One of the most successful DIYs yet

I have envisioned a chalkboard menu board for Juiced Nutrition Uptown using rollerblades for months. I finally got it all pit together today. Have to thank JT and Linda for the rollerblades and Andrew and his dad, Tom, for welding the brackets.

I was able to do some assembly at home and the installation went smoothly (this time around). The first attempt did not go well honestly.

Juiced Nutrition open

It has been a very crazy few weeks. My new business, Juiced Nutrition, has opened. I'm calling November 1 the official first day though I opened the doors the week before with just me manning the counter and figuring out the blenders, sinks, refrig, freezer, etc.

There are now three people working with me. Yes, I am a job creator! Now I just did customers to make money to pay the employees.

The store is a work in progress. There is more décor to work on and the delivery business is not in place yet. I need to up the marketing. Finding the time and resources is tricky.

The citrus electrolyte is popular

My DIY a-frame chalkboard sign.

My hero, JT, adding support for the sail board

Friends stopping by and supporting

Sunrise (we open at 6am)

It is all about fresh, whole foods.

Store update

I have been debating on whether to keep this blog going. I started it back in 2007 primarily for my mom. I'll keep going for now and see how I feel. May be it will be a way for me to keep her more in mind.

The construction build-out phase of the store has virtually wrapped up. Everything was going well until today when the health inspector expressed several problems from his perspective. Frustration hardly begins to describe my feelings.

Nonetheless, here are some photos of the progress.

girls with bike frames

part of the sports equipment décor - a paddleboard

the bike frame light fixtures

http://juicednutritionuptown.com/pages/about-us

The best friends ever

I am so grateful for friends that are willing to spend several hours of a glorious Saturday weekend day to help me with Juiced Nutrition projects.

They sanded pallets, stained wood, and cleaned wire shelving and bike parts. Also cleaned and sanded an old metal swinging seat that I found along the side of the road.

Fifteen friends and 3 1/2 hours equals priceless.

www.juicednutritionuptown.com
www.facebook.com/juicednutrition

Juiced Nutrition announcement

Click on the following link to see the announcement on Facebook.
Juiced Nutrition retail address announcement

Another fun (running) weekend

Another weekend full of running and walking and spending time with friends.

Friday night friends and I got to see the 1939 film 'The Women' on the big screen. It is a hilarious all female movie starring Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell and Joan Crawford. A real classic. The Uptown Theater from which my neighborhood is named is celebrating a 100th anniversary. The celebration has them showing ten different classic films.

Saturday morning I ran to morning coffee in St. Louis Park. I had run Thursday evening so was a bit worn out. It was humid Saturday morning so by the time I arrived at coffee I was beet red.

Saturday evening I met my friend Bud for dinner. He was in town from Florida. We had a really good meal at Tinto's on Lake Street. I showed him the Juiced Nutrition location.

Sunday morning I ran hill sprints with the Academy MN crew. There was a big turn out. Sunday afternoon Martha and Jenny came over and we went to the Lyndale Ave Open Streets event. Twenty blocks of Lyndale Ave were closed to traffic to allow pedestrians and bikes to stroll the street. Ran into my neighbor Kelly who joined us. Also ran into other friends along the way.

Sunday evening I ran with Tracy. We are training for Grandma's Half Marathon on Duluth in two weeks.

LinkedIn article on Juiced Nutrition startup

Last month I wrote an article about some of my business startup experiences. I published it on line at LinkedIn, a website for business and employment connections. Click this link to read the article.

Juiced Nutrition

Logo graphic with text in graphic.

Logo graphic with text below.

Those of you following this blog may not be on Facebook where I maintain updates to my new business adventure. I had planned on keeping this blog separate from my business but have now decided to do updates on a very sporadic basis.

You can follow on Facebook, too, as the page is public. Juiced Nutrition Facebook page

After several months of negotiating a space lease and business relationship, two of weeks ago I decided to walk away from those relationships. My analysis indicated that it would not be financially advantageous for me. I felt I was being asked to assume a larger financial burden than the others involved.

At the same time I may have found a new location which I am now pursuing. As with so much in this journey, it has not been a smooth road with the new space. There are obstacles to overcome that I have little or no influence over. I am hoping for another Friday good day tomorrow.

I also wrote about my business start up lessons learned on LinkedIn. My first such article.
LinkedIn Article