00:00 – What Agronomy Really Means

Vania:
I don't know if you all here. I feel like you all here don't really understand what agronomy means, what all is. Agronomy means everything. We should always be kind no matter what, no matter if we. We always will cross to people that will try to bring our worst. Some people will not like us. That's normal. But other than that we need to know how to talk and how to manage people. And communication is the key for everything. And it's what I would to talk with them.

00:31 – Introducing Vania

Jack:
Hey everyone, Jack Jostes here. Welcome back to the Landscaper's Guide podcast. I just met a really interesting person, Vania, who is an account manager at Mullin in New Orleans. Or is it out, I guess outside of New Orleans?

Vania:
New Orleans is our base office and now we have the branch in Baton Rouge that I'm working for.

Jack:
And you're in Baton Rouge?

Vania:
Yes.

Jack:
And Vania, we're at NALP's Elevate conference and your story was just interesting to me.

Vania:
Thank you.

00:57 – Childhood on a Brazilian Vegetable Farm

Jack:
So you're from Brazil originally. Just tell us a little bit, what did you do as a kid?

Vania:
So I grew up in a vegetable farm since it's the business in a family. And when I was 11 I want to start to grow my own vegetables and I love that because I see my parents doing that and I started with arugula and start making my money and I like that. So I started expanding the business plan more and have my my first car when I was 18, brand new and you know I see as how much effort I put and into the work I would have this as like a money wise and I started having employees. I started to grow the business and at certain point I wanted something else. So was when I decided to go back to school when I was a little bit different age than normal school time.

01:56 – Access to Land

Jack:
Yeah. How old were you?

Vania:
So I was 27 years when I really decided to go to college.

Jack:
So you started this vegetable farm when you were 11. Tell us a little bit. Where did you get the land? Like did your family have property or?

Vania:
My parents they have a farm. They have around 87 acres. So for vegetable purposes it's a lot of land and they could like grow their own vegetables and I like to do my own business since a little kid and I start planting my own vegetables. So it's in the south of Brazil and we can plant vegetables all year around. So was a business that never stopped.

02:38 – Selling to Markets, Grocers, and Restaurants

Jack:
And who bought them? Who did you sell to?

Vania:
So I had customers in Brazil works like that. We have a big market that we can go every day. We need to wake up at 1:30 in the morning.

Jack:
Did you say 1:30 in the morning?

Vania:
Yeah.

Jack:
So what time would you go to bed?

Vania:
Around 9ish. After harvest, make everything ready to go. And the funny thing is like everything operates in the a.m. because our customers come from another state and they cannot drive if it's too hot, we will damage the vegetables. Right? We will damage the quality. So everything from the delivery from our truck to the other trucks happen all during a.m. time to make sure they will be early enough on their other states.

03:29 – Client Types and Physical Toll of Farming

Jack:
So were these other like markets that would come and then sell them or like grocery stores?

Vania:
Grocery stores, restaurants, little just fruit and vegetables marketplace. So would basically be the major clients. So I have a client for about eight years that he always would buy everything I could produce for him. And he live in another state. I would harvest and sell to him three times a week. So basically it was a great business. But at certain point I wasn't happy with how my body was reacting because I was really labor, really hands on. Even if I have my employees, I want to be involved especially with the pesticide and the fertilization to make sure everything will work correctly because the vegetables are super sensitive. One time you make a mistake, you waste the season of that harvest. So I always would work a lot with like hands on. And I decided I want to try something else.

Vania:
And then I decided start in my.

04:45 – Studying Agronomy

Jack:
College and so you studied agronomy?

Vania:
Yeah. I don't know if you all here. I feel like you all here don't really understand what agronomy means.

Jack:
I think it's soil science, right? No. Am I way off? It's not just it what all is agronomy, Everything.

Vania:
It's from the soil to the fertilization to the pesticide, to vegetables, fruits, big crops like cotton, potato, sugar cane. So our background is really strong. So we know a lot of things. We know a lot of math. Take 5 years to complete the degree. So it's really intense because my classes were at night. So I would work all day in the farm, drive one hour every day, get my class, come back home around midnight, wake up at five to harvest and all these never end up work and. You know, challenge.

Jack:
Yeah, it sounds like really hard work.

Vania:
Yeah.

05:50 – Life and Work Ethic Today

Jack:
Starting at age 11. And are you still working that hard now? What's life like now for you?

Vania:
I think that's the thing. I try to work on myself because as I run my own business. I always take like Mullin. I always. Hey, they are my clients. You know, it's not like it's. It's Vania's face. It's not just Mullin. I don't work just with Mullin. It's Vania as a person, as a professional showing who she is with Mullin.

Jack:
I love that.

06:23 – Commercial Landscape Work at Mullin

Jack:
So you're now an account manager at Mullin. And you guys only do commercial landscape maintenance, right? Commercial installation.

Vania:
Installation. And we now work with industrial.

06:35 – Why She Avoided Big Agriculture

Jack:
So you studied agronomy. Did you plan to go into agriculture or what did you think you would do after studying agronomy?

