Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Otten.
Hi Susan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
It was our daughter’s idea to thru-hike (which means to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in one year), as she wanted to do something bigger than marathons and an Ironman to raise awareness and funds for research for Parkinson’s Disease. When Gretja’s friend had to back out doing the hike, I stepped in, as I didn’t want Gretja to hike it alone. Plus we had a personal connect; my husband/Gretja’s dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in his early 50s, suffering from the disease for over 15 years.
We strove to be “empowered women, empowering women,” encouraging women to not only be active but to also support causes and empower others. We were successful, due to the amazing support, kindness, encouragement and donations from others:
2,194.3 miles
14 states
14.25 average miles/day
154 days on the Appalachian Trail
5 and a half months away from home
3 hurricanes
1 case of COVID
1 root canal
9 stitches
10 staples
2 ER visits
1 helmet
16 times up & down Mt. Everest’s elevation
2 35+ pound packs (1 for each of us)
40+ “trail angels”
96 YouTube videos
700+ donors
Almost $94,000 in donations for Parkinson’s Disease research
1 Michael J Fox Foundation’s “Rookies of the Year” award
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Hiking the entire Appalachian Trail is not easy for anyone, but was especially challenging for me. Less than 700 people over the age of 60 have EVER completed the Trail and less than a 1/3 of thru-hikers are women. It is like going down Mt. Everest 16 times due to the extreme elevation gains and declines. Plus carrying on your back everything you need for 5 & a half months, about 35 LBS, isn’t easy either.
We had challenges with the weather because we had to start late (on July 15th) and this meant finishing in December. We also endured the aftermath of 3 hurricanes rushing up the East Coast with wind, rain, and colder temperatures. Along the way, we also experienced bugs, snakes, bears, and snoring fellow hikers in shared shelters. I had two serious falls resulting in 9 stitches in my forehead and 10 staples on the top of my head, which meant we had to find an ER for medical assistance with both injuries, even though we were over an hour away by car with no cell service.
We were helped along the entire trail by generous “Trail Angels” and encouraging donors, giving us rides to the trail after coming into town to resupply, and sharing their homes so we could have a hot shower, warm meal, comfy bed, and clean laundry.
Strangers we never met left food, water, treats, and sweet words to cheer us on along the trail and at road crossings. When we were injured or sick (Gretja got COVID from staying with infected hikers in a shelter), people reached out to give us extra help by helping to carry our packs or reduce the weights for a section of the trail, giving us a knee brace, extra ibuprofen and effective stretching exercises to be able to endure my ITB pain in both knees and hips toward the end of the hike.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
After a successful career (15 years with Apple, plus leading marketing and branding at a global agriculture company and consulting for a variety of businesses in diverse industries, Indie Do Good, a non-traditional logistics company was founded. We work hard to help our clients do good, both as successful businesses AND supporters of their communities.
We provide 3PL services for growing Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies, including shelf-stable food, cleaning, beauty, apparel, and many more products. We are women-owned, women-led and mostly female employees, differentiating ourselves by building authentic relationships and supporting each of our clients’ unique needs.
Indie Do Good’s mission is to champion and support growing businesses with unique services to help in ways to give company teams more time to do what ONLY they can do to grow and delight their customers.
We help through a broad range of services, working as an extended team for their clients. Most of the businesses Indie Do Good supports start working with them via Logistics, as they haven’t met a company yet whose team’s core competency is shipping a box. What else could these companies’ teams be doing if they didn’t have to worry about logistics services to grow their company!?
Indie Do Good’s 3rd Party Logistics Services include:
– Import/Export & Tariff Mitigation
– Pick/Pack for Wholesale & Consumer orders
– Kitting/Assembly/Tagging/Shipping
– Warehousing/Pallet Storage/Inventory Management
We also offer marketing and engineering services for our clients, starting with our client’s goals and working within their budgets.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I always tell our clients it’s not WHAT you know, but it’s WHO you know… and I know a LOT of people. We even give each new client an Easy Button to remind them to ask if they need help solving any challenge.
Even if Indie Do Good can’t do the task, we will most likely know someone who CAN help and make a free referral. We can help make things easier for them in growing their company.
Because of this, I work hard at networking to learn of others who can offer the kinds of support and services our clients need to grow and be able to do more good.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://indiedogood.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndieDoGood
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sueotten/& https://www.linkedin.com/company/indiedogood/mycompany/?viewAsMember=true
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@appalachiantrailforparkins1185& https://www.youtube.com/@indiedogood4568
- Other: https://give.michaeljfox.org/fundraiser/4879722(Donations for Parkinson’s Disease research can be made on our Topgolf event fundraising page, as our Appalachian Trail donation page was taken down mid-2023).
