We had the good fortune of connecting with Dillon Tucker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dillon, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
My work-life balance has changed DRASTICALLY over time, and I have no regrets about my time on either extreme end of the spectrum. When I was younger I worked long hours, and moved cities and states to help advance my career. Although my life was dominated by work, I loved this time in my life. I attribute this to working in an industry that I truly loved, and working to form real bonds with my co-workers that last even today. I had kind of always lived my life with work-centered mentality right up until the moment my first child was born. As soon as he arrived, my whole world turned upside down and my priorities regarding work & life shifted to the entire other end of the spectrum. My wife and I quit our jobs and moved across the country to be closer to family, chose a city that we wanted to live in long term and raise a family in, and started our own business so we could structure our work schedule around our family lives.

So I’ve looked at work-life balance from both sides now, and can truly say either end is great if you have the right people around you and you do what you love!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Our business is Mindful Merchant, a low-waste store in Cary, NC. What sets us apart from other low waste stores is our focus on sustainable products and home goods (rather than grocery items) and on locally made products & crafts. We are most proud of the people we’ve helped get started living more sustainable lifestyles. We’ve only been open for 1.5 years so hopefully our story is just beginning! It has been challenging mostly because we also have a very energetic 3 year-old and a new 10 month old baby. That aspect has been far from easy, and we’ve only overcome the challenge by relying heavily on the help of our fantastic employees to help run the shop and family members to help with our kids. The main lesson we’ve learned along the way is that choosing who you hire is the most important decision you can make. We want the world to know that living a more sustainable lifestyle can be easy! Just make one small change like going to a bamboo toothbrush or using your own bag at a grocery store and take it from there. Our whole brand and philosophy is to simply help people find small changes that fit their lifestyle, understand nobody is perfect, and help our community find joy in living more sustainably.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We love downtown Cary, the Fenton in Cary, and downtown Raleigh! We find ourselves often taking guests to places in most of those locations, with the caveat that since we have young children we often need to pick kid-friendly places. During the day, we love the new park in downtown Cary, and eating at Serendipity or DiFara afterwards. We love heading to the Museum of Natural Science in downtown Raleigh, and eating at longleaf swine in downtown Raleigh. We love seeing movies on the extreme screen at the Fenton and eating at either M Sushi or Superica. And we love taking quick trips to local farms like the Naylor Family Farm as well. There are so many great parks in the area like Pullen Park as well. For nights out without the kids we love going to Watts & Ward, The Merchant, and Whiskey Kitchen, among many other places. We also love to catch concerts at Red Hat Amphitheater or Koka Booth!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Jamaica Trinnaman is the owner of a low waste store in Salt Lake City called HelloBulk that we frequented when we lived there. She was very helpful in guiding us on our journey to starting our own shop, and a big part of the reason we felt confident enough to start it up!

Website: www.mindfulmerchantnc.com

Instagram: @mindfulmerchantnc

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mindfulmerchantnc/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mindful-merchant-sustainable-home-goods-cary

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mindfulmerchantnc

Image Credits
Morgan Sawyer

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutNorthCarolina is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.