I Was Wrong About Wendy

This past weekend, I was out of the store on a co-consulting job, meeting with some colleagues and helping out another small business owner in the retail packing and shipping industry assess their business, find areas of improvement and growth, and decide where and when to expand. Not 10 minutes after our appointment began, while in the middle of introductions and what-to-expect-from-the-day overviews, I got a text from one of my team members back at my home business, Uncle Marty’s Shipping Office, that said, “Wendy was expecting her packing costs to be lower and wants to know if the prices have gone up.”

I should have just responded quickly and quietly, telling my coworker that I’d look into it on Monday; that at that moment I needed to focus on my colleagues and our consulting client in front of me. But that’s not what happened. Instead, I got all hot and bothered, wrongly excused myself from our client for a few minutes while I anxiously pecked away at my phone, and snidely responded with, “Wendy has gotten a deal for years. She pays way less than a regular person and I’ve been trying to bring her up to speed slowly. She’s still below what we should charge. She is very price sensitive and if it’s an issue she’s welcome to pack her artwork herself. If she wants Uncle Marty’s service, she can pay Uncle Marty’s prices.”

I was irritated—not at my team member, but at Wendy. I hadn’t read her email and the only context I knew about her outreach was what my team member texted. I just assumed it was the result of a snippy email from her, once again upset about the price as she has been all too often in the past.

You see, Wendy is a local artist. She does ceramic tableware pieces and wall art and, by all accounts, does very well with it, selling some of her ceramic mugs for prices in the hundreds of dollars and some of her wall hangings for prices in the thousands of dollars. We deal with a lot of local artists and are highly favored and recommended in that community. It’s a lot of fun and we go out of our way to care for those relationships…and build our business as a result.

But we didn’t acquire Wendy’s business because of our network of artists or a recommendation from one of her peers. Instead, we inherited Wendy from a similar packing and shipping store near us that shut down. Because we had a good-neighbor relationship with that store, they very kindly recommended to all of their clients and guests that they transfer their business to us. We were so grateful for that classy move, putting their clients above competition and making sure they would be taken care of after their business shut down, and made a lot of new friends in our city as a result.

The thing is, that store’s model attracted more of a budget clientele, and their rates reflected that. Resultingly, we had a big challenge on our hands: training new guests who had previously done business there to the more premium rates at our store—fair rates, but ones that reflect the fact that you get what you pay for. We have always made it a policy to compete on service, not price. And our service and team quality are—unabashedly—the best. Regardless, Wendy was trained by that other more budget-targeted business that it costs just four dollars to pack a ceramic mug: box, materials, and packing service included. Yes, that’s right. That other store was charging just four dollars! For similar service, our retail rate at Uncle Marty’s would be at least four times that.

Against my better judgement, I gave in and said we’d make a special deal with Wendy and honor that four-dollar-per-mug price for a little while. She had alluded to a large volume of shipments and I thought maybe we could make up for it in a fulfillment type of pricing model rather than an individual piece price structure. But, to add insult to injury for my mistake of allowing that four-dollar price, we also soon realized with the first batch she brought in that not only did she expect to pay just four dollars per mug to pack, but she also then refused to use our shipping service and instead sent us prepaid labels she created herself online. It was akin to going to a restaurant and bringing your own food, but still expecting the wait staff to serve you. But she didn’t get that. She’d been trained very differently.

Now, I must also mention that this all happened very quickly at the start of the pandemic when that store closed with very little warning. Our business, on the other hand, was booming and had just been designated as an essential business. So, not only were we trying to keep our team and guests healthy and safe, but we were also dealing with an increase in regular demand for our services on top of the influx of new guests from that nearby store that had just shut down. In trying to do right by all of those new contacts and hopefully welcome many of them to our business as new clients, I made quick decisions I would normally have taken more time to consider.

If you haven’t guessed by now, I’ve never been Wendy’s biggest fan. From that initial interaction and her issues with our rates—not initially understanding or appreciating our level of service that substantiated those rates—and what felt like, at the very least, a significant miscommunication on the type of business she’d be giving us, I’ve let myself get flustered and upset every time I see her name or hear that she’s reached out to us. I’ve had personality clashes with her in the past, felt very condescended to, and after she snubbed me quite publicly once at a gallery opening, have had a general distaste for her for years.

Because of my inherent anxiety trigger every time I hear her name, I was distracted by the thought of her email and how I was going to respond to it the entire day of consulting and ashamedly not giving my full attention to the client in front of us that my colleagues and I had each traveled quite a distance early that morning to meet at their warehouse, see their business in person, and dedicate a day of service to in trying to give them some coaching from our own experience. I kept telling myself, “Don’t let it bother you. Wendy does not have permission to bogart your brain today. Just deal with it on Monday.” But yet, I fumed on it all day, lost sleep that night, and had no interest in coming in on Monday to read her email and create a response to it.

