Season 2 · Episode 5

Jessica Williams - Jess Juiced

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0:00Walk on, walk on, walk on to Alienize Photos industry talk.
0:08Yes, yes, yes, and I've got a very special guest.
0:13Miss Jess, Jessica Williams, a power connector,
0:19big in the community, world class juicer, civic engagement.
0:27Collaborative.
0:27Collaborative.
0:28See, it's so much, she had to help me out.
0:31But I'm gonna let you introduce yourself to the people.
0:34Thank you.
0:35Thank you for having me.
0:36Greatly appreciated to be here.
0:39Yep, the girl, Jess Williams, in the flesh here.
0:44One, like you said, the world class juice connoisseur.
0:47I like to call myself that now from now on.
0:49So that's the tag line.
0:50That's the tag line, yes.
0:52But I've been juicing for a couple of years now,
0:55making fresh fruit and vegetable juices
0:57with zero sugar, zero additives,
0:59so nothing but the greatest qualities.
1:02I mean, we had some today.
1:03Yeah, my cup's a little empty now, you know.
1:07And what did we have in this juice?
1:09We had a little bit of watermelon, beet.
1:11Mm-hmm.
1:12So it was watermelon, beet, carrot, yellow pepper,
1:17bell pepper, lemon, and mint.
1:20Oh.
1:20And that's it.
1:21That's delicious.
1:22My daughter had some.
1:23She loved it.
1:24Yeah, yeah.
1:25So we take what you have in the refrigerator,
1:27nothing too crazy, nothing fancy, very simple.
1:30Put it together in a juice.
1:31So where did you get started in the juices?
1:33What inspired you?
1:35It really, I think that, so like I said,
1:38I'm a people connector,
1:39connector of a variety of things, right?
1:42So I worked for the city of Cleveland, Ward 5.
1:46Shout out to my boss, Councilman Richard Starr.
1:49So that is where some of this actually started from.
1:53Being connected in the community,
1:54being around the organization is right in the heart
1:57of an area that can be identified as a space,
2:01as a food desert.
2:03So with that, there's still beauty in it
2:06because there are farms down there.
2:08There are food pantries down there.
2:10So I was exposed to Red All Green Partnership,
2:13as well as Farmer Jones Market.
2:15And with that exposure came the opportunity
2:18for me to go to an actual farm,
2:20get a seeded watermelon, not seedless.
2:23Seed it, y'all.
2:24Seed it, make sure they have seeds.
2:27It's gonna consume fruit in general.
2:29Yes, so it was through that exposure
2:30that one day during COVID, I just started seeing stuff.
2:34You know, you talk about one thing,
2:35if I don't pick it up.
2:36And so everyone's social media was stuff about juicers,
2:39smoothies, eating clean.
2:41I was working out a lot.
2:42So it just kind of fell into my lap, if you will.
2:45So my family was trying to figure out a way
2:47to consume vegetables more.
2:50I'm a summer baby, so I love to be outside.
2:52So being around fruits and vegetables
2:54and all of that, that's what I like in the summertime.
2:56So it was summer, I bought a juicer,
2:59and the family loved it.
3:01Oddly enough, we just listed carrots, beets, bell peppers.
3:06Who picking that up and just munching on it?
3:08I mean, I would, you know.
3:10I mean, people do, and that's a great thing.
3:13Exactly, you gotta be a little bit different.
3:15But it was through that that I started being able
3:18to play with whatever I had in the refrigerator.
3:21So yes, I would go purchase items,
3:23but maybe I had bought a three-pack of bell pepper
3:26and one still left over, right?
3:28So I just started buying things here and there,
3:30rinsing them through the refrigerator,
3:32and started coming up with these different concoctions.
3:35Okay, I got a new name for you now
3:38that you're kind of re-enlightening me
3:40with the stories.
3:41I haven't heard your story before,
3:43but world-class kitchen sciences.
3:47I'ma take it.
3:49Because it's a science to this.
3:50It really is.
3:52Knowing the acidity levels,
3:54knowing how long that once these vegetables
3:56are broken down into a juice and exposed to air,
4:00how long, now that they have that air contact,
4:02are they fresh and considered drinkable?
4:04Because the juice only has a fresh shelf life
4:07of three days.
4:09Wow, okay, so maybe that's why I made some juice
4:11and was stuffing with bubble in it that night.
