Melanie’s job before she joined the ShipperHQ team, was more demanding, thankless, and rewarding than any she’d ever had before. She was a stay-at-home mom.
Before moving to Austin, Melanie and her husband lived in Boston, where they both went to school and joined the corporate world. She worked in financial services doing marketing for what she describes as an “oooooold-school firm.”
After spending 15 years there, the family moved to Austin, where Melanie worked as a stay-at-home mom to her two sons for 10 years. When her youngest started attending all-day kindergarten, she knew she was ready to rejoin the workforce outside of home. Not sure where to begin looking, she stumbled upon a job listing for ShipperHQ.
For her first job interview in many years, Melanie wasn’t sure what to expect. But after chatting with CEO Karen Baker for 10 minutes or so, she was instantly at ease. Still not ready to work full-time with two young sons at home, she was thrilled with the offer to work part-time.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect with coming back, but Karen was so awesome and appreciates that people could do good work on flex hours. It was really never a problem,” she says.
Having worked in financial services in a very corporate version of a workplace, she was excited to do something completely different and to embrace the world of ecommerce and learn all about it.
“It’s a pretty nice sweet spot to be in. I get to do my thing and flex my brain and still get the cuddles off the bus stop and make sure they get everything they need,” she says, describing the ideal balance she’s found working part-time.
All In A Day’s Work
When you ask Melanie what she does – or has done – at ShipperHQ, you might be surprised that she’s managed to squeeze all of it into a part-time role. But alas, since joining the team three years ago, she’s touched just about every part of our business.
“I’ve been all over ShipperHQ. I started out running events and marketing, then switched over to the tech partnership side. Recently, I switched over to manage agency partnerships,” she says. “The agency side is much more about supporting those agency relationships, making sure their customers’ needs are met by our product. It’s really about staying in tune with what clients need as they build their ecommerce stores.”
High Altitude, High Expectations
Growing up outside of Denver, Melanie got used to being surrounded by breathtaking scenery. Though she’s now conceded to being a “summer mountain person,” rather than a “winter mountain person,” thanks to many winters in Boston, she still has a deep affinity for mountains of any kind. “I skied every single weekend when I was a kid, whether I wanted to or not,” she laughs.
Going to college at CU Boulder for her college, she was endlessly gobsmacked by the beauty of the Flatirons surrounding the campus. After undergrad, she headed to Boston to get a taste of East Coast living, where she met her husband after being set up by mutual friends.
“It was right about the time when the Redsox finally won the World Series in 2004, so it’s a very easy landmark to remember,” she says of the beginning of her relationship. After enough cold winters there, they moved on to Austin seeking adventure and a more active lifestyle.
Not Like a Regular Soccer Mom, A Cool Soccer Mom!
Melanie laughs when she describes her own hobbies.
“I’m a mom, so my main hobby is momming! I can’t believe it, but I’ve totally become a soccer mom!” she says. With boys in third and fifth grade, the whole family keeps mighty busy on weekends. Between tournaments, games on the road and other events, she loves the bond she shares with the other families they’ve met. While it’s a little different than life in Boston was, kicking back with a few Margaritas and laughs on the weekend with the other parents is a favorite aspect of the gig.
Melanie’s sure to clarify one thing, though: “I never went to the dark side of the minivan,” she defends.
When they’re not on the road, the whole family spends time chasing Fenway, the lab-mutt pup with a penchant for bothering his mom while she relaxes with a glass of wine in the evening.
“We started off a little rocky. He really liked to take all his puppy biting out on me and only me. But nowadays, he’s just the best,” she says.
At the end of the day, it’s all about balance for Melanie.
“I feel really lucky to have the flexibility I’m offered and the chance that Karen took on me. She’s always seen that the sky is the limit, and that’s really motivating for me. Coming back from being a stay-at-home mom for so long, it’s so great to be able to have both. I really love being a mom, it’s my ‘thing,’ so getting to do both is really cool.”
