Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Raul Rodriguez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Raul, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business

Things were going relatively good in the juice bar, the economy seemed stable, the trending topics were mostly relate to the former president, overall things seem to be moving “right ahead”…

Then out of nowhere, boom! Mayor Garcetti interrupts all media programming and declares a state of emergency and shuts down all non essential businesses… all, no exceptions! in a matter of hours the “Stay Home” mandate is implemented.

While listening to his speech, having no precedent of something like this, I was very confused, in disbelief, is this a joke, is this real, is there another reason, an attack? All references that came to my mind were apocalyptic scenes from scary doom-day movies. Yeap, it was real. Not from the movies.

In the following days, our sales dropped about 70%, impossible to survive, another 2 weeks and we have to make a very difficult decision of closing down our essential business… no help at all that we were considered an essential business.

We were down to our last funds to barely make payroll. Many products were impossible to source and the ones available skyrocketed in cost. Employees were rightfully scared. Many simply did not show up at all.

I decided to wait a little longer before closing down, supported by little savings, and then something magical happened.
The virus was unknown, no cure or approved treatments, people getting sick all over the world… medical official had no recommendations other than to maintain a safe distance and to rely on your own immunity.

We are a juice bar, we put great effort in our healthy options, even our name suggests our philosophy, Movita Juice Bar (Mo = More, Vita=Life). Little by little people started to be educated on the importance of eating well to reinforce your immunity. So we were a great option. We are like a natural pharmacy. or as some people call it “Farm-acy”.

Our sales started to go back to normal and more. Before the pandemic, regulars will normally get a juice or smoothie and maybe a shot of ginger or turmeric. During the pandemic, customers will order 4 juices or smoothies, and 2-3 shots, 2-3 acai bowls. Why this sudden change. Well now they have to go back home and their entire family is there. They need to get them all something.

So this ugly deadly pandemic, for both people and businesses, was both a curse and a blessing. Now there are way many people educated or concerned with healthy eating habits.

This is by far the craziest story, both positive and negative, that we have ever experienced. The lesson learned, is that we have to face problems face to face instead of hiding and waiting for them to disappear.

Raul, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Movita Juice Bar was founded by two business partners.

For one partner, a life-threatening cancer diagnosis of his child became a life-changing wake-up call. The family was experiencing a difficult and painful period in their lives.

Today, the family is a family of a “child cancer survivor” and they are eternally grateful for God’s provision. They show gratitude by giving back to the communities we serve in.

It was during the child’s medical treatment that the two business founders joined in their mission to better educate themselves and their families for healthier eating habits.

They headed down a path of many questions –

Why wait for illness to occur before we decide to change our eating habits? Wouldn’t life be better if we avoided illness by creating healthier eating habits and not wait until we are ill?

These questions and many others followed these gentlemen for days, weeks, and months to follow – This education and healthy life practice became their mission.

Their mission became our company’s mission of providing healthier eating alternatives.

By eating healthier, we can avoid many health problems and live happier and more fulfilled lives. To achieve this, it’s necessary that healthy options would no longer be a luxury. That is where Movita comes in. Movita Juice Bar will serve only good stuff so that you can live longer, healthier, and happier lives… at an affordable price.

Simply put, Movita = More Life!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

see the story shared before this question

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

pls refer to “about us” in the previous question

Contact Info:

• Website: https://movitajuicebar.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/movitajuicebar/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/movitajuicebar
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/movitajuicebar
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/drHF45_B64Y
• Other: tik tok https://www.tiktok.com/@movitajuicebar