Day in the Life of BJ Willey: Assistant Store Manager + Travel Entrepreneur

Hey there! I feel so incredibly grateful for Cara to feature me as a guest on her blog. This is a true gift because I completely idolize Cara! By way of introduction, I’m B.J. Wiley. Many people ask, ‘What does “B.J.” stand for?’ My name is short for ‘Benaree Junior’ but technically I’m not a junior because first of all I’m a girl AND second I have a different middle name than my mom. I currently work at lululemon athletica Chestnut Hill as an Assistant Store Manager. I’m not the only one with a nickname; our store’s nickname is CHILL. My role entails almost anything and everything related to our store from operations to people development to ensure CHILL consistently provides that “Wow. It’s You!” guest experience!

I joined lululemon because I am an avid fan of the product, but more importantly the vision of the company resonates with my own dreams. I am an entrepreneur at heart, and know that this experience at lululemon will help shape my ultimate entrepreneurial venture. My passion is focused on travel and healthy living. I am working on a business that helps travelers have a healthier lifestyle when they are on the road. Since no two days are the same…below is a glimmer of what my schedule might look like on any given day. One of the most important things in assisting the management of the store is to be as nimble as possible so that you can balance the long-term and immediate needs of the business.

WAKE UP & SWEAT IN THE COMMUNITY (4:45AM – 7AM) Similar to Cara, I am definitely a morning person and love starting my day with something productive. I have learned the hard way that if I do not sweat in the morning my day does not feel as good. I’m a spin enthusiast so I’ll try to catch a morning spin class at a local favorite studio –Soul Cycle, Flywheel, Sports Club LA or Healthworks. I wish Cara taught a weekday morning spin class at Sweat & Soul (located around the corner from my apartment) Wink Wink. If possible, I try to recruit members of our team and community to come sweat with me. There’s nothing like having a little encouragement from your friends to help you wakeup at 4:45AM and be on a bike by 5:30AM! Yikes!

BREAKFAST (7AM – 7:30AM.) I LOVE breakfast! If I’m on the run, I typically hit up Pavement Coffeehouse and grab a decaf almond milk or soy milk latte TO GO. Due to my migraines, I gave up dairy a few years ago. It’s amazing how the foods we eat affect our body. Fruit, veggies, and meats are definitely my thang. Along with my coffee, I eat fresh fruit that I picked up earlier in the week from my local favorite farm –Wilson Farms.

EMAILS, ADMIN & COMMUTING TO CHILL (7:30AM – 8AM) One of the hardest parts about working retail is that when you are on the retail floor you lose complete access to the outside world. Therefore, I have to be super efficient. In addition to checking emails, I’ll also check our lulunet (lululemon’s intranet site) to get plugged in to the latest and greatest company-wide information

OPENING FLOOR LEAD (8:30AM – 2:30PM) – Today, I’m the designated ‘ opening floor lead’. Basically it’s the MOD – manager on duty. My intention for the day is to set-up the store for success – which means providing EVERY guest with world-class experience. We start the day making sure the floor has complete size runs and the mannequins are not wearing the last pair of pants so that our guests do not have to ask, ‘do you have this in my size?’ Before the doors open, as floor lead, I host a morning meeting to bring the team up to speed on important information and set goals and intentions for the day. You’re probably wondering, how do we provide that world-class experience? Well, we all are educators at our core. We deliver our guests with authentic education about our product, our culture and our community. As the floor leader, I’m responsible for every educator delivering this high quality service. Our job is not just on the sales floor, but also in the back–office, inventory room, and staff room. At any given moment we might have 15 boxes that just arrived with HOT new product that our guest and team can literally not wait to get their hands on. It’s my job to ensure those boxes get ripped apart as fast as possible so that product does not waste any more time out of our guests’ reach. Because our store operates 7 days and 80 hours a week, COMMUNICATION is key so that we don’t miss a beat. At the end of each shift, I do a verbal pass-off with the next floor leader. In addition, I write thorough notes for the day so that we can use them as a tool to make adjustments going forward.

EMAILS & ADMIN (2:30PM – 4:30PM) As an Assistant Store Manager, the other important part of my role is making sure the business is running smoothly and the team is developing. This might include responding to emails, having development meetings with my lovebugs (development partners) or creating our weekly work schedule.

MY TIME TO GOAL CRUSH (5PM – 7:30PM) – One of the reasons why I love my job is that a core value of the company is being in ACTION in all aspects of your life and crushing your goals both inside and outside of lululemon. As mentioned, my goal is to create an enterprise that helps travelers maintain or obtain a healthy lifestyle. To stay current on travel trends and do research on start-ups you might catch me reading Fast Company, Entrepreneur or perusing online at Eyefortravel. In addition, I like meeting and talking to folks who share my passion for travel, health & fitness.

HIP HOP YOGA AT SWEAT & SOUL WITH CARA GILMAN – (7:30PM – 9PM) Once you go hip hop it’s SO hard to go back! Cara’s hip hop class is my fav…especially if it’s Beyoncé or Michael Jackson night. The class is fun, inspiring and a great complement to running and spinning.

DINNER & TALK WITH MY MAN – (9PM – 11PM) My two key ingredients to cooking are olive oil and fresh garlic. I usually steam or sauté leafy veggies and bake myself fresh fish or chicken. Dessert usually entails fresh fruit. My man lives long distance so we talk throughout the day, but night time is our time.

11PM SWEET DREAMS – off to sleep. Goodnight!