With the REAP grant application deadline coming up on June 15, it has been quite busy around here. On top of the current grants Sarah is working on, new prospects are calling every day. We love having the business, but my goodness there are a lot of phone calls coming in! I am becoming a master at “Prosperity Ag and Energy, this is Rachel”. I’m grateful for the telephone experience. As a Sales and Marketing major, at some point in my career, chances are high that I will need to talk on the phone quite a bit. And unfortunately, I’m a little phone-shy. But I am working on that. Phone-shy is a quality that no sales person should have.
I live in Indianapolis, and Prosperity is a bit of a drive for me. Plus, I have only been driving for a couple weeks. Every day Erin gets to hear my stories of what went wrong. Somebody honked at me, I got lost, it started storming when I left the office and didn’t stop until I got home… my daily horror stories of driving. Last week a woodpecker almost flew into my truck! Don’t worry, he’s okay. But in all honesty, I love the drive. I love passing the farms, and seeing the calves and the donkey farm and the miniature ponies. Yesterday there was a turtle in the middle of the road! I wanted to keep it. I was sure that when I was driving home I would see it crushed on the pavement, and I would be so upset that I didn’t save it. Luckily, I didn’t see it again. So I think he made it! But if I ever see a turtle in the road again, I am going to take it home with me. Last week, I announced that before my internship is over, I want my picture with a cow. The Aubrey’s have about 20 very nice cows. I carry my camera every day, just in case the opportunity arises.
Prosperity is working on becoming a certified Women’s Business Enterprise. Getting the application materials together gives me a great chance to learn all about the company. (There are a lot of application materials.) The amount of work that goes into owning a small company is immense. There’s a lot to do, handled by just a few people. Sarah is also is in the midst of seeking membership with the National Speakers Association. Speaking is obviously something she enjoys, as the membership requires 20 speeches within the last 12 months. I gave four speeches in a semester for my communication class, and that gave me quite enough stress. But the key to being a good speaker is a knowledge and passion for what you are speaking about. I’m not sure that my speeches about pet fish and chocolate milk demonstrated a passion, but Sarah has a knack for giving speeches about grants. The knowledge about both Prosperity Ag and Sarah’s speaking jobs is going to help me as I move towards beginning to help market and sell Sarah’s books. I have them on my desk right now, and I’m looking forward to talking to feed stores and wineries and other assorted locations about selling her books.
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| I got my picture with Shimmer! Oh, and Sarah. |
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| The cutest little barn kittens |
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