Dear Uncle Marty, I need to hire someone new. I know you’ve written about this before, and I’ve tried some of the methods you suggested but am not having any luck finding the right person. Any other ideas? Thanks, Understaffed in Utah ... Dear Understaffed, It sounds...

by Tobye McClanahan This edition of Tech Talk is going to be a little different. Instead of telling you about some great new app, I’m going to re-introduce you to a free app you’ve all heard of, but unfortunately many aren’t using to its fullest potential. Twenty...

by Norman Froscher The dog days of summer are gone and soon we’ll be gearing up for another holiday shipping season. But often in this glamorous industry we can get a little bedraggled, feel a little unmotivated, and just get plain weary. As entrepreneurs and small...

by Michele Zajac, Owner of The Boxes etc. in Naperville, Illinois When you own a shipping store, you learn to deal with the unexpected. Every customer and every package is different, every day. It keeps life interesting. Maybe too interesting. Lunch time can span from...

I’m sitting in my little office in the back of my shop, listening to Aleah and Clark have conversations with our clients. I can trust what they’re saying. I can hear their smiles. And I smile. Over the past year, these two Uncle Marty’s team members have gotten to...

by Marty Johnson I just got back from a vacation—the first real vacation I’ve had in over eight years. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve traveled plenty, but it seems it’s always been for a conference, summit, gig, meeting, funeral, or some other event that I needed to be at....

Time for Change By Marty Johnson “The only thing that is constant is change.” – Heraclitus Things are not the same today as they were yesterday, very different than they were a few years ago, and entirely different than they were decades ago. Our world, communities,...

A few years ago, I had a call at my store from a student asking if I did key duplication and how much it cost. Being a shipping and office services center, I indeed did duplicate keys, at the time only charging $2.99 per key. So, I told her, “Absolutely!...

There’s this guy that works in the brand new building across the street. He looks official, and my suspicion is that he’s not an office worker there, but rather a foreman or contractor–the lead on one of the few remaining small teams putting...

What to expect at AMBC’s epic event, October 27-29 You’ve heard buzz about it for months now. You’ve read e-blasts, seen the schedule, and started to make plans. Many of you have already booked your tickets and made your reservations. You’re excited. And so are we!...

Seema & I were truly honored to host the Shira’s at our store last Tuesday, the 12th of September. We had an amazing learning and growth experience, exchanging ideas and experiences. (Thanks to ShipRite Services for hosting their regional workshop in Utica,...

Sometimes we need to take a step back to see how far we’ve come in order to realize, even just a little, the enormous scope of the future’s potential. I want to share a blog post that I wrote today for my store, in celebration of my sixth anniversary....

Do any of you have an insurance agent? Do you know who they are? Better yet, do they know who you are? I want to tell you about my friend Frannie. Probably about five years ago now, I decided I’d switch my business insurance. I didn’t really have a good...

I wanted to share this podcast with you about my CAGE Method, one which I spoke about in Vegas last year at the RS Expo Breakout sessions for Social Media 201. It’s important to note that consistency, authenticity, generosity and excellence are winning qualities...

I’m from a New York Italian community where pizza is a way of life. I’ll take on anyone and debate the merits of crust, sauce, cheese blend, hand tossing, oven styles, fresh or canned mushrooms, anchovies, or any other topic or topping. I know good pizza;...

Independence Day is just around the corner—a day on which we celebrate the tremendous freedom we have as Americans, look toward a future full of unlimited possibilities, and remember the cost at which our freedom came. And then we eat too much, drink too much, and...

I was listening to a TED Talk yesterday. Well, it was really a TED discussion. Chris Anderson was interviewing Elon Musk—you know, the genius behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity, Hyperloop, etc.—and the discussion was fascinating! I always enjoy hearing Elon speak about...