Milton Mail Boxes

I want to tell you a little story about a little store and a lovely couple running it whose potential is anything but little: Angela and Zach of Milton Mail Boxes in Milton, Delaware.

Those who've read my column regularly know that this past year has brought a lot of changes in my life: semi-retirement after selling my business, Uncle Marty's Shipping Office, my part-time post-retirement coaching career ramping up with the launch of AYM High Consultants, the selling of my home in Ithaca, New York, the building of a new home to be closer to my parents in Milford, Delaware, a move from old to new home, and quite a bit of travel interspersed—mostly to visit clients of AYM High, but also a little leisure traveling too (like the nine-day cruise I just returned from). Life has been so incredibly different than the six-day-a-week retail shipping business existence I had known for the majority of my career. This December will be my first December in a long time not covered in tape and surrounded by gifts to pack and ship; I'll hardly know what to do with myself! I suppose I'll just have to hit nearby Rehoboth Beach in my new coastal Delaware life, sip my Diet Coke, eat my Thrasher's boardwalk fries, and think of you all still busting your behinds behind your counters.

I jest...sort of. It's true that I won't be running a shipping store this December season, but I'll still be plenty busy helping AYM High clients continue to soar during their busiest month of the year. And I'll be stopping in to visit Zach and Angela at Milton Mail Boxes, the neighborhood shipping store that has become my go-to place for packing, shipping, shredding, printing, and all of the good things that I built a career selling. It's strange to pay someone else to do that now, but it's a good strange. Despite their schemes to not allow me to pay full price, I still insist on it. Angela and Zach are simply wonderful people who make my life so much easier.

I first stopped into Milton Mail Boxes a number of months ago and Zach was working alone, busy, and yet still took time to greet me, flash a big, bright smile, and make me feel very welcome. When we got to chatting, I asked him if he used ShipRite or PostalMate® and he gave me a slightly dropped-jaw look, bemused that some stranger off the street knew about the very specific industry software options available to a retail shipping business. Milton Mail Boxes, it turns out, are ShipRite users, and as a ShipRite user myself for most of my career we got to talking about a few tips and tricks in the software. After we chatted a while, I gave Zach my contact information, information about other businesses I thought he'd get some useful information and inspiration from following online, and information about AMBC and the incredible network that it is for independent and franchise shipping, printing, mailbox, and business centers.

The next time I stopped into Milton Mail Boxes, I met Angela. Zach had purchased Milton Mail Boxes before he met Angela, but after they were married she came on board with the business, giving up her career as a corporate pastry chef, and making a huge difference in processes, creating some standard operating procedures (SOPs—absolutely essential to any business looking to start a team and build an exit strategy, no matter how down the road that may seem), and adding another gigantic smile to the bright, cheery arsenal of warm grins that are their biggest assets.

Visit after visit, I got to know Zach and Angela more and more. We have become friends and, honestly, they're probably the first genuine friends outside of family and church that I've made since moving to Delaware. They joined AMBC and found tremendous wealth in its network and resources, have implemented new strategies with ShipRite, have added services and tweaked rates, and, little by little, are really working hard to create an absolutely stellar business.

One night a month or so ago, Angela and Zach took me out to an amazing Italian restaurant to share an evening of friendship...and to pick my brain a little bit. It was wonderful! While I only have a small amount of Italian genes (Sardinian, to be specific), I do come from a heavily Italian community in New York and, since moving, have been missing authentic Italian food terribly. Let me tell you, the chicken parm at Touch of Italy in Rehoboth Beach is something to write home about. I was so grateful for their kindness in taking me there.

Most recently, Zach, Angela, and I were talking about their front windows. I hope they don't mind me sharing this, but when I first visited one of the first things I noticed was the window clutter from old signs and mismatched marketing materials. I had suggested that they gut the windows and make some new signage that included a clearly defined service list, carrier-approved logos, and basically clean up some of the confusion to make their messaging clearer. So, on my last visit to their shop, Zach took me to their design computer and showed me what he had come up with...and I was so incredibly impressed! Soon after, while I was away for a few weeks on client visits, industry events, and aforementioned cruise, he texted me photos of what he had printed and installed. Wow! What a difference!

Getting to know Angela and Zach has been a true honor; it's honestly been an inspiration. I'm going to be stopping in as often as I can when I'm in town to see each time how much they continue to grow and improve.