As I’m prone to do, I had a migraine as a result of being anxious about Wendy’s email most of the day Sunday and still on Monday morning when I made it to my office and checked for her email in the inbox. I just knew in my overthinking-it brain that it would be negative, that it was going to upset me, and that I’d have to really bite my tongue and find some sort of grace in writing a response. I just knew it, deep down in my gut.

But her email wasn’t in the inbox Monday morning. I asked my coworker who had first received it on Saturday where it was and if he had any further contact from her and he told me that he had already responded. Sure enough, there it was in the archives and my team member had once again blown me out of the water with his professionalism, clarity, and diligence in the response he had given.

My first wrongness about Wendy was in assuming her email was negative and accusatory. It was none of those things. It was in fact quite pleasant and cordial! She was just surprised by the rate and wondered if our rates had gone up again. You see, I’ve been gradually increasing her pricing for years and am slowly getting closer and closer to a regular retail rate with her, and for this last job I did charge her more than the one before it, but still less than I would anyone else. So, she legitimately would question why her art packing cost more this time than it did last time. Her shockingly pleasant email was just her being curious as to what the current rates she should expect are so that she can accommodate for that in her retail to her clients. My coworker had responded quite correctly and politely and she, in turn, sent a big, happy thank you. It was so refreshing!

Just as she had been initially trained to expect a low price from a packaging business, I had been trained to expect a complaint from her. But, over the years, it seems that she’s successfully had a mindset shift and now expects to pay a reasonable rate and is cool with it as long as she knows what to expect. We’ve gained her trust and established a relationship where she knows that we’re not out to get her; that our rates are quite fair and that she’s getting exactly what she’s paying for: the best service anywhere. She’s fully empowered to go somewhere else for a lower rate, but she continues to come to us because of the value we provide. She’s transformed from a penny pincher to our exact target client: one who values our service, plain and simple.

But I had not retrained my impression of her, and for that I was very wrong. In reflection, the last few interactions I’ve had with her have been positive ones. She’s been very happy and grateful for our service…and I think I even saw her smile once! But, in my mind, I was still trained to be on the defensive and to expect a complaint. I was wrong. She’s turned out to be a different person than the villain I made her out to be in my mind and I need to work on retraining my own mind to not let the thought of her trigger me into a spiral of just wishing she’d go away.

I was wrong about Wendy. I’m sorry about that and, though for years in my coaching and consulting have hammered away at the importance of relationship-based business models, still thought of Wendy in a transactional manner. She’s proven to me now that people can change and come around to see the value, but in order for that to happen one must consistently and clearly show that value and earn that trust.

My team has, I’m so proud to say, earned Wendy’s trust. I am so incredibly proud of them for that and for the consistency and integrity and confidence they show in the service we provide. If we can do this, we can do anything, and the future is incredibly bright.

#AskUncleMarty

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This essay is slated to be published in MBC Today Volume 25 Issue 6 on or around November 2, 2023.

Hiatus? What Hiatus?

Hi, friends.

Welcome back to askunclemarty.com. This blog has been on hold for a little bit, moved to the backburner of my priority list as life and its distracting ways have taken most of my focus, time, and energy over the past few years.

I’ve posted on this site here and there and have continued to write bi-monthly for MBC Today, the mail, business center, and retail shipping industry’s leading publication that I regularly contribute to (and now also edit and produce), but the day-to-day and added responsibilities have taken away some of the oomph I’ve had in the past to share some of that writing on here.

During the pandemic, my business—Uncle Marty’s Shipping Office—boomed as a designated essential business, staying open and incredibly busy as the world shut down, and keeping me away from home while the rest of the world was contrarily stuck at home. And somehow, despite interacting with countless people as an essential worker during that time and years since, to my best knowledge I’ve remained COVID-negative. Among other things, I thank sensible safety measures and early access to vaccines and boosters for the blessing of health I’ve maintained.

As a result of my business growing, my team has also grown. Along with it, I’ve also grown my responsibilities to them and to the positions I hold in my community and industry. With that growing team has also come some reprieve; my coworkers’ excellence and reliability, and the fact that I now have a manager, Clark, in place to handle most of the day-to-day that I used to do, has allowed me to take more of a breath lately that I’ve been able to take in well over a decade. I’ve traveled some, spent a couple of weeks in July in Bali—an amazing experience I hope to write about soon—and have been able to get organized and caught up on things that I had been putting off for years. I’ve also been able to put into motion projects I had been hoping to start for quite a while…and can’t wait to share more about them publicly in the coming months.

I have a lot of backlogged writing to post and will do so on here in small batches over time. For the past few years, my writing has been more about getting it done for the magazine and less about getting it done for my own therapeutic benefit, which is what my true reason for this blog is. (Well, that and to put my stuff out there in hopes of someday getting my Ask Uncle Marty™ column syndicated more widely than just its publication in MBC Today. So, editors of Inc., Entrepreneur, GQ, Attitude, Men’s Health, Vanity Fair, Fox and Hound, Sparkly Unicorn Aficionado, Platypus Living, or any other publication that wants a breath of fresh air as a heartfelt and slightly sly Ann Landers-style business and/or life advice column in your publication, feel free to shout my way!)

