Hey, hey. Welcome to Operations Unfiltered, the podcast that takes you behind the scenes of influencer and talent management. I'm your host and your favorite marketing project manager, girly Zaina. Today's episode is special because we're not just talking about business, we're talking about being bold in business.
We're talking about what it looks like to build a wellness brand from the ground up in a beverage industry that's saturated with billion dollar corporations, yet still leaves little room at the table for black women founders. In fact, less than 1% of US beverage brands are black owned and even fewer are led by black women. And yet, right here in the heart of Baltimore, a city that's known a little bit more for its grit than green juices, mother nature is thriving.
What started as a local feel-good passion has become a powerful force in the wellness community. Not only does this brand serve cold press goodness and healing, but it disrupts an industry that was never built with us in mind. So today you'll hear from the brilliant founder herself. Kelly is a woman who has taken her love for holistic health and black community care and business operations, and she turned it into a movement.
So if you've ever been curious about what it takes to build a beverage brand, you wanna know more about growing community, or you simply just want some encouragement to stay rooted in your purpose, then this episode is most certainly for you. So without further ado, I'm excited to bring you this week's episode of Operations Unfiltered. Thank you so much for joining me.
I always give a brief introduction at the beginning, but can you give me an introduction to who you are and give us the origin story of all things your business? I don't wanna say it until you introduce it, but give us the tea.
Thank you so much for having us on this podcast. This is amazing. So I'm grateful for having us here. I'm Kelly, the founder and CEO of Mova Nature. We are a holistic juice and company based here in. Baltimore City, we are providing health and wellness through beverages. So that's functional beverages, fresh juice, herbal teas, all the things. And then we are also teaching wellness education through juicing, through different, city facilities, different corporations, things of that nature.
So we are five years in the Macon. I like to say we are a pandemic business because we started. 20. Yes. 2020 is when we started right in the height of everything happening in the world, by the nature showed up and really the. Was my sister Danielle. She was 33 when she had, stage four colon cancer. She found out in 2019, so this was towards the end of 2019, going into the pandemic in 2020.
So along trying to assist her in her journey with cancer, and then with the shift of the world and Mova Nature was created. She was born. And it was really just a process of me learning. The benefits of like fruits and vegetables and juice and different herbs and things like that. And as I was learning, I was sharing online, so that's how we were building our platform. I was just organically sharing online.
love you, like I love your mission. I loved you, and the reason I wanted you to share your story is because I actually heard this in person and I want to tell my listeners all about it because I was like, so moved. I actually met you at the Carey Business School Community Consulting Lab pitching event. And you were one of the finalists and your story, the way you, your energy on stage was just like, it gave me everything I needed to know. I needed to have.
So I was like, yes, we absolutely wanna know all about you and Mova Nature and that story. Honestly, it takes the worst of the worst and then a beautiful blessing can come out of it. And I truly feel like that's what your business is. 'cause that's what the, you gave me the warm and fuzzies when you were talking, so I'm so excited about that.
Yes. Everything you said exactly that. Exactly that, yes.
Yeah. And speaking of that, the community consulting lab, that's exactly where the community consulting lab, that's where I met you. Can you talk a little bit about your experience with that and how it influenced your business strategy moving forward, and what is that program for people who might not know what it is?
Absolutely. Number one, I'm an advocate for small business to join different programs whether in Baltimore City, Maryland, or beyond. I think that's a great way to gain. Deeper insight of how to scale and grow your business, understand operations. And it's also a way for you to get in front of a different audience. And on top of that, you get to, you may have possibly went some money, which we got to win second place. So, that experience, it was an eight week program.
We got selected and we actually submitted our application like the day of. That was the last, time that we could submit it. I. The video, it would not upload in the queue. So what I did was I went on LinkedIn and I posted the submission video onto my LinkedIn platform, and I tagged John Hopkins Business Carry School. So everybody saw my submission online and it was like. It wasn't together, it was me just look, this is what we're trying to do. This is how we need help.
This is this is what we need. And granted, this was only for John Hopkins Business Carry School to see it. But everybody saw it on the platform. They saw it and then they selected us.
Yay. Talk about like tenacity. 'cause me, I would've cried. I would've gave up. I mean, I'm gonna figure it out, but I would've had a whole meltdown. So that just speaks volumes. And I could just feel that. When you were speaking and giving your presentations, I was like, yes, girl, you gonna get it? Whatever money they give. And they, you gonna get it. So that alone speaks volumes and I'm so happy you made it. But can you talk a little bit about what you gained from that experience?
Aside from, I feel like you already have it, whatever that it is, you have that, but what technical skills or what did you learned from that program?
