Discover how a college sophomore with a passion for wildlife management and agriculture crafted a successful personal brand and leveraged social media to stand out in a competitive industry. Our guest, Jack Jezveld, is not just an active student at Mississippi State, but also a social media influencer with over 26,000 followers. Join us as we explore Jack's journey, from volunteering in a wildlife management area to becoming a rising star in the industry. He shares his experience in leveraging his love for photography to spark conversations, and how he uses this skill to consistently share content across multiple platforms.
The show takes an introspective turn as we delve into the intertwining of faith and work. Jack reflects on how his faith fuels his passion for nature and gives him the strength to pursue his ambitions. He emphasizes the importance of consistency and character building, sharing anecdotes from his time working on a farm and in youth groups. His insights will inspire you to seek meaningful connections between faith, work, and personal interests.
As the conversation progresses, we examine the fascinating subject of building a personal brand and social media presence. Jack divulges his strategies for growing his social media following, and how he plans to transform his photography passion into a profitable career. We also uncover Jack's toolkit for efficiency and his advice on taking risks and making a lasting impact. This episode is a treasure trove of insights for anyone interested in wildlife management, agriculture, or simply refining their own personal brand. With Jack's story at its heart, it will inspire you to take leaps of faith, seize opportunities, and make your own mark in your chosen field.
Discover how a college sophomore with a passion for wildlife management and agriculture crafted a successful personal brand and leveraged social media to stand out in a competitive industry. Our guest, Jack Jezveld, is not just an active student at Mississippi State, but also a social media influencer with over 26,000 followers. Join us as we explore Jack's journey, from volunteering in a wildlife management area to becoming a rising star in the industry. He shares his experience in leveraging his love for photography to spark conversations, and how he uses this skill to consistently share content across multiple platforms.
The show takes an introspective turn as we delve into the intertwining of faith and work. Jack reflects on how his faith fuels his passion for nature and gives him the strength to pursue his ambitions. He emphasizes the importance of consistency and character building, sharing anecdotes from his time working on a farm and in youth groups. His insights will inspire you to seek meaningful connections between faith, work, and personal interests.
As the conversation progresses, we examine the fascinating subject of building a personal brand and social media presence. Jack divulges his strategies for growing his social media following, and how he plans to transform his photography passion into a profitable career. We also uncover Jack's toolkit for efficiency and his advice on taking risks and making a lasting impact. This episode is a treasure trove of insights for anyone interested in wildlife management, agriculture, or simply refining their own personal brand. With Jack's story at its heart, it will inspire you to take leaps of faith, seize opportunities, and make your own mark in your chosen field.
Alright. So this week I'm in Startville. This is episode five. We just finished. I just gave a quick little talk on fire and how I use it in my management strategies for my clients, and I've come to appreciate the School of Forest Resources more than ever. And I've got Jack Jezveld with me today and I've gotten to know Jack over the last few months and let me tell you something this guy's special. He's doing things that other people aren't doing. He's building his brand of himself. So, yeah, let's just jump into it, jack. Tell us a little bit more about yourself, man.
Speaker 2:I'm a sophomore at Mississippi State, like Carter said, and I'm from North Alabama and I've gotten to agriculture I guess in high school and I didn't really know. I knew I liked agriculture but I didn't really have a way into the industry. My parents don't farm and so when your parents don't farm there's not a whole lot of ways to really get into agriculture. And I kind of one of the kids in my youth group he, his family, farmed and I kind of got into their farm, you know, going out there, taking pictures, stuff like that, and I fell in love with it and that kind of led to me taking pictures and where we are today. But I also started working out a wildlife management area around that same time and that's kind of where I fell in love with habitat management and so I'd go out there and I actually started volunteering.
Speaker 2:I volunteered for two years out there and then I finally started getting paid my senior year of high school and I got to do plant food plots. We primarily managed for waterfowl and so we managed a lot of waterfowl or water, you know, foul habitat I guess, where you know we're managing for smart weed and millet, and we planted a lot of corn for ducks, and so I had learned a lot through that and I started operating equipment out there and so I kind of got a taste of that. And then I went off to school at Mississippi State to study forest management, and around that same time, I guess, the photography really kicked off. I remember on my first day walking to class I reached 10,000 followers on Instagram, and so I was walking.
Speaker 1:It's so crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was walking to English class and that was my goal. I wanted to get to 10,000 before I started at school and I crossed that as I was walking to class and so that was pretty cool. But ever since then it's kind of just steadily grown. I got to meet, I've met some incredible people in Starkfool. I've started working for some great companies in Starkfool with habitat management and AG, and so I've got to learn a lot from people here and I've taken pictures all over the South.
Speaker 2:But I love the Delta and so I'm super close to the Delta compared to back home and so I'll go out there. I remember this fall I was out at the Delta or in the Delta every single weekend in August and early September just taking pictures and meeting people, because obviously I love taking pictures and I love posting agriculture. But I also just like talking to farmers and meeting landowners and kind of hearing their story, and the practices that they do in the Delta are completely different from back home and so it's very interesting to go over there and hear what they're doing and see the habitat management stuff also. I love that. But yeah, that's kind of a long story of where I'm at now and kind of where I started. But yeah, I'm enjoying it and I've enjoyed getting outside of the classroom. I guess that's the best way to put it.
Speaker 1:Do you feel like you're a lot more experienced, that you have all that, than what you know we just? I just gave a little small talk on fire to what Emmish.
