Community Highlights: Meet Laronda and John Freeman of Soul Glow Juice

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laronda and John Freeman.

Hi Laronda and John, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory. 
I feel like our story began 7 years ago when we were gifted a juicer as a housewarming present. I started making juices that I found online but was usually disappointed by the taste. So, I began creating my own blends because no matter how good something is for you, if it doesn’t taste good to, you’re not going to stick with it. I really enjoyed making juices for my family, especially when I got them to change their mind about an ingredient that they didn’t like, such as kale, celery, or beets. Fast forward to 2020 when the pandemic hit, and my husband and I were safe at home, but we had a bad case of what I like to call the “UN’s” we were uneasy with the state of the world, we were unhealthy due to excessive overeating, and we were generally unhappy because we felt stuck. Then one day, John pitched an idea to me to open a juice bar, and even though I was really impressed with him because I could tell he did a lot of research and put a lot of thought into the idea, he even came up with the name Soul Glow Juice co. I was still skeptical because we had never done anything like this before. After several really long conversations that were usually had at 4:00 a.m. as we both got ready to go to work as Ann arbor city bus drivers, I had to admit that I was hooked on Soul Glow, and I was ready to take the necessary steps to becoming a juice bar owner including getting my food manager’s license. We then spent countless hours discussing details like building design, equipment, and menus. We knew that we wanted to have a beginner-friendly juice bar with options that everyone could benefit from without feeling intimidated by the ingredients. Since we planned to make all-natural dog treats from the pulp, I also obtained my dog treat license from the state of Michigan. We’ve been open almost 2 months now, and it’s been an emotional journey filled with highs and lows; there are days that we only have a few customers and I have to ask myself if our motto is still relevant. Then a returning customer will come in and greet me by name and smile because I know they like extra whipped cream on their smoothie or a dash of cayenne pepper in their juice, and I’m filled with joy. The thing that I am most proud of is seeing my children and grandchildren working the register or washing dishes or hear them excitedly telling someone that a smoothie is named after them and knowing the space that John created is inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs. I know then that the answer to that question is yes, the juice is worth the squeeze. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The challenges we have faced seemed like mountains in the beginning. Sometimes looking up and not seeing a way over or around them has been tough. As first time business owners have had to learn a multitude of things on the fly like tax law, fire and building codes for example. One thing that I didn’t account for was the time commitment to making this dream a working reality. We have had to take time away from our families, our marriage and our day job to make things happen. That part has been a real challenge personally. Plus with limited funds we’ve had to try and make up for our financial shortages with creative and innovative thinking for things like marketing, and product and menu development. So as difficult as our challenges have been, with help from our families and friends we have done what you have to do in life, and that’s put one foot in front of the other and keep moving. As we continue to move forward we have found that most of the issues that felt like mountains while we were going thru them in hindsight we discovered were only hills.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Soul Glow Juice Co?
Our business, Soul Glow juice co, is a black-owned cold-pressed juicery located at 43347 Joy Road in Canton, Michigan. We specialize in beginner-friendly juices, real fruit smoothies, and smoothie bowls that taste great, are affordable, and are made to order. We also make pineapple skin tea that’s delicious hot or cold. I think the thing that sets us apart are our ingredients, your juice is prepared freshly in front of you while you wait, and I love to experiment with different flavors, such as hot honey on an ice-cold smoothie bowl or by creating uniquely flavored “gin”(ger) n juice shots. Our smoothies and bowls are sweetened with either 100% maple syrup, agave nectar, locally produced honey, or date syrup. Since we don’t believe you have to give up everything you love to have a healthier lifestyle, we serve freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. We know that pets are family too, so we make all-natural dog treats using the pulp from our juices which also helps to reduce the amount of waste that we have. We’ve recently added some really delicious sandwiches and wraps to our menu, such as the Wrappers Delight veggie wrap or the Monkey in the Middle hazelnut banana wrap for kids. I am most proud of our customer service; our goal is to really make our customers know they’re appreciated. We have 12 5-star reviews on Google, and I know to some that number is probably laughable, but I remember each and every customer that took the time to make a review; those experiences mean a lot to me. 

Alright, so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I think the best support that we could receive would be through marketing, we are confident in our products and in the customer service that we give, we just need folks to know that we are here! We are looking to collaborate with some local gyms and neighboring schools. We want to offer sponsorships to local teams and thru advice; we don’t know everything; we don’t even know what we don’t know yet, LOL, so we are more than happy to receive input from other juice bars and business owners of all types that are willing to share their knowledge with us. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.soulglowjuice.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/soulglow.juiceco
• Facebook: Facebook.com/soulglow.juiceco