In the summer of 2019, Meghan McGee, creative director at Moore, OK-based JaxTyler Design (asi/315988), won Counselor’s Home Office Makeover Contest.

As a result, Counselor contacted Oklahoma City-based Pretty Neat: An Organizational Solution. With a budget of $5,000, company owner Audra George and her team had one month to transform McGee’s cluttered room into a clean, organized and functional office space. You can check out the stunning results here.

Counselor recently followed up with McGee to see how her new office is doing. After all, she was ahead of the curve considering most of the promotional products industry transitioned to working from home last year. Although the second-generation promo pro didn’t have to relocate, she, her family and her 4-year-old business were all affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meghan McGee, creative director at JaxTyler Design, being treated for COVID-19.

Q: How’s the home office looking?

A: It’s still exactly the way it was designed. I have cubbies now and can see what’s in each one so I’m not wasting time scrambling for what I need. It’s also nice having a real desk and counter tops, especially when I have to take pictures of products. And if I ever want to move the office to a different room, The Container Store can come out and rearrange and move it.

Q: How was business in 2020?

A: Most of our business comes from events and festivals, so we had to decide whether to cut our losses and quit for the year or pivot. We decided to focus on wholesale. It’s interesting because I get to deal with the middleman instead of the end-user. In terms of sales, we quadrupled our best year in six months.

What products have been successful?

A: We’ve been offering new boutique startups marketing packages that include business cards, banners and decals. I also saw people on Facebook selling printed lip balm holders, so I placed a $300 order and had them sell out in a week. Then, we got into selling empty one-ounce sanitizer bottle holders and have slowly built that to where we purchase tens of thousands of products every month. I ran out of space in my office, so we’ve turned our garage into a warehouse.

Q: What challenges have you faced while making the transition?

A: Well, it’s not specific to wholesale, but shipping and importing prices have gone up during the pandemic. When I order blank drinkware, that has to be shipped via boat and there’s a major shortage on shipping containers. Sometimes, there’s a delay on top of the usual 30- to 45-day wait. Shipping prices should have gone down after Christmas, but have maintained or slightly increased. Even though we’ve built really good relationships with five or six suppliers and go back and forth between FedEx and UPS, I still had to raise my prices over the holidays.

Q: How has your mental health been during all of this?

A: I got COVID at the end of 2020. My whole family – my husband, 6-year-old son and mom – tested positive. My husband works in a casino, and my mom has been a smoker, so I was collateral damage. I had it worse than everybody, and I didn’t even leave the house because my son has been doing school virtually.

At one point, I had to go to the hospital after losing consciousness for two hours. I was lucky it only took eight hours to find a room. Over the course of six days, I received five Remdesivir injections and two convalescent plasma transfusions. The nurses were the nicest people I’ve ever met and treated me like family when I couldn’t have my own with me. Contrary to what people think, once you’re no longer positive, you don’t just feel better. It took until the beginning of 2021 for me to not feel tired anymore. And the side effects can linger – I only lost my taste and smell for about a week, but my mom still doesn’t have her sense of smell and it’s been six months.

Q: Glad that you’re feeling better. What do you hope to achieve in 2021?

A: It’s a rebuilding year not just for us, but for the entire industry. We’re still doing really well, though, and want to triple what we’ve made in the last six months. And we’re on track to do that.