The Daily Grind

Many people complain about their “daily grind” Some people really do not look forward to going to the office or other place of employment where they work each day.  Since most of us spend the largest percentage of our time awake each day at work, it certainly makes life better if you enjoy that space and environment.

We love where we work at Cardinal Selling Services! We are not just saying that because the coffee was really strong this morning. A big part of what makes it so great is our hometown community of Jasper, Indiana. This place is a heavenly slice of small-town Americana. The people here have deep roots in this historic community. Our business is highly dedicated to making a strong contribution here and giving back to local causes and organizations. This is the kind of place where neighbors look out for one another and do not hesitate to offer help when needed.

Our office, warehouse, and outlet center are located in the historic Hoosier Desk Building. The exposed brick walls and exposed beams exude character and harken back to an era in our country when American hard work was the bedrock foundation in communities just like Jasper all across the land. This place just has a great feel and sets the tone for each day.

Hoosier Desk was founded in 1915

Each morning we are greeted by Buddy and Bobby, our two warehouse cats we adopted from the local humane society. After keeping watch all night they like to doze their way through the day from various perches around the office. Our mornings, on the other hand, get going in a much more vigorous manner.  

Our first order of business always involves checking our various virtual storefronts to verify products that have sold and begin to process them for shipping out to their new owners. We have become experts in eCommerce, meaning our business is always moving forward 24/7/365. There are so many different outlets and channels we sell products to and communicate with our customers. This means checking voicemail, emails, and messaging from various social media platforms. Our morning becomes a blur of action and activity as we race to meet the deadline of our 1:00 pm FedEx pickup.

As a small business specializing in a unique business model in a fast-moving industry, no two days are alike and everyone has to wear many different hats and be able to shift gears quickly. New product listings have to added or updated across every channel when we sell items. Listings for sold items are removed. Items in our warehouse are priced and prepared for display in the outlet center. The phone rings alot, which is a good thing. Local customers come in to shop for treasures. Research is done to value assets to potentially be sold for clients. These are just some of the more predictable parts of the day we can tell you about. There is always that “curve ball” you did not see coming that might need to be handled as well.  

Just like the mornings, more times than not our afternoons quickly slip through our fingers like sand in an hourglass. We could probably work 24 hours a day and still not get everything done. That is why staying organized and prioritizing our efforts are crucial. The latter part of each day we again check all our sales channels for new orders that we can get a head start on for the next day’s shipment deadline. When you have a business that flows like a never ending river we have to take time to re-organize, re-prioritize, and get all of our ducks in a row.

Collin focused on getting the job done.

Now we do not want to make it sound like it is all work and no play here at Cardinal Selling Services. The people we work with on our team, clients, and customers we interact with probably make the biggest contribution to how much we love what we do here. Our Assistant Manager, Collin, and Vicki, the founder and owner of CSS, often find themselves rehashing the challenges and victories of the day’s efforts. There are always funny situations to look back on and have a good laugh while reflecting on another day of a job well done.

We, at Cardinal Selling Services, are grateful for each day that we get to walk through the doors of our 305 East Fourth Street office here in Jasper, Indiana. We would not trade our “daily grind”in this exciting business. We take pride in the trust and responsibility that our customers and clients place upon us and work hard to deliver each day. Just like our FedEx guy who without fail shows up at 1:00 pm sharp!