We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lelo Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lelo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the story of how you went from this being just an idea to making it into something real.

Well it all started when I was a child, even though I was an inner city youth from Southwest Atlanta I was very interested in nature, farming, and the country lifestyle. After graduating college with a degree in TV/Radio Broadcasting I began working in the film industry and was starting to make some good money but I wasn’t fulfilled and felt like I was missing my calling. Then one day I was talking to my employer/mentor at the time and I asked him a very simple question, “How did you make your dreams come true?” He gave me an even simpler answer. He said, “Just do it!!!!” He continued to say, “Whatever it is you want to do, just do it no matter what anyone thinks… and more importantly you can’t make you dream come true working for me or anyone else. You have to constantly work on your dream and doors will begin to open for you.” After a few months passed I still felt something was missing so I quit and started figuring out how I could become a farmer and teach people the youth especially about agriculture. I would post videos on my social media and YouTube channel to show people my journal of becoming a farmer and most importantly to share the knowledge I was receiving along the way. This is when I was introduction to the University of Georgia’s Master Gardening program which gave me a lot of insight, knowledge, and the backing for people to start taking me seriously about my farming endeavors. Then I was introduced to the Aglanta Program which provides green spaces in the city of Atlanta for farmers and communities to start urban farms and gardens. Through this program I was able to acquire a plot of land on Campbellton Rd and the Outdoor Fresh Farm was born. After working this plot of land for a few months I had to relocate the business since we had livestock on the property. This allowed us to move to 1645 Mary George Ave where we have been thriving ever since. This is our 3rd season cultivating this location and it has been amazing. We have had tons or classes, volunteering days, community work days and more to help people get in tuned with nature and to show them what it really takes to grow food. Each season we have done things to enhance the location to help it become more productive but ultimately to make the farm more appealing to attract more people. I must say this approach has been working, people are constantly stopping by the farm taking pictures and asking questions about the services we offer. We have started to catch the eye of people of all kinds of people from politicians, entertainers, and even athletes are now intrigued by the different growing methods and the swagg that comes along with them. We continue to use new ideas and methods that we think will help Outdoor Fresh Farm to expand and grow to the point that Outdoor Fresh Farm will become a common household name. If you have questions please feel free to follow us on instagram @Lelo_Jones or @OutdoorFreshFarm. This will also help keep you up to date with all the happenings at the Outdoor Fresh Farm and you can also watch videos on our YouTube channel LeloJonesENT. Website coming soon so please stay tuned!!!!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hello I am Lelo Jones from Atlanta, Ga. I got into farming because it always intrigued me and seemed like a fun lifestyle to me. So therefore I made it my mission to become a farmer and to help people to inspired by nature and to gain some of the knowledge we have lost over time. Outdoor Fresh Farm has become my platform to show people the different techniques of the I have learned in hope that one day they would like to get their hands dirt too. At the Outdoor Fresh Farm our main services are education and consultations about different growing method and what would be ideal for particle locations, we design, install, and enhance gardens/farms sites for clients, and we rent goats for eco-friendly landscaping to clear underbrush and reclaiming property that has been over grown. One major thing that I believe sets me apart from others is my swagger and delivery of the knowledge. I always try to grab people attention, keep them engaged, and entertained which I believe helps them to retain the information a lot easier and make a lasting impression on them as well. The thing that I am most proud of is the impact that I am making throughout the community as well as the aesthetic that I bring to farming that makes it look cool as well.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

On more than one occasion I been down in the dumps just barley making in my pursuit to make my farming dreams a reality. After I quit working in the filming industry I remember the my fund were starting to dry up quickly since I was technically unemployed at the time but still had the same bills I had when I was working. This was starting to wear on me quickly since I was also creating more expenses for myself trying to start a new business venture. Then I was told I had to vacate the plot of land I was working on Campbellton Rd which had me devastated. I was doing the best I could to stay a float but it was very difficult especially since I was a farmer with no land to farm. Then one day I guess the right person(s) saw my farming/gardening videos on social media. From there I started receiving more call about the goats, then I was able to acquire the 1645 Mary George Ave locations, then I got contracted to service about 6 school gardens, and about the same time was able to do some consultations and installations for some well know celebrates that really started to push me in the stoplight. That allowed my creditability to go up as been a quality professional in my industry that knows his craft. Then from there it began to be a snowball effect it started to seem like the more I enhance my knowledge and abilities of farming and gardening the more people started to take heed to the work I was doing and wanted to help the Outdoor Fresh Farm and for that I am beyond thankful and also gave me the energy to keep pressing forward.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe the knowledge and skill set that i have learned, as well as some connects that I made while working in the entertainment industry have definitely help me gain a reputation in my market. Entertainment has set out a model that I carried out into to farming. It’s these shuttle things that I feel makes people want to learn from me and hire me to oversee their projects. This method is to attract, entertain, engage, and maintain. First you have to attract people to what you’re doing and for me its my delivery and swagg. Now after they are attracted i try to entertain them while I’m teaching about a particular subject. Then you engage them and get them in on the act to by asking them questions and keeping them on they’re toes. And lastly but importantly you have to maintain a high level of good energy that makes people feel good and encouraged to keep going forward and learning more. In the end has resulted in happy satisfied customers that will be glad to tell people about the great work you have done for them.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @lelo_jones @outdoorfreshfarm
• Youtube: LeloJonesEnt