Judi Krzyzanowski dwells in a magical place called Skyranch, located in the lush Pemberton Valley amidst the towering snow capped mountains in British Columbia. A unique career indeed, she is the only importer in Canada for Sheese. Made in Scotland, Sheese is award winning Vegan Sheese…ooh does it ever taste good. Further to distributing this culinary delight to grocers nationwide (in Toronto – Fiesta Farms, The Big Carrot & Noah’s), Judi continues to work at her PHD and engages in local politics.

What does a typical Thursday look like for you, starting from when you wake up – to heading to bed?

I am blessed enough to sleep until I wake up every day, unless there is something urgent, or an event or something.  I find this helps me with clarity and concentration throughout the day – I am also a night person. So let’s say I am up at 9:30. 

The first thing I do on waking is get coffee. My partner Robert has usually already been up for hours and there will be some perking on the stove. Robert does Skyranch food’s sales and marketing, and recaps the Sheese experiences he has had thus far over a cup of coffee (usually on the porch). 

Then with some sort of breakfast in hand I go upstairs my office (loft) and check my e-mail.  This can take 5 min. or sometimes 5 hours. My e-mail comes with everything from tech support help, reviewers’ comments on scientific papers, requests for Sheese, invitations to present at conferences, technical questions, invoices, customs forms, and so forth.  It usually takes about an hour to get through them, and e-mails often dictate how I spend much of that Thursday. 

After going through my e-mail, I choose between numerous tasks to tackle next. I do either what’s most urgent, or what I feel like. These include modelling air pollution dispersion, writing a scientific paper (for my PhD or contract work), analyzing numerical results, mapping spatial data, searching for new references or information sources, preparing a research presentation, designing a Sheese ad, updating the books, preparing a promo package, adding something to the website, etc. Generally this means being on the computer until my eyes need a break.  

At this point I am probably hungry and Robert and I will have lunch together. Whoever wants the cooking break gets to cook – that’s right we both always want to cook. If it’s something yummy and new with Sheese in it, I may take a photo and post the recipe on our website. After lunch I usually play with Sioux-dog for a while – fetch, spin-spin, chase…. and back upstairs to the computer. 

I will then spend a few more hours (until I need a break) finishing up or working on those things from the morning. On Thursdays the local papers come out and this is usually the day I go in to town for an hour or so to pick them up and do banking and errands.  I then return to more computer followed by a break before sun-down that involves walking, biking, snow-shoeing, tobogganing, running, digging, weeding or something else active and seasonal that I’m in the mood for, for half an hour to an hour. 

Then I will relax a bit, go through the newspapers to see if anything is worthy of a letter to the editor, and fight over who gets to make dinner!  After a lovely dinner and maybe the news on television I will go back to writing papers and analyzing data, or working on that ad or presentation I may not have finished yet. There is always so much for me to do that I can’t say I know what boredom is. I usually work until at least 1 am and like to have a hot bath or sauna in the evening sometimes to relax. Before bed I do a 10 min. stretch routine that helps me relax and turn off my brain.  

What was your first job out of school?

Out of school? I can’t wait! I am currently in grade 20-something!  Owning Skyranch foods will be my first job out of school too I guess because I will continue to do that.  I also plan to line up a few independent consulting contracts to start at least paying off the student loans. Then I can think about a food line! 

What are the 3 skills you require most to do your job well?

Patience – for the number of times I have almost smashed a computer
Perseverance – for the number of times I have almost given up      
Problem solving – for keeping track of all those numbers 

What do you love most about your career?

Being able to work from home. It means that I can plan my own day, set my own goals and tasks and wear whatever I like. It also means I am always at work, which can sometimes throw off the work / play balance a little.  

Do you have any warnings?

Don’t let money (or belongings) be your only success measure. It is good to have other success measures for yourself. Mine include having a paper published, affecting government policy, getting Sheese into its hundredth Canadian retail store, having my career reviewed on “She does the city”… If money is your only measure, it can be really easy to give up before ever making any. 

If you could try a different career on for a year, what would it be?

I would like to be a politician. Maybe not Prime Minister, that requires too much attention, but maybe another Minister or advisor. Politics fascinates me. I don’t think it is the only, or even the best, way to make change, but over a year I could definitely stir it up a bit. 

We wish we could visit Skyranch in person, but until then we will dream about it through the world wide web: http://www.skyranch.ca/

Sheese is one of the companies featured in our SHOW YOUR GREEN Care Package contest.
See more: www.shedoesthecity.com/carepackage/green