{"id":569,"date":"2018-11-12T18:32:36","date_gmt":"2018-11-12T18:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=569"},"modified":"2022-03-11T04:12:32","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T04:12:32","slug":"planting-a-new-way-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"Planting a New Way Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/h3>\n

This CEO didn\u2019t expect to have to save her husband\u2019s company after surviving his loss.<\/h3>\n

\u201cThere are many days that I wish my story wasn\u2019t my story, but it\u2019s also led me to the beautiful life I have today.\u201d \u2013 Sandy Hansen-Wolff<\/p>\n

Randy Hansen jotted down some notes before he died. Bank account information. Contact numbers. Vague directions for his company, AgVenture Feed & Seed Inc<\/a>.<\/span><\/strong> The notes were \u201cjust in case.\u201d Randy, who was newlywed, was going to beat leukemia with a bone marrow transplant and return to work.<\/p>\n

That was the plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A few days after her husband\u2019s funeral, Randy\u2019s widow, Sandy Hansen-Wolff, 45, discovered that the Minnesota-based agriculture company was insolvent. AgVenture provided animal feed and crop seeds for farms. Hansen-Wolff sold insurance. She was in debt and out of her depth, having inherited a failing business in a male-dominated industry in which she had no experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first I wanted everyone to leave me alone. I felt as though the whole community was watching me. \u2018What\u2019s that lady doing? She\u2019s never going to figure it out,\u2019\u201d says Hansen-Wolff. She spent her early days running AgVenture convinced she was headed for financial ruin.<\/p>\n

So, she made a new plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cThe tipping point for me was realizing that people were trying to tell me the answers I needed, and that I wasn\u2019t listening to them,\u201d she says. \u201cA lot of times, the answers are being spoken to you, but you don\u2019t want to hear them.\u201d<\/p>\n

A conversation with her accountant helped Hansen-Wolff to see that she could use her inexperience as a resource, as her outsider\u2019s perspective allowed her to question industry practices. That realization changed everything.<\/p>\n

She spoke with vendors, standing her ground when they sensed vulnerability. She spoke with her Vistage peer advisory group, whose insights had informed her business practices since she joined in 2013. She spoke with industry nutritionists.<\/p>\n

Most important, she spoke with the competition.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, agricultural companies ground their own proprietary mixes of seeds and feed, guided by in-house nutritionists. This practice kept AgVenture\u2019s infrastructure costs high and profits slim. So, Hansen-Wolff formed partnerships with her competition with an intriguing offer: She would use their facilities and nutritionists, and in return, AgVenture would do the on-the-ground service work at farms that her competition didn\u2019t have the capacity to offer.<\/p>\n

Transforming a failing company into a profitable one<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Focusing on service reduced AgVenture\u2019s overhead, created an opportunity for scalability, and changed the trajectory of the business. Nowadays, this approach is common, but 15 years ago, it was unthinkable.<\/p>\n

By having the courage to build a larger vision, asking questions, and listening for the answers, Hansen-Wolff was able to forge a path to success from a personal tragedy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many days that I wish my story wasn\u2019t my story, but it\u2019s also led me to the beautiful life I have today,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve learned that people will tell you a lot and expedite your success if you just ask and just listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandy Hansen-Wolff<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This article was originally published in Vistage<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This CEO didn\u2019t expect to have to save her husband\u2019s company after surviving his loss. \u201cThere are many days that I wish my story wasn\u2019t my story, but it\u2019s also led me to the beautiful life I have today.\u201d \u2013 Sandy Hansen-Wolff Randy Hansen jotted down some notes before he died. Bank account information. Contact numbers. Vague directions for his … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[73,98,101,103],"yoast_head":"\nPlanting a New Way Forward - Sandy Hansen-Wolff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planting a New Way Forward - Sandy Hansen-Wolff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This CEO didn\u2019t expect to have to save her husband\u2019s company after surviving his loss. \u201cThere are many days that I wish my story wasn\u2019t my story, but it\u2019s also led me to the beautiful life I have today.\u201d \u2013 Sandy Hansen-Wolff Randy Hansen jotted down some notes before he died. Bank account information. Contact numbers. Vague directions for his ... Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sandy Hansen-Wolff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-12T18:32:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-11T04:12:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Sandy-Hansen-Wolff-Planting-New-Way-Forward-1-300x117-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"117\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sandy Hansen-Wolff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sandy Hansen-Wolff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/\",\"name\":\"Planting a New Way Forward - Sandy Hansen-Wolff\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Sandy-Hansen-Wolff-Planting-New-Way-Forward-1-300x117-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-12T18:32:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-11T04:12:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea5c8b7f9ead0155be0f48298d622caf\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Sandy-Hansen-Wolff-Planting-New-Way-Forward-1-300x117-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Sandy-Hansen-Wolff-Planting-New-Way-Forward-1-300x117-1.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":117},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Planting a New Way Forward\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sandy Hansen-Wolff\",\"description\":\"Intuitive Business Strategies for High-Level Leaders\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea5c8b7f9ead0155be0f48298d622caf\",\"name\":\"Sandy Hansen-Wolff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fbe42c35f4af59f9ccd19ff2840006c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fbe42c35f4af59f9ccd19ff2840006c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sandy Hansen-Wolff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/author\/sandy\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Planting a New Way Forward - Sandy Hansen-Wolff","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Planting a New Way Forward - Sandy Hansen-Wolff","og_description":"This CEO didn\u2019t expect to have to save her husband\u2019s company after surviving his loss. \u201cThere are many days that I wish my story wasn\u2019t my story, but it\u2019s also led me to the beautiful life I have today.\u201d \u2013 Sandy Hansen-Wolff Randy Hansen jotted down some notes before he died. Bank account information. Contact numbers. Vague directions for his ... Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/","og_site_name":"Sandy Hansen-Wolff","article_published_time":"2018-11-12T18:32:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-03-11T04:12:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":117,"url":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Sandy-Hansen-Wolff-Planting-New-Way-Forward-1-300x117-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sandy Hansen-Wolff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sandy Hansen-Wolff","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/","url":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/","name":"Planting a New Way Forward - Sandy Hansen-Wolff","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Sandy-Hansen-Wolff-Planting-New-Way-Forward-1-300x117-1.jpg","datePublished":"2018-11-12T18:32:36+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-11T04:12:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea5c8b7f9ead0155be0f48298d622caf"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Sandy-Hansen-Wolff-Planting-New-Way-Forward-1-300x117-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Sandy-Hansen-Wolff-Planting-New-Way-Forward-1-300x117-1.jpg","width":300,"height":117},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/planting-a-new-way-forward\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Planting a New Way Forward"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/","name":"Sandy Hansen-Wolff","description":"Intuitive Business Strategies for High-Level Leaders","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ea5c8b7f9ead0155be0f48298d622caf","name":"Sandy Hansen-Wolff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fbe42c35f4af59f9ccd19ff2840006c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fbe42c35f4af59f9ccd19ff2840006c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sandy Hansen-Wolff"},"url":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/author\/sandy\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2788,"href":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569\/revisions\/2788"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandyhansenwolff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}