Welcome to My Life (A Day in the Life of Fitz Founder, Heidi Hertel)
Hi, I’m Heidi Hertel. For those of you who don’t know me, or my story, I founded Fitz Frames...and haven’t had a day off since! Balancing life as a mom of three, wife, and founder of a company, I frequently get asked how I make it work. As with most working moms, sometimes I really don’t know how I get through each day. Having kids certainly made my life hectic and ever-changing, but adding Fitz (my fourth child) to the mix definitely upped the ante. That being said, I wanted to take this opportunity to let you in on a snapshot of what my typical day looks like.
Fitz Frames founder, Heidi Hertel (2019)
5:00AM: My day starts with the sound of my alarm. It’s pretty early, but rising before the sun allows me to have a little “me” time before the kids wake up and work starts. During this time, I typically get in a quick workout, make myself presentable, and plan out my day. It is peaceful… and it is all mine.
6:30-7:00AM: I like to ease myself into each busy day with a half hour of email maintenance. It allows me to catch up on things I may have missed from the night before and process everything that has most likely just been thrown on my plate. It is also a nice buffer between waking up and getting in the full swing of my day that is both productive and doesn’t yet require me to fully interact with people.
7:00-8:30AM: It’s time to wake-up the kids and get them moving. These 90 minutes are precious to me, as it is time I get to enjoy playing breakfast chef and helping my kids get ready to tackle their days. But, once that time is up, it’s camp drop-offs and then time to hit the ground running with work.
9:00-10:00AM: Today, like most days, my work day kicks off syncing with my company’s leadership to touch base and make sure we are all on the same page. This morning, that means back-to-back calls with our VP of Marketing, Danielle, from 9-9:30am and our CEO, Gabriel, from 9:30-10am.
10:00AM-12:00PM: At Fitz, we consult regularly with eye doctors and eye specialists to ensure that we are both providing a product that is in line with the eye health industry standards as well as staying up-to-date on our eye knowledge. This afternoon, I am scheduled to meet with one of our preferred eye specialists.
12:00-12:30PM: I usually don’t have a defined break in my day. A quick salad paired with email catch-up is the closest I will get, but I do aim to at least sit down for it.
12:30-3:00PM: With our app officially launched on the Apple App Store, we are now live and looking to get our brand out there. That means I will be attending various meetings discussing the implementation of several launch events. In addition, with the change of the seasons fast approaching, we are working hard to finalize some new designs.
3:00-6:00PM: Time to pick the kids up from camp. Once home, I become dinner chef before sitting down to a meal with my family. No matter what, if I am in town, having a sit down meal is a must for me. It is the one time of the day when we all put our phones away, talk about our days, and bond as a family.
6:00-7:30PM: Just when the day feels like it should be coming to a close, it will be time for me to head out to make a quick appearance and do some Fitz hype at a nearby event. When I’m not attending events hosted by other people, you can often find me hosting events like the ones we have coming up this weekend in Pacific Palisades and next week in Sag Harbor.
8:00-9:00PM: Time to get the kids to bed. I would love to tell you this takes less than an hour, but I already stated I have three kids and, well, you know how that goes.
9:00-11:00PM: This is the actual end of my work day. First thing’s first-- a wrap-up call with Gabe to go over the day’s events and any updates. After that, I end my day the way that it started: A clearing of the inbox :)
That’s a pretty solid summation of my overwhelming and wonderful life as Fitz founder. I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about me and be sure to tune in next week for our next blog!