4:13Well, okay, all right.
4:15It was working, it was working.
4:17And you taste it when it's fresh,
4:19without that sugar, without those extra additives,
4:21things don't last as long.
4:23That's why you can buy your juice
4:24and leave it in the refrigerator for three weeks.
4:27Yeah, I had to get my Jess juice on
4:29and I effed it up, y'all.
4:31But I was doing something, like, sheesh.
4:34Real quick, real quick, it works.
4:36It works.
4:38Man, my stomach was like.
4:41But that's helping you out.
4:43That's getting all of those things that's in the body
4:45that need to be filtered out, filtering them out.
4:47So that's a good thing.
4:48Well, I had it a little longer than.
4:50You did not.
4:52I love juice, I'm not drinking that anymore.
4:54But you know what?
4:55Hey, I'm not mad at you.
4:56You can take it.
4:57You twisted and it sounded like pop.
4:59I'm like, maybe I shouldn't be drinking it,
5:01but I'm gonna do it.
5:01I've used that.
5:02I didn't drink at all,
5:03because I kind of felt like something ain't right.
5:06Right, I was thirsty too, so.
5:09Hey, you live and you learn.
5:12You learn that day.
5:12To the world-class kitchen sciences, you know,
5:16for now on.
5:17I got you, I got you.
5:19But yeah, having that quick shelf life,
5:22it keeps you on the grind.
5:23It keeps you in the process.
5:24So I was in the process of juicing for me and my family,
5:28and we were trying to juice every day.
5:30So that's every few days,
5:31you're making another batch of juice.
5:33So it flew.
5:34It went crazy.
5:35We started drinking it.
5:36The family loved it.
5:37In the minute we took it outside to work,
5:40I started just testing it out.
5:41Girl, try this.
5:42Hey, you want some of this?
5:43Try this.
5:43And before I knew it, orders started flowing.
5:45And just juice was born.
5:49So I know a lot of people that drink smoothies
5:52and go to smoothies as a way of consumption,
5:58especially for protein.
5:59How would you say juicing compares to smoothies?
6:03That's a good question.
6:04That really is.
6:06For me, I would think the biggest difference
6:08would be number one, how it's prepared.
6:12So when you think about a smoothie,
6:13the smoothie and the juice are very similar.
6:15It's just the thickness consistency of it.
6:18So the smoothie tends to be a little bit thicker,
6:22but it really depends on the ingredients.
6:26So in a smoothie, the fiber content is still intact.
6:32You're not breaking down those ingredients
6:34to a different consistency.
6:36You're not turning a solid into a liquid all the way.
6:39You're turning it,
6:41but it's not as liquefied as a juice.
6:44And so then when you think about the ingredients,
6:46if you were to make a smoothie
6:48out of the exact same ingredients as a juice,
6:50your body is still gonna consume that as a juice.
6:53So you might not be that full
6:54as you think you might be from a smoothie.
6:57It depends on the protein content within that.
6:59So with juicing, the only thing people think about
7:03negatively, if you will, when it comes to juice,
7:05is that you break it down so much
7:07that you lose some of those nutrients
7:10that would be maintained if you were to bite it.
7:12Because you are taking that solid object
7:14and you're crushing it down,
7:16and the crushing and the juicing process,
7:18some of those nutrients are broken down
7:25a little bit too much to be digested by us.
7:28So that's the only, the true difference.
7:31And but if you think about your orange juice,
7:33the pulp, the pulp is where some of that nutrients
7:36are found.
7:37So when you juice it and you get rid of that pulp,
7:39you get rid of some of the nutrients in a sense,
7:41but you just cater that by drinking a little bit more.
7:44So you don't have to drink as much smoothies,
7:45but if you have more protein-based ingredients in that,
7:49your green leafy vegetables,
7:52some of your other vegetables as well,
7:54if you have that in that smoothie mix,
7:56then it's gonna stick to your ribs a little bit better,
7:59but it's just how you break it down.
8:00So I tend to like my juices
8:02with as little pulp as possible.
8:05Okay.
8:05Because I don't like that taste.
8:07But I know that I'm doing that there
8:09that some people think about that
8:11as losing some of the nutrients.
8:13So when people think about that,
8:14I said, we'll just drink two.
8:16Double it up.
8:16Drink two, okay.
8:18Now, like when,
8:21like you said, the oranges.
