Meet Nicole Harris

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicole Harris. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Nicole, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

Now that I am a mother, I know my main purpose is raising my two boys (two and eight) and creating a life for them that they deserve.

I have always loved having a feeling of “purpose” whether coaching youth soccer athletes (since 2011) or guiding individuals to optimal wellness as a Certified Clinician in Whole Food Nutrition (since 2013).

I grew up with a misdiagnosis at a young age that left me bedridden. My skin, joints, and immune system were all tremendously compromised. I also experienced debilitating fatigue, muscle weakness, and several other ailments. ​

Although I suffered from Chronic Lyme Disease for 20+ years, I continued to pursue my passions of playing NCAA Division One Soccer as well as working in the fashion and entertainment industry. It was when the relapses and the stress seemed never-ending that I decided to do something about it from a more alternative view. ​ In letting go and making a huge shift, my world opened up to a new career in holistic health and experience in the healing power of whole foods.​

Incorporating whole, nutrient-dense foods and eating as local to the land as possible changed my health. My husband and I began growing our food and started a homestead raising chickens, honeybees, fruit trees, and a garden. Working in holistic health for over ten years as a Certified Clinician in Whole Food Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, I continued to see a disconnect between clients in local food and their health journey. So I decided to combine my love of wellness and agriculture and start Tiny Greens Farm.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

While we had been growing for years beforehand, we launched Tiny Greens Farm in 2020, after my last whole food nutrition certification.

Tiny Greens Farm is a veteran family, woman-owned micro farm producing sustainable and soil-grown microgreens in the Hudson Valley, NY. We provide a high-quality and hyper-local product to our neighborhood and the surrounding community we call home.

We mostly cater to chefs, restaurants, wholesalers, and grocery stores. We also serve our local community through a direct seasonal microgreens home delivery subscription.

It has become our mission to educate others on nutrition, and local food, and grow functional food with gratitude and joy.

Becoming involved with our community by growing for them has been truly gratifying. Every chef, produce manager, business owner, farm manager, professor, administrator, student, and customer holds a special place in our hearts. We grow the greens, but they bring them to life within their kitchen and dishes.

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?

Owning your own business, you have to have resiliency not just in your daily responsibilities, but also over the years. Some years may be better than others and it is pushing through those hard times, and having tough skin that will help you come out the other end. Having my second son during the very beginning of launching the farm, and also facing a cancer diagnosis (now cancer-free for over a year) hasn’t made building the business easy, and we now have a sense of gratitude for all we get to do in life.

Critical thinking is also important as you need adapt at any time to either evolve the business, your market and brand, or just daily challenges that arise.

And finally, grace, because we as business owners can be so hard on ourselves (our toughest critics) and we have to have the grace to know that perfection does not exist. At the end of the day, you have to know and believe that you are giving your best gifts to your family, friends, and community.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

My husband, Cory, has been the most supportive partner in this micro-farm venture. He knows and understands how to improve procedures, efficiency in production, and fix everything I try not to break 🙂

He has the work ethic, drive, and understanding of what the farm needs in order for it to be its best version. While this is not his full time job, he continues support and help improve our growing methods, and the micro-farm wouldn’t be where it is without him.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tinygreensfarm.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinygreensfarm
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tinygreensfarm

Image Credits

Reconnect Foods
Bird and Bottle Inn
Graze NY
Chef Cherilyn Polito
Primo Waterfront
Chef Jesus Olmendo
Ashley Marcin, Hudson Valley Adventurer