Absolutely. So the program was, it really opened my eyes to learning how to scale your business. So I think we start as entrepreneurs, we have this full vision of what we wanna do and how we wanna do it, and it normally pictures with us being in the mix doing everything because that's just how it starts off with a vision, a
Yeah.
scream, A little bit of Lulu in there. You just go out there and you try it. And so this is year five for us. And I knew that we were at a pivotal point where things have to adjust. And I'm recognizing that in order to grow this business, I do have to step out of the day to day. I have to learn how to delegate. I have to create some SOPs to onboard people so they can know how to make the product like Mova Nature makes the product and really be a part of a team and grow it.
And I think the main thing that I took out of this. Was that understanding of in order to grow your business, you do have to step out of that day to day. You do have to create systems and processes for people to be, to come on board to be able to follow your lead. So that was one of the major things that I learned. They, a lot of what they said was start with the ending in mind.
So meaning you're not just looking at right now and today, you're looking at five years from now, where do you want, where do you see yourself? Where do you see your company and how do you see. See your life? Do you see yourself, doing popups for five, five plus years? Do you see yourself working in the kitchen, being on frontline with your customers?
Or do you see yourself building a team, building your brand, speaking, meeting with different partners and corporations and really pitching your business? And what I recognized is that's the stage that I am in right now. I'm in the stage of I'm pitching, I'm ready to pitch. I'm so speaking to corporations partner, like I'm just. I.
Let me, you are ready. Because like I said, you move me so much. I was like, oh no, I need to walk over here. And I was ready to leave because I had to go get my kid, but I was like, oh no, I have to go talk to her because you just made me feel that and I, you are absolutely ready for that. Stage of everything. And you mentioned that they helped you think with the ending in mind. And I loved that because as a project manager myself, I consider myself like air traffic control.
And I always tell my clients that we need to see the forest through the trees. So the fact that they echo that as a business owner, I love that because you know that gives me the warm and fuzzies. Again, that's why I said this connection that I had, I, I. the best for your business because you just have such a good energy and I love that. Now, all this technical stuff you learned, what is your background? Do you have a business background or did you just say, let me start my business?
So my expertise comes from the people around me. I do not have a business degree or anything, but
I love it.
I grew up around entrepreneurs. Like my mom, she had a restaurant for 36 years. And mind you I'm 35 this year, so that's how long she's had it. My sister's been in business with her graphic design. My other sister was also in business with her clothing line. So I've been surrounded by like people, women that have honestly taken the forefront and taken control over how they wanna make their money.
I've had like business mentors around me who have really shaped my mindset when it comes down to understanding like how you should approach business, how to think next level. And really opened my eyes and it gave me like a firsthand view of how they were growing their business. And they had large numbers and I was saying like, oh, this is a possibility and with me, all I need to see is it's a possibility and.
Go in and do my research and learn what it is that I have to learn in order to get better in business. So I will say today, in year five, I thought I knew so much five years ago. No, it's like year five. Me looking at baby Mova nature five years ago. I'm like, girl, yes.
Thank God you, you weathered the storm to get to this point, because that's another great thing that I've just learned is you gotta weather the storm no matter what business that you are in you're gonna hit those roadblocks, you're gonna hit those bumps. And I, if it wasn't for the people that were around me that were like my mentors and things like that, I don't think I would've been able to push through to get to this space that I'm in now.
I love that. And it's almost like you really had to bet on yourself
yes.
then you got that frontline experience, which I feel like is it's oftentimes looked over, but the value of seeing people doing it and you that's a word being as long as I see you can do it, I can do it. I love that. And the fact that you're doing it, you're probably modeling that. Not probably you are modeling that for someone else. So again, kudos to you. I don't know. I'm getting all the vibes now. Okay, so you're running this wellness business.
You do the physical products, you do the live engagements and experience, and I know that can be so much to handle and my I wanna know what your work week looks like. What is it, what does a day in the life of Mova Nature look like? Especially if you have a live event. Walk us through that.
Okay, so a live event, it's like you gotta prep days prior to that. And because with and I'll say live event, like catering, or I'll say popup, but I'll use catering for more of an example of how you have to prep for that. Because our products are fresh made. It depends on like the style of do they want pre-made bottles or do they want us to juice on site? So we offer. Two methods. We can juice live on site for you to see the whole start to finish.
Which was, which requires us to bring in our setup our fresh fruits. We have our cuts. We just have the whole thing set like a mini mini mocktail bar. So that's a,
love that.
or there is the pre prep where we are making the juices prior and then we have to get that together for the next day. Because currently we don't use any preservatives, we don't have anything in there that would make the shelf life be like. 10 plus days, we're looking at four to five days shelf. And I want to make sure that when we do these events, you're getting the freshest product possible.
So a lot of times it's the day before you're prepping for maybe 75 to a hundred bottles for these companies and yeah, 75 to a hundred. We
Oh my goodness.
so it it's really a matter of. Strategic planning out my day, because more than likely, if I'm prepping for an event that day, I either have to teach a workshop later on in the day. So I still have to be prepared for that. I have a lot of emails that I'm going through because again, I'm in the growing stage of Mova Nature, so I'm pitching all throughout the day, all throughout the week to people. Hey Mova day needs.
