Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tiffany Jones. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tiffany, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

White Oaks Preserve has been around since 2004. It was run by my father in law and husband. They focused on hunting and fishing back then. After my husband moved away for college and my father in laws leg got crushed by a tree, the preserve halted for a few years. My husband Evan and I got married in 2020, and welcomed our daughter in 2021 while living in Florida. Right around when she was born, my father in law planted 100 blueberry bushes at the preserve. 6 months later, we moved our family back to the preserve and took over full time. Having 350 acres, a hunting preserve, 100 blueberry bushes and an infant to look after became daunting. The next year I decided to start a Blueberry Festival. I only had 3 other vendors, and no idea how to advertise.
Word got out, and now we are celebrating our 4th year of Blueberry Fest. We already have over 3 dozen vendors signed up, including live music, food trucks, kids activities and more. And now, I’m not the only one picking blueberries!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Tiffany Jones (formally Copeland). My background is marine biology, but I worked on yachts for several years in Florida before moving to Virginia. (You might know me from Below Deck Mediterranean.) My dad grew up working in nurseries and shared his love for the outdoors and plants with me.
I knew nothing about growing blueberries when I moved here, but I was determined to learn quick, and I did!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Our online presence was nearly non existent when I moved to Virginia. My first step was to get us on the map- literally. I started with Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Yelp. From there, I secured a website domain, facebook page, Instagram page, etc. Once I got followers, I expanded to YouTube. I found that our local Chamber of Commerce was a great asset in reaching locals as well. I had to figure out what form of media people around this rural area used, and found out it is mostly Facebook, so that is now where I focus my attention.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I met my husband/co-owner in Saint Lucia. He was working on a sport fishing boat, and I was on a charter yacht working. Both boats were dodging hurricanes and we ended up in St Lucia at the same time. We clicked instantly. We met in October 10, 2017. We married on October 10, 2020.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Whiteoakspreserve.com
• Instagram: Whiteoakspreserve
• Facebook: Whiteoakspreserve
• Youtube: Whiteoakspreserve
• Yelp: Whiteoakspreserve

Image Credits

Tiffany Jones