Jacy Lippoldt
National Account Manager - Walmart at Pabst Brewing Co.
Co-Owner - Native Acres Meat Company
Hometown: Gravette, Arkansas
Briefly describe your role:
My “day job”: As a National Account Manager at Pabst I am responsible for the customer relationship and sales goals for the account I call on – Walmart. I work daily to build a great relationship within the account and its representatives. My role is to develop creative and innovative marketing strategies to promote the Pabst brand and to ensure the customer in store has the best access to our products through availability, marketing programs, inventory, and pricing. The end goal is ultimately the highest optimization of volume, revenue and profitability.
My “night/weekend job”: Almost a year ago, myself along with my husband and 3 close friends started Native Acres Meat Company. We formed this enterprise to utilize our combined expertise in raising superior livestock, with the best possible practices in caring for our land and animals, to bring premium proteins straight to doorstep’s across the country. We believe there is a strong disconnect between the consumer and the rancher and our mission is to have a personal connection with our customers across the country and to showcase our daily lives on our #nativeacres caring for the cattle, crops and land. At Native Acres, our team looks to me as our “marketing expert”. I mostly oversee all our social media platforms, website and general product promotion. However, as a small business each of us wear many hats each and every day including but not at all limited to: Customer Relations, Shipping, Packing, Pricing, Photography, ect.
Q: Is what you’re doing now what you always pictured you would do?
A: I grew up in a family heavily involved in agriculture and I always knew that I somehow wanted to be connected to the farm. After high school, I elected to move to Stillwater, OK and attend Oklahoma State University in the renowned College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Going into college, I had no idea what my life had in store, but my sophomore year I enrolled in an Ag Sales class and I feel like that class really my lightbulb moment. This was one of my very favorite classes and developed a passion and direction towards a combination of agriculture and sales.
However, upon graduation I felt a strong pull to go into the corporate world to best utilize and develop skills for long term career success. I first started my daytime career at PepsiCo selling beverages to various large retailers. Currently, I am a year into balancing my corporate job at Pabst, being an entrepreneur at Native Acres and farming with my husband and his family… and I continue to find it clearer where my role fits in all three. The one thing I have learned is that you do not have to fit into a bubble. I can be in heels in a corporate meeting and 2 hours later working cattle with my husband in the middle of nowhere. I have found happiness in the balance and diversity and pride myself on my ability to wear different hats every day.
Q: What do you see as the greatest challenges for women in your chosen industry? What are the greatest opportunities?
A: Both in my corporate life and in the agriculture community I see many similarities in the challenges of women in the workforce. I believe the highest challenges come from not how others view us, but how we view ourselves. Speaking from experience, I know it is extremely difficult to see the value and unique perspective that young females add when you are just starting out in your career. When comparing yourself to others in “the room” or “the field” that are doing what you are doing, but have been working in the industry longer than you have been alive, it can be a real challenge to find your voice.
I would highly suggest getting involved with women’s communities – some of my favorites include Network of Executive Women (NEW) through my corporate role as well as RanchHer/FarmHer conference in the agriculture community. Another experience that has helped me tremendously find my voice, is seeking out someone you look up to and aspire to be in the future that can be your female mentor. This has been extremely beneficial to me and my career.
Q: Who has inspired you in your life/career?
A: As I look back over my life and the start of my career, there are so many people that I look to as an inspiration. I would not be where I am today without the influence, tough love and coaching from the those around me. A few that come to mind are my college advisor, Dr. Ferrell, and especially my mother and my grandmother.
As a college student in a new state not knowing a single person at OSU, Dr. Ferrell stood out as the first one that truly made me feel welcome at college and made a consistent effort to develop a mentoring relationship with me. I honestly believe his effort empowered me and gave me the confidence to pursue my goals, get involved and flourish during this chapter of my life.
My mom, even if I did not notice or appreciate it as a teenager, has constantly been the most influential person in my life. She is a corporate executive but is the “do it all” type of person. She never missed a basketball game or a 4-H event growing up, and she made countless sacrifices to be able to balance it all. Now that I am seeing how extremely difficult that is, I am hopeful that I can live a life in tandem with a career and balance it all as well as her. She is the reason I wanted to go into sales and has always encouraged me to go for all of my dreams, to always go above and beyond and never settle for just okay.
Throughout college, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do after school, so I made it a goal to take an internship every summer. My junior year of college, I spent 6 weeks with my grandparents at their ranch in Missouri as their summer intern before my other 6 week internship started. That summer means more to me now then I knew was possible, but that is when I really started to understand my Grandma. She is fierce; and at the age of 80 is running the ranch on her own, starting her own beehive to enhance the ranch, and constantly developing and trying new techniques in her ranching operation. She has taught me to never stop learning, to never give up on your dreams and that women can, in fact, “do it all”.
Q: What advice would you give to an aspiring professional?
A: Whew, this is a hard one because I feel like I am still taking advice every day and finding more truths to several pieces of advice that has been given to me. The first thing that comes to mind is to not “put yourself in a box”. Don’t be afraid to take a risk if it feels right in your gut. Starting a new company as a 20-something is risky, but it has brought so much joy and fulfillment to my life. Take the risk, start the company, go for the promotion, try something new, you will never know if you don’t try.
Q: What’s been your secret to success?
A: I have a long way to go to be able to find the answer that resembles a secret to success. I do, however, firmly believe that in order to be accomplished and to set yourself apart in life… 1) be your true yourself, 2) always do what you say you are going to do, 3) treat others with respect and 4) keep a smile on your face and joy in your heart.
If you stay true to those core principals, while setting goals and giving your best effort to accomplish them, you are destined to achieve success.