Speaker 2:To the fire dogs club and so we started a club. I guess they started it before I came, maybe three years ago, and we basically just talked about prescribed fire, and so you know, we'll do some burns in the spring and we'll have consultants and different people from the industry come to talk, and so we had Carter up to talk and we enjoyed having him up here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I enjoyed it too, man, it's like to me. I, just coming up here, I was like this is it's kind of hysterical to me, kind of funny, because I didn't ever think anybody would ever let me back in here. I barely got out of this, I barely graduated, and so it's cool to be in this building and realize, oh my gosh, I remember how many hours I spent in this building. It's an incredible opportunity.
Speaker 1:You know, I was talking to my roommate from college a way up here and I was like Taylor, what would you, what advice would you give? He said man, if I knew, if I was aware of the opportunities that were right in front of me, I would have been. I would have been able to be a lot more successful out of the gate compared to 10 years later, once you start learning some things. So that what I see in you is something that is very attractive to a private business owner or a corporation is to me. You know, it's one thing to take some pictures of some water foul, but when you get to 10,000 followers and now you're up to 26,000 followers at that point you've got leverage, and that is something that I wish we would be teaching our especially our forester students.
Speaker 2:So it's super important to you know. I kind of say, you know building a brand and that's that's basically I mean what I'm doing and what I have a passion for. But at the same time, you have to do that to separate yourself. Because I remember someone. I tell me freshman year, when you graduate, what's going to set you apart from every other kid. I mean, you all took the same classes, you all went through the same program, and so the only thing that's separating you all is your internships, your summer internships, or you know your past work experience in high school, but I mean everything else, all the classes you're, you've taken all the same classes and so there's you're all graduating with the same degree, and so you have to figure out what's going to set yourself apart.
Speaker 2:And you know, my favorite thing is taking pictures, obviously, and that's kind of what I've built timber solutions around, but that's that's led to so many other opportunities and that's helped, you know, build a brand. I guess you could say with you know meeting people, and it's put me in the field, because I have a lot of friends who don't take pictures and they like being in the field, but there's no reason for them to be in the field, when you know when the farmer's planting, because it's like you know, they don't.
Speaker 1:They aren't working for the farmer, but yeah, do we need to let them in?
Speaker 2:Are they knocking yeah?
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's I don't know. We can stop that. Go ahead. Yeah, that's what I was. Hey man, I got better ears now I thought I did. Huh, yeah, that's. I'm really impressed with Jack. He's, he's, you know, he's on pace. He's on pace to do some awesome things and get to know him and seeing him grow his brand is, honestly, he's teaching me how to grow my brand. You win.
Speaker 2:You're good, we're good. It's important to build your brand, I guess, like that's the big thing that sets yourself apart from everybody else. And that's kind of what's led me with photography. It's put me in the field more and, you know, I might be taking pictures for a company but at the same time I'm learning from all of them and I'm asking the farmer questions to try and figure out what he's doing different from the guys back home or stuff like that. And so like the photography has just helped me. Kind of it's put me in a place to learn from other people.
Speaker 1:It's like, even if it's not like, you're growing, like sometimes you're going to that ag, down that ag line.
Speaker 2:you know, and that might not be exactly what you want to do in your career, but it's growing your brand and so it's well and at the same time it's I'm going to school for forestry and I want to go into how tech management consulting after school. But this ag is agriculture and the experiences I'm getting with that is helping me, is putting me in a position to where, like I can help landowners with food plots, because I think there's a big there's. Obviously food plots are not all of habitat management. You need way more in your program. But at the same time I think people can streamline their food plots because farmers are farmers aren't making a lot of money. I mean, they're growing crops, but at the same time everything's going up. All the prices, diesel equipment costs, everything's going up and so they're trying to do it the cheapest way that they can and you know, get high yields.
Speaker 2:And I think that's what a lot of deer hunters with food plots aren't doing. They're getting fertilizer, throwing it out. A lot of them when they spray you know fields for you know, just kill weeds. They're just putting stuff out. Like if you ask them what the active ingredient, they might not be super sure but they know. The guy at the co-op said this is going to kill that grass, and so I think I think there's a big miscommunication, not miscommunication, but there's a big need for accurate information, and accurate. You know I need this much nitrogen for this crop, or I need, you know, this much potassium, and you know this is what I'm lacking, because I think a lot of people just get fertilizer at the co-op and whatever the guy behind the counter says, it's like, well, that's what I'm doing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and also with the seeds. Like I don't go by like nothing against companies that are selling a branded seed. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm sure there's some awesome good things that are in them. But where I've graduated to my in my food plot management for my clients is I might have one exact clover that covers, you know, a certain time that I'm using that entire food source to provide for that one little period. And so to me, yeah, I think that I think there is a disconnect from this building to the co-op.
Speaker 2:Well, there's a big need for foresters, obviously for timber companies, and that's super important, but at the same time, the wildlife management and the habitat management there's a disconnect between the two because they have different goals, obviously, but wildlife management, habitat management, you're managing timber, but not for the same reasons and I think more classes there needs to be a bigger focus on wildlife management. But at the same time, I think part of that is on the students you know, peace with.
Speaker 2:you need to get in the field, because I mean, obviously, with me taking pictures, it's put me in the field more and it's put me in the field with some great biologists and habitat managers and I've learned from them and I've seen what they're doing. But if you don't have a reason to, it's hard to just get out there, unless you know it's a summer job or summer internship. And so I think that's the piece that some people aren't getting is you know you need this degree but at the same time, the content and the experiences that you get in the field whether it be working on a farm or working with a consultant or whatever it may be that's just as important because you're getting like you're combining all that.
Speaker 1:Yes, and so what you talked, what you said a second ago, was it's on the students. You know, I think that sometimes we can, you know, I know I got out of school and be like didn't teach me in school, but this group of people are here to give you the base and it's like we talked about earlier. It's like for me to separate myself in my industry, even going after clients. I had to go take my education to the next level and, yeah, there is, I'm very fairly confident. There's some things that I've picked up in my career that aren't being taught, but it's not necessarily on those teachers. It's like you said, it's even in a church. I meant you go into youth group or you go people in the church. It's not on the pastor, it's on the people, Exactly, yeah.
Speaker 2:And you know. Once people realize that they start, you'll learn more and you know. With Habitat Management, I worked at a wildlife management area in high school and so I learned a lot about waterfowl management specifically, and I haven't learned a single thing about waterfowl management at school, because there's no, they don't need to teach that. We're learning about forestry. I mean, they don't. The timber companies don't care if you know about smart weed or millet, and so you know that's why you want to learn that.
Speaker 2:Well, when you go to a, you know somewhere to manage for waterfowl. You're going to want to know that. And so, working with consultants in the field who have already figured out that stuff and you know they're constantly learning, I mean, in the field they're going to be doing stuff that's tried and true, but they're also going to be trialing stuff, and so it's just like on the farm, we trial. This past summer, we trial different chemicals, different products, different practices. That same thing's happening in habitat management. It's just, instead of trialing different chemicals, you might be trialing different barn rotations, or you know different, you know bedding practices, or you know whatever you want to do, you know to. You know planting different clovers next to a bed or stuff like that, and so that's I think that's just as important.
Speaker 1:Did you understand what I was saying to the students in there earlier when I said you need to realize you're the professional? Did that make?
Speaker 2:sense yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:It's like you're you're going to. You're a student, you're going to graduate. Don't wait until the day you graduate to say I'm a professional. If you go ahead and do like what you're doing now, which is building your brand, preparing, you don't know the direction you're completely going to take, that's okay. There's. This is the time to go, try out all those things and meet. You know, it's like I was telling you about my roommate. He said the opportunities. You're a student at Mississippi State. Every landowner in the state will let you come over to their farm.
Speaker 2:And yeah, and you know that's just as important. But also just the time, like when you leave school you're going to commit to a job and you know that's going to be your job, like you aren't going to have time to go work with other people or you know stuff like that. And here obviously we have class, but I, I design or I make my schedule to where I have days where I don't have class to go in the field, because there's some man, I wish you would have been in school with me and Jack and Brandon, yeah.
Speaker 2:But there's so many like. So I'm making my schedule. Right now we're in the midst of, you know, registration for next semester and my, my professor gives me a schedule. Or you know, we make a schedule and you know it has classes every day. You know, college kid, you know he'd think you know have class every day and that's great. But at the same time I would rather have like three days where I'm just at school all day, like today I've been at school from I was here at six and I'll probably leave, you know, eight or eight, thirty, and I like it like that, because I can get here all day, I'm productive, and then tomorrow I get out of class at nine o'clock and so I'll go, you know, take pictures for somebody, or I'll go in the field with somebody and just put yourself out there, because I mean, there's a lot of college kids who, if they have a day off right before a football game, they're probably just going to sleep in, you know rest up for the weekend.
Speaker 1:Remember, remember. So I met Jack at NWTF Banquet and remember when we were, we were walking those, those areas, at what eight o'clock in the morning? And there was not a lot of people out there, and so all those powerful, awesome people that you were able to meet and talk, to talk with everybody else is asleep, yeah no, you're exactly right, and that's you know.
Speaker 2:That's kind of what I've been trying to. You know, I guess, put myself out there and make make a routine of like getting up early and being productive, Because if you can like manage your time in college, you can get a lot done. And I mean school and just you know, your outside life, whether it be getting in the field with people in your profession or, you know, building a brand, whatever it may be. Because I mean I have a lot of friends who I mean they'll sleep in until eight or nine and then they'll, you know, do stuff and then, you know, go hang out with friends and that's super important, you know. And you know being social obviously in college is super important, and I'm not saying don't, but also manage your time to where you can get in the field. You know, every every little while, every week, every two weeks, whatever works, just to learn something new. Because if you get in the field with a consultant or whatever your degree is, and you learn from them in the field, it's going to make you connect dots in the classroom.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes.
Speaker 2:But it's also just going to help you when you get out in the field. You're going to be a professional, like you're going to know when you're planting, for example, and setting up seed depths and the population, all that stuff. You can look at it on a slideshow, but unless you actually do it it's going to I mean, it's going to be different, and so you may think you can do it on a slideshow, but you know, getting in the field with somebody who can teach you is way more important, because when a company hires you they're going to think you know, I mean you, you aren't going to know everything, but they're going to think you know how to do just about everything, and so you know they'll leave you on your own, and so that'd just be frustrating. You know having to figure that out after.