Another reason for my semi-silence lately is that a couple of years ago I decided to stop bringing my laptop home at night. I also removed almost all email and social media notifications from my phone and, as a general guideline that I do make exceptions to for deadlines and evening Zoom meetings, I try to stay unplugged when I leave the office. It has been an absolute game-changer. My anxiety levels have been much better as a result of putting up these boundaries (coupled with some good medicine) and allowing myself to not let the constant volley of notifications and outreach disturb my sanctuary. I’m allowing myself to do what I can do during business hours, for the most part, which has allowed me to say no to a few things that I used to say yes to out of obligation and not desire, and that has been truly a gift.

Unplugging outside of my office to create sanctuary space has consequently limited the amount of focused time I have for things like writing. Even today, as I try to bang this message out during business hours, every few minutes I’m called away from my intention by a phone call, client who wants to see me, doorbell ring (there’s a doorbell for my team in the front of my store that dingdongs in my office and lets me know I’m needed), or other various and sundry distractions. Once they’re handled, I come back and have to re-read what I was in the middle of and, just as soon as I get a few sentences in, the doorbell rings again, or there’s another call I need to take. That’s life as a small business owner and I love it in many ways, but golly is it tough to really get anything substantial done.

It’s fair to say that it’s been a nutty few years. And the world has gone considerably more insane during those few years as well. But, all in all, through the business of life and its distractions, its challenges and its triumphs, its rewards and its wind-taking blows, its confusion and its sanctuaries, I feel better than I have in a long, long time. It’s almost as if, as the world around us gets weirder, as divisive rhetoric circulates, as details distract us from essence, and as mercy, grace, empathy, humility, and kindness are too often forgotten, we can see how ridiculous humanity can be…and it makes us want to do better, to be better, and to live better.

I sold a greeting card at my business years ago that had a half-full wine glass on the front and a caption inside that read, “Some say the glass is half full. Some say the glass is half empty. But I say the glass is refillable.” And that’s how I feel lately. Our cups can still overflow, but it’s up to us to let the good in and to hold onto it. When we do, we can find peace and joy in the midst of chaos and confusion. We can trust in a power far beyond ourselves to make everything OK, like the quote that Dev Patel as Sonny Kapoor often said in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, “Everything will be OK in the end. If it’s not OK, it’s not the end.” And you know what? That’s how I feel: restful, hopeful, and optimistic that we can all refill our glasses and toast to a bright future if we simply direct our focus that way.

Speaking of focus, I intended this post to be a short and simple apology for an unintended blogging break, but it seems it’s turned into a Sunday sermon. Maybe I just had to get that out.

Here’s to the future. I’ve missed this and am excited to get back behind the keyboard.

Talk at you soon...

XO,
Marty

#SundaySermon #OnaWednesday #AskUncleMarty

What Will Matter

 The following Letter From the Editor will publish when MBC Today Volume 25 Issue 1 drops on January 3, 2023. I wanted to share it here a little early, as it's a poignant reminder for the new year: 

Letter From the Editor

Dear Readers,

A little while ago, Fahim shared with me and some of the other AMBC board and staff members a poem by Michael Josephson titled "What Will Matter." Quite inspired and impacted by it, I immediately printed it and hung it on my office wall, right above my desk, so I can refer to it every day. I also recently shared it on TikTok (yes, I finally got on TikTok—or "the TikTok" as I like to say in front of my younger coworkers in order to elicit groans) as a reminder to myself and to hopefully be a boost to someone else as we enter 2023. I want to share that poem with you:

We're beginning a brand new year, which always reminds me of new opportunities, fresh starts, an occasion for renewal and refreshing, and a chance to do things differently; to do things better.

Life inevitably is a mixture of highs and lows, triumphs and defeats, gains and losses, joys and sorrows. 2022 may have been an overall positive year for many of us, but it was also a year full of tough challenges for many people, and we hold those close who have had hardship and loss, fought oft-unseen battles, and struggled with circumstances beyond their control. While we can't change the past or ease some burdens, we can do something to change the future.

I was reminded of a quote recently: "In a world where you can be anything, be kind." I hope you'll join me in trying to make kindness, empathy, and love part of your mantra for 2023. Let's remember to be good neighbors and to treat others as we hope to be treated ourselves. Let's share burdens. Let's take care of ourselves, make minding our physical and mental health a priority, check in with our friends, family, and loved ones to make sure they're OK, and try our best to spread joy, positivity, and hope to our communities...and our world.

Let's make it a good year.

With care,
Marty 

Deep Blue Gratitude

This essay, Deep Blue Gratitude, was published in MBC Today Volume 24 Issue 6 on November 4, 2022. For context, below it I've included my Letters From the Editor for both that November/December issue and the preceding September/October one (MBC Today Volume 24 Issue 5).

In my last Letter From the Editor in the September / October issue of MBC Today, I was reveling in the fact that I had just made my team member Clark the first official Manager of Uncle Marty's Shipping Office and that he had taken over the scheduling and found two weeks for me to get away at the end of October. I had booked a cruise right away and, frankly, it all felt like a dream.

