What does a typical day for you consist of?
A typical day starts out with checking the company’s cash flow position – bank account, credit cards, payables, and receivables, then responding to emails (there are typically dozens that need answers). I usually have several meetings each day, both internally and externally. I spend a lot of time reviewing sales opportunities as well as giving input on new product design.
What advice would you give someone considering this career?
Learn as much as you can about everything! Being a CEO requires you to be an expert in all functions across a company, so you’ll need to spend time in each role. And no job is too big or too small. For example, if you want to focus on streamlining the order fulfillment process, you’ll want to spend time packing and shipping orders yourself, to truly understand the process. You also need to be able to take a step back and see the bigger picture, so brainstorming with peers or reading business articles regularly is very helpful.
What is a book or movie that has inspired you?
An easy-to-read and highly inspirational book is Shift Your Mind Shift The World by Steve Chandler. A key learning for me was that expectations are not the same as agreements. So if a colleague or employee is not living up to your expectations, you have to check in with yourself and ask if you have an unspoken expectation, or has there been an agreement between you two? It’s best to have a conversation with the other person and make a formal agreement on what each of your contributions should be and then live up to them. You can’t expect other people to read your mind!
Do you (or your company) offer internships or job shadow opportunities to high school students? If so, how would a student go about applying for one of those?
The Casery is a small company so we don’t currently offer internships. There may be job shadow opportunities in the future, after Covid-19 lockdown. Stay tuned!
