Once again, I have stumbled up on a tremendous skill I possess with little chance to actually support my family pursuing it as a career.

We recently completed my family’s annual beach vacation. For the first time in a long while, we rented a beach house just for the three of us.

In past years, we had split a place with one of my older brothers. A number of issues ranging from the incompatibility of having 20-somethings and an 8-year-old staying at the same house to some problems with the house itself made us realize everyone would be better served with separate quarters.

So I spent a while over the winter perusing web sites to try and find a place small enough and affordable enough for us, but with the comforts that make beach week extra special.

I found a place and made the reservation based only on the photos I could find on the realtor’s web site. Sure, I wanted more assurance, but didn’t really have the opportunity to drive to Delaware to peek into these places.

If I had, I might have seen my new career several months ago. I stumbled upon it instead after we got settled our first night at the beach.

I should open a business where I give rich people advice on how to set up the vacation homes they rent to others.

After all, who knows what regular people want in a beach house better – some guy who uses it as an investment or a schlub like me who likes to pretend he’s living large for one week out of the year.

The way I see it, I could travel for weeks at a time, saying in places for a couple of days each. I could take notes and let the owners know how they could improve the experience for their renters.

Now you might think this is just a cheap ploy to get free lodging, and get paid, in some pretty nice locations, but I’m doing this for you. I’m just willing to dedicate my life to this endeavor.

For instance, the place we stayed in this year had some great touches. They had a bar cart in the corner. They had current magazines. They had a binder with updated menus from many local restaurants.

But they had absolutely no clue how to arrange furniture in a living room. The largest couch was the furthest thing from the TV. The seat with the best view of the television was a single chair. And the TV wasn’t even on a swivel.

You might say that people don’t go on vacation to watch TV, and I agree, but sometimes it rains or you’re waiting to go somewhere or you just feel like staying up late having a few drinks and watching a DVD.

I can tell you how to best arrange your furniture to accommodate those kind of guests. I didn’t ask for this kind of burden. I just know these kinds of things.

Now I just need to find a way to showcase my skills to some rich people. I would hate to let this talent go to waste.