In early 2020, I was an unfortunate casualty of the pandemic. I found out while on medical leave that upon my return I was not going to have a job. I had an idea this was going to happen. As a senior leader at my organization, I was fully aware of what was coming.
Being my grandmother's child, I immediately started thinking about the next right move to make. I knew that I had reached a point in my professional life where I was ready to branch out on my own. I had talked a good game for some time and now was the time to see if I had the stuff to make it happen.
The pandemic really gave me a gift. This was the first time that I had stopped. I had nowhere to go. I had no obligations. I lived my life on obligations. Now, here I was without a thing to do but think and recalibrate. I knew that I wanted to do something with food. I have spent the last 20+ years in the hospitality industry so it had to be food. I also knew that the right thing had to have a purpose. In addition to working in hospitality, I spent many years as a social worker so I had to do something that meant something.
In grad school, I created a business plan for a breakfast concept. That breakfast concept turned into a food truck. That food truck turned into trying to create a new spin on the classic food truck. That spin lead me down a rabbit hole of tiny homes which lead to me a company called Freight Farms. I now knew what my next right move was. I was going to become a hydroponic produce farmer. It took 22 months and 25 financial institutions told me no. I stayed true to my vision, believed that what was mine would be, and trusted my ancestors to move mountains in the spirit world. Today, I can say, I am a hydroponic produce farmer.
So it begins.
Derek