by Jamie West
Being self-employed and having a grown child, I am able to wake up on my own without an alarm clock most days. I typically wake around 7:30. I start the day with a little stretching and a lot of coffee! I work from home, so no commute! I will take a glance over my sales both for Baby Morgan, and my other business, which is selling items on eBay. I also answer any questions customers might have. While I am doing that, I might listen to music or a podcast. Sometimes I’ll listen to pop, sometimes hip hop, and sometimes classical music. I try to learn if I’m listening to a podcast, so I listen to a lot of business-related podcasts unless I’m feeling indulgent, then I might listen to a true crime podcast. Whether it’s Baby Morgan blankets or used items on eBay, a lot of questions people ask pertain to them having an item in their possession that they are wanting to replace, and they are trying to verify they are buying something that will be a perfect match.
Preparing a Baby Morgan Throw Blanket For Shipping.
After answering questions, it’s time to ship! For both businesses, merchandise is kept in an insulated garage warehouse space dedicated just to storage on our property. It’s heated and cooled, though it didn’t used to be that way, and prior to having heat especially, it was very difficult to work in it in the brutally cold Minnesota winters! I have a large inventory of poly-mailers, bubble mailers, bubble wrap, tissue, packing paper, and boxes so I can carefully ship anything! I’ve been shipping packages for about 24 years, so I know the ropes! I’ve shipped well over 50,000 packages, myself! I usually ship with USPS (aka the Post Office), and I usually ship first class (now called ground) or Priority Mail. I do sometimes have customers who pay to upgrade to Express Mail, which is an overnight service, and it makes me smile that oftentimes the cost of Express Mail is more expensive than the item they purchased! I only use UPS and FedEx in the case of a very large/ heavy item that might be more economical to ship through one of those methods.
I am always taking a peek at people’s names and the city/state they are in when I ship out orders. Hope that’s not a weird thing! But mainly because I’m interested to know if it’s a repeat customer (even as new as the Baby Morgan business is, we’ve had a lot of repeat customers already!) or someone myself or my husband knows, as we have had lots of orders from friends and family. We've also had a few orders from Hollywood and music stars who shall remain nameless here. One of the most coincidental ones was when we shipped an item to a man with the same first and last name as my husband. I’m also curious if there are certain parts of the country most orders come from. So far, it’s trending towards the East Coast, Southeast and Southern United States.
I also wonder if it’s going to an adult replacing their childhood blanket for themselves or if it’s a gift for a loved one. Sometimes I know - a lot of people include a gift message and it warms my heart to see all the love and caring in the world. There’s a lot of miracles going on all around us!
Some of my day is spent trying to grow and learn. I might attend a business related meeting, group or conference. I might create social media posts with my husband or try to get in touch with social media influencers or creators.
I finish my day with a workout most days. I love weightlifting, but do some cardio as well. The best part is doing a cold plunge or sitting in the sauna afterwards!
Evenings are family time, cooking, gardening, cleaning, going for a walk with my husband, and watching TV. Then it’s off to bed so that I can rest up and start it all over again the next day!
How do you spend your days? Any suggestions for good music or podcasts for me to listen to while I work? Any suggestions on how to optimize my day for the most fulfillment?