Ep. 127 - Jessie Jarvis of Of The West, Part II
On this episode of That Western Life, Katie sits down with Jessie Jarvis, founder of Of The West, for a conversation that sits directly at the intersection of ranching, agriculture, western business, career development, and the future of the western industry.
Jessie has built one of the most recognizable career platforms serving agriculture, western sports, ranching, equine, and rural business professionals. But before Of The West became a go-to resource for western industry jobs and professional development, Jessie’s foundation started where so many western stories do: on a ranch.
This episode covers what it really takes to build a career in the western industry, why professionalism still matters, how job seekers can stand out, what employers need to understand, and why the most sustainable businesses are built slowly, consistently, and with trust.
Katie and Jessie also dig into timely conversations around artificial intelligence, brand identity, remote work, rodeo job opportunities, agricultural advocacy, and the responsibility of doing the right thing even when it is not the easiest option.
About Jessie Jarvis
Jessie Jarvis is the founder of Of The West, a career platform built to connect job seekers, employers, freelancers, and professionals across the western and agricultural industries.
Her work serves people across farming, ranching, feedlots, equine businesses, western sports, rural media, and the broader western lifestyle space. Through Of The West, Leaders of the West, and related platforms, Jessie has helped change the way the western industry thinks about hiring, professional development, career visibility, and industry opportunity.
While Jessie wears many titles, she shares in this episode that the one she remains most connected to is simple: rancher.
That ranching identity is not separate from her business. It is the root of it.
What This Episode Covers
This conversation is especially valuable for anyone who is trying to build a career, business, brand, or meaningful professional role inside the western industry.
Katie and Jessie talk about:
How Of The West started and why western industry hiring needed a better solution
The challenges job seekers face when trying to break into agriculture, ranching, western sports, and rural business
Why “I want to work in the western industry” is not specific enough to build a career plan
How professionalism can separate strong candidates and businesses from the crowd
Why remote work is a privilege, not an automatic starting point
How AI is changing western marketing, design, content creation, and brand identity
Why creative direction and original branding still matter
What job seekers misunderstand about director-level roles and leadership experience
How to build a business that lasts instead of chasing quick attention
Why agriculture is not going anywhere
Where rodeo and western sports may need more professional support
Why trust is built by doing what you say you are going to do
From Ranching to Western Industry Careers
One of the strongest themes in this episode is Jessie’s connection to ranching.
When asked which identity she is most proud of professionally, Jessie shares that she still introduces herself first as a rancher. Even though much of her daily work now happens through Of The West, her ranching background remains the reason the rest of her work exists.
That point matters.
The western industry is full of people trying to balance tradition with growth. Many are ranchers, horsemen, cowgirls, rodeo competitors, marketers, business owners, freelancers, and advocates all at once. Jessie’s story reflects that reality. She did not step away from agriculture to build a business. She built a business because of what she understood from being in agriculture.
For job seekers and young professionals, that is an important lesson. Your background does not have to look polished or linear to be valuable. But you do need to understand how your experience connects to the larger industry and how to communicate that value clearly.
Why Of The West Was Created
Jessie explains that the idea for Of The West came from a real need she kept seeing inside the western and agricultural industries.
People wanted jobs in agriculture, ranching, western sports, and rural business, but opportunities were often hard to find. Employers needed qualified people, but there was not always a clear or professional hiring pipeline. Job seekers were frustrated. Employers were frustrated. And the industry needed a better way to connect the two.
Of The West was created to help solve that problem.
What started as a career platform became something bigger: a resource that helped the western industry take hiring, opportunity, professionalism, and career development more seriously.
Katie points out that a lot of people say they want to “help the western industry,” but they do not always know what that actually means in practice. Jessie’s work is an example of finding a specific problem, building a useful solution, and forcing the industry to look at opportunity in a new way.
Professionalism Still Matters in the Western Industry
A major part of this episode centers on professionalism.
Jessie is clear that she takes work seriously. She values people who show up, do the job, follow through, and understand that work comes before joking around or playing the part.
That does not mean people in the western industry cannot have fun. It means the work still has to be respected.
This is especially relevant in rodeo, agriculture, ranching, western events, and rural media, where many roles are built on relationships. In industries where everybody knows everybody, professionalism is not optional. It becomes part of your reputation.
Katie adds that in event production, rodeo marketing, public relations, and live entertainment, the stakes are often high. If the schedule fails, the sponsor activation falls apart, the social media coverage misses the moment, or the wrong thing gets said publicly, the consequences can be very real.
The takeaway: being good at your job is not just about talent. It is about judgment, maturity, communication, and follow-through.