You have all this stuff going on.
And it's strategic. So it's not like I'm pitching everywhere, but it's key people where I'm seeing these events popping up or I'm seeing certain things. LinkedIn is a gold mine. I'm like seeing stuff and I'm like, okay, I gotta get on that. And because we just finished our we just finished the CCO program. Before that it was, I had to be logged in with the CCO program that was like a three hour program on Monday. So I had to get prep for that. But we still had work we had to complete.
It was just, it's a lot. So I think for me. The work week is really about utilizing your calendar.
Yeah. Yes.
It's utilizing your calendar. It's making sure mentally and physically I'm in a space to be able to handle the week, because sometimes it does get overwhelming when you gotta, and people think emails, sending emails is simple, but
No,
think
research. I always say that you gotta pre-pitch before you pitch and post
yes.
and follow up, and it's a lot, it's a job.
It's a job in itself, but I luckily I utilize chat GPT, so.
Amen.
Business, please utilize chat, GPT to assist you along with that. But it's still it's day to day, it's constant. But what I'm working on now is shutting it off at a certain time. I'm shutting it off so that I'm not so 24 7 business business while also understanding that I am in a real, like str I'm just in a pivotal point right now where it's just like I.
you're in the growth phase, like the super growth.
And it's like Mova Nature has to capture it now because the energy is here
Yeah.
on us. And there are opportunities flowing our way. So I've gotta make sure I'm giving them the right deals. I gotta make sure I'm reading through contracts. I gotta make sure this is a, a good partnership for me. And yes. So
I love that. And it's like I said, you're really in the growth phase
yeah.
I understand that. mentioned that you're doing all of these, but at Operations Unfiltered, we'd like to understand who are the right, who are the people, processes, and tools that you use Now, is it just you by yourself? Do you have an assistant? How do you do all of these things?
Right now it's me, so I.
What.
Multitasking in me right now. I've grown to be able to develop a skill to be able to multitask. However, I am definitely at that line where it's saying Kelly you can't do that anymore. So I'm in. With the prize money that we just won, it's definitely going to bring in staffing for us. So, again, we, throughout this whole program, we created our SOPs, we created our systems so people can understand like how to make this product exactly like how our customers are used to it.
So bringing them into that fold. So that relieves some of that work for me and also helps to be able to bring in more business for Mova Nature. So up until this point I've had people come and for different catering events or different popups. I've had people come out to assist and to help. Yes. However, I'm looking at now more of a consistent, because we're getting more and more inquiries about, Hey, can you come out here? Can you come out here? Can you come out here? So it's like I.
need some logistics support. Two. Two live more agency. I'm gonna have to hook up with you, girl. Oh my gosh. I'm so excited for you. And we really are in the wellness era. We're in the WAN era, the Whole Foods era. Everybody cares about their body. So you are right. This is the wave that we gotta. You gotta ride this one girl. Yes. And speaking of which, managing all of this, you mentioned that you have your calendar. Are you a pen and paper type of girl?
What other tools and technology do you use? I know I'm a Google Drive, I use Smartsheet and some of my organizations and some of the companies that I help. Did CCL offer any tools that you could use? Just let us know what you're using to keep all the things organized.
Yeah, so they heavily emphasize the cash flow projection sheet, which was really done through Google Google Drive and Google Sheets, like it was. We utilized that so. That was one of the main technical tools they spoke about. Also, will Holmes was one of our he was our mentor there and our teacher in this program, he heavily emphasized the use of ai. Now, he had so many AI tools outside of chat, GPT and it was a lot. But he heavily emphasized how you can utilize.
AI and then you can save your money. As opposed to paying out for people to come in like an operations manager or something like that. You can kind of train AI to be able to handle a lot of different parts of your business. Like admin support checking in like certain things. I was being exposed to watching his own story about his AI tool that he was using. It was doing, it was answering calls, it was responding to emails.
It, well, it was talking to, it was doing so much stuff that I was like, you know. People think of your business industry, they think of it as one way. Like, oh, you're in food. Oh, you're, you're an artist, or You're this, but AI transcends all of those industries, and there's a way in which we can use AI to help alleviate some of the tasks that we have to do, help us save some money.
It's just, it's phenomenal what AI is doing and what it's going towards, and I would e encourage people to, to log into it, but my.
love that you're embracing this because I do work with a lot of small business owners who are really nervous about it, and they're shying away from it. But here is a, you're giving us a, a success story that, Hey, I'm gonna incorporate this into my daily life, so I. Kudos to ai. I call it Alan Iversson. So yes, we gonna continue to use Alan Iversson. Now, Mova Nature is both business and lifestyle.
I consider it both the business side of it because you are selling and, and doing things like that, but it is the lifestyle, the wellness experience. But when you're creating the content and you're posting things, this is the question that I always ask of each of my guests because it's, the discourse about this subject is so real.
Okay.
you consider yourself a content creator or an influencer? Why or why not?