Cut to today, October 27th, 2022, sitting at a corner table on the lido deck of Holland America Line's pinnacle class Nieuw Statendam ship, en route from our last stop in Saint Thomas to our next stop in the Bahamas, looking out the window on the "most perfect day at sea" that Captain Noel has seen "in years," watching flying fish pop in and out of the bluest water on Earth, with my feet up, the table in front of me spread with a big glass of iced tea and a generous slice of sugar-free almond cake with sugar-free berry ice cream on the side, and my laptop on the table as I put final touches on this current issue of MBC Today that will drop in a few days. I've never felt more chill; l've not had a vacation like this in...well, ever!

We small business owners aren't supposed to relax like this, are we? For the first week away, I felt serious imposter syndrome. Shouldn't I be working? Shouldn't I be checking the store cameras all day long? I felt that guilt, but I fought it. I didn't check my email for well over a week, forcing myself to stay away from everything that was waiting on the other side of that screen. I still have yet to check any cameras. I turned it all off. I unplugged. I put my complete faith and trust in Clark, Julie, Elijah, and Carter, knowing that they had everything under control at the shop…and would check in on my house and cat, Prince Comet, to make sure all were well cared for.

I'll be back at work on November 1st, ready to tackle two crazy months as a shipping business operator. My team and I will order all of the supplies we'll need for the holiday rush first thing to ensure we have everything in on time, and the Santa hats will come out, garland will go up, and twinkle lights will light up the early nights in our snow-blanketed Upstate New York town. That's all waiting for me next week. But today? Today, I'm sailing away, abundantly grateful for what I have, who I have, and this outstanding privilege I'm enjoying. I've worked very hard for many years, and now I feel like I can enjoy a little bit of the reward.

I've met a lot of different people on this cruise. Many are genuine class acts—kind to the crew, enjoying each experience, and patient with their fellow passengers. There are, of course, a handful of miserable people—rude to the crew, entitled to everything, pushy to fellow guests, and complaining about the most trivial, ridiculous things. It’s never been more abundantly clear to me that being miserable is a choice. Here we are, sailing through one of the most beautiful places on Earth on a new, gorgeous, immaculate, no-expense-spared luxury liner, being waited on hand and foot by the most gracious, outstanding crew to sail the seas (If you ever want a lesson in how to treat guests and how to build relationships, take a Holland America Line cruise. Wow!), and truly in paradise, yet there are people who still choose to be miserable. I feel so sorry for them. And I refuse to become them.

I was trying to think about what I could possibly complain about if I chose to do so. What, that it rained on Saint Thomas and I had to miss a day of snorkeling? That I nearly lost my phone when the waterproof case I bought for it sank and got buried in the sand when it was advertised that it was supposed to float? That the sand I’ve been digging my feet into all week has destroyed my pedicure? That there are too many food options here, making it hard to decide what to eat next? That I was so enthralled with the comedian at the club onboard that I was late to the dance performance on the next stage that I had intended to go to? That I sleep so well in my pitch-black cabin to the gentle rocking of the ship and have turned my alarms off for the first time in a long time that I’m sleeping solid for 12ish hours each night without regret or disturbance and missing most breakfast options? Seriously, what does one have to complain about in the midst of such perfect leisure?

Clark did some research recently. He wanted to know what people were really saying about our business in comparison with some other shipping and storage options in our town. (I refuse to use the word “competitors,” as that makes it seem like we’re trying to compete with these other businesses. And we’re not. We don’t compete. We simply do our best and let others make their own decisions. If we were to “compete,” we would be entering into negative space, and one of our core missions is to stay positive.) Clark dove deep into subreddits to see real talk about our town and the shipping and storage options that are here. What he found was so incredibly encouraging! Other businesses (one in particular) had overwhelmingly negative chatter about them—some downright vile, one local student even making a hilarious video to air his frustrations. Uncle Marty’s, however, had nothing but positive, glowing things said in the local subreddits. I am so proud of my team who consistently do their best to make our guests have positive experiences. You see, we are grateful for each guest...and it shows.

I’ve timed this trip so that I return home on October 31st, and this year that day serves as the 10-year anniversary of the day I found out I had cancer: October 31, 2012. I’ve spoken of my experience before in blog posts, articles, and other writings, and won’t rehash my diagnosis, prognosis, and aggressive treatment here in this essay, but I will just say that the experience changed me forever. As I’ve reflected on that these past two weeks, I’ve experienced a whole new level of gratitude as a survivor and as a silver linings believer.

Gratitude combats misery. By living in gratitude for all of the wonderful things we have in our life and focusing on them—not on the lack that we can often perceive we have, but on the abundance of what we actually have—we can live happy, positive lives. It’s such a simple formula, yet so much of humanity is missing it. There is a lot of bad influence in our world—so much distrust, so much contempt, and so much animosity—that it’s easy to fall into a negative space. But, I believe that by simply being grateful for what and who we have in our lives, we can come out of that and learn to live better by the golden rule, treating others as we ourselves would want to be treated, loving our neighbors, embracing our differences, respecting one another and one another’s beliefs and decisions, and lifting each other up to make this world a better, more caring, and more loving place. Maybe I’m truly in vacation fantasy mode and this is just a pipe dream. But, no, I don’t think so. I think sometimes we just need to remove ourselves from our hustle and bustle to refocus, reset, and rejoice in what we have in order to move forward positively, and be a positive force in this world that needs it so much.

