Business and Life Lessons from the Appalachian Trial, with Susan Otten, Indie Do Good
Susan Otten of Indie Do Good joined host John Ray to discuss the “non-traditional” logistics company she founded, and about her latest endeavor, hiking the Appalachian Trail with her daughter to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research. Susan shared the challenges of the trail, the trail angels and support team they had, the lessons of “tools, training, and team” Susan learned that apply to business, their fundraising goal, and much more.
Business Leaders Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton Studio of Business RadioX® in Atlanta.
Appalachian Trail for Parkinson’s Disease
If you feel moved to donate to Susan and Gretja’s cause to raise more than $50k for Parkinson’s Disease research (they are currently over $93,000 and would love to get to $100,000!), you can do so here.
If you want to learn more about their thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, check out their YouTube channel (95 videos, including a summary of the whole trail in less than an hour!):
Indie Do Good
Indie Do Good is a storage facility, distribution, and fulfillment center. They offer fulfillment services for e-commerce and retail fulfillment including DTC, B2B, Amazon, and more.
They are passionate about supporting businesses, freeing up your time, and giving clients the flexibility to handle more orders. Indie Do Good shares a vision to help through collaboration, believing the more successful clients are, the more successful they all are.
Indie Do Good’s fulfillment and distribution services are strategically located in the Midwest, and our team of fulfillment experts ensures your product gets picked, packed, and shipped in a fast, affordable, and accurate manner.
In addition, they offer business planning, product engineering, and marketing.
Company website | Facebook | Instagram
Susan Otten, MBA, ABC*, Founder and CEO, Indie Do Good
After a successful, 15 year corporate career at Apple, plus global roles at two agriculture companies, COO at a behavioral health consulting company and as a strategic sales & marketing consultant supporting small as well as global businesses, Susan and her husband Ron founded Indie Do Good, a services/consulting company, and Otten Associates as the investment arm. With the purpose of investing in and helping entrepreneurial companies who do good, both as non-profits and profit-based companies, Susan’s passion is helping businesses grow by driving engagement through relationships, logistics, marketing, engineering, process and delighting (not justP “satisfying”) the customer. An award-winning, accredited business communicator, marketer, and business development strategist, Susan helps entrepreneurs achieve success faster and with more impact.
On a personal note, Susan is an avid well-being enthusiast, from advocating and teaching the importance of balancing all dimensions of well-being with her family, friends, and clients, to eating planet-forward foods, such as crickets for their sustainability and health benefits, she seeks ways to mitigate stress, improve health and lead a happier/more impactful life. Susan recently completed the Chicago Marathon, beating her time when she ran it previously (22 years ago).
*ABC = Accredited Business Communicator
Questions and Topics in this Interview
- You run a business, how could you abandon it and take 5+ months off to hike the Appalachian Trail?
- Why did you do this 2194.3 mile hike?
- How can listeners help find a cure?
- Did you learn anything on Trail for 154 days that can be applied to business?
- What key learnings can be applied to BOTH BUSINESS and LIFE?
- Would you do it again?
- What’s next?
Business Leaders Radio is hosted by John Ray and produced virtually from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta. The show can be found on all the major podcast apps and a full archive can be found here.
