Meet Rachael Arbour

We recently connected with Rachael Arbour and have shared our conversation below.

Rachael, 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?

As the oldest child of a single parent who worked multiple jobs to make ends meet I learned that life isn’t going to wait for you. It is so important to look within and find a reason to keep going no matter what you are facing. In the last decade.

I have worked in roles that were being eliminated twice. Each time I had my period of freaking out and wondering will I find something quickly that is at least equivalent to pay and overall package.

The first time this happened I was working for a well known retailer as a department manager. My immediate plan was find another retail management position as my background was filled with customer service and leadership. As I began my search I came across an account manager role and took the leap to apply. I was confident I could learn any job and in my work ethic, but who would I be up against? Prior to the interview I decided I needed to find a way to stand out. The role was for one of America’s best selling confectionary brands. The day of the interview, I made a stop to pick up treats to bring to the interview. When I walked into the interview I set the candy on the table and said when you get together for celebrations or holidays there’s always sweets out to share, so I wanted to bring this to take this time to celebrate a possible new beginning. I left the interview and was offered the position within a few hours. I knew I had sold myself well and I think the candy made an impression. This new role came with a salary increase of $20,000 and a company car so my concern about finding something equivalent was long forgotten.

Fast forward a few years and we are all now experiencing a crisis named COVID. My company kept us out of the field thirteen weeks. During that time we learned there was some research being done on the possibility of phasing out direct employees and bringing in third party representation. The savings they would see was staggering. Rumors started the summer of 2020 and we were all taking bets on what would happen. Late summer I had a recruiter reach out about a role managing plumbing and HVAC accounts. I was 100 percent clueless about the material I’d be selling but needed to find something as all the other companies similar to my current role did not pay as well. Here I was again wondering if there would be a lapse in employment for me. I was also not interested in anything with nights and weekend work after making that escape.

We are getting into fall now and I’m interviewing to sell products I know nothing about. The interviews are virtual so I really can’t think of how to stand out in the list of applicants. One day I’m halfway into my final interview with the director of sales thinking things are going well, I’m an animated talker so I doing all the normal engagement movements. About halfway in he says now I can see you, your camera wasn’t on. All I can think is this is not the impression I’m going for, I look technically challenged. I did in fact receive the role and am still at this company now- recently promoted to lead a team. During my recent promotion I learned that the VP of sales questioned those who interviewed me on why they would want to hire someone who was out selling candy to sell to trades accounts. I should add coming to this company came with another pay increase.

As it stands now I am earning almost four times the amount I was making during the first bout of job elimination. I look back and have no regrets about thinking outside of the box I was putting myself in for career options. It is so important to have that one on one conversation with yourself to acknowledge you do not have to be confined to what you know, or what you have been doing.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My story started with my main career but as I’ve mentioned I sell plumbing and HVAC material. In most cases it’s the rough material so we are not talking the pretty things.

About 15 months ago while on the back of a Harley in the south I came up with the idea of buying a greenhouse and renting it to photographers. I spent the next ten months researching the idea and the competition on the area. I started connecting with studio owners out of my area to help answer questions I had. A few months later I started buying decor and filling my basement. I spent countless hours looking for a greenhouse for my property.

Last August my greenhouse was delivered. I decided on one that would be delivered fully assembled as I knew my life was too busy to add assembling a greenhouse to the mix. I was getting ready to go on vacation and take a promotion so time was a huge constraint for me. My original plan was to stage fall but I made the decision to go right to Christmas and promote. The Christmas season was successful. I made great connections and learned a ton.

The venture has never felt like work as it truly is a hobby. It provides me with a creative outlet and this girl loves to shop! I look forward to creating new sets and finding ideas for future seasons and holidays.

I’m currently waiting out weather so I can make additions outside of the greenhouse and other areas of the property. I look forward to more connections with photographers and involvement in the community.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I think it’s really important to follow your dreams and not sell yourself short. We can often be our toughest critic. If there’s something you love to do find a way to make it happen.

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?

Life has been crazy in the last year. Promotion in August and starting a business in October. I would not change a thing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Glasshouse on Morgwn
• Facebook: Glasshouse on Morgan

Image Credits

Moody Meadows Photography for the last photo