Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health & wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Steven Abbey, Founder & CEO of SOS Nutrients, located in Santa Barbara, CA, USA.

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

SOS Nutrients is a whole-food, plant-based smoothie supplement based on 25+ years of scientific research. A meticulously crafted comprehensive superfood blend with vital micronutrients from whole foods such as 170% daily iodine from organic kelp, 207% daily vitamin C from organic berries, 375% daily vitamin D from organic algae, and 110mg of vitamin K2 from a natto extract and more. A total of 61 whole-food plant-based ingredients in substantial efficacious doses to cover your bases naturally. Our customers are anyone and everyone committed to transforming their health through whole-food nutrition. Regardless of age and dietary choices, SOS Nutrients provides a nutritional intervention to support the body in optimal health and prevention of most chronic diseases.

Tell us about yourself

Many years ago, I switched my diet to be plant-based for a few reasons. I had no idea what I was doing, and my food choices were lacking in nutrition - think lots of white rice and celery. I lost a lot of weight that I could not afford to lose, and my health declined. That was a real wake-up call.

I started to educate myself on quality plant-based nutrition. I was fascinated by the abundance of research that demonstrated the role of nutrition in both healing the body and preventing chronic diseases. My health improved, and I recovered. I then substantially surpassed my previous levels of health and vitality. I was shocked to learn that all this information was challenging to find and that the research results were not commonly shared. This started my 25+ year journey into deeply understanding nutritional intervention for health and solidified my commitment to helping other people heal their bodies naturally. I am deeply motivated to help people live their best healthy life. I am committed to providing people with nutritional solutions that are of the highest quality and convenient to use. I’m here to make a difference on the planet and am donating all SOS Nutrients’ profits to charity.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment is having 1:1 interactions with customers and sharing about how SOS powder can transform their health - and then seeing the change in health and vitality that they experience. There is nothing more satisfying than to have a customer say to me, “you changed my life!”

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

For SOS Nutrients, one of the hardest things is to maintain the superior quality of ingredients that we demand. If we are unable to source the ingredient we need at the highest quality, we pause production until that ingredient is available. It’s that simple. It costs us extra money to maintain integrity, and there are no substitutes.

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

  1. Know your market and the demographics of your customers. What you think is a great idea may not resonate with customers. Do your homework, survey people, research the industry, and do everything you can to mitigate the risk of failure or having to pivot quickly.
  2. Be committed. Make certain that you are all in. A half-baked effort is likely to conclude in half-baked results.
  3. Have fun! Enjoy what you do. There are always going to be times when you will need to do things that need to be done, even though you don’t want to do them. It’s a part of life and a part of the business. Accept that the things you don’t like are circumstantial, and your relationship with your overall business is one of inspiration and satisfaction.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://sosnutrients.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SOSNutrients
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sos_nutrients/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SOSNutrients
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sos-nutrients/

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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