Jessie Jarvis grew up on a cow-calf ranch in southern Idaho, tried to leave agriculture behind to become an anesthesiologist, and ended up building one of the most important platforms in the industry instead.
In this episode of We Live It, Ty deCordova and Wade Leist sit down with Jessie Jarvis — founder of Of the West and host of the Leaders of the West podcast — for one of the most wide-ranging and personal conversations the show has ever recorded.
Jessie walks through her path from an internship at the Idaho Cattle Association and Idaho Beef Council, to communications director for ICA, to seven years at the Boutique Hub under mentor Ashley Alderson, to founding Of the West in 2020 — a job platform built specifically for agriculture and western industries. She makes the case that as the world moves toward feeding and clothing 10 billion people by 2050, agriculture can't afford to keep shrinking its workforce, and that the industry has far more career paths than most people realize. As she puts it: there's no job outside of agriculture you can't also find inside it.
The conversation also covers what makes her podcast, Leaders of the West, stand out (including her favorite guest ever — Pat Fitzgerald, who helped build iTunes Podcasts at Apple before becoming president of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum), practical resume and job-search advice for anyone applying for work in ag, and the personal side of building a business: marrying a childhood friend, raising two very different kids, and running it all from a rural operation an hour from the nearest Costco.
Whether you're a producer trying to hire, a job seeker trying to find your place in agriculture, or a fellow entrepreneur juggling a business and a family, this conversation is full of hard-won perspective on what it takes to build something that lasts.
Topics Covered:
- Jessie Jarvis's path from ranch kid to founder of Of the West
- Why she left agriculture for med school — and came back
- Building Of the West, a job platform for agriculture and western industries
- Agriculture's shrinking workforce and why career awareness matters
- The variety of careers available inside agriculture
- Building the Leaders of the West podcast and her favorite guest, Pat Fitzgerald
- Resume and job-search advice for ag job seekers
- What reps can learn from job seekers about selling yourself
- Marriage, motherhood, and running a business from rural Idaho
- Mentorship from Ashley Alderson and the Boutique Hub
Find Jessie at OftheWest.co, listen to Leaders of the West wherever you get your podcasts, and follow Of the West on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
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- (00:00) - Introduction — Growing Agriculture's Workforce
- (01:45) - Welcome Back to We Live It: Meet Jessie Jarvis of Of the West
- (02:04) - Growing Up on a Cow-Calf Ranch in Southern Idaho
- (02:31) - Leaving Ag for Med School — and Coming Back
- (02:57) - Interning at the Idaho Cattle Association & Beef Council
- (03:21) - Becoming Communications Director for ICA
- (03:50) - Founding Of the West in 2020
- (04:15) - How She Met Her Husband, Justin Jarvis
- (05:14) - Meet Jet & Jackson: Parenting Two Very Different Kids
- (08:00) - Building a Career Nobody Told Her Existed
- (12:27) - Why Agriculture Needs More Career Awareness
- (13:24) - How Marketing & Social Media Have Evolved
- (16:38) - Building the Leaders of the West Podcast
- (19:12) - Favorite Guest: Pat Fitzgerald of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame
- (21:53) - Finding Mentors: Ashley Alderson & the Boutique Hub
- (27:18) - Resume & Job Search Advice for Ag Job Seekers
- (29:32) - What Reps Can Learn from Job Seekers: Selling Yourself
- (34:06) - What's Next for Of the West & Leaders of the West
- (35:27) - League of Their Own Auctioneer Contest & Sponsor Shoutout
- (37:51) - Closing Thoughts & Where to Find Jessie Jarvis