Red rectangle with small, white text that says "A collaborative brain trust." on the left and the TrustEngine logo, "trust" large in bold cursive and "engine" right aligned underneath in bold italics.

From Directing Freight to Directing Accounts

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Multitasking has always been a strong suit of mine. The more the merrier. No, really!

I fell in love with logistics while searching for a true passion after college. What started as managing third-party logistics (3PL) warehouse relationships and over-the-road (OTR) freight turned into running 60% of a company’s supply chain. This led to three promotions in two years, including a position made just for me where I managed logistics and an external sales territory. Eventually, I managed over $40 million dollars in e-commerce in the duration of a year and over $200M in revenue in under three years.

Life is wild, and my career hasn’t been an exception.

Andrew's headshot in black and white. He's standing with arms crossed, wearing bracelets.
Joining Team 1909

In 2021, I had an opportunity to join friends who had created a digital marketing startup (1909 DIGITAL!)–and I took it. Going from managing sales and logistics to my current role was a no-brainer. At points, the transition had a learning curve, but also felt seamless.

Instead of talking with freight brokers and warehouse managers, I now talk to business owners and marketers. On any given call the discussion can range from strategizing about SEO to paid advertisement, new web design and database migrations, writing copy, and more. As the Director of Accounts for 1909 DIGITAL and TrustEngine, I value partnerships and collaborating with our clients. Years of logistics and supply chain management taught me to have an unparalleled hustle and a love of grinding to reach goals. This has allowed me to help businesses with their digital marketing focus and strategy.

 

My Passion Project: TrustEngine

When I joined 1909 DIGITAL leadership told me every month companies ask about services that required marketing implementation, rather than strategy. Together, we saw an opportunity to turn those inquiries into a chance to impact more businesses. In the name of short-term projects and implementation, TrustEngine was born.

 

How Did We Get Here?

1909 DIGITAL focuses primarily on digital marketing strategy. We set up your foundational documents that give you the tools and actionable plan to make a splash in your sector. We’re experts in creating capital campaigns, messaging frameworks, personas, content plans, in-depth digital audits, and competitor analysis.

While our core 1909 DIGITAL team focuses on strategic work, business owners have reached out for help because they’ve heard of us through our network or current clients. These businesses might already have a strategy, a smaller budget, or need immediate implementation. We listened to the needs of these potential partners and developed a business that fit just that.

 

Introducing TrustEngine

In July of 2021, 1909 DIGITAL launched TrustEngine–a brain trust delivering on content creation, building small-business websites, blog copywriting, social media, email marketing, paid advertising, and more. Knowing these businesses are typically on a budget, we figured out how to provide top-class delivery at a budget-friendly price.

We turned to family, friends, former team members, and our network to establish our brain trust. These are people who we’d trust to have on team 1909. They might own their own agency, work as full time freelancers, or already work a 9-to-5. This brain trust is not another “white pages” of faceless freelancers, they are vetted colleagues who we know do awesome work. They’re ready to smash goals.

Another great perk? TrustEngine is stewarded by 1909 DIGITAL to provide exceptional account management and strategy oversight.

 

What’s Next?

We are now a full year into TrustEngine. The journey has been absolutely amazing. We’ve designed and built websites, created new copy for brands, paid advertising for local businesses. We’re learning, streamlining, and growing every day. We’ve had the privilege to work with great clients and develop an amazing team to support digital delivery. We’re so excited to see what year two brings.

From those early hours working OTR logistics and walking warehouses, to developing marketing for brands and project managing digital delivery– I’m living the dream with 1909 DIGITAL and TrustEngine.

Check out the TrustEngine website at trustenginedigital.com and follow our LinkedIn for the latest updates.

Flat lay of an open laptop, camera, phone, passport, map, travel bag, sun hat, and sunglasses on a brown table.

Being an Occasional Digital Nomad – 10 Tips to Work While Traveling

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Organization & Project Management

Hi! I’m Kelly, the Digital Project Manager at 1909.

I’ve been responsible for a wide variety of tasks in my current and previous roles. I’ve scheduled meetings, ordered supplies, created and implemented processes, invoiced, planned events and team outings, purchased incentives, set up systems access, and the list goes on. This requires me to stay organized and keep very detailed notes.

Not unlike in my personal life, I’m able to juggle many things at once and incorporate my love of lists and all things organization. I absolutely love planning and executing parties, making lists for myself, and I could watch episodes of “Get Organized with The Home Edit” or “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” all day. It’s SO satisfying to see the finished projects!

A well-organized plan is my love language.

Work From Home or Anywhere

Initially, I struggled with working from home. Although it saved me multiple hours a week in commute time, I missed the social aspect. My co-workers at 1909 do a really great job of staying connected and being part of each other’s lives, even if it’s just to send a quick slack message to say hi, share a funny meme we can all laugh at, or post pictures of their kids. I realized that with the flexibility–and unlimited PTO–I have at 1909 DIGITAL, I could work toward some goals of my own!

One of my ultimate personal goals has always been to travel as much as possible. Life is just so short, and you only get one shot. Since the pandemic forced so many of us to work remotely, I thought, “If I can work from home… couldn’t that actually be from anywhere?”

Turns out, yes! Yes, it can.

“Working from home” can easily morph into an experience of working from an Airbnb, hotel, RV, or boat! Just last month, I was able to work from both Maine and Florida. In Maine, I was able to visit family, explore a local wildlife park, eat some amazing seafood, and sample a local winery. With friends in tow, I went to the beach, an amusement park, and finally to a Pirate dinner adventure show in Florida!

I feel so lucky to be able to blend my work and home life into location independence, allowing me to take more time for myself, fit in hobbies, health, and mental wellness. I ultimately have more time for friends and family, to see the world, and take my job with me on the road.

 

Kelly sitting on a couch in a screened-in porch with a laptop and mouse in front of her. Kelly is wearing black with her hair down. The couch has striped decorative pillows and the background has lush green trees just outside the windows.

Flexible & Agile Schedule

Working while traveling requires a lot of planning ahead and organization to accomplish everything successfully. Utilizing our flexible and agile schedule at 1909 has also given me more time to make the most of my travels. Being able to combine my love of traveling and organization into my work life, I’m able to have a truly great work-life balance.

I want to share with you my 10 best tips for working while traveling. If your employer offers remote work and you can take your laptop and go, I highly suggest getting out, even for a solo trip, and enjoying yourself! Becoming a “digital nomad” can be easy if you follow these tips below.

10 Best Tips for Working from Anywhere

  1. Travel with people who understand that you’ll be working.
  2. Take time to organize your blended schedule.
  3. Communicate your schedule clearly to your team and clients.
  4. Research Wi-fi accessibility–or just invest in a hotspot so you can always work from anywhere no matter what.
  5. Account for time changes.
  6. Pack thoroughly, but don’t overcomplicate things.
  7. Bring noise-canceling headphones. Nothing is worse than not being able to concentrate on your call because your surroundings are too noisy.
  8. Don’t be the driver! Offline work that can be synced up later can be done while being a passenger in a car or plane.
  9. Don’t be afraid to work at night. (You can schedule almost anything on a delayed send!)
  10. Create a space in your temporary home that acts like an office.
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We’re located in Indianapolis on land which is currently occupied and is the ancestral territory of the Miami, Shawnee, and Potawatomi people.