I think that I am actually an influencer. Yes, an influencer, content creation is something that I learned how to do. Like I learned how to do it. Before we had Canva, like I, we learned how to do these things before real started to really take off. Like I would say. Yes, content creation comes for me second. But influencer I feel comes to me first. Especially because of how I. How we got our name. It was through, organic following online.
And it just so happened that we were doing it at a time where a lot of small businesses started to take off because people were looking for answers and solutions in a different place. I felt like for the first time in, in decades, people were looking towards like social media for information where they may have been looking at another source for that. So I felt like during our our. In the beginning 2020 to 2022, I would say we were definitely on the forefront of being a safe haven for wellness.
Not only did we have Baltimore residents asking us for products, we were shipping outta state, like as far as California, South Carolina, Florida, like we were shipping sea moss and herbs to people during the pandemic for two years straight. So.
Wow.
I would definitely say that's where we were. We were pushing the juices, we were pushing the herbal teas. We were, I would like to say we were one of the, a part of one of the first people to, first group of people to really be pushing that during the pandemic. And it just shows our resiliency and just shows that, during a time where things, it was a serious change in life for everyone. We were outside masked up. Dropping off juices to people and dropping off sea moss to people just showing up.
So I would definitely say I am more of an influencer, it, a micro influencer. It could be whatever, I know I influence people on my platform and I try to utilize it in the best way possible. And the, and I try to still be myself on there. I.
type of content would you say do you post? Do you post like the traditional like day in my life type of stuff? Is it all of that or is it very structured? What type of creator are you given that you are an influencer?
I wouldn't say day in the life, 'cause I feel like day in the life is too much for me. I just feel. I feel like it's too much for me, and I also feel like it comes a time where it's no longer just organic day in the life. I feel like it starts to get performative and the last thing I wanna do is be performative on social media. Like I don't wanna get trapped into, I have to be presented a certain way and I've, and I've felt like times where I've needed to.
Present myself in a CA certain light because I am pushing wellness. I am pushing health. I am pushing this image where, sometimes people would see me outside and they would be like, oh, like I pictured you in this, like very much like Earth Godmother type of.
Oh no.
It was that, and granted, we love Erykah Badu, and I do give those in certain spaces, but you know, I'm a native of Baltimore City, so I'm still me, I'm still, I'm still just live. I'm still me, I'm still vibrant and I'm pushing this culture of social health. So I wouldn't say it's day in the life. I would just say it's, information based. It's, it's,
Love it.
it's raw. I post a lot about business failures. Honestly, a lot of people are looking at my page now and they see a lot of wins happening for me. But for the last two years, I posted my lows because we did open up a storefront and we did have to close it, and I did lose. Almost all my money and I did have to go back to my mother's, so much stuff happened, but I was very vocal online about it. I was just like, look, I'm in a, in a pivot of a season of pivot and that,
Yeah.
and seeing that online at that point where people were just, people were posting their highs and I think you have a right to do that. But for me, I was like, look. This is where I am because people were asked to me as I returned back outside with my juicer in my 10. They were saying to me, what happened to your storefront? And I said, it's closed. I said, I'm outside. I said, rent is high. I wasn't in the right neighborhood.
It was a lot of stuff going on, but you know, I made a decision to come back out because I believe in this brand and I believe in this product, and I believe just because I made a decision. Decision in a space that didn't work out, that didn't mean that was the end of my business. So, I post like very real, very raw content, very self-empowering health content. I'm,
we need to hear because again, we
yes,
lot of wins, but we need to know what happened prior to those
yes,
need to have know what happens in between that. And again, everybody shares when they're up, but nobody shares when they're down. And how you rebuilt from that. So I love that. I appreciate that.
yes,
go back and scroll through 'cause I might need some motivation.
yes.
girl, I'll be so ready to throw in the towel as an entrepreneur. I mean, I still have my full-time job. But I wanna do something that fuels me and, and you know what I mean? And I get so discouraged that imposter syndrome is so real. So seeing stories like you seeing, hearing from the other women that were in your cohort, it just really motivates and pushes me forward. So I love that you share that content and I encourage you to keep doing it because it, it brightens up my feed.
I hate all the salesy stuff. I need to see that, you know. But to that point, I do know you are selling a product.
Yes.
you had to work with a content creator or your dream influencer, who would it be and why? And what would you want them to do? What would you want them to try? What would you want them to taste?
You know, I don't even I don't think I have a favorite influencer. I I feel like even though yes, you know, the answer to the previous question, I said I, I, I would more so resonate with being an influencer versus a content creator. I feel like this stage of business and this stage of my life, I'm really looking to connect organically with people. I've, I've seen that viral is good, but. There is a backside to viral that isn't that good.
And businesses don't speak on how sometimes you go from, having your normal, maybe 50 customers a day and your operation can handle that to your business went viral and now you got 500 people at your door looking for you to deliver the same experience that you gave those 50 people without a moment.
on it.
