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

Hi Annie, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My father just passed away after a difficult battle with cancer this week, so this is a significant time for reflection for me. Most people are familiar with how Asian parents prefer to push their kids into medicine or law, so I was surprised at how pleased he was for me to start my own business. In fact, I don’t think he was ever really “proud” of me until I started Smart Pressed Juice. I spent most of my corporate career trying to please my father with promotions, international deals and famous clients, but it never seemed enough until I decided to break away and start building something of my own.

Throughout the process, he seemed fascinated by the process, even by all the many mistakes I’ve made. Even though the take-home pay of a start-up founder is significantly less than that of an executive, he was prouder of me for charting my own path than working a typical corporate job.

I think this reflects significantly on how my father always encouraged me to think for myself and to make my own way in the world. It really made a difference in shaping how I thought, solved problems and knowing that someone believed I would find the way, no matter what.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

There are a lot of nutrition and health experts out there and all the information out there can be overwhelming. I was fortunate enough to have worked alongside many of the undisputed experts in the field, such as Dr. Jeffrey Bland, Dr. Deanna Minich, Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Mark Houston throughout my career.

I was also inspired by despite how grueling our travel schedules were, how they were able to keep themselves on track and eat healthy despite all the unhealthy airport and hotel food we had to eat for decades. I came to a conclusion that there was a way to “have it all”- the health and vitality, the happiness from community and the joy that comes from shared eating experiences with the ones that we care about.

This is why I made it my mission to create a way for people to get back on track easily without have to double think all the crazy amounts of conflicting nutrition information there is out there. There’s a clear system, rooted in science and traditional medicine, that can help our bodies naturally restore the balance.

I created this system in Smart Pressed Juice, mimicking the perfect diet that is every nutritionists’ dream for you. I was surprised at how well it was received out there in the marketplace and how many life-transformative testimonials came pouring in. People who have struggled with a healthy relationship with food all their lives finally had a way to conquer their cravings and restore a healthy balance. People who were too busy to eat right and suffered unimaginable health consequences were able to get their vitality back.

Now that we have been able to help establish the foundation of a healthy diet and lifestyle, I’m particularly excited for our next frontier. This one will be huge for us, and is something that I can see Smart Pressed Juice paving the way forward for the next 10 years. This one will be the formidable issue of gut health.

After polling hundreds of our customers, I heard them on what they were saying about suffering with gut pain, constant bloating, constipation, acid reflux, unshakeable fatigue after meals, hair loss, peeling nails and so much more. We immediately went to work on designing a comprehensive gut health course to identify the root cause of what is causing your particular gut issues. we then worked on formulating the perfect product line-up to accompany each of these symptoms. So stay tuned for this- we are here for your gut problems and we are here to stay!

How’d you meet your business partner?

The best part of starting Smart Pressed Juice was meeting my business partner, Jen. Business partnerships can be a difficult one to get right, because they need have a unique skillset that complements yours. I was so fortunate to have met her through my manufacturer, of all places. She was so quiet and shy I wasn’t sure if she actually liked me. In fact, it took me years to realize that she did.

Even though Jen is pint-sized and 5’2, I’ve had hulking 6’4 employees tell me that she scared the living daylights out of them in their interviews because she packs such a punch. I never want to be on the receiving end of a staring contest with her. This woman is an operator, and she means business. I feel so much more confident in life because I have her on my team.

As many if you know, starting and running a company is one of the wildest adventures I can imagine. It requires so much grit, faith, forgiveness, positivity, compassion and a wicked sense of humor. Our partnership makes me so confident that we will always figure out a way to get through, above, under or around our problems. I can’t imagine a better partner or a better friend I’d want to journey with.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

I always wonder what would have happened if I chose a different path for my career, and every single time I arrive back at the conclusion that health and wellness is a field I would want to work in for the rest of my life. Running, optimizing and scaling a business is fascinating and is such a fun adventure. The fact that I get to do all of that in an industry that I love is truly a dream come true.

Health and wellness affects every single one of us, and all of our loved ones as well. As busy as we are, our health is the one thing that will never wait for us, and we will all experience the consequences of our health choices, as well as enjoy the rewards of our health investments. The developing research in this field is never ending- from biohacking to the timeless wisdom from traditional plant and energy medicine. As a result, there will always be something new to learn and something to share that might just help you in your own health journey.

In order to best serve our loved ones and our community, it’s important that those of us that are called to healing stay firmly rooted in our beliefs, passions and values when it comes to your health. I am passionate about loving people, and one way I can do that is through caring about your health.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.smartpressedjuice.com
• Instagram: @smartpressedjuice.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/smartpressedcleanse/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmartPressedJuice

Image Credits
Kerrene Taylor and Jason Oliver