Speaker 1:Oh man, I remember the days I was like I'll never forget. I took a job with the Forrestry Commission and had a good friend, who, who, who helped me get that job. He was a commissioner agriculture at the time and I got the job and I went down first day and I pulled in the parking lot at Forrestry Commission in Kapa'a County and there was let's see, there's LeWine Teasley, there's our secretary and a couple of three or three other guys that worked there and about 10 minutes into the, into my first, you know, first day, first morning, they're like what you want to do? And I was like what do you mean? They're like you're, you're in charge. And I was like I'm in charge. I didn't, I didn't understand that, I didn't realize that I was the boss and and it right. Then I realized that I wasn't ready for that. No offense.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But I'll. At that moment I started working with Luan and those three other guys Eli's couple other guys, really Eli and he taught me forestry and he'd never had an education on it but he had so much knowledge From working in the field, you know. So that's what I was telling. Try to tell those guys earlier Everybody and there was in there For the Forrest commission is your best opportunity because you can you get to learn so many things in the field and it's okay if you mess up.
Speaker 2:I mean, you know you don't need to mess up in your job, but it's different when you're working on private land, when they are paying you to manage it, you're gonna you.
Speaker 1:If you get it wrong on private land, you get the cost.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you're. And when people hire you on private land, you know you're the expert, you, you are the person that they called, whereas you know public land. Obviously you want to do it right, but like, if you know, if the barn didn't work out, you know the public land hunters are, I mean they're gonna go Complain to you.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you where I think that what you're doing right now has where it has value. What I just finished up, you know, at the zoo and what we talked about in there, there was things that I did not bill my client for because I didn't know it, and if I didn't know it I Can't bill for something. While I'm figuring it out and so being able to take that, that degree and then continue learning, man, I wonder what I where I would have been if I would have. I Love learning now.
Speaker 2:Well, and I'm the same way with you know, looking back and seeing what I could have done differently, obviously, but at the same time, like looking back at where I started.
Speaker 2:I Wish I paid more attention because, like at the WMA, I worked up, I liked running the tractors and the dozers and the tractors and all that stuff, and so I'd go do that and, like, I learned a ton of habitat management stuff.
Speaker 2:But it wasn't until like the last year, the last year and a half, that I really started Taking notes and looking at the smaller details, because I remember the first couple years, you know we'd go spray road sides and you know, trying knock back some privet and stuff like that and what we were spraying. I didn't know what we were spraying. He sent me you know the label and then how much of it and but the by the end of the time that I was working there I was trying to learn Okay, what's the rate for this, what? Why are we doing it at this rate for privet? But you know we might do it a little lighter of a mix, for you know spraying grasses or stuff like that, and so that that's one of the things that I wish I paid more attention to, just because I Would have been farther along but at the same time you're far along you have to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and at the same time you have to. I had to just have some fun out there, just to like.
Speaker 1:I guess start that passion. You know it's awesome about habitat management. Anything outdoors is, you can be the expert as long as you go and put in the work. You can do the trials, you can do the things that the professors are doing now on your own and have your own results and your own. I think I don't. There's not a lot of careers that you can pick to be. You can't go do that as a doctor Like how we're gonna do this? Yeah, replacement.
Speaker 1:Yeah so to me, that's what I, now that I'm 20 years into my career or whatever it is, 15, whatever it is I'm able to to link. I've been able to link my faith. I know you're you're a man of faith.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I've been able to link my faith to also wildlife and forestry, because Anybody can go learn the Bible. You don't need Someone to teach you that. You can go study it on your own. The land's the same way, which is. It's crazy how I think that's why the Lord put so many parables of good souls and different stories In the in there.
Speaker 2:Why don't? I think you know it goes back to also just being in God's creation and like being outside, because I mean Consultants and even in farmers are the same way. They're outside all the time and a lot of times you're, you know, waiting on a rain or something. You know that it relates back to. You know the Bible a lot more than other Industries, like you were saying so, somebody your age and younger, I'm what.
Speaker 1:Well, how would you talk to them? What you mean for is it like with the, about the Bible, like what you just talked about.
Speaker 2:Oh, I think, I think the biggest thing would you know, obviously start reading the Bible, but Go to church.
Speaker 1:I mean, that's the easiest thing, and what about in creation?
Speaker 2:in creation. Oh um, because you know, I don't know, I think around those farmers.
Speaker 1:Farmers seem to always be in good moods. Yeah, I mean, I know that there's some farmers that might not be, but but in good moods, for how stressful it is to yes because, because they're in that creation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly. And so you know when you're outside, like what we were talking about a minute ago, you're, you're in God's creation, but at the same time, when you read the Bible, everything that there's a lot of connections between being. You know about God's creation in the Bible, obviously, but different. You know about good soil and about you know Weather and you know floods and stuff like that, and so it's you're linking it back and you're connected first hand and I think that's why you know a lot of farmers are, they have a good faith. I mean almost every single farmer I go see and you know visit on Sunday of that weekend. We're going to church, like they might be the busy year going with them.
Speaker 2:Sometimes it might be the biggest. It might be the biggest time or the busiest time of year and they will shut the combines down to go to church. It doesn't matter if. Obviously, if there's a hurricane coming that Monday, they're gonna cut, you know, soybeans or you know whatever they're doing. But most of the time if it's a busy time of year, like harvest or planting, and it's Sunday, they're gonna stop and I think, that I think that's just their faith and the Lord and and their trust.
Speaker 1:And how much? Yeah, how much the trust how much?
Speaker 2:they the things that they need him exactly because obviously they're gonna get stuck, they could get stuff done on that Sunday and you know there's times a year where you just can't. You know you have to work on Sunday, but the majority of the time they won't, just because they trust in the Lord to provide.
Speaker 1:Yes and like they need and and and, while they trust the Lord to provide. They're watching those. Sunset, yeah, Sun. Sunrise of the Sun says yeah, Lord, you know exactly and you know you sprained yeah.
Speaker 2:And being outside, you know, and, and watching the sunrise and watching the sunset, I think connects it, connects it deeper, because you, you're in his creation all day long, because not a lot of professions will Get you out and outdoors all day long. I mean, there's not many people who can say they've worked from sun up to sundown Outside all day long, and so I think that goes back to it too. Just they're, you know, they're outside all the time. But also a lot of farmers are, you know, have faith, and they, they talk between each other and you know they'll see each other at church. And I think that's one of the cool things is, when you go to church in smaller towns, you know, obviously to all the farmers will Go to church and they'll see each other. And that's where a lot of them talk about what's going on, because farmers don't there we go.
Speaker 2:They don't, you know, in the field they're all doing their own thing. I mean, though you might see them driving down the road, you'll pass them and wave, but unless you're on the phone with them talking, you really don't hear much about what's going on. Man.
Speaker 1:I think that's I think that's could be what you just talked about could be the big. One of the biggest things that impacts the church More than anything is that we start like in our youth groups and in and our men and our women. Is that, hey, man, what's working for you and at work it's okay to talk about? Yeah, exactly, yeah at church, because if you're truly sold out for him and Surrender and love him, he won't. He's your businesses his business.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's one of the things like so we go to a church and start full at Pine Lake and and we love it and we we've joined small groups and one of the things that we like about small groups is because you're talking about your life outside of church too, like, obviously you're talking about your faith and you know, going through a Bible study, but you're also just talking about life outside, and I think that's super important to be vulnerable a little bit. Yeah that, and just to hear what other people are going through it with. You know, in regards to college, because obviously college is tough and you know, trying to manage time is super hard in college and I think it's important for people to you know, hear from each other like they have that same problem.
Speaker 1:So I've never been into. I mean this is sad, but I've never been in a college youth youth group. I didn't. I didn't go to church when I was in Starville one.
Speaker 2:You know it's a, I know it's. It takes more effort in college. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:Tell me this what? Where do you think the youth group is? I mean, where do you think the college group is? What are you calling you? Youth group? Yeah, so?
Speaker 2:we, yeah, so we have, you know, obviously the big church and then we have it's called PL college and so that's on Wednesday night and so that's like all the you know, all the college kids who go to Pine Lake.
Speaker 2:How many people you usually have it's, it's a lot of people will fill out the whole auditorium where you know churches on Sunday morning and there's probably I don't know, you know a couple hundred. It's. It's so packed that they're building a new building but at the same time they parking is so hard that they have to have a parking team and, like you're, you have to get there early just to find parking. Like at our church back home. It's big but like we can always find parking, like you don't have to. We never worried about finding parking spots here where we're getting ready. It's like, oh, we probably need to leave soon just to find parking. That's powerful, yeah, and that's, and that's what hits home, I think, for our parents too. They'll come to church with us when they visit and they they're shocked to see that many college kids on you know going to church and getting involved, because it's not like they're just coming to church. These college kids are just going to church. I mean they're getting involved with youth groups.
Speaker 1:They're there, they don't have to be there. Yeah, exactly they.
Speaker 2:They're there because they want to be there and I mean, you know Some people would rather sleep in, because they'll be times where we have a, you know, in the fall when we have a football game, we might have a seven o'clock football game and so the football game might end at midnight. Or, you know, we might get back to Home or house at midnight and so, you know, college kids would rather sleep in. But we're still going to church, you know, sunday morning, and you know looking forward to youth group and all that stuff. But I think that's super important to, if you're a freshman, to get involved and it teaches you consistency.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, and I mean, obviously there's times where we aren't going to go to church just because Something might come up, but but it's good to have that like to, if you're they, if you're in stock for and you know, and you you've been going a long time and you have that consistency. It's like, okay, it's a routine, same with youth group, but I think that's super important.
Speaker 1:So how could you improve it? What would you do to improve it? To improve Youth group? Yeah, like you just said earlier about the farmer Mm-hmm, you know they collab together at church and then things.
Speaker 2:I think one of the things that works really well in the youth group and we're we're doing it right now, but just the to talk about life outside, because You're it's important to focus on your faith and you know obviously we are on youth group but at the same time talk about the problems you're having and a lot of times you know a great conversation starter that I found. You know people are interested in my photography and so I kind of use that as a way and like they'll start talking about photography and then you know that'll lead down a conversation and you know we'll start talking about them and you know then go into faith and all that. But it's Find something that you're passionate about and find other people that are passionate about something and like I feel like that helps you Kind of mush together because y'all are all passionate about you know it either be the same thing or different things, but you had that, you know, common ground.