Marty Johnson is a shopkeeper, wordsmith, mentor, and survivor. He owns Uncle Marty's Shipping Office in Ithaca, New York, runs the Collegetown Small Business Alliance, volunteers as ex officio Director of Communication and Advisor to the Board for AMBC, and serves as Editor and Producer of MBC Today. Learn more at askunclemarty.com. #AskUncleMarty

...

Letter From the Editor published in MBC Today Volume 24 Issue 6 on November 4, 2022:

Dear Readers,

I shared a story with participants in the last AMBC certified professional packing course that I led in October. It was about an experience we had just had at Uncle Marty's Shipping Office and one that felt very pertinent to the course material.

You see, a few weeks prior we had shipped a piece of art for a guest. It wasn't anything seemingly unusual at the time, and in fact I wasn't even there when the guest was in or the shipment was packed and processed. My team are all trained and certified as AMBC Professional Packing Specialists, and we advertise that fact and have built a very successful and reputable profit center in packaging delicate things—particularly art. Anyway, this guest was in and shipped his art and it was all in a day's work at Uncle Marty's; my team took excellent care of both the guest and his artwork.

Then, a week or two later, the guest came back. He told us that he was the great-grandson of Christian Dior and the art he had shipped through us was an original Dior heirloom being sent to become part of a collection. He didn't tell us who he was at the time, nor how significant the art was, as he didn't want to call attention to it. He simply did his research, read our reviews, and decided that we were the best option to pack and ship his item. He was thrilled it got there in great shape, and thrilled with the level of care and professionalism he received.

As I shared this story with the certified packing course attendees on Zoom, I told them that we have a new internal motto at Uncle Marty's: treat every item as if it was a Dior heirloom, because you never know when it really will be!

We are in such a unique position in our industry. We go through our days taking care of our communities, neighbors, and guests. We know our regulars and we build reputations that are unmatched in our markets. We have listened to what AMBC has preached for years about relationship-based business versus transactional-based business and have worked hard to foster those ever-important relationships in many different corners. And, every now and then, we get to handle something incredibly special.

We make a difference. We're not just selling something or providing an arbitrary service, but we're actually problem solving for our neighbors and making their lives much easier; we were essential during the pandemic for a reason!

As the December mayhem approaches, keep in mind that this coming season is the best time to really seed and grow those so-important relationships. Treat each guest as if they were the great-grandchild of Dior, because they just may be. And treat everything they send as if it were the most precious heirloom. The care you show them and the respect you exude will come back to you in a multitude of ways.

Do your best. Be kind. Treat your guests like gold and your coworkers like the diamonds that they are. And don't forget to smile, smile, smile. In doing so, you'll ensure that 2023 will be set up to be its best.

Happy everything! May your holidays be merry, bright, and full of delight.

With care,

...

Letter From the Editor published in MBC Today Volume 24 Issue 5 on September 2, 2022:

Dear Readers,

I did something incredibly exciting last week: I hired my first manager!

Well, to be clear, I didn't hire fresh for this position, but rather promoted my longest-serving team member, Clark, to the responsibility after some good discussions with him on his goals, my goals, and how we could work together to continue to grow the business.

I am overjoyed! Already a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. It's only been a couple of days, but he's already taken over so much of the day-to-day that I would normally triage and manage, and he's even done a schedule for two months out and finagled a way for me to take two whole weeks off at the end of October—a first since I opened my doors 11 years ago. I've already booked a cruise and am eagerly anticipating laying on the ship's deck with no phone service, forced to simply lounge, read a book, and perhaps even take a nap. Oh, what a dream!

Putting this issue together, I got such a boost from Crysta's article: "Do You Know How to Hire Yourself Out of a Job?" It was spot on! I had just done this in promoting Clark—or, at least taken a step in that direction—and her words were reaffirming and encouraging.

Our teams are everything. At my business, I've been very grateful to have had continuous growth and this year have already smashed most of my previously-held records. It's exciting! Yes, as an entrepreneur it has taken very hard work and very long days, weeks, months, and years to get to this point, but eventually I've come to a place where I just may be able to take some deep breaths and step away for a minute while Clark and the rest of my team—Julie, Elijah, and Carter—take the helm for a bit. As Crysta points out, it takes trust and faith; letting go isn't easy, but it's essential if we want to continue to grow and also keep our sanity intact (or what's left of it, at least).

So, here's to the future, my friends! Here's to "letting go to grow" (a keystone phrase of Fahim's and the title of one of the classes he taught this year at AMBC's Meetup in Memphis event).