And maybe, just maybe, this December if I'm pining for packing peanuts and holiday shipping chaos while sipping aforementioned Diet Coke and eating aforementioned Thrasher's boardwalk fries, I'll pop in to see if they need any help with crowd control or packing up gifts. That is, if they'll indulge me...

... 

Marty Johnson is the Communication and Vision Coach at AYM High Consultants, a columnist, and an editor, producing the mail and business center industry's leading magazine, MBC Today. In 2023, he sold his popular and growing brand, Uncle Marty’s Shipping Office, and retired from shopkeeper life to focus on writing and coaching. Subscribe to his Ask Uncle Marty™ newsletter and read more at askunclemarty.com; follow him on socials @askunclemarty. #AskUncleMarty 

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Article slated to be published in MBC Today volume 26 issue 6 on November 1, 2024.

PRINTING United Expo '24

Last week, on behalf of AYM High Consultants, I attended the massive PRINTING United Expo ’24 in Las Vegas. The show took over two full halls at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with over 800 exhibitors from all over the world and roughly 30,000 attendees!

I spent three days at the convention center, fueled by my favorite Vegas bagels and schmear from adjacent Siegel’s Bagelmania, walking roughly 11 miles each day to try to cover as much of the show as I could and visit with as many exhibitors and attendees as I could.

I went for a four main reasons:

    1)    I love Vegas and will make any excuse to go

    2)    I wanted to see what other consultants there were doing, if they had booths or not, and have some chats with others in similar spaces to learn from them

    3)      To meet with exhibitors and source special requested information, products, equipment, and services for AYM High clients—whom we now call “Soarers”

    4)      To meet up with industry colleagues from the Association of Mail & Business Centers and other organizations and contacts I’ve made over the years to network and continue positive relationship building

I didn’t encounter too many other consultants there though. Are there not many doing what we do in the printing world? Up until now, with AYM High Consultants we’ve really been specializing in the mailbox, print, packing, and retail shipping industry and I thought surely there would be others specifically specializing in print. But I didn’t find too many—if any! This tells me there’s a great opportunity there, so I’m excited to look more into it to see how AYM High can help small and medium print shops get started, get going, and keep growing.

By the end of the three days, I had compiled three full bags of swag, catalogs, business cards, brochures, and giveaways, including a giant pile of pens to bring to my BFAM (brother from another mother) Fahim, who is a tradeshow pen aficionado. I left myself over 100 voice memos during my visits so I could later sit down and sort through all of the information I gained, and ended up compiling a 25-page document full of ideas, photos, contacts, and suggestions that we’ve now shared exclusively with our Soarers.

I also had a great time meeting with organizers of the PRINTING United Expo. Will AYM High be presenting there next year when the show happens in Orlando? There’s a good chance! And an even better chance we’ll be even more involved in 2026 when the show comes back to Vegas. Stay tuned!

Check out AYM High Consultants’ socials @aymhighconsultants or my personal socials @askunclemarty for photos and videos from the experience.

…

Marty Johnson is the Communication and Vision Coach at AYM High Consultants, a columnist, and an editor, producing the mail and business center industry's leading magazine, MBC Today. In 2023, he sold his popular and growing brand, Uncle Marty’s Shipping Office, and retired from shopkeeper life to focus on writing and coaching. Subscribe to his Ask Uncle Marty™ newsletter and read more at askunclemarty.com; follow him on socials @askunclemarty. #AskUncleMarty

September / October 2024 Edition of MBC Today

 

The September / October 2024 edition of MBC Today (volume 26 issue 5) just dropped. A free preview version is available on the homepage of the Association of Mail & Business Centers (ambc4me.org) and AMBC Members may access the full version in the Members Only section of the site; AMBC Members will also receive their printed copy in the mail soon!

Thank you to all who contributed to this issue of the mail and business center (MBC) industry's leading publication, keeping both independent and franchise stores across the country up to date, in the loop, and networked together. It's a privilege to produce and edit this publication, but it's because of your hard work that it has such rich content.

I'll share my Letter From the Editor below. Enjoy!

...

Dear Readers,

I had lunch today with a dear friend. She was in town knocking Delaware off of her visit-all-50-states-before-age-50 list and I was in town between consulting jobs for a day or two to get some laundry done and repack my suitcase, so the timing worked out perfectly.

