Her Story
About Katelyn
I'm the Creative Director at Pleasant Run Nursery, where I've been for about 3 years full-time after being promoted from my role as inventory and shipping coordinator. My work is all about design and digital marketing. On a typical day, I might design flyers for plants, write plant descriptions for the website, post on social media across Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and LinkedIn, and write weekly newsletters that require research and illustration. I also make sure we're sponsoring the right events that align with our core values and mission, and I travel all over the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Northeast talking to landscape architects about our plants and how we can help them. I'm never bored and always doing something. What I'm most proud of is that this role ties all of my skill sets together. I have a lot of freedom to work how I need to work and push the company in the direction that aligns with where we want to end up and our core values. We hit our biggest sales number last year ever, and we're continuing in that trajectory this year. It's pretty amazing how much we've grown just in the last couple years, and I'm pretty proud of that. Now I'm helping to run a $7 million company, which is pretty cool.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Katelyn
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my unfortunate perfectionism and perseverance. I'm non-stop, I'm a workaholic, so that's unfortunately the method of my success. I'm always learning and never stop pushing myself forward.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is that if you're scared, it's probably worth doing. This has guided me through major career transitions and helped me take the leap from tattooing into horticulture.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell young women not to be afraid of their male counterparts, because it is still a very male-driven industry. But the movement of women towards horticulture and towards landscape architecture is critical, because they have this eye that men don't, and are able to look beyond the current situation and see the beauty in what a landscape or a garden has long-term. I think women are just inherently better at that. So just don't be discouraged by your counterparts. I think that keeping your head up and continuing on the specific journey that you have set yourself on is critical.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now, the biggest challenges and opportunities in my field are sustainability and resiliency. We need to be building landscapes and growing plants that are going to hold up long-term for these changing climate conditions that we're experiencing. It's also about building these green spaces for specifically urban environments that are lacking in green infrastructure. That is primarily the biggest challenge right now.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me in my work and personal life are honesty, commitment, trustworthiness, passion, and compassion for others. These are my core values that guide everything I do.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · New Jersey
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.