8:22So we speak about oranges.
8:23I like orange, turmeric,
8:26turmeric and ginger type of blend.
8:28Oh yeah.
8:29Like those are my go-to.
8:31So what's some of your favorite juices that you made?
8:35My go-to, my original juice.
8:38And I'll tell you this.
8:40I'm not a recipe blogger.
8:43Think of me as like the new age grandma, right?
8:45Grandma might've had a recipe,
8:46but I might've said a pinch instead of a tea spoon.
8:51That's how I am.
8:52Right?
8:52So I bring those into the kitchen
8:55and into the juice making process.
8:58But in reality,
9:01my best juice came from ingredients
9:04that were the most juice yielding.
9:08So we was balling on the budget.
9:10So when we thinking about that,
9:12I'm thinking of what are ingredients
9:14that's gonna give me the most juice?
9:16Number one, my pineapple.
9:17Okay.
9:18One pineapple can give me,
9:21I don't wanna say the exact measurements of a juice,
9:23but it gives me enough to be able to provide juice
9:26with a family of three.
9:29So that strong pineapple base,
9:30if you break that down in a juice,
9:32I need a few more ingredients on top of that
9:34to make it a full well-rounded juice.
9:36So I always did a pineapple because of the juice content,
9:40a bag of oranges that typically come
9:42with about eight oranges.
9:44So that's another juice field product or ingredient.
9:48And then from that,
9:49I just try to add a couple of matching vegetables.
9:53So your turmeric, your ginger.
9:56I just started playing around with bell peppers,
9:58but I've always played with beets.
10:00And beets can be your traditional red
10:03or it can be a golden beet that's orange.
10:07I don't think I had a golden beet before.
10:08You did in my juice.
10:11Oh.
10:13Okay.
10:13You did in the juice,
10:16but it came off of what was affordable in the colors.
10:20So I was playing around with your beets,
10:23your oranges, your pineapples, your ginger,
10:26your mint,
10:27because the mint really didn't give a color,
10:28but that mint flavor would really help out
10:32if I was struggling to match stuff up together.
10:34So that was my base in carrots.
10:38I wear glasses.
10:40So when you think about that,
10:41carrots is always known to help with eyesight.
10:43So I always threw them there,
10:44but they were all about the same color anyway.
10:47So that's really how I thought about my ingredients
10:50for each juice.
10:51That was easy, cheap, affordable way to make a juice.
10:54So that was the number one thing I made
10:56and everyone loved it.
11:00So the color of this juice that she had me sample,
11:04which I had a lot of her juice
11:05we got back in the day over the years,
11:08it was red.
11:10So I feel like it was good in my heart
11:12and my heart dancing right now and it's thanking you.
11:14So appreciate it.
11:15And you see how you make that connection.
11:18Absolutely.
11:18Every, a lot of vegetables,
11:20and I'm still reading this,
11:22so quote me, but not to the T,
11:24but a lot of fruits and vegetables,
11:27when you look at their shape,
11:28they appear like something in the body.
11:33And so-
11:34Color as well.
11:35Color as well.
11:36So when you think about issues or symptoms
11:39that you wanna fix, the beets,
11:41you talked about your heart.
11:43Beets also help with your iron level as well.
11:46A lot of circulation.
11:47There you go.
11:48There you go.
11:49So it's that simple education too
11:52that started to come with it
11:53and had me to think,
11:54all right, I have real bad sinuses.
11:56What can I do to help alleviate that?
12:01What are some actually?
12:03So in drinking the juices,
12:04part of the benefit of drinking a natural juice,
12:08a raw juice, if you will,
12:10is once it comes into your body,
12:12it's immediately going into your bloodstream,
12:14immediately going into your system
12:16and it's helping to attack whatever it is
12:18in your body it needs to attack.
12:20So your beets help out with your blood,
12:22the carrots help out with your eyes,
12:24the orange helps out with your immune system.
12:27It's going into attack mode immediately.
12:30And some of that stuff wouldn't come into your body
12:33because when would you sit and just cheer it out a beat?
12:38So with that being said,
12:39I'm stepping into the coach and business coaching.
12:44Having ideology,
12:47basically strategizing with ideas, ideation sessions.
12:54So a lot of people are stuck with their mindset.