We went to Big Fish Grille, a local Rehoboth Beach favorite. I had seafood pasta and she had the herb crusted cod. We sat and talked non-stop for nearly two hours, each so happy to see each other and get updates on what we've been up to the past year or two since we last hung out at an AMBC event.

As we were visiting, I was reminded what a truly unique industry we're in. The friendships we make are genuine; the relationships we forge are strong. We see each other like no one else sees us, because we have this weird, wacky thing in common: owning retail shipping businesses.

Over lunch, my friend told me all about her latest ventures—property and business acquisitions, new equipment, new staff, new products, new services—and I told her all about what I've been up to. She is absolutely killing it and I'm proud and grateful to call her a mentor of mine as I learn from her and continue to be inspired by her incredible success and the impact she has had on her community. She's a rock star.

As I travel quite often now with AYM High and visit clients, present at events, and participate in summits across the country, I'm admittedly having a hard time keeping things and people straight. I have to keep detailed notes and spreadsheets to remember conversations, who's who, what's what, and sometimes even where I am at any given time. My brain just doesn't file people, places, and anecdotes away like some other people can. But, despite all of the new stimuli, people, places, ventures, and adventures, one thing remains the same: relationships.

As I've said so often over the years in this magazine, on my blog, and in presentations at events, we are in the business of relationships, not transactions. We forge bonds. We solve problems. We sell solutions, not products or services. We treat people right and do our best to live by the golden rule, because only then will this all-too-karmic universe open up doors that we couldn't even approach on our own.

This issue of MBC Today is, once again, filled with relationship-oriented content. Why? Because AMBC is a non-profit, member-run organization, built on relationships and strong in relationships. Its #membershelpingmembers philosophy is its secret to success and using that same philosophy in your business will be your secret to success. I promise.

With gratitude and care,

Marty Johnson (he/him)

Columnist | Ask Uncle Marty™
Editor & Producer | MBC Today
Founder | Uncle Marty's Shipping Office
Communication & Vision Coach | AYM High Consultants
Co-Host | To-Be-Announced Podcast Launching Soon(ish)
askunclemarty.com · @askunclemarty · #AskUncleMarty

Dress for Success

 

On a recent call with Robin, a dear client of ours with whom we’ve been working for a few months, we were so impressed by how well she was dressed. She had on a sleek black blouse with classic black and white polka dot statement sleeves, classic pearls, classy earrings, and was just so put together that everyone on the call noticed how sharp and polished she presented. It made an impression!

We commented on it to Robin and asked if she was on her way to church or a networking event or some other function, and she replied that she was just on her way to her business—a franchise shipping store she co-owns and co-operates with her husband. While most people in her position would dress for comfort, because owning and operating a shipping business is not something easily done in heels, Robin instead dresses for success.

Robin’s a boss and her demeanor, personality, outlook, outgoingness, and presentation fully align with her role. She’s no-nonsense, yet incredibly kind, professional, and ready to dig into any project that comes her way.

On our call, Robin shared that in her past career she taught professional dress. She shared the old adage, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have,” to which we extrapolated “Dress for the clients you want, not the clients you have” and we all agreed that that philosophy was so important. Robin told us that studies show that individuals who work from home are much more productive when they dress as if they were going into an office, rather than staying in their pajamas all day. It makes a lot of sense!

At AYM High Consultants, we’re in the process of having new uniforms made. Our first iteration has served us very well, but we’ve also learned from them. While we’re sticking with nice clean, crisp, professional, goes-with-any-color-pants white polos for our next iteration, we’re upgrading the material to be more durable, stay whiter, and lay flatter at the collar. And we’re removing our first names from being printed on each uniform, realizing after a while how unnecessary they are and how it takes the look down a notch on the professionalism scale.

When we consult different businesses, the uniform style we recommend for each varies. It can all depend on market, culture, vibe, and target client base. Often, we do recommend polos with the company logo embroidered, however there are some businesses where button-downs, aprons, or even hoodies make more sense.

In any professional dress decision, you need to know your market. What will make you relatable and approachable, project trustworthiness and professionalism, and allow you to appeal to the clients you want to appeal to? Wear that. Dress for success.

...