And I. What that does to businesses on the back end. It starts off good. It starts off with people wanting to have a mission with wanting to support, wanting to, show businesses love. But then it turns into the conversation of, oh, this, this, the service took too long. Or, oh, this wasn't up to par. Or, oh, this wasn't all that. And then it turns into people going into your reviews and they're giving you one star reviews. Like it's, it's a, it's a slippery soap there.
And I think that for me in business now. I am past the part of show and tell. It's would be great for an influencer to, to get my product and a few business. A few influencers have taken my product, they've done videos, things like that, which I'm so appreciative of. However, now I'm in a space where I'm like, I would like to go viral within the corporate spaces where that are cutting my check, can see what's going on. And I go viral in that room.
Coins please. I know that's right. But to that point, what does success look like for Mother Na, mother Nature? What is that? Is it a number? Is it, is it a coin number? You know, what does that look like for you?
For me means that Mova Nature has made its name and it's. She's made her name, she's made a space for herself, and I feel like we've already done that, but I'm looking at it on a much bigger scale. Like I said, you, you hear a lot about me talking about corporations and partnerships because I'm going for these larger spaces, these larger companies, because I want Mova Nature's product inside of their hotels. I want malicious products inside of their universities.
I want it in the stadiums like I want.
be amazing to wake up and get a fresh juice instead of a coffee. 'cause you know, I'm a coffee addict, you know, I need to relax. So if I had a, you know, a juice option at a hotel, come on idea, that would be nice.
Yes.
I'm thinking like the Ivy, that's a black-owned hotel in
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
like that. Let me put this into the universe. Maybe you need to talk to visit Baltimore or some of these, let me, my wheels are out there, you know, they call me the Olivia Pope of marketing. It's handled, you know, let me put it out there,
No, but you're spot on. Like that's, that's where we are. And I feel like Mova Nature has enough clout. I'm gonna say that we have enough clout
period.
and we have a phenomenal product and we also have an amazing CEO, which is me. So I'm like,
know that's right. Pop it friend.
I know how to pitch myself and I know we have an incredible story backing us, and five years isn't a long time to really, you know, five years is not a long time in business world, but for five years. Even with the months that we were down, we, I've gone hard for this company and hard for this vision and hard for this match. It's never changed. And I'm back here and I'm, and I'm not letting up. And that's what this year has given me. It's given me that energy and that confirmation.
You're not letting up, you're leveling up. So when I say I,
Say that one more time.
you not leveling up.
Oh my goodness.
Wholeheartedly. Every, every conversation, every pitch, competition, every cohort I join, I make sure that my mark is made there by speaking on our story, by really speaking about our losses and where we're trying to grow to. So for me, success looks like Mova Nature's name being exactly where I envisioned her in these spaces where she's gonna get paid the money that she's worth.
Also being able to give back to my community, being in my spaces and being, being that bridge between the information and the person, like connecting them with that. Because I believe that wellness is for everyone. So it's like I believe that success is just, it's my birthright and I it is here for us. And it looks like peace. It looks like giving back. It looks like stopping in these rooms that people may or may not think I belong in, but I know I belong in there.
And it believes and it's just me saying at the end of the day, I wanna look back and say, I did it. It's, it's, it's something innate in me where I'm just like, I did that despite the, I did it. So that's what success feels like and looks like for me. You probably felt that from me in my pitch as well,
absolutely did. That's why we are here today. I told you, I said that energy, it like shook the room a little bit. I was like, okay, girl. Yes ma'am. I'm, and honestly, I. I feel that here, I felt that through looking at your profile. It, I, I honestly, like I said, when I, when I started the interview, I really hope nothing but the best for your business in whatever form of success. That means if you wanna be in the storefront, I will be there purchasing it. You know what I mean?
Like I want that for you. And since you are running all of this by yourself, this is a lot, how do you prioritize self-care, especially being that you run. Wellness business, you have to take care of you. You can't pour from the empty cup. So what does self care look like for you?
Yes. And I'm so glad you said that. It self-care looks like me. Looking at my calendar, incorporating my downtimes, it looks like me making sure. And I just actually spoke on this yesterday where it's just you know, being in that fine line of growth, but also, you know, you still have to have your life too. So it looks like me going out to my local eateries, you know, chilling out down there. I may still have my laptop, but I'm not on there all the time.
It looks like me just enjoying myself and enjoying my outings making sure I'm still connecting with my family and my loved ones. It and just. Taking a moment to take it all in and relax. I feel like you're absolutely right. You cannot pour from an empty cup. That's what I did. When I opened my store, I was pouring from an empty cup and I crashed, and it was just not a pretty crash. It took me a while to recover from that.
I think it's important for people that are in wellness or any type of service field you have to go back to self because you cannot show up for people if you can't show up for yourself. So it looks like that. It looks like my my hour therapy sessions with my therapist and.
