Life and Work with Sophie Najarian

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophie Najarian.

Sophie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story’s a little different than most.

I graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Communications.

I worked through school with as much as 3-4 jobs going at a time depending… not so much because I had to, but because I wanted to.
I applied for many jobs throughout the US. landed a couple of opportunities in ideal places such as Orange County, San Francisco, San Diego as well as other opportunities in Phoenix, but they were all too safe.
I took a major risk taking this position with McKesson that I am currently in.

I was told I needed to move to the agricultural and oil-producing town of Bakersfield, California, a significant difference from Scottsdale, AZ.

Google it and you will see why. People thought I was crazy to make a move like this, especially all alone in a city where I didn’t know anyone and I knew only Arizona my whole life.

I will never forget the excitement and energy of getting on the small plane to Bakersfield with what looked like a lot of families and farmers and asking the people around me what Bakersfield was like. They all joked around about how different it was from the very large city of Phoenix and the beautiful resort town of Scottsdale I was accustomed to.

One man asked me if I liked BBQ and country music. I went on to say “yes, I like BBQ and sure I’ll turn on a little Garth Brooks here and there.” Everyone, not kidding everyone, on the plane was listening to this conversation that I was having with the people in my Isle (again, it was a small plane about 50 people max). In sync, it seemed pretty much everyone laughed at me or a had a grin of surprise. Mind you, I have a loud voice (thanks for that dad) so everyone knew what was going on. They all knew I HAD NO IDEA.

And they were right, I had no idea what I was getting myself into… about an hour into the flight, the man sitting next to me who actually was an engineer for an oil company let me look out the window, as I was sitting in the aisle. I’ll never forget it. He said “you see that? All those fields and the oil rigs… THAT’S BAKERSFIELD!“

He and this other woman sitting next to me laughing at my expressions as my jaw dropped.

What I had gotten myself into? I questioned everything that day… is it worth the money? Is it worth the experience? Is it worth leaving my friends and family? Is it worth this opportunity I was about to plunge myself into the real world of business? I was given the opportunity that so many people with genuine experience where denied, my manager believed in me… my family and friends believed in me… and so, I thought let’s do this.

So, with a lot of hesitation and questions, I continued. I lived and live by the quote: “Always go with what scares you the most, because that’s the thing that’s going to help you grow.” I made this quote something I utilized in college starting my junior year… hence, the acting class and public speaking classes I didn’t need to take but continued to take in school. Those professors really helped me along the way.

But that was the challenge and the adventure I was looking for after I graduated.

I said I wanted something different, I wanted an adventure that wasn’t cliché. I wanted something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. The struggle is what drove me to do it, the growth at the end of it all was my drive. because I knew at the end of the day even if it didn’t work out, I would be a much stronger person for it.

Knowing your independence as a woman is key in my opinion, I have been so fortunate to have had a close family that has never treated me any different than my brothers in what I could achieve in life… I think for our generation that’s very important and something to continue to pave the way for our future generations.

Has it been a smooth road?
Has anyone ever said, “Oh yes, easy peezey lemon squeezy”? If so, I would love to read about that because it most definitely has not been.

One of the hardest struggles I think was just getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Being alone in a new city can be pretty scary for most women… but also, totally empowering!

Working with a whole new group of people who are ten plus years older than you and highly experienced, in a highly complex business, in the most competitive state in the country oh and also being one of the youngest in my position in the country was also a tad intimidating.

But look at it more so as a challenge. Don’t let it stop you. Remember, you are there for a reason!

Creating goals outside of work whether it was in the gym, cooking new recipes or staying close with my family and friends that is what helped a lot!

I made sure I stayed busy and really booked up my calendar to have things to look forward to.
Also, thank god for Facetime!

My advice for young women who are starting out their journey is to really set some time aside to focus on the things your good at and enjoy doing. Work towards creating a life that’s surrounded by this.

Also, to take the chance! Take the risk! I promise you, it’s easier to do it rather than looking back at your life in your 90’s and thinking “what the heck was I doing and or who could I have been if I would have done this or that?”

Regret is my worst fear… I think women naturally tend to be on the safer side… and I really think we as women should thrive on taking more risks, that other side of conquering fear is some of the best stuff I’ve experienced in my life and if you just let yourself leap into it I promise you it will all be worth it!

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a retail sales manager for McKesson they are a fortune 5 company… so very large. They focus primarily on Health Care Pharmaceutical Distribution and various services. I help manage around 60 independent pharmacies in the central California region. I help to advise customers with their businesses to better help them grow their independent “Brick and Mortar” type pharmacies as well as start and build them up from start to finish. I also advise them on various services as well as give advice to better grow and build their companies. I believe I have always specialized in relationships. I just truly love people and have always found people to be interesting. Everyone has a story and it’s important to know as many of them as you can in life. I think what sets me apart is my relationship skills and the friendships and trust I build with my customers.

In the beginning, being so young and new to this very complex industry, it was very hard because I had to prove myself.

From my understanding, I was the first retail sales manager in the last ten years or more who was hired right out of school… so I think I definitely had a little more to prove that the average new hire. I knew immediately what some of my customers were thinking ” Oh no, here comes some girl right out of school, young, naive, and now, she’s trying to tell me how to run my business?”… definitely, a hard place to be especially considering this was my first job. But that’s what drove me… I wanted to prove them wrong. So, I worked very hard. One quote always stood out to me by Michelle Obama and it said: “The one way to get me to work my hardest was to doubt me.” and I’ve always found that to be true.

Were there people and/or experiences you had in your childhood that you feel laid the foundation for your success?
My parents always made sure I was involved in something whether that was a sport, a club or some sort of hobby. I think growing up playing basketball really drove me. I went to Boys and Girls Club after school and YMCA during the summers and always played on all boys teams there until they later started having girls teams. Again, always proving myself. I also grew up with two brothers so I’m sure that has something to do with it as well!

I believe my family’s belief in me along with the experiences I had throughout that time have really helped shape me. My parents never let me shy away from anything. I’ll never forget the Boys and Girls club had a talent show one year and I entered into it by myself with a solo dance I prepared, I was in 4th grade and I remember this group of girls got up before me with the exact same song I had picked (Janet Jackson – Someone to call my lover), they were doing backflips and all these crazy moves and I was definitely intimidated. I remember seeing my parents right away in the audience as all the girl got off the stage and as I got up there, I always felt them urging me to keep going. I froze and completely forgot my dance moves and freestyled throughout the whole song alone in front of like 100 people. I had no idea what I was doing, pretty sure I froze and did the same move for about half the song, but I kept going. Even though I was embarrassed, I had the support of my family. The most embarrassing and honest moments are the ones that truly shape you. I say the sooner the better!

Contact Info:

• Phone: 6025686180
• Email: sophie.najarian@yahoo.com
• Instagram: sophia_najarian
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophie.najarian

Image Credit:
Photos: Dayana G. Saucedo

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