Marty Johnson is the Communication and Vision Coach at AYM High Consultants, a columnist, and an editor, producing the mail and business center industry's leading magazine, MBC Today. In 2023, he sold his popular and growing brand, Uncle Marty’s Shipping Office, and retired from shopkeeper life to focus on writing and coaching. Subscribe to his Ask Uncle Marty™ newsletter and read more at askunclemarty.com; follow him on socials @askunclemarty. #AskUncleMarty

RIP, Mr. Simmons

News is just breaking now that Richard Simmons has passed away at age 76.

In what must have been the early '90s, my sister and I were in Newark Airport and saw Richard. I'm guessing we must have been on a family trip and there were others with us, but I don't remember the details. I just remember Richard walking through the terminal, larger than life, in his signature spandex, with a detail of body guards in suits surrounding him.

We were in awe. Richard Simmons was a household name at the time and we admired his authenticity and boldness. He was himself, unabashedly, often appearing wherever he was--from a workout video to a talk show to Newark airport--sporting tight booty shorts, an oft-sequined tank top, and signature big curly hair crowning his pronounced forehead. He was beautiful.

Richard became a favorite of my sister's and mine from that point on, though to be fair we loved him before our encounter as well. One Christmas, not too long ago, I got my sister a Richard Simmons Chia Pet. Oh, it was delightful.

Rest in peace, prince of the prance and rump shaker extraordinaire. Thank you for showing the world what it means to be comfortable in one's own skin. You were ahead of your time and retro all at once...and we will always love you for it. You taught us not to be afraid to sparkle.

The 2nd Ask Uncle Marty™ Newsletter | Write Me

The second-ever Ask Uncle Marty™ newsletter just dropped. Please check it out here and be sure to subscribe for free so you don't miss a future issue.

In this newsletter, I shared a piece titled "Write Me" and I'd like to share it here as well...

Write Me

Ask Uncle Marty™ started out as an advice column and, at its heart, it still is.

Many years ago (15-ish), small business owners, primarily in my industry, started asking my opinion on things. They wanted to know how to do certain stuff, how to handle situations, how to build a team, hire, and fire, how to reach their target market, etc. So, I began submitting articles to what was then MPC Today, the industry’s leading publication that went to both independent and franchise shipping stores across the country.

After doing this a while, I learned that I love to write. It was strange, as I was always a math, science, music, and theater kid in school; English and reading comprehension weren’t my strong points. But, as an adult, something switched. I found out that I didn’t suck at telling a story or putting thoughts to keyboard; I discovered that there was incredible therapeutic benefit for me to be able to measuredly share my feelings, experience, and lessons-learned with others. So, after articles I had submitted to the magazine had been well received, I decided to give a tongue-in-cheek advice column a try…and Ask Uncle Marty™ was born. I went Ann Landers-style, changing names to protect the innocent and giving a mixture of encouragement and hard truths to those who chose to send in letters to the industry’s Uncle-in-Chief for anonymous publication.

Eventually, MPC Today changed its name to MBC Today, reflecting a change in our industry from “mail and parcel centers” to “mail and business centers” and the industry’s leading trade association, AMPC (Association of Mail & Parcel Centers), transitioned into a non-profit and changed its name to AMBC (Association of Mail & Business Centers) to reflect that same market and language switch. Now, the industry encompasses print, storage, and so much more—an ever-evolving and expanding collection of services that makes working in it both exciting and challenging.

When the non-profit transition happened for the industry association, I was, by then, running my own store and was asked to join the founding non-profit board of directors. I was glad to do so and eventually took over as Board Chair. When my service terms finished, I stayed on as an advisor to the board and ex officio Director of Communication. Then, this January, I finally stepped down from those volunteer positions completely in order to join the AYM High Consultants team and not pose a conflict of interest as a now-vendor for the non-profit association.

When the previous editor and producer of what had now become MBC Today retired, I put in a bid to AMBC to take the magazine over. They were happy to accept my offer and I’ve served as its editor and producer for many years now, keeping that contract at the request of the current board after stepping down from board service. The now-legacy and still kinda popular Ask Uncle Marty™ column published in it still takes letters from time to time, sometimes just shares unprompted thoughts, and often gets pulled from issues—by me—in order to keep things fresh and ensure other voices are shared equally and the magazine isn’t just me rambling on and on…and on.

My site, askunclemarty.com, contains a lot of my writing in blog format, going back many years. Some of it is personal, some of it is spiritual, lots of it is opinion, a fair amount of it is ridiculous, and a good bit of it is business-related. It’s a hodgepodge and my own therapy to write and share. And I still love a good letter to answer publicly and anonymously from time to time. So, if you have any interest, please use the contact form on my blog to submit questions. If they’re appropriate (or juicy) enough, I’ll be glad to publish an answer. Please check out my disclaimer for more information.