Speaker 1:You know one thing that I was talking to I've got a few really powerful, awesome, consistent men in my life and I'm trying to study them. What do they do? What makes them be that consistent? And I think that what I've narrowed it down to are a few things, a couple things. This is a I'm still studying this, but I think it's consistency. I think that it's preparation on how they prepare. They're going to church on Sunday morning. They're like jamming out worship music as soon as they wake up and my parents said that we're growing up too is they were preparing their minds to get ready to go to church. And they also do things that are extra curricular, like serving and walk to Emmaus and different things. That group that's in there is we're gonna probably all be successful the, the guys that you're in youth group that are there at the Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. I bet you you can bank on them because they're gonna be they're gonna be successful.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, and it's that consistency and it's also just the, I think you know, when you're in college, you obviously it's a new experience when you're a freshman and you're living on your own, you know, you're trying to figure it all out and I think it's important one to like build who you are. I guess, like I've listened to some podcasts about you know, growing your, building your character, growing your character, however you want to say, and a lot of it goes back to consistency and like making time for different, you know, for whatever it may be, because I mean it, like I said earlier, it's easy to sleep in and yeah go, you know hang out friends and you know go grab coffee and you know start being productive around two in the afternoon.
Speaker 2:But during the summer, working at the farm, we'd get up. I was at the shop around 6, 30 to 7 every single day and you know, depending on what we're doing, we do there. You know if it rains we'll leave at dinner time. Or you know, during harvest we leave well after dark. And it's that consistency like you know your job and you know you're gonna tomorrow it's gonna be the same thing and that's the same way here or with any job are you seeing some of these students that have family farms consistent in class?
Speaker 2:some of them, yeah it. And it just depends like how you know, I have some really good friends that are they grew up on family farms and they've come here and I've actually met some of them through church and those you know you can tell they're consistent and they're trying to be a better person and they're trying to you know, I mean that one guy that we met tonight that is not in forestry, he is not in wildlife, he's in at what in ag business and he's over here yeah and that's a great example, because he, he's putting himself out there like he's never been in this building, he, he's a freshman, he's it's you know, it's November and so it's you know, two months into him living on his own pretty much for the first time and he's in here at yeah, and he's
Speaker 2:in here at 5, 3, and I think that's what sets you apart is putting you I don't want to say putting yourself in in situations that you might not be comfortable in, but you're putting yourself out there because that's one of the things that I found super helpful. There's times where all in much rather hang out in the apartment. You know, hang out, friends watch TV. You know, just hang out. But put yourself out there to where?
Speaker 1:and you can meet people yeah, and when did you start that? I started, I'd say freshman year so okay so I think in your 60, when you were yeah, those birthdays yeah. I think yeah, when was that?
Speaker 2:you're right, I was probably. I started trying to put myself out there. I started timber solutions in 2020 and I'd say in 2021. I really started forgetting myself out there with, like, because with farmers it's very overwhelming. I didn't grow up on a farm.
Speaker 2:Intimidating, yeah, and I mean I remember the first time, the first time I went to a farm, I had to look, I had to look up, like, what boots to like get at the store. I didn't, I mean, I didn't know what to wear to a farm, and so I was like well, you know, you know I figured out how to, you know, go about different conversations on the farm too, and you know, and it it's hard at first because you don't know anything about what they do, and so it's like but what do we talk about, you know? And so I find my biggest thing is asking questions, yeah, and so, like, asking questions helps a ton, and I think when I came down to Starkful to go to state, I really like told myself, like okay, like, put yourself out there, like as it, if a situation comes up, like do it, even if it seems like because you do well at that, yeah, yeah, because you don't want to put yourself like nobody wants to put themselves in an awkward situation, but at the same time you start overthinking.
Speaker 2:It's like, oh well, it's better. You know, I might as well just stay home, but at the same time, put yourself out there and go to different. You know events or you know, go meet people, because you never know where one thing's gonna lead. And so I mean same same thing with I met. So I work for a agronomy company or an ad consulting company here and I do a lot of content creation for him, and the way that they found me was through social media and like, putting myself out there for people to see. And you know, he reached out and when I was I guess the summer before I came down here and he you know he found me through social media. We'd never met.
Speaker 2:And so I think that's one of the reasons why I really, like you know, social media branding because, like you, can see a result. Because I mean, obviously I have a ton of buddies here who take pictures and they post them on social media. But you have to be consistent, because when you post pictures, like every once in a while or every week, your friends are seeing it, but like I post something every single day. I mean it's it's almost a part-time job with, obviously, with school, school comes first but, like every single night, I'll find something to post for the next day, and so I like to do collab posts and you know, I'll reach out to companies and I'll do photo shoots with different companies and so we'll do some stuff like that. But putting yourself out there consistently is huge, because I've I've posted something on social media every day for probably the last two years.
Speaker 1:I know you put you tag me, yeah, and it's exactly, and but it's, you've tagged me so much and I'm like man, I can't put that one on there today.
Speaker 2:But yeah but you've, you've basically put yourself into my into my account so many times and I'm like I got to get to know this, yeah and yeah, and that's the thing that I've been trying to do is my, my thing is so I've, I'm on TikTok, I'm on Facebook, instagram, linkedin.
Speaker 2:If it's social media, I have it, and my goal is to put my content in front of you on every single social media platform, so you can't get away from it.
Speaker 2:Like my goal is if, if I, you know, obviously I'm making this content for social or for Instagram, but like, why not post it on other platforms? Yeah, because if you're, everybody's on ticker, everybody around here is on TikTok, you know, in college, and so there's been times where I've been sitting next to a friend and he'll be scrolling through TikTok and my videos are popping up and it's cool to me. But at the same time, you just have to get yourself out there, like because if I tag somebody enough and I mean you know it and I'll tag, you know, different companies and my goal is to just get myself in the door, and then that'll, like, if I can get in the door and they say, hey, come take pictures, you know that could lead to something you know big, and so I'm trying to just put myself out there and get myself into as many phones as I can, or as many emails or whatever it may be, just because you know, if I put myself out there enough, somebody's gonna absolutely see it and I think that helps because I've.
