Editing The Pen Addict 220/transcript (section)

== JetPens Warehouse ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So, I snuck in a stealth trip to JetPens. Once they found out I was coming, they really wanted me to get me down there. And I could not have been more excited because when I worked for them, you know, I worked for them for almost a year. I think it was like 11 months and change. And I never traveled out there. So, I'd never met anyone in person that I ever worked with at JetPens. It was all through Skype and FaceTime and whatever we did. So, that was like right out the gate. That was going to be like a super highlight of mine. And we took it right from the airport. I landed in San Francisco, got in an Uber and went to JetPens offices in San Jose, which only took about 45 minutes. It wasn't that bad of a trip. And it was just a blast. You know, I got to meet Shu, who's one of the original three founders. The other two are out and about, you know, doing other things. You know, actually, one was in New York and one was in Korea at the time. So, I didn't get to meet everyone that I was with. But, you know, I've worked with Shu for years and years and years. And she was amazing. She gave me the tour. And they have a great setup now. And they have tons of employees. And they have a cool office. And, you know, their warehousing is really neat. It's big. And it's super efficient. And it's organized so well. And with that many items, they carry so much stuff, right? I mean, it's just endless. You know, they can launch a new product like a brush pen. And that brush pen will have 70 colors. And then that just goes right in with everything else. I can't even imagine. I didn't even ask the numbers. But just thousands and thousands and thousands of SKUs. Because, you know, everyone's picking and packing. And orders flying out the door while we're there. So, it was just a good experience. And, of course, got to meet Elaine, who writes Owl Inc. She's my main contact there these days. And, you know, I talk to her a bunch about the blogging stuff. And about new products coming in. And what we're going to talk about. And things like that. So, it was awesome to finally meet her. And, you know, I got to see their whole photography setup. And video setup. And marketing department.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So, they have like a huge warehouse. And it all comes from there. That's how it's done with JetPens. Like, they ship everything.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yes. They ship everything. It all comes from there. It's all picked and shipped there every day. So, you know. And it's a... I don't even know how much square feet it is. It's not like... Like, you say, huge warehouse. It's not like as big as maybe you would imagine. But it's very, very large. You know. But it's like it... But it's almost... But it's like in a... In an office park type of thing, you know. Right. Okay. With other offices in there in the same, you know, facility. They're not their own facility. If that makes sense.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And how many people do they have? Like, picking those guys?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh, gosh. I don't know. A bunch. A bunch. Just a lot of people in there. Yeah. Good amount of people there. Yeah. So... But it was just cool. And, you know. Always get to see new stuff. And it's just cool being around all those pens and paper. And, you know. Shu and I were joking about her desk. You know. You know. It's just piled high with stuff she needs to, you know. Be testing out or trying out. See if they want to, you know. Want to order. And I'm like, yeah. That's how my desk looks at home. With all the stuff I get from them. Just figuring out what I'm going to do with it. When I'm going to review it. And all that stuff. But...

'''Myke Hurley:''' And that sounds like one of those dream jobs, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh, yeah. Totally. Right? I mean. Just being in that environment is cool. It's cool. So, you know. Heck. That's why I jumped at the chance to work at them. Work for them. You know. Back in the day. People that might not know.