In the meantime, if you have any interest, here are some essays, letters, co-written advisements, and columns I’ve done in the past year or so (plus two from 2022 that I love). To save newsletter length, please check out my blog’s handy archive directory for the 60-ish other older pieces on there that aren’t being shared here.

Thank you for reading.

“This Last Week” - July 5, 2024

“July / August 2024 Edition of MBC Today” - July 3, 2024

“Rethinking Systems” - June 10, 2024

“Difficult People” - June 10, 2024

“Going High When They Go Low” - May 29, 2024

“Foxwood Cottage” - May 9, 2024

“Who’s on Your Bus?” - April 25, 2024

“Wednesday Evenings With Gary” - April 13, 2024

“Firing a Client” - April 12, 2024

“One of Those Days” - April 11, 2024

“Dumpster Delight” - April 2, 2024

“See It Through: The Best Stuff Happens After Intermission” - March 30, 2024

“Why Wait?” - March 30, 2024

“Just Give It a Minute” - March 30, 2024

“Getting on the ALDI Train” - March 13, 2024

“March / April 2024 Edition of MBC Today” - March 1, 2024

“Lady Wisdom” - February 28, 2024

“Proverbial Wisdom” - February 25, 2024

“Pearls of Wisdom” - February 21, 2024

“Sparrows” - February 17, 2024

“The First Ask Uncle Marty™ Newsletter” - February 12, 2024

“From Wawa to Larry” - February 8, 2024

“Consistently Clear Communication” - February 8, 2024

“Respectful Responsiveness: How to Be Professional in Email and Text” - January 17, 2024

“3, 2, 1 … Launch!” - January 10, 2024

“Good-Neighborliness” - January 7, 2024

“January 2024 Letter From the Editor” - December 28, 2023

“The Next Chapter” - November 8, 2023

“The November / December 2023 Issue of MBC Today” - November 7, 2023

“Days With Knight” - November 3, 2023

“AMBC4ME” - November 3, 2023

“Go Forth and Cookiefy” - November 1, 2023

“Tried and True Hiring Advice” - October 24, 2023

“The Power of Relationship-Based Business” - October 21, 2023

“Ask Uncle Marty™ Archives: The Security Question & Tell Them Uncle Marty's Sent You” - October 20, 2023

“I Was Wrong About Wendy” - October 11, 2023

“Hiatus? What Hiatus?” - October 11, 2023

“What Will Matter” - December 30, 2022

“Deep Blue Gratitude” - November 16, 2022

This Last Week

This is my last week in Ithaca, New Yok, the city I’ve called home and the community I’ve been a part of for many years now. I’ve pre-signed my home closing documents, have moved the majority of my stuff from my house, and this last week am existing on an air mattress, folding table, and trying my best to eat my pantry and fridge clean.

I agreed to wait until after the first week of July to leave town, as Codey and Clark, the new owners of Uncle Marty’s Shipping Office, are on their honeymoon; as part of my agreement with them upon the sale of my business to them six months ago, I promised to storesit so they could not have to worry about day-to-day operations while they’re spending this important week together.

This last week, I’ve set up a workspace in the front of Uncle Marty’s on the guest worktable that is situated between banks of private mailboxes. Being up front, I’ve been able to see so many dear guests and loyal clients who have stopped in to check their mail, ship packages, pick up printing orders, buy greeting cards, or drop off used packing material for reuse. It has been truly a blessing to see these amazing advocates for Uncle Marty’s this week and say a proper goodbye (many did come to my retirement party in December, but now I get some one-on-one time to let them know how much I’ve appreciated their friendship, support, and patronage for 13ish years). I’ve given so many hugs, shed a fair amount of bittersweet tears, and felt incredibly content in the win-win-win sale of this business and the next chapters ahead.

Why win-win-win? It was definitely a win for me, as I needed to head out of town in order to be closer to family in Delaware, as well as to move on to an exciting post-retirement career in consulting and editing, both of which have been so well received that my fellow coaches and I with our new consulting firm (AYM High Consultants, if you wanna check it out) can barely keep up with demand. So, the business sale and moving on to new and exciting freelance things was definitely the right decision for me.