I'm so grateful for all of the contributors who have helped shape this issue of MBC Today. From our featured AMBC Trusted Supplier, GO Logistic, to our featured AMBC Members, the Shiras, the Draytons, and Andi Smith, to all those who have written in and shared tips, tricks, and photos of their uniforms for our first-ever MBC Today fashion spread.

MBC Today is your magazine, and we want to hear your voices in it. Please continue to send in ideas to marty@ambc4me.org and let us know how we can continue to sculpt this information-sharing venue to be what you need it to be.

As always, the AMBC team is here when you need us. You can reach out any time to Kim Galloway, AMBC Director of Operations, Brad Risch, AMBC Operations Executive, or any member of the AMBC board of directors. All contact information and bios are on ambc4me.org.

And I'm always here for you, too. Unless, of course, you reach out at the end of October...because then I'm going to be unabashedly out of touch, floating in the middle of the Caribbean, and working very hard on an epic tan.

With care,

FedEx Feature Article

 

It's true my honor to have just been featured in the March edition of FedEx ShipSource® alongside my good friend Norman Froscher of Espresso Mail in West Palm Beach, Florida. We were interviewed by FedEx about how to grow a small business and attract other small businesses as clients using FedEx and other tools. The article, "6 tips from FASC pros to attract small businesses" is available at https://www.fedex.com/en-us/shipping/fedex-authorized-ship-center/shipsource/6-tips-to-attract-small-businesses.html.

This is the fourth time in the last 10 years I and my business have been featured by FedEx in their publication. It's an incredible honor and I am so grateful to be a top small business partner of FedEx, knowing that they care so much about small businesses and our success.

January 2022 Letter From the Editor

I don't often publish my editorial letters on my blog, as their contents are usually quite specific to each issue of MBC Today that I work on, and catered toward the readers of the publication--fellow shipping store owners and managers, industry professionals, suppliers, and those interested in the retail mail and business center industry. However, this month I felt that my letter may have some value outside of the industry, so I wanted to share it here.

The following is my "Letter From the Editor" published in MBC Today Volume 24 Issue 1 on January 4, 2022:

Don't expect the unexpected. Let the unexpected expect you." - Kiara Maharaj

Dear Readers,

Life is full of surprises.

On December 21st, four days before Christmas and just 10 days before the new year, a client brought us some packing material to reuse and asked, "Hey, are you still going to be taking this stuff after the peanut ban goes into affect in January?"

I was in my office when this happened, so my coworker poked his head in and said, "Hey, do you know what this client was just talking about? He said there's a ban on packing peanuts in New York State staring on January 1st."

"That can't be right," I said, "why don't you google it to see what they're talking about. Surely someone would have let us know if that were the case."

Long story short, it was true. New York State was banning all expanded polystyrene (EPS) loose fill as of January 1, 2022.

I knew a couple of years ago that New York City was planning to ban single-use EPS, and I had disseminated that information in the AMBC certified packing classes I lead. I figured that if the city was banning it, eventually other municipalities or areas may be affected—including, I surmised, possibly New York State as a whole. But, I figured it would be a long time before that happened, and surely we'd have advance notice. Nevertheless, I wanted people to be aware of the possibility, as well as prepare for that eventuality at my own New York State business.

My team and I have always kept sustainability as a focus. It's written right into our mission statement at Uncle Marty's Shipping Office, and we're known in our community as the place to bring clean, dry, previously used packing material so it can be reused. After all, reuse is the best form of recycling.

For a few years now, we've even taken chunk pieces of what traditionally has been single-use EPS (coolers, electronics packaging, etc.) and have broken them down using a machine one of my coworkers made that has a hot wire grid to cut through and cube those big single-use chunks into smaller, reusable, roughly one inch cube pieces. The final product acts like loose fill, but is made from repurposed material, so we've dubbed it "ReFill"...and it's been a huge hit in our green-minded community! Such a hit, in fact, that my two-car garage is half full (seriously) of donated single-use EPS that we've been working on breaking down into ReFill, and every now and then I or one of my coworkers will spend an afternoon in my garage working on it.

We have made ReFill largely due to the knowledge that New York State may eventually ban single-use EPS material, and we assumed that by repurposing some of those bigger single-use pieces into smaller, reusable pieces, it would be making a difference. However, we had no idea that the ban would come so swiftly and without warning, nor that it would be on all EPS loose fill, whether new or repurposed, instead of on the larger single-use EPS pieces that we had been working so hard to convert into reusable ReFill.

Because I needed clarification and to state my case, I contacted the New York State department administering this ban. Their response is shared in part in the "Industry News" section of this issue of MBC Today. Indeed, they would prefer us to dispose of all of our existing EPS loose fill, including all peanuts, new or used, and also the ReFill that we make. There was no middle ground and no consideration for repurposed materials or recycling / reuse programs like the one my business has been so successful with in our community.

