We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alexus Nolan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alexus below.

Alexus, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

The Juice Box Co. originally started as an accessory subscription boutique and lifestyle brand in 2018. It was an idea that was birthed as a resolution to a fashion waste problem that I noticed and felt like I was a huge contributor to. In 2017, instead of buying a new fast fashion piece for every event, I started to gravitate toward staple pieces and incorporated accessories to help extend the life of my wardrobe and maintain a fresh look. I always got compliments on my outfits, despite rotating combinations of only a few key pieces and gave credit to the accessories. I wanted to design a fashion solution to help others create sustainable looks by developing monthly curated style archetypes called “flavors” to provide them with refreshing ways to upcycle their favorite pieces. Over the years, I have gotten a number of requests to expand into men’s accessories. In fact, half of the customers at the very first pop up that we hosted in 2018 were men who gravitated heavily toward our best selling accessory to date…our sunglasses. Fast-forward to present day–based on our consumer demand, we’ve shifted our focus and launched a collection of sunglasses for men and women, utilizing our original subscription model to provide our customers with fresh statement pieces to compliment their look.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My personal mantra is to lead and inspire a life of purpose, passion, and progress. I am a woman of many hats; each of which fulfill one or more of those tenets and I do not subscribe to the idea that we are meant to settle for achieving one. I envision the fullness of existence with this concept of freedom that deems all dreams possible.

The Juice Box Co. as a brand is reflection of that freedom…an ode to the multi-faceted. You may be like me, a full-time law student by day, and artist manager by night; or perhaps you’re an investment banker during the week, and an island-hopping rockstar on the weekends. Despite society’s view, we know all too well that neither takes away from the other.

Of my many hats, I have always been a fan of fashion, style, and design. I consider my style to be a part of my identity as a means of creative expression, and I truly subscribe to the quote from my fellow FSU alum, Deion “Primetime” Sanders, that says “if you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good”.

With options ranging from muted and classic, to unique and eclectic, whether you’re dressed for work, school, or vacation, you can feel good in a piece from The Juice Box Co.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn the expectation that your customers will come from your network. The people around you, including your friends and family, are not automatically your target audience simply because they know you and know of your business. It’s not personal. Your product simply does not solve a problem that they have. There are two questions that I recommend all business owners answer before investing a single penny into a new venture. First, ask yourself, what problem does this product solve? Next, ask who does this product serve? Then spend your time researching how to get in front of that audience. If I could go back, I would tell you my young, yet ambitious self, to spend more time developing my client avatar.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I started my business with about $500 in initial capital to launch my website, license my business, and purchase my first shipments of inventory and packaging materials. At the time, I was working full-time, so I set the funds aside from my normal paycheck, and continued to use that income, along with any money made from sales, to maintain my site/licenses, fund my marketing, and repurchase inventory. Initially, I found more success in doing pop ups as a vendor for various events, which eventually allowed me to grow my online clientele; but, this was a slow build-up and traveling to vend was often costly as a fully e-commerce store. Again, if I could start over, I would have dedicated more time to market research and apportioned more money to advertising in the beginning. A lot of people tell you that you should just start where you are, and that is true to an extent. You do not need thousands of dollars upfront to start a successful business. However, it is often left out that what you don’t spend in money, you should invest in time, if you want a rewarding return.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thejuiceboxco.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/alexusnolan__
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexusnolan__