Katherine Cabrera Velasquez knows what it takes to run a business—she and her husband have been operating a successful international fruit export company for a decade. Now Katherine is working toward earning a diploma at George Brown College’s Centre for Business “because I have the experience, but I don’t have the diploma," she said. "I want to accomplish that.”
Katherine is in the first year of the Business diploma program at the School of Management and is studying remotely from her home in Ecuador. While the COVID-19 pandemic created logistical challenges for Katherine's business, it presented an opportunity for her to study at George Brown.
“I figure, 10 years ago this would’ve been impossible, but now with all the tools and technology we have it’s pretty easy,” she said.
“I love to learn. I know I will never stop learning, even when I get old.”
Managing a growing family business
Just over a decade ago Katherine and her husband started their Ecuador-based export business Earthfructifera, which back then consisted of a small office with one employee. Now that office employs 20 people, and the business has locations in neighbouring Peru, in Florida and in Spain. They also oversee their family’s farms that supply products for export.
The family’s banana farms used to sell to big name brands. Katherine and her husband decided to cut out the middleman and export the fruit themselves. They started with bananas and over the years have expanded to include baby bananas, dragon fruit, and avocado and ginger grown in Peru.
As vice president, Katherine oversees all branding initiatives and marketing materials. She also manages day-to-day administration and ensures the company is upholding its commitment to ethical standards.
Mastering time management
Katherine has become a master of time management by adjusting her calendar to accommodate business meetings, schoolwork, watching over her three kids, and ensuring she has time for herself for exercise. She's made it work by setting clear boundaries.
“For me, it’s worked very well. You’ve got to be careful because now there is not a set schedule where you come into the office at 8 a.m. and leave at 4 p.m. Now, we get business calls at 8 or 9 p.m. It’s a matter of saying I can attend to this situation tomorrow because right now I’m doing something else.”
So, what’s next? Katherine says she’d like to take the skills she’s learning at George Brown and apply them to expanding Earthfructifera operations into the frozen fruit market. She’s also looking to start a new venture making biodegradable cups, plates and other products using banana leaf waste from the farms.
“I think it’s really important, not because of profit,” she said of the banana leaf waste idea, “but because it will impact the community in a good way.”