Vania:
What? I knew I would never end up in. Work with big crops. I hated college. Like soybeans, corn, sugarcane. I hate it because it doesn't request a lot of. Don't get me wrong. Doesn't request a lot of small details like ornamental or a vegetable. It's more like seasonal. Okay. Now is the window, we need a spray. Now is the window, we need a fertilizer. It's everything. So much more easy and in a large scale. It's all automated on these days. And I like the challenge of like, how can I make better for business? That it's complicated. So it's what I always knew I would not go from. That I would love to continue on vegetables.

07:40 – Pursuing an Internship in Europe

Jack:
So you didn't want to go into big ag? And you started on a small family farm?

Vania:
Yes.

Jack:
But then you studied agronomy?

Vania:
I studied about all.

Jack:
And then what did you do after college? Did you move into landscaping right away or.

Vania:
No. When I was at college, I had this big dream that wasn't. Wasn't come to us was go to Europe.

Jack:
Okay.

Vania:
And I got an internship in a nursery tree farm. So Covid time I was in Europe.

08:02 – Working on a Tree Farm in Europe

Jack:
Working a farm?

Vania:
Yeah, working a tree farm. And it was an amazing experience. I have no idea that the landscape industry would like move so much money and so different knowledge than what I had. And I, I love that experience. I love that experience. I love to see the plants growing and see we would harvest that big tree is like, I'm talking about 15ft trees that we will dig up and make it ready for a Denmark landscape. That's perfect and was so pretty to see our trees in a landscape. And now like I. I went there last year and visit my old employee and walk through where we plant the trees and see everything so perfect. It's like open eyes for me.

09:06 – Learning English and Spanish

Jack:
Did you learn English as a kid?

Vania:
No.

Jack:
When did you learn English? So you learned Portuguese?

Vania:
Yes, Portuguese is my mother language.

Jack:
And then you learned English and then Spanish after coming to the United States.

Vania:
Yes.

Jack:
So that's incredible. So when did you learn to speak English?

Vania:
So when I decide I remember the day I sit in a chair and I put like my goals for the life that I want to change my life. And one of these is like go to college, start my English classes.

Jack:
So you didn't start English till college? Wow, that's so incredible. And now you're…

Vania:
Of course we have the contact with music, with movies, but not. I could not random conversation. You know, I can.

Jack:
Well now. Now you're in a. You're in a client facing. You're an account manager.

Vania:
Yes yes.

Jack:
I just think that's an incredible story.

Vania:
Yeah, yeah, it's. It's amazing and it's fun. And when I got my job, I came. I came to us because of my. I got a job position for my master's degree at Auburn University and I graduated from horticulture. I get a job in an ornamental farm here in Louisiana. There in Louisiana. And there I had contact with a lot of Hispanic people. Was when I start talk every day a little bit. And now I can handle a conversation in Spanish. That helps a lot in our business because making me connected with my crew in the field, making me them to understand what I want and also make them to work as a team and I can teach them how to be a team player.

10:49 – Becoming a Keynote Speaker Someday

Jack:
So Vania, one of your goals, you said, was to go to college to learn English. What are some of your other goals? What are you up to next?

Vania:
Right now?

Jack:
Yeah.

Vania:
Have you been here yesterday when we have this big space picture in the meeting room?

Jack:
Yes.

Vania:
One day I will be like him.

Jack:
You want to be a keynote speaker?

Vania:
Yeah, I want to be a speaker.

Jack:
What story would you share with people when you're speaking?

11:13 – Her Message: Kindness, People, and Communication

Vania:
That we should be always kind, no matter what, no matter if. We. We always will cross to people that will try to bring our worst, will try to make us feel unable to be ourselves or unable to grow as a person. But you cannot let those people make you lose your kindness. And behind everybody, we need to find the best of, you know, everybody. And we are a people business. We need to treat people well, you know, like we need to make sure they will connect with us. Some people will not like us. That's normal. But other than that, we need to know how to talk and how to manage people. And communication is the key for everything.

Vania:
And it's what I would talk with them because I feel like as I'm growing as a person, as a human, I see in companies, usually we cannot expose our problems more many times because we are afraid to hurt some feelings, when in reality, if we don't touch the problems, we will not grow. Right. So I really like to explore this thought and this thinking with people.

12:40 – Encouragement From Jack

Jack:
I like it.

Vania:
Yeah.

Jack:
I think you should just start speaking now. You know, have you ever heard of Toastmasters? You should check out Toastmasters. There's probably one in Baton Rouge, and it's a place where you can practice public speaking and learn and you speak in front of people. I haven't done it. I just started speaking at wherever I could, honestly, you know. So I think you can. That would be my tip, is just start doing it and then you keep going. And then you. I could totally see you speaking as a keynote speaker on. I love the message of kindness, and your story is just inspiring. So thanks for coming on the podcast.

Vania:
Of course. Thanks for stopping me and inviting me for that. I love it.