We were lucky to catch up with Keosha Hooks recently and have shared our conversation below.
Keosha, appreciate you joining us today. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?
Vacations are absolutely necessary for me. Taking vacations is part of my self care and helps me reset. Vacations are something I really enjoy, I have times where I crave a vacation. Specifically an ocean with warm blue waters where I can relax and fall asleep on the beach. As an entrepreneur I have learned that I must make time to take a break so that I wont burn myself out. There are times when I get overwhelmed with running the business and balancing life and family. I’ve found that vacations have helped with that. I had to learn how to stop working while on vacation. Sometimes it may be a staycation or spa day and other times I am traveling to another state or getting another stamp on my passport. This year I have gone to Atlanta and upcoming trips include Las Vegas and Ghana with my honey. For business owners that have a hard time stepping away, remember you cant pour from an empty cup and we don’t want that cup to become empty. Also, I tell myself that I only have one life to live, and tomorrow is not promised so make time today to do things you enjoy. I enjoy vacations!
Keosha, 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?
Keosha is a native to Phoenix. She was born and raised on the South Side of Phoenix and has lived there majority of her life. She did venture away to Tucson and South Carolina during her undergraduate studies. During her Undergraduate studies she discovered her interest in helping people and went on to pursue her Bachelor degree in Social Work at Arizona State University, but don’t get it twisted, Keosha is a Wildcat at heart, thats where her college career began and ended. Keosha went on to purse her Master degree of Public Administration at University of Arizona. Keosha has found her passion in helping people and has served her community as social worker, working with the elderly and disabled populations for 10 years plus. Now, Keosha fell into the juicing business when Covid 19 hit in efforts to again “help” people. Keosha started with her family and friends and made juice blended with aloe vera, citrus and berries. Keosha wanted to help boost their immune system naturally with this juice, because Keosha had already seen the evidence of how it helped her. Keosha was introduced to the immune benefits of Aloe Vera by her boyfried, Demetrious, and they would consume a shot a day on a regular basis. Keosha knew how serious the Covid disease was and wanted to do her part to help. Benefits of aloe vera include hydration, improved blood flow and most importantly improved the immune system. In Keosha’s household, aloe vera juice was blended and consumed on a regular. Keosha decided it was time to share this with her friends and family. Keosha began to offer this juice on social media to her network and due to the increase in demand and quick growth that occurred, as a result, Keosha decided to form Fresh Peak.
Fresh Peak offers 100% options, no preservatives, artificial, flavors or sweeteners with a goal to help you live a healthier life, one juice at a time. All juice is hand crafted using local produce when possible and based on seasonal availability and that’s what makes us unique.
Our most popular juice is the watermelon juice, its hydrating and refreshing, especially for the summer months. We are now offering watermelon juice by the gallon and will be introducing our wholesale program for watermelon juice as well. Our goal is to provide watermelon juice to local restaurants starting this summer.
We specialize in single day and 3 day green juice cleanse as well. This juice consist of a variety of green veggies and fruits and different combinations, to include celery juice, celery/apple, grape/apple and some offerings include cucumber and cilantro.
We have a variety of other fruit juices that incorporate, pineapple, mango, strawberries and more.
Keosha is most proud of her ability to start this business in 2020 and still see it growing today. She had no idea she would be starting a juice business and had no idea how to start it. God is amazing and continues to amaze her. She knows she did not do this alone. God blessed her with so many people along the way, programs and support from her family, friends and community that she never would have known about if I had not just started. Hustle PHX, Tiger Mountain Foundation and Local First AZ are 3 major supporters that have been instrumental in providing the education needed to run and move in this market of entrepreneurship.
There have been times where she thought about calling it quits, but customers continue to reach out, support and mentorship continues, people pour into her and remind her the vision. She is grateful, because she know its not about her, but its about the people she serves and the lives changed.
My goal is to help people live a healthier life. I have learned so much about nutrition and how what we put in to our body is a direct correlation to our health and I want to share that knowledge with you. I want to be used as a resource although, I am not a Doctor. I can share personal experiences and experiences of those I am connected with. Please use me as a resource, that’s what I’m here for. I want to see my people thrive!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think me being my authentic self helped build my reputation with my market. I have a trusting and good reputation that proceeds me and that has helped with credibility. I continue to share knowledge and resources with my community which helps to build my reputation and credibility as well. I love being a resource to the community. People contact me all the time and inquire if I know someone that does this or that. Please don’t hesitate to reach out, send me a message. I’d love to be a resource to you.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
We are currently in the process of pivoting in Fresh Peak. It has become evident that an untapped market for Fresh Peak is other restaurants and coffee shops. We are working to introduce a wholesale program for Watermelon juice in gallon and individual bottles. The idea is to worker smarter not harder and we have found that this will allow us to achieve just that. When we secure enough clients, this will reduce and or eliminate the amount of pop-up shops, farmers markets and individual direct to customer orders needed to meet monthly goals.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://solo.to/freshpeak
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fresh.peak/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fresh-Peak-109491680821353/
Image Credits
Jeanette Arredondo