Meet Wendy Andrade | Pharmacist | CEO & Founder of The Landscape Planner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Wendy Andrade and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Wendy, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The thought process behind starting The Landscape Planner was simple and quite frankly, obvious as it should be with any business. That is, to SOLVE a PROBLEM. My business solves 2.

Hispanics are the number one largest minority in the United States (as of 2019) yet many of us are far from business owners. Being the only Mexican in my entire college demonstrated that the opportunity existed, however, so did the lack of resources, mentorship, role models and representation.
This led me to create The Landscape Planner. A culturally, aesthetically pleasing planner for an overlooked and underserved market; first generation Mexican-American students, college graduates and business owners.

Aside from solving the representation issue at hand. The Landscape Planner is revolutionizing the planner industry as we know it. Think Erin Condren, Passion Planner, Day Designer (my college favorite btw) they ALL have 1 thing in common. And that is, how we open it. The Landscape Planner redesigned the concept of how a planner should be opened. “Hamburger style” as some of us may call it, turned out to solve every left-handed planner owner’s problem. But we didn’t stop there. We designed our weekly view to start on a Sunday (vs Monday) instead of cramming it into the bottom right-hand corner under Saturday. And as a former pharmacist, I naturally gravitated to research the most effective and productive, goal achieving methods while creating The Landscape Planner. Writing things down, time blocking, and a top 3 daily To Do list just to name a few.

The Landscape Planner. The future of planning. THAT was my thought process behind starting this business.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
They migrated; So I graduated.

As a first generation college graduate, I lacked: mentorship, role-models & resources within my community. I was the only Mexican in my entire College of Pharmacy. I often felt lonely even in a room full of people. I didn’t feel “relatable” nor “represented” and sometimes even unwelcome.

I struggled educationally, emotionally, physically & financially. I wasn’t an AP honors kid like most of my peers. I missed my family birthday’s, graduation’s and life events back home. I didn’t physically “look” like the rest of my class. I had to work to keep myself in school.

I didn’t have the choice to fail. But that is also why I succeeded. Graduating Cum Laude honors graduate and the ONLY Mexican in my entire college.

I want people to know that anything is possible in life. It’s not easy by any means. It requires planning, challenging and changing yourself. I want people to know that if it was easy, everyone would do it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would start the day by grabbing a cup of Fatmiilk coffee and walking along lakeshore drive; then head over to Cindy’s rooftop bar to grab a couple drinks while enjoying a gorgeous but different view of the city. Then we’d walk millennium park and grab ramen for dinner and end the night in Fulton Market.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents will always and forever deserve the recognition for leaving everything behind & sacrificing everything they had to come to the US to give me a life full of opportunities, just like this one.

Website: TheLandscapePlanner.com

Instagram: @firstgendoctor

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-andrade/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLandscapePlanner

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1X-YOm_9ldGM5Scr32Im-w

Other: Business IG: @TheLandscapePlanner

Image Credits
Jimmy Renallo at JRIII Media