Speaker 2:Obviously I want to go into habit time management, but I've a lot of you want to go in business yeah, exactly, and I started a photography company last year and my goal during college is I want to make, I want to turn this profitable, I want to make this profitable and you're gonna use it right now to find a way to make that exactly because you can't do it after you graduate college and you have a full-time job you got to produce yeah and so like because I mean it's super frustrating starting out and I was.
Speaker 2:I started out in high school and so I didn't, I didn't know what I was doing, but it helps you have more time on your hands. Yeah, because I mean when you graduate college, you better have like all your ducks in a row, or it's gonna be harder, and like with my photography, it takes so much time, and so I'm trying to find ways to like streamline it and get it out there, so then when I graduate, it's you know something successful you know, and I'm not, I'm not in a position and my you know how many little, how many little guys like me that you know need to hire.
Speaker 1:But we need a. We need a producer and not necessarily a sales producer, but we need somebody that already knows seed depth, already knows these things that you know. And if you work with guys like me or guys like that are in the industry, then we train you while you're there. Then why would we we would be dumb not to hire you yeah, and I think that's you know it's.
Speaker 2:That's one of the things that I've noticed with photography is people will hire photography companies to go do for photo work and they're great at their job, like they take pictures way better than me, they make videos way better than me, but they don't know anything about what's going on.
Speaker 2:And so and I don't I'm not saying I know a whole lot about what's going on, but there's times where they're taking pictures and they're like they make they might make a caption or something or a video and they're like I don't know what's going on, like why are they spraying this? Or you know, why are they putting tile in like this for ag and I'm just using ag examples but why are they doing this on a farm? And it's neat for me being I worked on a farm and I've been around it for the last four years to relate that back to like I know why they're doing that. I know, and it helps me get different shots too, and it helps with captions and just like being able to relate that stuff back to the client. You know, whether that be a farmer or a seed company, chemical company, whatever it is, it helps being able to relate that back and like to know to have confidence in what you're saying you're able to.
Speaker 1:So what I've done in my career and where I'm at right now is I've got a tool bag on me, I've got fire, I've got, you know, certain clovers. I've got so many different things to help me remove stresses like those things that I was talking about in there that are, I believe, their next level. But I've got it all tools to where, whatever the situation is on my client's property, I can pull a fire technique out and Help get our herd. You know some, some better, some better natives, and I think that when you do that, that is you know. When I worked until the 14, I was worked with will Primo's and on his farm at Rivers Run and, and I'll never forget walking those woods with him, and he was teaching me about wildlife and and, and he says that I was teaching him about forestry.
Speaker 1:Will is a knowledge man, he knows, he just understands the value in it. And he would say you know, I'd be asked well, why do you want to take all those Swamp chestnuts away? You know those are, for I don't want them over there eating, I want them right here eating. So he would go remove some trees to keep them in a certain spot, and he. And then I'd go mark you know, and a Suppressed oak that needs to come out, that why you marking that tree, why you marking that tree. And I was like, well, this is you know, this is why. Okay, and he told me one of the best advice he ever gave me. He said, carter, you got to do more and just buy timber. You got to be able to offer your client a Complete array of management strategies to where you can be the go-to person for that client. And I left there and I 2014 and I'm just now 2023, feeling like I'm close to being where he was talking about.
Speaker 2:I needed to be when it's important to Like to be that one-stop shop, I guess, because there's a lot of people who are good at different aspects, but there's not a lot of people who are good at every single aspect and like kind of relating that back to the camera and my photography stuff. Like you can be great at taking pictures, but if you don't know how to edit it, I mean why are they gonna hire you?
Speaker 1:and so and and when to post and how to post it. You know one thing I've got a just past things that I've been involved in Some flood stuff where I've made some post or vibe that went viral the wrong way. So now you know I always do stories, because stories can disappear, yeah, people can't, but it's, it's suppressed. My growth on social media, which I'm, you know, yeah, I'm fine with, yeah, but Going back to using social media as a platform, I do the same thing, like with my faith, like I put some, some, some things that are little bit vulnerable, sometimes can be very vulnerable, but the opportunities that it's given me to be in prayer rooms and being Help, you know, help guide people through some very critical things. What I've gotten that if I never even pulled my faith out, yeah hold my faith out.
Speaker 2:I think it's important to like put yourself out there with your faith and just you know life in general, because I Mean there's a lot of times where, like going back to church, small group You'll I mean college is obviously stressful, like you know, during exams and all that stuff. And being able to relate that stuff back to other people and like to know they're going through the same stuff is Is important, I think, and you know that obviously makes, you know, makes y'all's friendship and y'all's you know bond grow deeper. But it just helps, you know. You like, okay, you know I'm not the only one worrying about this test or, you know, struggling in this class, stuff like yeah, yeah, and and and and even.
Speaker 1:You know people that are at Pine Lake. You're in your group, you know they're trying to get a career too when they graduate, so y'all can collab together, even if they're in business some market development. You know, lean on those people because they have professors teaching them. You can pick up some stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah you don't have to take that class, yeah, but anyway, that's cool man, all right. So we got up just a few more minutes left. I like to do this with people. They come on if you had to give advice, and let's just say Look, I think that you can give advice to people that are my age, but I want to know about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you can.
