Joellen Margarita

I attribute my success to hard work and never giving up. I'm constantly pushing forward, always thinking about the business even on weekends and at night. When I'm out somewhere, I'm always looking for opportunities, like spotting a great place for chocolate or meeting people and thinking about how we could work together. I remember being in a hotel gift shop once and seeing everybody's chocolate in there but mine, and it just drove me to make it happen. I also believe in surrounding yourself with the right people who help each other and push each other forward instead of bringing you down. When I moved up from rep to manager at Nature's Path, I found someone who became my best friend, and we helped each other succeed. It's about dedication, good work, and building those supportive relationships with people who lift you up.

I would say be yourself, be genuine, be open, and work hard. It's important to know that work is hard sometimes, but it's even harder sometimes being a woman. I was raised by a man after my mom left when I was 10, so I learned to be tough. But some days are really hard, especially when you get in the boys club. I'll never forget sitting down in New York City for a meeting that was my account, and the guy didn't even look at me. He spoke to my boss and then asked me if I was taking notes. I just took one for the team and got through it because I wasn't going to change his mind in that meeting. My advice is to be present, be fair, try not to be emotional, which is hard. Find your right people, find the people that appreciate you. Your work speaks for itself. If you can present the numbers and hard facts about what you've accomplished, not what you think or feel, that makes all the difference. And most importantly, get your crew. Find your girls in the industry who you can call at the drop of a hat, who will be there for you, share customer lists, give you names, and help you build your career. That network of supportive women is my biggest accomplishment.

The biggest challenges right now are big corporations with big money, and AI is coming into play in ways that I can see will impact the industry. The economy is also a factor because sometimes people don't have the money for high-end things, so you have to be mindful of that. I try to be consistent with customers, be forthcoming with information, and stay present to provide good customer service during these difficult times. On the opportunity side, I see family-owned, organic, Fair Trade, B Corp certifications as real advantages. Those are symbols and values that I talk about when I do demos and sales, and they resonate with me personally because that's how I eat and live my life. I can really connect with that mission of providing better food for people. We're competing against big companies like Kellogg's and General Mills, or in chocolate, companies owned by large corporations. But we have something special: during COVID, Lake Champlain didn't run out of anything because they sourced everything locally - the cream, the butter, the honey, the maple. When people realize that, when they understand we're a family-owned company supporting local suppliers, that's a huge positive. There are a lot of advantages to this brand and what we represent.

The values most important to me are honesty, hard work, promptness, returning calls, and just being present and helpful. Honesty is number one, even though sometimes it can be a little difficult in both work and life. I really resonate with people who think outside the box. When you're a small company going up against the big ones, like I did at Nature's Path and now at Lake Champlain, you have to find ways to get around things and get things accomplished. That's what I enjoy and appreciate in people. I also value having fun and treating yourself well. I work hard all day, and when we're done, it's time for a nice dinner and a cold beer. I used to grind all day in New York City with my team, and then we'd have a really nice dinner at the end of the day. It's important to get to know people too. When I had 10 people reporting to me at Nature's Path, I wanted to know all of them, their families, everything about them. Kindness and thoughtfulness go a long way.