Providing Healthy Without Sacrificing Taste - Eden
Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Stephanie Beck founder of Eden, located in Woodstock, GA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Woodstock has built a community of healthy living – many parks and trails within minutes of downtown. However, our community needed more healthy food options. There are lots of burgers and beer around us and sometimes you just need to feel refreshed. Eden provides healthy smoothies, juices, and bowls. It is all about providing healthy without sacrificing taste. At Eden, we are focused on micro-nutrients. Many individuals are familiar with macro-nutrients; however, we focus on the vitamins and minerals needed to fuel our bodies. Our customers range from active and healthy lifestyles to leaky gut and battling cancer. We offer a menu with a wide range of quick food that supports any lifestyle.
Tell us about yourself
Eden was created because of a health need within our own family and at the same time recognizing that Woodstock had a need for healthy items too. Our family loves to travel and with travel comes good eating, maybe not healthy, but delicious. Our family enjoys going to New York City – we have been every year for the past 10 years. After each meal, I would search out a green juice to calm the acid in my stomach with an alkaline juice. We realized that on basically every corner there was a smoothie/juice shop, which made it convenient. Once we came home, we still had a need to put good clean food in our bodies, this was hard to find in our local community. We found ourselves having to make it at home or having to drive 25+ minutes to find healthy eats. At this point, we saw the need our family had as well as the community and that is when we decided to marry the two and bring Eden to Woodstock.
It has been a blessing to be able to serve our community a product that makes people healthier from the inside out. Being able to provide a space that is welcoming, peaceful and a great place to bring your family is why we love doing what we do.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
For years Eden was just a dream or an inspiration. It was nothing but a mere casual conversation. When the day came for us to stop talking about it and just do it, a domino effect occurred. The day we decided to open the store to the day we actually opened the store was just under 5 months. It was a story we could not make up if we tried. The timing was perfect - the way things were orchestrated and the people that were put in our path to guide us. Getting the store open in 5 months was a major accomplishment. Once the store was open, it was our goal, to get our staff in place so the store could be self-sufficient and we accomplished that within 90 days. As a business owner, this has allowed us to focus on nurturing our employees and culture, growing the business, and partnering with other businesses to build relationships.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
People are instrumental to your success. Being patient with the right people who understand your vision, values, and culture is one of the most challenging things as a business owner. At Eden, we have been blessed to have such an amazing staff. Individuals who care for our customers, each other, and the business as a whole. We see every challenge as an opportunity to grow and develop as leaders. We have many individuals counting on us to be stewards of what the Lord has given us.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
1. Find the right people. Search and don’t settle.
2. Prepare yourself financially. Debt is not a good idea for a new business.
3. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you.
Anything else you'd like to share?
Our smoothies, juices, and bowls consist of 100% fruits and vegetables. We do not add ice or sugar to anything we make. If you aren’t sure about “this healthy stuff” we encourage you to come to try it first. You will not be disappointed. We are firm believers that just because it’s healthy does not mean it has to taste like dirt. We do not compromise taste for healthy. Our store is 100% plant-based. We can accommodate most common allergies. We do not serve peanut butter, eggs, or dairy and we offer gluten-free and agave substitutes.
Where can people find you and your business?
https://www.instagram.com/eden.woodstock/
https://www.facebook.com/eden.woodstock/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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