Keeping it in the Family

 

What do people do when they are self employed and want to go on holiday? I guess they shut up shop so to speak. But for me, this has been a very different story. One I didn’t imagine happening but here we are. Since starting my small business I have had one big holiday for ten days in 2016 and one this year for ten days. I didn’t shut down my website for a very special reason.

My family who live in Melbourne allowed me to keep my business going by sending my care packages for me. I ship my stock and everything necessary to keep the business going from a physical point of view to them. And then I run my business from an email point of view anywhere across Australia.  

Quite often it’s a bit of team work – I might be on a flight and an order comes in. My sister hear’s the sale come through first – she calls my Mum and reads out what should be added to the care package, written in the gift card message and address. My Mum puts all the love and care into wrapping my care packages and then my Dad gets home and drives the parcels to the post office for Express Delivery. Sometimes my dad drives the gift box to it's recipient if time is of the essence.

A recent development is that my Mum who is a technology phobe, has now got my business App added to her Ipad so she’s getting techy to help me out too. We all get excited when an order comes in – it’s not just me. It’s a team effort, something I never dreamt would be part of my business. It means when I visit my family for a holiday with my children, I can just run my business smoothly from Melbourne.

Small business has taught me a lot. It continues to teach me everyday and keeping it in the family has been a golden moment. I am no longer just me when you meet the team, it’s also my Mum Christine, my Dad Colin and my Sister Leanne. So everyone, I would like you to meet the new members of my team!

Meet the new team members of feel better box