Justin Janes ’04

Please describe your position and what you enjoy most about it.

As SN Partners Small Ag Product Manager, I am responsible for 26 location dealer groups overall performance of small agriculture equipment. Small ag equipment generally consists of small row crop and cattle tractors down to homeowner models, hay equipment and other related equipment. I use sales programs and promotions as well as inventory management to drive performance in market share and overall segment profitability. My days are spent working with sales staff, the marketing team and other members of the management team implementing and executing the plans that will drive the performance the company is looking for. Those plans coming together, producing positive results, and therefore making everyone involved successful is the most rewarding part of what I do.

What aspects of your HLGU experience helped you prepare for your career?

HLG laid a solid foundation for my role as SN Partners Small Ag Product Manager. The classes covering economics, accounting and math/statistics have been critical in understanding the numbers and statistics that go along with this job. Business management and public speaking classes have proven extremely valuable in learning to work with the people from all different walks of life that I encounter daily and being able to get in front of groups of people, either large or small, and to relay a message that I need to get out. Classes in marketing have been critical in my approach to producing sales programs and how to promote those programs. Finally, time spent in Biblical classes as well as chapel, helped give me the faith that regardless of any curve ball the world can throw my way that there is always a higher power that is in control.

How did HLGU shape you as a person?

When I arrived at HLG, I had no sense of the direction my life would go. HLG helped to put me on the path that led me to where I am today. My time at HLG not only gave me a quality academic foundation, but also laid a solid personal foundation based upon faith in Biblical principles. For that, I will always be thankful.

What HLGU professors played a part in your success? How did your relationship with faculty help you succeed?

The professors and other staff at HLG were all great and all played a part in my education there. I found every one of them knowledgeable in their subject matter and always willing to listen and help when it was needed.

I must specifically mention Jerry Allen however. He had a great way of weaving his subject matter into real world examples and more than once those lectures were filled with examples of John Deere tractors and cattle. I never realized at the time how important both of those things would be to my future.

Do you have any tips to share with students interested in this field?

The best advice I have for anyone going to HLG to study business is to take it all in — you will use all of it at some point. Take the lectures, the readings and other lessons to heart and make sure you understand them. Once you graduate and step into the business world it is your responsibility to take what you have learned and apply it to your field. And remember, success does not come overnight, it takes faith, experience, persistence, and a willingness to always do the right thing.