I think expanding our vocabulary is a good thing and pushes us to speak more eloquently.  In a world full of acronyms, texting shortcuts and twitter hash-tags, learning a new word in the English language is an accomplishment few think about.

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the definition of factotum is “a person whose job involves doing many types of work”.  The word actually dates back to  around the 1560s, from Medieval Latin, factotum translated into “do everything”.  By the 16th century,  England was using the term ”magister factotum” which translates roughly as ‘master of everything’.

You may recognize the word from the famous Italian opera ~ The Barber of Seville.  Figaro, the Barber of Seville, is probably the most famous factotum.  Figaro constantly finds himself being the ‘go-to-guy’ for an upper-class clientele to solve their daily problems.

The classic movie, School of Rock had a class factotum and band manager – Summer Hathaway and most recently, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire’s season 4 premiere had a scene where Chicago mob boss, Johnny Torio, calls Al Capone his ‘factotum’.

I am choosing to extrapolate the broader meaning of the word as someone who has many diverse activities and responsibilities.  Throughout my twenty plus years work experience and my many years of political involvement and volunteer activities, I have acquired a very broad portfolio of skills, strengths and abilities.  And, this is what Ross Street Agency is all about.

So, when there is something that you need done and you either don’t have the time to do it, or you don’t have the skills to do it, or you simply just don’t like the job….call me….the Chief Factotum and I am confident that I can help.

Thanks for visiting,

Lisa Jibson,
Chief Factotum