I'm on therapist. Black women in therapy is like a vicious tool, man. Like when when we get to therapy, it's a problem, so I love that. Because I can even hear the self-awareness like it has helped me so much. All the black women entrepreneurs that I've talked to that are in therapy, it's like you can hear it. They got a sense of, I don't know, it's just something aqua, as they say. It's, it's just there. I feel it.
Is so beautiful.
Yes. Okay, so you mentioned that CCL gave you all of these SOPs, they gave you all these technical tools. But you know, every, every day is still happening.
Yes.
there one process that you still need to adjust or tweak? One workflow that you're like, ah, it's still not hitting right? If so, what is that and what are you planning to do to address that issue?
I think it's still surrounding the SOPs. Honestly it, it's still surrounding that because it's you know, as I'm tweaking recipes and I'm tweaking different things that I feel like I'm trying to adjust with the. Movement of the beverage industry. It's like I have to continue to adjust. I have to continue to narrow down and I have to do what makes sense.
So it's like I have to do these, like whether it's me mock doing it so I can kind of time myself to break down this stuff, or it's me actually doing it. But I have to remember that. Okay. 'cause when you're in the mode of creating, you're just like, all right, I'm, I gotta get it done. But also people don't move as fast as I do when it comes down to this type of stuff.
'cause this is your brainchild. They like, uh.
Yeah. So it's, it's really that. And then it's also getting together this strategy for our catering. More so our catering, our popups. I would say we are still doing popups, but I'm being very strategic about that. 'cause I feel like we've popped up everywhere. We popped up everywhere. But now it's about popping out where it makes sense, where it's you're gonna get clientele after this, or you're gonna get a partnership after this. Like my main, my main focus is always what's coming after this.
I'm not just coming out here to sell you guys juice, but what am I getting after this? Am I gonna be a part of a conversation about partnering later? Am I gonna do that? It's always long term for me. So. I would probably say getting together the strategy for our catering events because they are getting larger again, we got people requesting a hundred bottles from us and that's a lot of juice.
Yeah, that's a lot of, I'm just sitting over here like, what? Oh my gosh. I can't imagine a prep day for that. It my, I'm stressed with my own personal juicing. That's why I've, I'm very sporadic in my juicing journey, but I couldn't imagine making a hundred bottles of juice and then you gotta deliver them. my gosh.
You gotta set up, you gotta set up, you still gotta interact with people you're explaining and depending on what type of package they got, you're either on site explaining the health benefits of it, you're talking, you're mingling, like you. It's so much that's going into this. And once again, I recognize that I've handled it up until this point, but I recognize some of the people that are reaching out to me.
I'm like, oh, I actually, I need that money to come in sooner from CCO so that I can go ahead and bring in, bring in my little, my juice and interns, my juice.
Yes. Not the juice intern. I love that. But you do. And even. It maybe like high schoolers who need some service learning hours, they can come help. There's some people that need to be, and, and I know my, I'm gonna toot my own horn, my alma mater Stevenson University, they have a great business communication department. Perhaps they can help you with some events. You know, toot my, let me write that down. Reach out to Stevenson and connect the dots. You know,
No, I love that. And one of my best friends, he used to go to Steven University, so yeah.
go Mustang.
No, you're absolutely correct. So that's where we at right now. So you wanna see some mothers juicer team running around, and really representing this brand. And also I got a firsthand look at what that looked like with our student interns at John Hopkins. Like they also had to pitch for us in their presentation of Mother Nature. So seeing how they. Handled Mother Nature, seeing how they fought for Mother Nature and what their perspective of what we were and where we were going.
It made me fully see you know, there will be people who love this brand as much as you do.
much as you do, and they will take pride in it as much as you do. I didn't realize that until I saw those pitch competitions. These people love that company and I was like, oh my gosh, y'all really are invested. It was really lovely to see. I love that. And that's why I was like, okay, this program is really doing things in Baltimore City.
Yes,
I know you are based in Baltimore City, but do you have visions or plans for expansion? And if so, maybe we can get an exclusive. Where would you want to expand to?
absolutely. I would definitely love to expand a along the East coast, so maybe Philly, Florida, things like that. I wanna New York, like I wanna go down the East Coast line, but I'm also very interested in West Coast. I'm interested in the. Colorados, things like that. And all of that comes down to one thing and it's us getting a cold packer. So this is where we talking about big expansion and big, big numbers and what that looks like.
So I feel like this is the next elevation for especially people in the beverage industry because a lot of what I see is yes people, they create the juice company. Yes, they're doing the popups and yes. They do like local local cafes, things like that. But when it comes time to expand past that, you have to start. Having different conversations with folk and different levels, different arenas. Then you're starting to look at what does different investors look like?
You're looking at how are you raising your capital, not just through, I'm selling a thousand juices, but I'm entering into these different pitch competition where you don't have to actually be in a program to enter into a pitch competition. You can just go into a pitch competition. And those five, 10, $15,000, they start to rack up. So now. Your seed money to go ahead and invest that into how do I increase the shelf life of my product?