12:59So as far as these nutrients and minerals
13:04from their fruits and vegetables attacking,
13:07like you said, the inner,
13:09let's just say thought, so mindset.
13:12Is there anything that kind of tweaks
13:15or sharpen the brain?
13:19Almost like a power juice.
13:22And honestly, any juice,
13:24people get weirded when I say that
13:26because it's that simple.
13:28It's just that simple.
13:31I like the whole just too
13:32because it's just, there you go,
13:35just juice, just that simple, right?
13:38I was a teenage mom.
13:40So when you think about 16 year old having a baby,
13:43how much money do you think I was making, right?
13:46I was going to say another one.
13:48Is it anything to fight poverty or?
13:52Okay, okay.
13:54So the resources were slim.
13:56And so the base of all of this came from
13:59what do I have?
14:00What do I have access to in the community?
14:03And what do I have at home readily available?
14:06And it's really anything, any juice,
14:09any fruit concoction that you make,
14:11whether it's with pineapples, oranges,
14:14gingers, watermelon, whatever you have available,
14:18that's helpful.
14:19There isn't a science to say drink this only
14:22and this is going to heal everything, right?
14:25Every ingredient has a different power.
14:28So when you think about it, whatever you got,
14:32if all you have is a bag of apples
14:33and you're going to go buy a pineapple,
14:35apple and pineapple juice is.
14:37Dang, don't tell me it's vice.
14:39And it's just that simple
14:40because you're drinking it the freshest way possible
14:44and your body is ingesting it
14:46one of the freshest ways possible.
14:48It's going to be a benefit to you.
14:50And it's just that over time.
14:51So if all you have is some stamps
14:54and on them stamps at the end of all your grocery shopping,
14:56you got $10 left.
14:58With that $10, you're going to go buy you
14:59a bag of oranges.
15:01You're going to buy you a pineapple for 250
15:03and then you're going to figure out
15:04what other vegetable can go with those last couple of dollars.
15:07So a three pack of bell pepper
15:09running you around $5 or so.
15:11Bell pepper, pineapple, oranges.
15:13It's a juice.
15:16$10.
15:16You might be in the kitchen and it's like.
15:19And juicers aren't as loud as blenders.
15:23Another, another good thing.
15:25Yeah, buy me a new juicer, y'all.
15:28Any juicers you recommend?
15:32Okay, so juicing is more expensive
15:35than your smoothie making.
15:42You're at a cost.
15:43Okay.
15:44Once again, it's the teenage mom coming into play.
15:47So I didn't start with a juicer.
15:48I started with a blender.
15:50Once again, using what you had.
15:52So I had a blender in the house.
15:54Wasn't really using it.
15:56Hopped on YouTube University.
15:58Found a few really good tutorial videos on the process.
16:02It's a little longer.
16:04But before you can go to the point
16:06of where you spending $500 for a top of the line juicer,
16:10start with what you got.
16:11So I was blending my ingredients down in the blender
16:16and using the cheese cloth
16:18to strain the juice from the smoothie.
16:22Now that process is very extended.
16:25But when you don't have what you don't have,
16:28you make way with what you got.
16:29Right.
16:30And that's what I did.
16:31So I really did not start juicing
16:33through an actual juicer for at least six months.
16:39Because it costs so much.
16:40And I didn't know at the time
16:43that this was gonna be something
16:44I can talk about two years later.
16:46So the blender held me down.
16:48And it was just as simple as that.
16:50Blending everything up together.
16:54I think when I was doing the smoothie version though,
16:59I think I might've been adding a little water with it.
17:02Cause you can't blend everything dry.
17:04I've definitely done that little water little.
17:07Yeah.
17:08I'll be pressing here.
17:08And he said, look, we gonna parade this.
17:11We gonna crush it.
17:12He gonna, look.
17:13So you have to play around a little bit more.
17:15Once again, it's scientific.
17:17Keyboard, piano or something.
17:19It's a sign of the world.
17:21Look, I'm making sure to pause.
17:23But it's the science.
17:24But for a person, like I said,
17:26thinking about coming home, making $200 checks
17:29when my child was little,
17:31in the back of my mind,
17:32everything that I do starts from a simple idea.
17:35So if simple is meaning
17:37all you have is a bag of apples
17:39and an old blender from who knows when,
17:42just take your time.
17:43It won't take you a little bit more time,
17:44but you can do it.
17:46And I actually wanna just piggyback off what you said.