It was definitely a win for Codey and Clark as well. Clark had been my manager the last couple of years and has worked in the shop off and on for nearly six years now. His sister Aleah started before him, brother Callum after him, followed by mom Julie, brother-in-law Ryan, and many other family and friends. This business had become a true family business—just, it was their family and not mine (though I am definitely an honorary member, loving my “work kids” as if they were niblings of my own.) In the last six months since Codey and Clark have been the owners, they’ve broken my records every single month and are poised to open a second location downtown next month, with a third location for 2025 in negotiations and looking very promising. They’re smashing it and I am so, so proud.

The third win is obviously a win for the business. With the growth, new locations, tremendous positive feedback, new systems in development, and possible franchising down the road, the business is doing better and growing stronger than it ever has before. It’s definitely a win-win-win; my heart is definitely content, overjoyed, and full of gratitude with how it all worked out.

There were two new team members, Ben and Caleb, at Uncle Marty’s who each started a month or two ago. They’re working out really well. As is the Uncle Marty’s tradition, once a team member reaches the point where we’re sure we like them, they like us, and they’ve made a difference around here, we immortalize them on our “Team Member Wall of Fame”—which is a section of the shop where we display portraits of all of our favorite team members, past and present. But these aren’t normal portraits. No, they’re black and white face-smashed-on-photocopier portraits.

The face smashing started years ago with Aleah, my very first long-time team member. (I had a few others before her, but none worked out.) Not only had she never used a landline, but she had also never photocopied her face! So, I was thrilled to show her what I have always found is a fun thing to do in any office…but made sure to set a precedent that we keep the photocopier portrait usage to faces only. So, I first demonstrated how to properly lay your face on the copier glass and made a copy of my mug and then, after the glass was properly cleaned, Aleah followed suit by copying her own face…and the Team Member Wall of Fame was born.

So, when it came time to initiate Ben and Caleb, I was so excited to be able to do it during the week I was storesitting. They know they’re likely the last ones to be initiated to the wall by “The One & Only Founder Uncle Marty Himself,” a title Codey and Clark graciously gave me when I relinquished my “Owner & Shopkeeper” title at the store sale closing. (Actually, the title they gave me was just “Founder,” but I’ve added a little extra flare to it since…because I’m admittedly a little extra).

What has made me just as proud as watching the new team members flourish, trained by people I trained through a training program I and long-time coworkers created, is watching the long-term team members that I hired take ownership and management and charge. In fact, there are two more new interns starting here next week and I’ve had the privilege to be introduced to each one when they came in for a business introduction / tour before they sign on officially. I watched Ryan, who has just become Store Manager, walking one of the new interns, Zoltan, through introductions. One of the first things Ryan did was bring Zoltan to the front counter where we have our mission statement framed for all guests to see and said, “This is our mission and what we aim to honor with each guest.”

My heart melted. I have preached and preached and preached mission statements to our AYM High clients—many of whom have never thought about having one—and how important it is to not only have one, but to publish it, display it, and from-the-get-go have each team member be in line with it. And that’s exactly what Ryan was doing, organically, because he knew that was a cornerstone of Uncle Marty’s. I was so proud.

Ryan then told Zoltan that, “At Uncle Marty’s, we believe we must diversify or die, so we are constantly looking for new products and services that make sense to add on and grow with.” This is verbiage Ryan has picked up from my own mentor, Fahim, and likely repeated by him to our team. “Diversify or die” is something we also preach now at AYM High.

So, as I sit here in the front of Uncle Marty’s, spending my last week getting all the takeout dishes I’ll miss from this neighborhood, hugging all of the regulars one last time, and feeling elated, excited, and sometimes a little weepy, I’m reflecting with profound gratitude and looking forward with hopeful anticipation.

This has been one wonderful, wonderful last week.

…

Marty Johnson is the Communication and Vision Coach at AYM High Consultants, a columnist, and an editor, producing the mail and business center industry's leading magazine, MBC Today. In 2023, he sold his popular and growing brand, Uncle Marty’s Shipping Office, and retired from shopkeeper life to focus on writing and coaching. Subscribe to his Ask Uncle Marty™ newsletter and read more at askunclemarty.com; follow him on socials @askunclemarty. #AskUncleMarty

 

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Article written July 5, 2024, for co-publication on the askunclemarty.com and aymhigh.com blogs.