We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alexander Vallejos. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alexander below.
Alexander , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Nature.
I like to plant trees and watch them grow. Observing how they sway in the wind. How they recover from broken limbs to create new branches. How they go dormant in the winter and blossom in the summer. It’s a reminder to me that all things have seasons. To not fret if something doesn’t go right, a new path or branch will appear. That it’s ok to sway for a bit, and allow you to go with the flow.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Farmers Markets have always been a part of my life. Ever since I moved to California I immediately recognized that something special was always happening at them. You could always find unique fruits and vegetables that I had only heard of. Living in LA I had the honor of visiting markets from all over. Each one having its own ethos.
Moving to the mountains I had always dreamed of bringing that experience to my community. Something that I felt that lacked was somewhere were we as a community could gather over something that everyone enjoyed, food.
The Twin Peaks Farmers Market is home. Its a place where you can see your neighbor, greet your children’s teacher, hug a community member, and feel part of something larger. We are always changing and that is something that I pride myself on. I search far and wide for unique vendors that bring something that no one had seen before.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
To me faith and persistence is the key. We often hear about the process. Something that we have to go through in order to achieve our dream. Before I started the market I had a business called Arrowhead Farms Direct where we delivered farm fresh vegetable boxes to our community during the pandemic. As we moved out of that phase I recognized that the business had to change. After operating for 16 months we decided that the business had run its course, but I had recognized a need in my community. I was very disappointed in myself and had thought that all my efforts had gone for not and that I had failed. To be hones the market stated out as a mistake. I was going to start a meat delivery business and recognized a Farmers Market was the best way to get out product to the community. I developed the market out of a need not a desire. We opened the market and realized that the meat business was not really what we wanted to do, but recognized that the market was a success. I didn’t ever think that I was going to be in the position and realize now that I had always been working towards this.
The best advice I can give is to trust yourself, have faith, and focus on what is going on now. It may not seem like you are where you want to be, but life always has a funny way of making you look back and see that it was all meant for a larger purpose.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I often feel overwhelmed. Its something that I have become more and more familiar with. I use yoga and mediation as ways to relieve me of some of that stress. Often time my thoughts of what could happen are more distracting then what is happening, When I am in silent mediation I have the honor of being able to ground myself. Listen to the birds and the trees. Feel that life is always ok and that I am just experiencing a growth and that growth is often uncomfortable. I don’t think any one running a business is free of stress. Its part of the job, but its not something we should be overwhelmed by. Turning to nature and seeing that everything grows at its pace is a nice reminder that when we slow down we can see everything is ok.
Contact Info:
- Website: twinpeaksfarmersmarket.com
- Instagram: twinpeaksfarmersmarket
- Facebook: twinpeaksfarmersmarket
