A Day in the Life…
Heather and I have a ritual of aligning the upcoming week and our calendars every Sunday evening. I perked up when she told me she was going to take Tuesday completely off from “work”. Seldom do we both get the opportunity to take the same day off, so I jumped at the chance. Let me tell you how a day off works at our house (and likely, every small business owner out there)!
We are enjoying working out in the mornings, so she scheduled her workout at 5:00am. The alarm went off at 4:30am and I stumbled out of bed to join her. She crushed the workout, and I took 3 Advil the moment we got home. By 6:15am we were home packing lunches and getting the kids going for school. We rode together to drop the kids off for school at 7:30, 7:45, and 8:45am. Selfishly, in my mind, now we were free to enjoy the “off” day. We headed home. As we turned into the driveway, Heather remembered that we needed to make a deposit and get change for our cash drawers at the Biltmore store. We raced to the bank and down to the shop before the store opened to make sure the staff were setup for success that day. By 10:00am we sat with a cup of coffee and discussed purchasing needs, new vendors, terribly slow shipping schedules for inventory, staffing needs, and potential collaborations with other local businesses.
Around noon we headed to pickup our spunky little Lottie from preschool and headed to 12 Bones for lunch. Heather had set a meeting with them to collaborate on opportunities for sales and future marketing events. By 2:30 we wrapped up and headed to pickup the older two kids from school.
As I finally opened a book up on the porch, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, Heather pulling weeds in our backyard and firing up the weed-eater. She always tells me that the yard is one of the only places where she can instantly see success in her efforts. This woman has some energy.
By 6:00pm we briefly ran back out to our shops to move inventory from one store to the other. She always makes sure the team is setup for success going into the next day. We got home, prepped dinner, and ate a lovely meal on the porch as a family.
I hit the pillow that night exhausted. She hit the pillow saying she enjoyed her “off” day and felt rested up for the rest of the week.
Owning a small business is tough. I’ve learned that it doesn’t turn off, and yet it doesn’t feel like work. There is something magical in the mental and physical exhaustion of owning a small business. I also have realized that Heather has hit her stride. As a spouse, it’s awesome to see. She’s all in. She’s passionate about her family, her people, and her work. Watch out world. Here comes Heather Wright… Here comes Provisions Mercantile.
- Matt
