Before starting my business I worked at MD Anderson Cancer Center for 10 years. I was in school to be a nurse and worked a second job as a brand ambassador for many companies such as Jack Daniel's, Heineken, Bud Light, Miller Lite, Polaroid, Dasani and the list goes on...
Fun fact: A patient's son once caught me promoting Jack Daniel's and said to me the next day at the hospital:
"Hmm... very interesting you're healing people during the day and not so much during the night."
I know, the irony right...? 🤭
(Let's just say both roles significantly shaped my passion for helping others and provided invaluable sales expertise that would prove instrumental in my entrepreneurial journey.)
After many years of working in healthcare, especially in a hospital where cancer sadly takes many lives, I decided to leave and take a break to evaluate what my true calling, purpose, and passion was...
I knew I wanted to help people in some way so I list all my skills and for the first year I started exploring my talents. I became a wedding planner, a professional organizer, and a meal prepper! I loved it all but ehh it wasn't it...
So in 2018, my brother and I were chatting, and he was telling me he wanted to do a juice cleanse. When he said that, a light bulb turned on in me and I told him.. "Brooo I can make it for you!"
At that time, juicing wasn't so popular; but something in me told me "This is a great idea!" So I bought a whole bunch of fruits and veggies and started experimenting...
I got so excited experimenting with different fruit and veggies that by the end of the day, I had made 22 different juices (All delicious, but I have since cut down to 12. 22 was just too many.)
My sister made these cute little labels for my bottles. Between my sisters and my kiddos, we came up with all the names for the juices. My son came up w/ "Dragon Blood." He said "Mom, the juice looks red like a dragon! What about "Dragon Blood" lol?)
So I did a 5 day juice cleanse for my brother. He loved the juices, felt so much more energy, less bloated, and the cherry on top was that he lost 12 lbs in 5 days. Of course, that was all water, waste and a lil bit of fat; but to really loose fat, we gotta work it out!
I initially started juicing for family and friends from my home kitchen, but quickly I started getting referred and before I knew it I was juicing for a lot new people. I brainstormed my business name with my sisters. I'm a little tiny human and I always knew I wanted to incorporate that word in there, and of course juice. I was thinking small shop, so there it was! The Little Juice Shop!
During the first month, I was already selling hundreds of juices. I made my my business legit, got my LLC and soon I realized I was going to need a bigger and more professional space to juice sooo...
I was once again exploring my options. Should I rent space in a commercial kitchen? Nah, that would require me to pay to rent and have to carry my stuff back and forth. So I thought "What if I transform my garage into my juicing kitchen?" I stood in my garage, visualizing how I would have it set up. I checked with the city health department to make sure it was possible. Luckily for me, I have a detached garage; therefore it was approved!
Soon after my visualization, some angels started transforming my garage into my little juice shop...
In just a few months, my little juice shop was ready! I got it exactly how I visualized it! From the colors, the lighting, and appliances. Everything was just perfect.
"If Apple, Walt Disney, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft were able to launch their businesses from a garage, then surely The Little Juice Shop was able to do the same. With determination, creativity, and a solid business plan, starting small has been the first step towards my great success.” ❤️
