Meet Justina Salinas | Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Justina Salinas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Justina, what’s your definition for success?
I love this question. It gives me such a good opportunity to take inventory of where I currently am at. The definition of success has morphed and shifted for me throughout the years. If you were to ask me in the first 1-4 years of my business I would have definitely said something centered around profits. Not because I am solely focused on money but because I was so stressed about having a functioning, viable business. While we hit certain milestones to put me at ease I also realized that my definition of success changed in the last 2 years. Success to me means having balance in my life. Does it look like 50/50 work and play? No. But it is me prioritizing my rest, my peace, my health and realizing that I do not have to make myself available 24/7.

So, all this to say success to me means being able to run my business without running myself into the ground. Success is setting boundaries, respecting them and prioritizing myself & empowering others to do the same.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy?

I am incredibly proud of the company culture and the “why” behind what we do. We approach every aspect of our business with this in mind and as a whole the brand is very much in alignment. I honestly have to say I am most excited about streamlining and delegating more for a little behind the scenes… but also I am so excited to have recently reconnected with our “why” and really honed in on how to serve our community best.

No part of this was easy. It’s such a vulnerable thing to take a risk and put yourself out there. To allow space for “failure” and to have enough awareness and let go of ego to pivot and morph when necessary while remaining true to your values. Then on top of all that you add in the sales, logistics, marketing, product making, managing people, accounting, the list goes on and under all these categories are 1,000 tasks to be done. It’s important to know when and how to delegate. But it’s hard getting there / being able to afford it. No one gives you a blueprint on how to do all of this. So, you have to be so flexible and quick to know when something is working and when it is not. It’s a great practice in non-attachment and the farm has helped humble me in that I am definitely not in control of mother nature.

Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way.

It’s hard to think of me as “overcoming” anything because I guess in my head I was never thinking..oh, here is an issue let me overcome it. It looked more like okay our irrigation is broken and we need a solution before these plants dry up so there really is no time to think about overcoming it’s all about doing. So maybe that is my answer – that I didn’t overthink the reasoning behind it I just did it, I asked for help, I reached out to people I found solutions.

So many lessons that I have learned and continue to learn. The ones that immeditely come to mind i’ve touched base on. Asking for help or advice, knowing when to pivot and let go, shift your perspective to student – you are always learning and although the outcome may not be what you expected learning that something did not work is just as valuable as a great launch/”success.” When you have that perspective in my experience it has led to more hunger to try again and get it right then to get upset about something not being “successful.” It’s your business you make up what success means to you and just remember you are putting yourself out there everyday and figuring things out as you go. That is already A LOT and incredibly brave, anything after that is a huge bonus. Be easy and kind to yourself and remember that you are doing a great job.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

That we exist to empower women to prioritize themselves and have balance – guilt free.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So the farm is in Dixon, CA and I live in Sacramento.

I would definitely take them to some of my favorite spots in Sac – Cantina Alley, Thai Canteen, SacYard, I Shanghai Delight maybe a float on the river.

But the main event would be driving up to Tahoe for a few days and enjoying my favorite place. Hiking, eating, relaxing, lake, camping, the smell of the air, it’s my happy place.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Oh my goodness there isn’t a long enough paper for this list!

There are so so many people who have contributed to the business’s success. My parents for one who let me farm on their land and host events along with a long list of efforts and work they have put in, my amazing friends old and new who have been there with me every step of the way,  who champion me always and are some of my greatest customers and cheerleaders, who really see me for me, my family who will gather to help at a moments notice, who drive around with my events taped to their car windows, who have worked events and at the end of the day are always there. My team who cares about the farm so deeply and every ounce of their work and presence make it a much better place to be – they contribute so much to the heart of what we do and put in the work to make the farm what it is and it continues to get better!

All the crews of labor that have come to plant the lavender and tend to it, working in the dead of summer. Harvesting, pruning, debudding the lavender, creating the oil. People who have shown up during a time when I needed guidance and they provided it and helped with complex systems like our irrigation, all of the customers and community who have purchased items and sent kind words and attended our events. All of the small business friends I have made along the way that have held space for me and inspired me. Truly the list goes on and I am so thankful for the abundance of support and love that I have received in this endeavor. It is what I cherish most and even just reflecting on this now I’m realizing what a positive aspect of life this is  – so I will definitely remind myself of this more often.

Website: www.aracelifarms.com

Instagram: @aracelifarms

Image Credits
Ashley Linnane Bryan Coppede