Day in the Life of a Fiftypreneur

Up until two years ago, I couldn’t really picture myself as an entrepreneur, let alone a Fiftypreneur, but here I am feeling better than ever.

For over 28 years I set up my alarm clock, jumped in the shower, dressed with my nicely picked clothes, and ran out the door, and got coffee on the way… a routine that was hardly ever interrupted except for vacation or a business trip, which were basically the same only I didn’t sleep in my bed.

During that time my kids were younger... add to that the morning craziness of getting them out the door. Overall, my day was filled with meetings and more meetings until it was time to go home and do it all over again. Sometimes I really felt like I was sleeping at work!

But now, that’s all changed. Becoming an entrepreneur has made me so much more disciplined and organized because I don’t have an assistant to help respond to my emails, book meetings, and schedule trips. But that’s alright because I feel so productive for everything that I accomplish. Furthermore, my day starts different every day —I’ve always gone to bed early, which means I’m up early.

MONDAY

7:30ish am: Wake Up

The first thing I do is check how yesterday’s orders closed and how the morning sales started. This Shopify app can be addictive. Then I put on my workout clothes and have a cup of coffee while I check any urgent emails and remind myself about scheduled meetings for the day and week. Followed by breakfast which is usually just some fruit and then do some chores around the house.

9:00 am: Weekly team Call

Review of priorities (so, when I say team, it’s really Augusto (CFO)  and Ashleigh (CMO), the three of us essentially run the business). Of course, we use Zoom. We have been using Zoom way before the pandemic, so our work environment luckily has not really changed.

Since it's Monday, we all catch up on each other's weekend, then we get to business! One hour meetings are the most productive —enough to make quick decisions and make sure everyone is focused on the week’s priorities.

With a full house now (kids working from home), I start moving from room to room trying to find a space for me! Love having them here but we are not really set up for this!

10:30 am: Pilates 

What a luxury to be able to do it midmorning, I guess that’s one of the perks of being your own boss! I love the energy it gives me for the rest of the day. Grab a few things at the grocery store on the way back. Catch up on the phone with my sister Ana who lives here in Miami, and calls me about a dozen times a day.

1:00 pm: Lunch

I never have lunch and work at the same time. So this is a true break. Even if it's just having soup and a salad, we all eat lunch together.

2:00 pm: Meeting at Our Contract Manufacturer

Luckily, most of our suppliers and our warehouse are about 30-45 minutes from home. We currently have several new products to brief for next year’s innovation. With the pandemic, I haven´t been there for a while but it feels good to be back. There has been lots of catching up on the personal front and I truly enjoy seeing them —we have a great relationship and the meeting goes very well. I find it super important to build a friendly, personal relationship with our suppliers.

3:30 pm: Quick Stop By To The Warehouse

Our warehouse is only a few minutes away from the supplier I just visited which makes my day more efficient. No particular need to be there, but it’s a chance to greet Johanny (in charge of the warehouse operation) and see if there’s anything he needs or is concerned about. I take the opportunity to say hello to our tenant whom we share the space with. It’s interesting to see such different businesses operate together —he sells truck and machinery parts while I sell beauty products!

4:00 pm: Back home

I'm working out of my kitchen table. This is by far my favorite place to work from! The light and views are perfect. This is technically my office, I have a full display of our products here. It can get a little noisy, but I actually like it.

5:00 pm: Meeting With One Of Our Agency Partners

Back to find an empty room in the house to connect. They are all taken! I go outside. It’s 90 degrees, I sweat during the meeting, and decide to move back inside and take the meeting seating in the stairs.

5:40 pm: Back To My Kitchen Table

I respond to more emails and slack (did I mention we do all our work internally over Slack? It’s a great tool and I highly recommend it!). By now, our partner and designer Blake who relocated to New Zealand is just waking up, so it’s a good time to catch up over slack. He is working on the design for one of our new launches and it’s just amazing what he’s done.

6:30 pm: I’m Starting To Feel Like I Need A Break

Maybe a glass of white wine. Step outside with the rest of the family. It’s not as hot anymore, some are enjoying a beer since we all need some fresh air. Today I’m cooking dinner. Linguine vongole. It’s quick and everyone loves it. And my sister dropped by which is good because she hates cooking but loves cleaning up after.

Rest of the evening is just picking up dishes, some Netflix, one last check on orders from the day and tomorrow’s schedule. By now, I’m exhausted and ready to hit the sack! I’m one of those people who grabs a book and is asleep halfway through the first page. Most are still up, I hear noises and lights are on. But it doesn’t bother me.

It’s amazing how quickly we can all get used to a new routine. My advice is to:

• Give yourself some time to realize what this new routine will be like.
• Take advantage of the flexibility to make it fit your/your family's needs.
• Plan and respect meals —nothing gives me more of a sense of normality than stopping for lunch and of course dinner.
• Use the time you’ve saved on commutes, dressing for work, etc. to increase your productivity.
• Proactively learn. If you stay in your own bubble, you will fail to understand what’s around you, to get to the next level of excellence that any business requires.
• Think!!! Question your strategy, play around with “what if” and be creative.
• Give yourself a pad-in-the-back! It can be lonely sometimes, make sure you recognize your own accomplishments.
• Be flexible, so what if you need to work on a Saturday or Sunday? You can decide to not work Monday morning which everyone dreads anyway. But don’t assume the same of others in your team, respect their personal choices.