We're disappointed, as we have diligently been trying to make a green impact with the programs we've run, and our community has truly rallied behind them. Our ReFill program has been shared on local reuse listservs to the point where we've had to reduce our intake to "small household quantities" after trucks started showing up at our office full of EPS coolers that they wanted us to break down into ReFill. It's to the point where some colleagues and I have been starting the process to form an LLC, with hopes to manufacture economical hot wire grid foam cubing machines so more businesses could start ReFill programs in their communities. But now, instead of continuing with a program that we truly feel made a difference and was helping the root problem of reducing single-use EPS, we must cease from producing ReFill and dispose of any that we have in our possession after January 1st.

I refuse to throw the stockpile of EPS that I have out. I won't just put it in the landfill after working so hard to prevent that. And the "recycling centers" that New York State asks us to bring leftover EPS loose fill to after the ban takes effect are no where near where I am, and with so much ReFill stock in my garage the "mail in" option that they then suggest is laughably impractical. So, I'm now working with stores in neighboring states to have them come and get materials I have, in hopes that it can still be used by someone and not just thrown away. And we're not giving up on that LLC yet. Perhaps it could find a good home in another state where ReFill programs may still be possible and effective in reducing single-use EPS. 

To be clear, I do believe that, as a result of all of this, my business will be an even more sustainability-focused operation. That is a big part of our mission, after all. All of the last-minute mishigas aside, the end result and practices going forward will be better. I just wish we had warning and time to prepare. While we support the ban's good intentions, we scratch our heads at its hasty execution, absence of communication, and choice to permit large single-use EPS pieces while banning reusable loose fill. But, no one asked us.

So, why do I share all of this with you and take up two full pages of prime MBC Today real estate with a "Letter From the Editor" that traditionally should be short and sweet? (Though, all of you long-time readers know me all too well to ever think I would keep something short and sweet.) I share this story because I want you to know that sometimes life throws you a curve ball...and that's just life. As a survivor and someone who has overcome a number of other obstacles over the years, I once again want to show that a challenge isn't something to bring you down, but rather something to prove your resilience—an opportunity to pivot, grow, and come out again on top.

Please enjoy this issue of MBC Today, as it's once again full of great advice, inspiring stories, fresh ideas, and #MembersHelpingMembers guidance.

Pay close attention to what Crysta talks about in "Do You Know?" and how her story of adding more retail to her businesses has made a huge difference, and consider what it is that you could do differently or add to your business to make an impact.

Read about the two outstanding new AMBC Members that we're featuring in this issue, Kim Maxson and Jimmy and Michelle Costanzo, and be inspired by their business models, fresh insight, and unlimited potential.

Check out the AMBC Trusted Suppliers we share in ads and features. All of our vendors have been vetted and, as we are a non-profit, are shared and permitted to advertise because we believe in them, trust them, and know they'll make a difference to our fellow AMBC Members.

Please join me in congratulating Norman and Crysta on becoming our new Board Chair and Board Vice Chair, as well as welcoming our two new board members, David and Tom. Please also once again thank Fahim for his outstanding service as former Board Chair these past few years, and his willingness to stay on in an advisory ex officio position. We are so grateful for all of those who are taking on new positions, and especially those who remain tried and true in current roles like Barry, Steve, Mary, Kim, and Brad. We have the best team at AMBC, and it's my honor and privilege to be a part of it.

With care, 

Marty Johnson
Editor, MBC Today
Director of Communication & Advisor to the Board, AMBC
Owner, Uncle Marty’s Shipping Office
Co-Founder & Facilitator, Collegetown Small Business Alliance
askunclemarty.com | #AskUncleMarty

 

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Published in MBC Today Volume 24 Issue 1 on January 4, 2022. 
https://secureservercdn.net/50.62.89.79/lp8.41d.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/MBC-Today-Volume-24-Issue-1-Preview-Digital-Version.pdf

My Did-It List

My Did-It List
by Marty Johnson

It’s been a little over a year now since our world changed. It seems like yesterday that we all had to begin adapting to conditions like we’d never seen before. So much has happened. So much has been accomplished. And so much more still needs to be done.

I’m one of those people that often focuses on the latter: on what needs to be done. I have big dreams and big plans, which is all fine and dandy, but along with those big ideas comes a big obsession to maintain a to-do list—a never ending, always growing, outrageously out of control (however meticulously laid out, if I do say so myself) OneNote file with seven main tabs (for my seven main hats and responsibilities—businesses, side hustles, organizations, etc.), each complete with sub tabs, and each sub tab full of countless bullet points, sub bullet points, and sub sub bullet points.

I stare at my to-do list every day. It mocks me. It reminds me daily about all of the big ideas and big plans that I’ve had that I just haven’t had the oomph to tackle yet. Honestly, it makes me depressed sometimes, causing me to focus on what I haven’t done rather than what I have.

I realize fully that this is a completely self-imposed struggle. I could easily choose to not keep a to-do list and therefore not have it taunt me every day. But, that’s just not in the cards for someone like me—someone fully distrustful of his pulled-in-entirely-too-many-directions brain’s ability to keep track of anything on its own.