Career Advice for Western Industry Job Seekers
Jessie gives practical advice for people trying to find jobs in agriculture, western sports, ranching, equine media, and rural business.
One of the biggest lessons is that job seekers need to be realistic about the role they are qualified for.
A master’s degree is valuable. Education matters. But Jessie makes the point that a young professional coming straight out of college is usually not ready for a director-level role. Leadership requires more than education. It requires experience, decision-making, communication skills, and the ability to lead people who may be older, more experienced, or more specialized.
She also addresses remote work directly. Of The West is a remote company, but Jessie does not view remote work as an automatic right. She sees value in working in an office, learning how to communicate with people, dealing with workplace dynamics, and building professional habits before expecting full flexibility.
For job seekers, this is a strong reminder: do not confuse ambition with readiness.
You can want big opportunities and still need to build the experience that qualifies you for them.
The Role of AI in Western Marketing and Branding
Katie and Jessie also discuss one of the most current conversations in western media and marketing: artificial intelligence.
AI-generated posters, flyers, captions, graphics, and content are becoming more common across the western industry. Jessie’s concern is not that AI exists. It is that generic AI content can flatten a brand’s identity.
If every rodeo, ranch, equine business, western boutique, and rural brand uses the same tools in the same way, everything starts to look and sound the same.
That is a problem.
A brand exists because it is supposed to represent something distinct. When marketing becomes too generic, it loses the ability to build a relationship with an audience.
Katie shares a real-world example from event marketing, explaining how investing in a creative team helped one western event generate major digital reach in a short window. The point is not that every business needs a huge media team. The point is that strong creative work still has measurable value.
AI can be a tool. But it should not replace strategy, taste, storytelling, or brand identity.
Why Creative Professionals Are Revenue Generators
One of the most important business points in the episode is that creative professionals are often undervalued because their work is not always directly tied to a sales receipt.
A graphic designer, photographer, videographer, copywriter, podcast editor, or content strategist may not look like an obvious revenue generator on paper. But strong creative work can drive attention, sponsor value, customer trust, ticket sales, audience growth, and long-term brand recognition.
In the western industry, this matters even more because many businesses are built on heritage, reputation, visual identity, and emotional connection.
A cheap flyer may get information online.
A strong brand campaign can create momentum.
That difference matters.
Agriculture Is Not Going Anywhere
Jessie also talks about the wide range of stories she follows through her own industry research and media habits. Her focus spans farming, ranching, feedlots, western sports, equine businesses, freelancers, contractors, job seekers, and employers.
One of her biggest observations is that agriculture is not disappearing.
The industry is changing, but it is not going away.
That is an important distinction. Agriculture, ranching, and western businesses face real challenges, but the need for food, fiber, livestock, land stewardship, rural infrastructure, and western culture remains. For job seekers and business owners, this means there is still opportunity. But the people who win will be the ones who adapt, communicate clearly, build trust, and understand where the industry is moving.
Rodeo Jobs and Western Sports Opportunity
Toward the end of the episode, Katie asks Jessie where she sees job potential in rodeo and western sports.
The answer is not limited to one role. Rodeo is growing in visibility, and with that growth comes a need for more professional support across multiple areas.
Local rodeo committees, western sports startups, media companies, and larger associations may all need help with:
Marketing and communications
Sponsorship fulfillment
Event operations
Social media coverage
Photography and videography
Digital strategy
Public relations
Athlete relations
Brand partnerships
Community engagement
Ticketing and audience experience
Data, analytics, and reporting
Rodeo is no longer just about what happens in the arena. The arena still matters most, but the business surrounding the performance is growing. That creates opportunities for people who understand both the western world and professional execution.
Building a Business Slowly and Correctly
Another major theme in this conversation is long-term business building.
Jessie talks about wanting to build a company that lasts. Her perspective is shaped by family ranching legacies that span decades and generations. That long-term view influences how she thinks about Of The West.
Not every business needs to scale fast, sell quickly, or chase every trend.
Some businesses are built by being consistent, trustworthy, useful, and patient.
In an era where attention is often treated as the goal, Jessie’s approach is a reminder that trust is still one of the most valuable forms of currency in the western industry.
Trust is built when people do what they say they are going to do.
Deep Thoughts on the Rodeo Trail with Jessie Jarvis
Katie closes the episode with one of That Western Life’s signature questions: Deep Thoughts on the Rodeo Trail.
Jessie’s answer is simple and direct:
You are never wrong to do the right thing.
It is the kind of statement that fits the whole episode. Whether the conversation is about hiring, business, AI, agriculture, rodeo, leadership, or brand building, the principle is the same.
Do the right thing.
Build trust.
Keep showing up.