“It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken adults.” - Frederick Douglass
The quote is part of Ty Allan Jackson’s email signature. However, it is more than just a line in a signature, it is a mission.
Jackson is a renowned entrepreneur, motivational speaker, children’s author, and advocate for childhood literacy. What he is not is a logistics expert. But now he doesn’t have to be because Transtream’s Home Office shipping solution fully automates that process, while limiting his exposure to post office lines.
“I have my own publishing company, so it’s not like I can ask a large publishing company to ship books on my behalf,” says the Bronx-born Jackson who now runs Big Head Books in Pittsfield, Mass. “When a book goes out to a client, to a customer, my hands are usually on it. I’m the person who not only writes the books, I have to ship them.”
As the demand for Big Head Books continues to grow, Jackson has been spending more time on shipping tasks, especially now when he has had to practice social distancing and work from home. Book shipments can be as many as 500 at a time to organizations, such as the United Way, but also to parents, schools, and children he inspires.
“Once or twice a day, Monday through Saturday, we get orders from our website,” says Jackson. “I print out and apply an address label to a package, and then walk over to the post office and stand in line to pay for postage and then ship it out.
While a run to the post office might not seem like a significant drain, to business operations for a one-man-show like Big Head Books, every second lost can impact the bottom line. And during the current pandemic, avoiding lines is important.
“When I have a speaking engagement, I often have to rush back to try to make time to get to the post office because people are expecting to get their packages as soon as possible,” says Jackson. “That’s also time I’m not doing what I need to do to write a book or build the business.”
Saving time shipping with Transtream Parcel Management Solution
Things are different now that Jackson has taken advantage of the free one-year subscription to Transtream Home Office solution.
“Transtream Home Office automates everything. I can rate shop, print my own carrier labels, and pay for postage, which eliminates multiple trips to the post office. I just go down to my lobby and put the packages in the drop-off box,” says Jackson. “I easily save 30 minutes a day. That gives me back two-and-a-half to three hours a week to reach out to more customers, write more books, visit more schools, and make more connections. Plus, I save money on USPS Priority services. But it’s not solely dollars and cents. It’s more time and energy.”
And in the time of stay-at-home orders, Jackson sees an added benefit as well.
“I no longer have to stand in line where the people in front of me or behind me could be potentially infected. I think everyone’s a little more anxious every time we walk out our door,” says Jackson. “Now I can just leave my sanitizer in my pocket and my mask and gloves at home. Using Transtream, I can skip the lines and protect myself, my family, my neighbors, my customers, and my livelihood for that matter. It’s something that honestly, right at this moment, you can’t put a price on.”
While self-admittedly not the most tech-savvy person, Jackson says Transtream’s easy cloud-based set-up and user-friendly interface allowed him to get started quickly and realize benefits immediately. While saving time using this multi-carrier parcel management solution has allowed Jackson to build his business, it also allows him to follow his mission.
“I’m not a techie so I love the simplicity and the efficiency of Transtream. I love the coolness factor of it,” he says. During the COVID-19 crisis, Jackson has launched the virtual Supadupa Readers Club, where kids can read along with him every day at 1 pm via his social media channels. Individuals and organizations can make donations, with every $10 raised giving a child a signed copy of the book.
“We wanted to do something to help kids. I wanted to do something to help kids who were stuck at home without a lot to do,” he says. “It’s a great way to keep the kids engaged and for people and organizations to make a difference in a child’s life.
Learn more about how Transtream Home Office can help your employees ship more efficiently, cost-effectively, and safely, while working remotely.
Listen to Ty’s story in his own words by watching the video below.