So for me, I have visions of expansion and mother, the nature far beyond Baltimore City. However, it first starts with that one thing that we are currently working on, and that is getting us connected with for co-packer and then expanding our product from there. Once we get the finalizations with a co-packer and we get. We, once we get that and the mock up, it's the sky's the limit and that's all.
I love that, and I truly believe that will be the case for you. And I realize we didn't even go down the list of what products you guys have. I know you've mentioned the juices, you
Yeah.
herbal teas, but give us a quick rundown of the products you have and then also tell us what your favorite product is.
Yeah. So we have so we've. Have the juices, the fresh juices. We offer that in our popups. We also offer that through juice cleanses. We have the herbal teas. Our bestseller is the Mother's Hibiscus Tea. I'm gonna have to get you some of that.
I need this. I need all this. All the juices. The flavors you mentioned during your pitch. I'm gonna let you tell them, but they just, I was like, oh my gosh, I wish they had some here tonight. They sounded so good.
Yes. No, I know. The mom's hibiscus. That's a great heart healthy drink. Great for your gut health as well. Hibiscus number one. It's just a great just herb to have in your cabinet for immune system, heart health, all the things. And then we have we have CMOs that we sell as well in different herbs, but again, in that. Pivotal point, whether or not we'll still keep selling it or not, but that's also a great product as well. It has different herbs in it for energy boosts. Mental clarity.
So you're looking at like lion made mushroom you're looking at macaro, all those things that are adding into your just added boost for your.
the overall hol holistic wellness. I like that Now. Now, how have the tariffs impacted you and like the rise in grocery prices and how have you pivoted with that?
So tarriffs has hit us like it hits everybody else. Pineapples were a dollar and 29 cents.
Not to the, I know that she.
1 29. That was in like Aldi's. And this is when I was like going into grocery stores, so like Aldi's or Sprouts. I saw like Sprouts lowest for like $2 or something cent. Normally I'll go into these type of spaces if I haven't made it to Restaurant Depot or if I haven't made it to any other farmer's market that I find. But now I've seen a pineapple one for $5 and. Same size. So, has tariffs affected us? Absolutely. Because
I'm even thinking like your plastics, your bottles that you use. goodness.
it's everything's the cost of everything has risen. So having to. Raise prices on, what we're offering, but making it still be valuable for people and not just, well we're raising prices, this is that. But you know, still making sure people see the value and understand we are raising this because everything else around us is raising up. But it's all a part of the growth in your business and I feel like you have to have those buffers in there, especially when you're pricing stuff out.
For those increase in costs. So you get down to like, how much does it cost to make your product? That's down from ingredients to the bottles, to the tops, to the labels, all that, how much does it cost? And then you know, you're adding in where is your product going, delivery. All those things you gotta add into. And then how much does it cost for you to actually make the product, like per hour? If it wasn't just me, if it was somebody else, you gotta add that in.
my gosh, girl, you in here doing big math? Oh my gosh.
It's scary because numbers have always kind of frightened me. So especially when you talking about larger numbers, like it's, it's frightened me, but I've learned to embrace it and especially like with this past program, it made me much more comfortable with numbers and understanding you gotta get down your numbers. To the team, you know, and you can always bring somebody in.
You can hire a CFOs to make sure your numbers are correct, however, you still need to know what's going on down to the penny, so it takes a bit more.
29, she said. She said the pineapples were a dollar 29. So down to the penny. I'm not like, hello?
You gotta know it. You gotta know what, what that looks like. And then just add your buffers in. Everybody's charging, higher prices everywhere. With food clo everything's going up. So, people buy what they find value in and you just gotta continue to increase your value while you're increasing the cost of your product.
I feel bad about it because again, everybody's going through it. So I love that you've been giving so many gems throughout this whole show, so I hope everybody had their notepad and notebook, but. If you had to leave our influencers, entrepreneurs, content creators, whoever is listening with one piece of advice as a business owner, a woman in business, a black woman in business, what would that one piece of advice be? I.
Sorry. I would say keep going. That it sounds so simple, but keep going and you will feel when you are getting ready to take off, it's a different feeling. And if you've experienced any type of loss, embrace it. There was a point in time where I thought I was not gonna come back to this space because of the grief that was surrounding my business and everything. But I remember asking that question of this is what I'm supposed to do. Give me the strength to get back out.
And, sometimes it, it's about, lowering your ego, going back outside and just showing back up and with a smile on your face. And if anybody asks you What happened? This happened. And now I'm.
be honest. I think that vulnerability is what builds loyalty.
Yes,
and that openness truly is what people, what make people come back to you. So I.
yes,
I True. That is a big, some big advice. Keep sharing your story and you said keep going. I love that. I love that so much. And I'm gonna keep, I'm gonna keep going myself. I done quit and start it so many times. I done got frustrated so many times.
yes,
Producing this podcast alone is a quit and start journey in itself, so, yes.
yes.
