Erica George is a jack of all trades within her family’s home-grown company, Flanagin’s Bulk Mail Service. She helps run mail, drives the big mail trucks, and continues the secretarial aspect of the business.
Since 1995, George has worked for her mother, Donna, and alongside her sister, Monica. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We’ve always been a very close family, which makes working together a lot easier,” George said. “For me, it’s such a blessing to be able to see my mom, sister, and my sister’s kids on a daily basis. I can’t imagine not being as involved as I am in their lives.”
George also counts her blessings that she can say that she enjoys what she does for a living.
“I’m so lucky that I get to wake up every day and don’t dread going to work. This job is a big part of my life, and I’ve gotten very good at what I do over the years,” George said.
A huge perk of working surrounded by understanding family members is the flexible schedule that comes with it. This was a big reason why George began working for her mother years ago.
“When I had my kids, joining the family business was the perfect opportunity. I was able to raise my kids and still hold a job. I even got to bring them to the office with me,” she said. “My mom loved it too because she got to see her grandkids every day. The same went for my sister when she had her children.”
Both Erica and her sister Monica attended a Disney Institute training program where they learned how to bring creativity into day-to-day customer service interactions.
“It was a nice way to boost the creativity in our company in order to figure out a way to make our service more of an experience rather than just a service,” Erica said. “We all brainstormed ways to make it interesting after we got back from training –different ways to make our company more well-known and ways to make our customers have more of an experience.”
The Flanagin girls came up with quite the ideas. Walking into Flanagin’s Bulk Mail Service, customers can always expect to see something new. From your name being spelled out on a welcome sign, the appreciation station, and a photo booth to name a few, Erica and the rest of the staff at Flanagin’s try to go above and beyond their customers’ expectations.
Erica’s favorite part of her job is overcoming challenging tasks and finding new ways to succeed within her role of bookkeeping and secretarial work.
“Although my job is a lot of typing and data work, I love a good challenge and being faced with a task that requires me to problem solve for a customer,” George said.
One of her greatest challenges? Converting stacks and stacks of paperwork to a more quick and easy electronic form of communication a few years back.
In her free time, Erica enjoys participating in many different hobbies. She and her husband are very focused on living a healthy lifestyle and exercising. George has even competed in The OCB Natural (Organization of Competitive Bodybuilding) Figure Competitions and took home two Pro Cards. In addition, she is a USCCA (U.S. Concealed Carry Association) certified instructor for the Midwest Training Group. When she’s not teaching, George puts her certification to good use every Friday night at Blythe’s Sport Shop in Valparaiso where she participates and assists at Ladies View Elite, a women’s training group focused on practicing and expanding handgun skills.
“My husband was always into hunting and guns, but it wasn’t until later on that he suggested I learned how to shoot in case I ever needed to protect myself,” George said. “I instruct women who have never held a gun before or who have very little experience. I was on their end at one point –scared as ever and not knowing anything about how to protect myself. Now, I get to share my passion and help women gain a new protection skill while doing so.”
George also enjoys spending time with her 25-year-old son and 19-year-old daughter. Her daughter, in fact, just began working at Flanagin’s alongside of Erica, her aunt Monica, and her grandma Donna.
Looking forward, George hopes to continue doing what she loves –coming to work where she is surrounded by her family.
“I’m so fortunate to have this job and hope to keep the momentum of the company moving forward while expanding our presence in the community,” George said.
For more information on Flanagin’s Bulk Mail Service, visit http://mybulkmail.com/.