I think it’s safe to say that I’m probably preaching to the choir here; that many of my fellow small business owners and entrepreneurs face a similar struggle to keep up with all of the things that they feel need to be done, and all of the things that they dream of doing “someday, when there’s time.” I know many of you, like me, have entirely too many irons in the fire and feel the weight of responsibilities that come with them. The businesses we run, people we employ, organizations we guide, families we care for, and relationships we fight to protect all come with their fair share of stuff that takes time, energy, and chutzpah to get done.

So, how do we deal with this? How do we dig out from under our to-do list? How do we take care of everyone and everything we need to and still manage to maintain some modicum of sanity for ourselves?

To start, we must remember how important it is for us to first and foremost take care of ourselves. It may sound selfish, but like oxygen masks on an airplane, we must first put ours on before helping others. It’s essential that we make time to eat right, exercise our bodies and our brains, and breathe. I’m sure many of you, like me, have neglected to do that at times and suffered the consequences. It’s a hard lesson to learn. If you struggle with this, as I often do, I recommend reading the book I just finished: Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s a game changer!

Next, I recommend unplugging from time to time. Too much time spent obsessing over things is wickedly unhealthy. A while ago—perhaps a couple of years ago now (in retrospect, I wish I had marked the date)—I made the decision to not bring my work home (when at all possible). That meant leaving my laptop on my desk at the office, rather than packing it up each evening to “try to catch up” that night. It also meant not responding to texts, Facebook messages, or anything else that was work related until the next day when I was back at the office. Unless it was an emergency, people could wait.

The change I’ve seen in myself from unplugging at home has been wonderful. Sure, if you ask one of my co-workers I’m sure they’d tell you that I’m often still a ball of stress … and that’s a fair assessment. But it used to be much worse. And my system isn’t perfect; I still have to make exceptions from time to time. In fact, as I write this article I'm sitting at my dining room table at home on a Sunday afternoon … but deadlines are deadlines, and hey, nobody's perfect.

Now, taking care of number one and unplugging from time to time certainly don’t make a to-do list any smaller. In fact, one might argue that those things would cut into our time to do the things on that to-do list. And that’s true, but what those things accomplish—for me, at least—is that they give us a break from that to-do list, which in turn takes away some of its power and control over us. It puts it into perspective.

One more thing that I’ve found very helpful is to balance my to-do list out with another list of things that I’ve actually done. I call it my “did-it list.” To be fair and transparent, my own did-it list is more conceptual than actually a written-down list (but give me a few minutes and I’ll change that … and it will be meticulously organized, of course.) Though, I do keep a tally of each time I’ve had an article or photograph published, of milestones I’ve reach, of places I’ve traveled, of bucket list items I’ve checked off, and of various other small and large accomplishments. But, I wonder what it would look like if my did-it list included much more.

In Atomic Habits, James Clear uses the example of keeping a calendar of workouts. Simply marking off a day on a wall calendar gives us a visual record of how far we’ve come. He makes the point that just showing up, even if the workout is barely more than sitting down for five minutes on an exercise bike, is so much more beneficial than letting a day slide—because one day leads to two, which leads to three, and before we know it we’re back to where we started. But if we mark each day we at least show up on a calendar (a type of did-it list, if you think about it) and see the visual of the chain of days it creates, we’re much more inclined to keep showing up again and again so we don’t break that chain.

So, what if we all kept a did-it list. What if we were to write down a continuous chain of accomplishments: programs we’ve started, relationships we’ve cared for, businesses we’ve built, clients we’ve helped, team members we’ve employed, people we’ve mentored, services we’ve provided to our communities, organizations we’ve sponsored and supported, and smiles we’ve shared. Wouldn’t that do wonders for our self-esteem? Wouldn’t that do wonders to motivate us to keep getting things done? Wouldn’t a did-it list make our to-do list look less daunting—more of a record of things we “get to do” rather than things we “need to do?” I think it would.

I also think that, more important than all the lists we may create, the most salient point to remember is that we’re all only human … and we can’t do it all. Sure, there are an endless number of programs we’d like to start, services we’d like to add, after-hours activities we’d love to enjoy, training we wish to attend and/or provide to our team, and so much more. As much as we wish we had the time, energy, and focus to flush out all of our big ideas, not everything can—or will—get done. And that’s OK! It’s good to dream; it’s good to hope.

I hope we can all begin to reconcile our aspirations with our accomplishments. I hope we can celebrate what we’ve done so we don’t fret so much about what we haven’t done yet. In acknowledging that and understanding both our limitations and self-expectations, we can find some fresh inspiration—coupled, I hope, with a healthy dose of gratitude—that can propel us into our next chapter.

 

Marty Johnson is an entrepreneur, writer, and business coach. He serves as ex officio Director of Communication and Advisor to the Board for AMBC and is Editor of MBC Today. Marty owns and operates Uncle Marty's Shipping Office in Ithaca, NY, where he's also Co-Founder of the Collegetown Small Business Alliance. Please visit him at askunclemarty.com. #AskUncleMarty

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This article was published in MBC Today Volume 23 Issue 2 on March 3, 2021.