Now I'm in my book era. I keep telling people I'm reading Set Boundaries to Find Peace by Nedra Twab. Is there a book or a podcast, a song that you are absolutely loving right now that keeps you in perfect peace or helps you turn up whatever the case may be? What is it and why?
Some people said it on my account, like I just got this book from the co-founder. I just got this book and I really wanna actually look into about, to be honest, I have not had the time to actually sit to get into that. But I think I'm always inspired. It doesn't take much for me to get inspired or, you know, to feel motivated. I can have a conversation with someone and they, and they tell me something and I'm like, oh my God, like.
How do I connect with what they're saying to me and how do I turn that into my own thing? So I'm deeply inspired just by conversations from regular folk walking around because everybody has some insight in a story where you can find some, like you can find some motivation in that. And I've learned how to hone in with people to be like, oh yeah, I'm taking that advice and I'm going with it. As far as, you know, people that keep me motivated it's always probably gonna be like music for me too.
I'm such a I'm such a hip hop person that there are certain artists to me that resonate with this winning and fighting spirit. And it's always gonna be a Jada kiss for me on my,
Okay.
it's always gonna.
particular song or just their catalog in general?
It's their catalog in general. If I start listening off songs, girl, we'll be on it all day. But one for J Kids I always play is Can't Stop Me. That's like my number one, like pusher. And Styles P has so many amazing records mix tapes where it just, he just speaks about. Just the grit, the hustle, and pushing forward and moving through things.
And I feel like what I've learned how to embrace is the grit in moving through things because I recognize it's not about your wins and it's not about, how you can avoid pitfalls. Why, while that's ideal, and that's where I'm at right now, avoiding the pitfalls.
we wanna avoid the crazy.
But it's like what happens when you don't avoid it and you get hit and you get caught up and you get knocked down and you are now hanging off the side of the ring. What do you do then? Because a lot of times that's what shows you what your character is. It shows you where you need to do some more work, and it shows you really who you are in those moments. And I used to be so scared of getting hit in spaces or just.
Not being able to recover that these last five years forced me to get it forced me to have to recover. It forced me to have to say, okay, you're saying you're this person, let's see it. And I don't
that's right. Show me it is time to prove it.
kind to prove, I don't think that the universe like is out to harm us. I'm just saying that certain things happen where you have a choice. You either gonna get up or you gonna lay down. If you lay it out for a while, it's okay, but you know when it's time to get back up. You gonna get back up. And when you get back up and you keep going and you stay connected to God and to the source you stay connected to people that love you and support you, you're gonna make it on that other side.
So for me, I find that energy through music that I listen to, I find it through conversations that I have with people. People like yourself just. Just sharing your journey, sharing your story, me being inspired about you putting yourself out there and me knowing how hard it is. Not knowing the full story, but I know how hard it is to put yourself out there and believing yourself even when you feel like maybe somebody's not looking at you.
Maybe you feel like you should have had another opportunity that somebody else got. Like, all these things about putting yourself out there. And I feel like that is where I draw my inspiration from. I'm no longer afraid to fail 'cause I've already failed, but now I'm just up, I'm just up.
you preaching today? She pop it Friend today, pop yo. You know that's saying Pop your shit friend. Pop it friend. Because you were just,
Yeah,
I love this. I love this. And I'm ladies and gentlemen, the mother nature. Okay. How can we keep up with all the things that you have coming up?
if,
buy your products?
yeah.
event I want everybody to support in whatever way they can. Put your cash app out. No, I'm just kidding.
So, we are on, Instagram under Mother Nature. My Instagram is Mova Cow, so they kind of join together. So you can find us on there. You're also able to purchase products on our website. We are getting ready to go through a whole website deconstruction, so it can really update with everything that we're offering now. But you can still go in there and buy your things. You can book us for catering events. You can book us for wellness talks, popups, things like that.
So all that stuff you can get next.
the employer groups, if you're looking
Yeah.
I used to work at Care. First in Baltimore City in Canton. They used to have cute little events, so they need to reach out. Listen, I'm gonna be all the people. Carrie, they need to have you back for an employee event there. Come on now. What's up?
They do. Absolutely. So yes, that's where you can find us. And then just different popups that, you know, we decide to join we're that we are connected to Pratt Market right now, but I think we're going on next month, I think on the 15th. We'll also be Vening, the Juneteenth at the Eagle Park. So yeah, we got a, a few things coming up and I'll be posting it on social media.
Yay. I'm so excited to keep up with all the things. I'm gonna make sure I tag everything in the episode description and of course when I posted on all the socials, but this has been so insightful for me. Like I said, your energy was everything. I knew I had to have you on here. I think I met you what, like two weeks ago
Yes.
are already on the show 'cause. That energy was there. So I'm wishing you all the success. So excited for you. And again, thank you so much for being on the episode today. I hope everybody learns something because I did and I got all the feels. Again.
Thank so much. I'm wishing you equal success. You are just a beautiful energy, so thank you so much.
Thank you