Speaker 1:But I Want to you to say college student, high school student and junior high, oh yeah, just any advice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, any advice I'd say, put yourself out there and and set yourself apart from other people. Because, like, obviously it doesn't have to be building a brand or take, you know, building a social media platform, but Just putting yourself out there to make yourself different from other people, whether it be you know the, the information that you learn, or the people that you meet, or whatever it may be, just like put yourself out there and put yourself action step.
Speaker 1:Does that mean? What action step Is that? Because I think that if we, if we look at your career, you made an action move in high school to go work for somebody that you didn't even get paid to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, yeah, I mean you have to have a passion for it but, at the same time, put yourself out there and In situations that you might not want to be in, whether it be, you know, if you don't want to be, if you're, if you're an introvert person and you don't like talking, you know you don't like putting yourself in big, you know groups, put yourself out there and big groups every once in a while, because there's no time where it might lead.
Speaker 2:I mean, you might, you know, miss out on an opportunity with somebody coming from a company or an industry that you are interested in and them talking and you hearing something that they said and that you know Changing your path and you know putting your, you know making yourself want to do. You know want to get yourself out there more, because you enjoyed that last time. Yeah, you know, if you know that getting in that big group or like, for me, I don't, I don't like Going, I'm not a I wouldn't say I'm an introverted person, but I don't like putting myself out there where I don't know anybody, and a lot of these times, when I was first going out to farms, I didn't know anybody and so I mean I had no idea what to expect when I could pull it up on a farm.
Speaker 1:I was like every time it got a little easier. Yeah exactly.
Speaker 2:And so like that first time I remember vividly, vividly, I would I pulled up and I was like I've never been on a farm before. Like what do I mean say to these people? I was like I don't know what's going on. I don't know what to say. All I know is I know this one guy and and yeah, it's and that's where you're in four years later. I've been on countless farms all across the south and and you've got it's worked yeah and it's worked.
Speaker 2:And so just that first step of like putting yourself out there in it when you you're, where you might have said, you know, oh, it's easier to just stay home today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you, you got to get there at eight o'clock in the morning. Yeah, because if I'm in that booth and a student comes in there at eight o'clock in the morning, that immediately tells me he's not a partner. That means immediately tells me that his, his focus on his career means way more to him, then going out on Friday night, yeah and I'm not against. Look, I did it, I lived it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I think there's a social aspect that I for sure. I to provide to you. That's a good thing. Yeah you know. You know in the right environment.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you just have to be able to, you just have to do it Responsibly. But that sounds too much like it sounds like my parents are telling me, but it's. You know you want to do it the right way and you know there's right and wrong ways to go out, you know, and have fun, for sure, especially in college. But to be able to, you know, go out and have fun and be social but at the same time, that balance between the two balance.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, all right, so we're out of time, but y'all me and Jack have been talking for months About some different collaborating on some different things. We're we're kind of working through some Google Docs. We're just kind of looking at us, what are we looking at?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're so obviously like we've been talking for a long time. I actually met Carter at the nwtf show this past year and One of the things that we, we kind of both have an interest in is obviously, carter, you know, with habitat management, but with my I don't want to say marketing but with, like, the content creation. There's a big need for high quality content of habitat management and like to start from scratch to go to, you know, having big deer, and so I Don't know what it looks like yet, but we're we'd love to do something where you know we could make, we could market it for, you know, landowners, but also for people in college, because, like we were talking about earlier, there's everybody likes talking about timber in the College of Forest Resources, but wildlife management is sometimes forgotten, and so if these videos could teach some of those kids and the kids are in these Other exactly.
Speaker 2:yeah, the guy just came in, yeah, and so you know, if we could make something for them. That I mean, it's not a long, you know video, but just some short form.
Speaker 1:Content of this is what we're doing it and this is what it's gonna look like, and I've and I've told you, you know, I always wanted to be straight up. You know, and I'm not looking at this as a yeah, I do want to invest in you. I think that you have a career, that it's, it's gonna you. The sky's the limit for you. But I want us to look at each other like we're busy your business, I'm a business, and we are going to Collaborate. It's not gonna be, hey, man, we need to do, do, no, it's what you think, and that way, cuz the knowledge that you're learning every day can benefit me.
Speaker 2:In the same with you. I mean like cuz, like I was talking about earlier with the. Put yourself out there and you know meet people and you know learn from them. The carters learn so much of habitat management stuff and you know the practices and you know different things that he's tried over the years that I have no idea, and so like to put yourself together and learn from each other is super important, yep.
Speaker 1:Awesome. All right, dude. So we're gonna get it. We're gonna get him back on I don't know Exactly. When we figure this all out, will Will start laying it out. But, yeah, man it's. I tell you, this is a big, this is a big check off for me Just being able to come back up in here, and that's because you know I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I appreciate it. Thank y'all, you know. Thank you for being here, for putting me on the podcast and, you know, coming up here, I enjoyed it. Yeah, awesome.
Speaker 1:All right. So next week we're definitely, meredith, we'll be back next week for sure. We have been trying to kind of get a better game plan of what we want to do, what we want to say, who we want to get on, and so we've been just taking some rest and some time to just think that through. But I know I'm speaking with her. I can't wait to get her back. It may just be me and her next week, but we'll be back next week, see you.