Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara and Daniel Anariba.
Hi Sara and Daniel, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Our story begins on our wedding day! The wedding planning was such a lovely season for us, and once we had lived our wedding day, we truly saw how beautiful it is to be a part of someone’s special day. We are fortunate enough that so many friends and family made our special day way more enjoyable and possible.
I know this is to talk about our business, but we can’t not mention that marriage is amazing! We are passionate about marriage. Being married to Daniel has allowed me to discover other talents within myself. Like entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship runs in both of my families; I just needed someone to help me discover that in myself.
3 years later, we decided to act upon our thoughts about starting our first business. Which is now our mobile cart serving Aguas frescas and mocktails. From the beginning of our business, we have felt so much grace from so many people.
Our mobile cart was constructed by a local carpenter. We booked our first event with an apartment complex for their resident nights, and from there, we began to see people talk about our business to their friends, and it’s all been the beautiful art of networking!!! Ellie and Juice Co. will turn 1 in May 2023. We know that our small business is only a stepping stone to our future dream goal, but we are treating every event and booking with so much care and dedication. We are believing that if we are faithful in little things, we will be faithful in large ones. We love each and every one of our couples and customers, they are the ones that keep our business running.
In just less than 1 year of being in business we have seen how something small is developing and maturing into something where people will gather and share a laughter while we serve them from our Ellie cart.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not all been a smooth road. Daniel and I, we both still have our full-time jobs + our son. To say it’s been easy would be a lie. Even though I have the advice of my father, who has been in business since 2005, We still have had to learn so much on our own. As a new business, there is a lot of effort that goes into making yourself known.
Hundreds and hundreds of emails have been sent to potential customers, venues, event planners, corporate leadership positions, anyone who could be interested in our services. Hours of driving to venues just to tell them about us and sharing some of our juices to them. At the beginning, I would see it as a task I had to do in order to expose my business. Now I see it as an opportunity to create a new friendship, and we have met some of the most beautiful business owners when we take time to tour their venues or share a coffee with them. It truly all is about perspective.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
Apart from our small business, we also have our corporate jobs. Throughout the years, we have learned many things that are helping us now with our own ventures. Leadership is something important to us. We believe that good leadership is needed in everything you do. Both Daniel and I have experienced awesome leaders that we have learned from.
It’s important for us to be healthy leaders in all of the areas of life. We have learned to be team players and know when it’s our time to take the back seat. We have several years of experience in project management, customer service, billing departments, managing groups of people, and we are most proud of being able to think outside the box when we encounter a problem. It’s important to know that in business, not every day will flow smoothly, so being quick to think when there is a problem is key in life.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Something I tell everyone is to not be afraid of networking. I learned very quick that networking was going to help me in this industry. It can easily become an industry that is already dense, and if you do nothing to put your name and business out there, it will be very hard to break ground. Another thing would be to ask questions. Ask questions to other vendors in your similar area, find someone that you trust and wants to help you, create a friendship, and find the comfort to ask for help when you need it. And because of that, you must then be someone that is willing to help!!! We love sharing any bit of advice to new business owners because that is the type of grace we received starting out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ellieandjuiceco.square.site/
- Instagram: @ellieandjuiceco
Image Credits
Nicole Endress Photography
Eden Photography
