We were lucky to catch up with Tracee Lee recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tracee, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Over the years, as I have grown my business from what some call a side hustle, to moving into a retail space pre-covid and then acquiring our food truck in 2022. In all of these phases, I sought out what I like to call the sweet spot of running my business. It has been difficult to find and work in the sweet spot because many things may hinder you like self doubt, feeling like you have to do it like others and so much more that can make you feel unsuccessful even with making profit. I am a firm believer that we get to define what success looks like and once we define success for ourselves we can create the plan to execute.

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 name is Tracee Lee, I am the owner of Juice Box 215. We prepare, package and deliver fresh juices, smoothies, plant based foods, and handmade bath and body products to the busy individual seeking to reach optimal health.

I started Juice Box 215 almost 8 years ago after doing a 30 day juice fast for all my meals. While on my 30 day juice fast journey, I shared some of my recipes, experiences which lead to friends, family, and co-workers asking for my assistance with adding juices and smoothies into their daily life. In April of 2015, I took my knowledge of creating juices and participated in a local Natural Hair Event selling fresh juices that we made on the spot. It was a hit. and Juice Box 215 was born.

Over the years we have evolved from working in our home and delivering direct to customer, we opened a retail space in June of 2018 which we closed during Covid and we now have a food truck that operates from April to November.

Through our evolution, our mission is to create and build a community for busy men and women to incorporate healthy living into their daily lives by adding juices/smoothies and an overall plant based way of life, that’s accessible and can be done no matter where you are in your journey to better health.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I began Juice Box 215 full time when we opened our retail space in June of 2018. At the time of opening my business I was 5 months pregnant, had 2 small children and very little business acumen but the idea of running a business full time excited me and I was willing to bet on myself. So we opened up our doors and the word about us got out slowly. 2019 we started to hit our groove and I could see our business growing. During this time, I was the sole employee, wearing all the hats, with help from my family and friends when they could but there were some growing pains.

In October of 2020, I made the tough decision to close our doors. Our building was vandalized during some civil unrest. With our demand increasing it was difficult to find people who wanted to work and most importantly, I was unhappy with my current business model.

While we were closed, I still took orders from customers for our packages and I decided to sit still and really figure out how I wanted to grow my business in a way that brought me joy and I could serve my customer base consistently.

In January of 2022, we purchased a food truck.

With purchasing the food truck, I knew that this would be a great marketing tool that would essentially be able to pay for itself as well as grow my business with my current business model.

The business model we have now, includes the growth of selling direct to customers our detox and fast packages, offering subscriptions on our packages and various online programs that can help with making a lifestyle change.

Running a retail space with no staff, is a set up to closing your doors as quickly as you open them and what I realized while in the retail space as much as I loved my work, meeting new people and helping others incorporate fresh foods into their lives, I started my business with a business model without thinking about me and this lead me to being exhausted and beginning to resent my business.

Although Covid was a hard blow for many, it really allowed me time to look at what I had created with my business and then find the things I wanted to keep and leave what didn’t work for me.

I desire to go back into retail but when that time comes I will be better prepared and have what I need to enjoy it not just make money.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

While I was working my 9 to 5 and selling juice and smoothie packages on the side my ecommerce business was gaining traction. I wasn’t sure how my business would grow but an opportunity to move into a retail space came about. As I began to research ways to get funding I came upon a brick wall with getting money. When I look back, I realize I didn’t know my numbers nor could I forecast from year to year. But beginner naivety is a blessing.

In steps a mother’s love.

My mother offered to help me take my business to the next level and agreed to be my bank.

I created a rough business plan, to help me get a better understanding of my business, and show her I was taking her offer seriously, created terms on the loan I took from her and we agreed on realistic payment arrangements.

Having my mother step in to assist me was huge because at the time, my personal credit was not good, I had no business credit, had not even established my business and these questions were not asked when dealing with my mom, her love and belief in me and my husband were all the collateral she needed.

With the loan my mother offered me we were able to buy the building we opened our retail space and with Covid while many businesses who could not afford the rents had to close, or move location we were able to stay even with uncertainty.

Although we closed our doors during Covid, we have been able to pay off the loan and now I have property that helps with building a financial portfolio that I would not have been able to do without my mother’s love, support and belief that I could succeed.

Now that I have a better understanding of my business, I am better equipped to get more traditional funding when the time is right.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.juicebox215.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/juicebox_215
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/juicebox215