Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health supplements but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Stephen Zieminski, founder of Naked Nutrition, located in Miami, FL, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My business is Naked Nutrition, and our customers are people who want to enjoy truly healthy supplements and control what goes into their bodies. We launched with five single ingredient proteins in 2014 but have now expanded to over 50 products ranging from vegan proteins, dairy proteins, clean pre-workout supplements, adaptogens, multivitamins, protein cookies, and more.

As the business has grown, the vision is still the same – give people control over their health and fitness journey by using premium ingredients that are easy to understand and as few of them as possible.

Tell us about yourself

I ran cross country and track at the University of Florida. Since I was a child, fitness and nutrition have been part of my life, as my dad would take me to 5k runs. While working in New York City, an opportunity came about to work on another protein brand which reinvigorated my love of entrepreneurship and business. Ever since I was a teenager, I had always been trying different business ideas, but after taking my first serious job, I lost sight of that.

I love to read about the stories and successes of other DTC brands that have started from nothing and then been acquired in a fairly short time frame.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

The continued growth of the business, both in revenue and products developed. The brand has come a long way, but we are creating even more products and flavors which I believe will improve people's lives and be truly enjoyed.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Everything can be running incredibly smoothly for months at a time, and then numerous things will blow up in one day. No matter the size of your business or the number of people you have in place, there are always going to be surprises. For example, we sourced by meeting farmers and businesses in person in the past. But in the past couple of years, there have been times I've had to be more creative in finding and vetting the best vendors for the brand.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Starting a business is similar to a lottery ticket. Keep working on your business or idea on the side and keep your day job. Only when you’re confident that your new business can replace your other source of income should you go all-in.
  2. Sales and profits won’t lie to you, so try and keep emotion out of your business wherever possible.
  3. Recognize what stage your business is at. How you spend your time and money varies widely depending on the stage of the company, and you can’t forget that. Otherwise, you can be the one holding things back since you can’t let go of things you should no longer be doing.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Our protein cookies, which were an instant hit, are the most exciting product currently. We also have more on the way, including seasonal flavors of protein, but our core best-sellers are always available at our website.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://nakednutrition.com/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/nakedstephen/
https://www.instagram.com/nakednutrition/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenzieminski/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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