17:50Start simple.
17:51So like writing a book,
17:53you know all the steps or you may not.
17:56You got a pen, you got a pencil or a paper.
17:59Start with that.
18:00Start with a notebook and then a laptop.
18:02I said, once I get a laptop,
18:05I'm gonna write a book.
18:07I got a laptop.
18:08Six months later, I published my book.
18:10That's wild.
18:11But it starts with a step
18:13and it also starts with your mind.
18:15Yes.
18:15You have to put it in like,
18:17okay, yes, I could do this.
18:18I don't really know what,
18:19but I'm gonna just write.
18:20We're gonna format it later.
18:21We're gonna do the research and everything later,
18:23but just start.
18:25Start with a word.
18:26A sentence a day, a page a day,
18:29a chapter, a week.
18:31Start short.
18:33Absolutely.
18:33Easy.
18:34Make it simple.
18:36Just start.
18:37Just start.
18:39Ooh, Jess.
18:39I'm not a whole just thing.
18:41Yes.
18:43So, you said like two years later.
18:45So how did you know or when did you know
18:47you wanted to turn this into like a business?
18:52I think that because of the position that I was in
18:57being so in the mix of the community.
19:02Let's rewind back.
19:04So when you speak about community,
19:06like you said, civic engagement.
19:10Collaborative.
19:11Collaborative.
19:12Mm-hmm.
19:12I better say, oh, commuter chaos, son.
19:17So, civic engagement, collaborative.
19:20Let's speak a little bit about that.
19:22So essentially all worlds lead back to War Five.
19:27War Five in Cleveland, Ohio.
19:29There you go.
19:29Shout out to Councilman Richard Starr.
19:31So all worlds lead back to that.
19:34I was introduced to the Red Rock Green Partnership
19:37through that.
19:38And then work, right?
19:39So I took the juices.
19:40I started juices at home.
19:42Took them out and started giving them out to friends,
19:44places I were at, every event I would go to.
19:47I would just have a couple on me
19:48or I was trying to really get the name out there.
19:51And so the reaction was great immediately.
19:57Like I was bringing small,
19:59I would have small little bottles on me,
20:00maybe four ounce bottles to give out
20:02as samples everywhere.
20:03I had a couple of those samples.
20:05Oh, you know, juice.
20:07And so through those connections with the community,
20:12people were telling me like,
20:13this is a business.
20:15This is a need.
20:16And then the opportunities for funding
20:19were starting to trickle in.
20:21And I say trickle because funding is always hard.
20:23It's always a need.
20:24Yes, yes.
20:25But once those financial opportunities
20:27started to come about
20:28and I made the actual business structure,
20:32I knew I was in the business.
20:33And so for me, it was a little bit hard at first
20:35because it takes money to make money.
20:37And I wasn't sure how much money was going to be made
20:40considering that I'm serving underserved populations
20:44and individuals who barely got a dollar to buy a pop,
20:48let alone $5 to buy a juice.
20:51So the math part was a little bit tricky,
20:53but the need was there.
20:54People start asking for it.
20:55So I started tending pop-up shops.
20:58And before you know it,
21:00I was on a podcast like this.
21:04So you said the need was there,
21:06but also it was a conversation with the pricing.
21:09Like how did you determine your pricing?
21:12Was it based off the ingredients, market research?
21:15How did that come about?
21:17So I definitely want to shout out partners
21:19who made it accessible for me to be able to purchase
21:25all of the ingredients needed
21:27when it comes to juicing.
21:29And it was through that that I was able to,
21:33like I said, have the ingredients.
21:35So Farmer Jones Market, right?
21:38I was going to that bad boy every week.
21:42Start going out, yeah.
21:44I was in there like clockwork
21:45because I mean, juices only last three days.
21:47So I'm making juices the day of events.
21:50And if I have an event on a Friday of this week
21:53and a Tuesday of next week,
21:54that's two different shopping trips, just that easy.
21:59So one, the ingredients were made
22:02a little bit more affordable, right?
22:04It's always better to go to your local market
22:06rather than a franchise grocery store.
22:09And then the way that I was presenting myself,
22:13knowing that the people who I wanted to face,
22:16so I almost, if you think about it,
22:18the first year in business
22:20is never your best financial year.
22:23So was I fulfilling the need
22:25and not getting all of the financial gains
22:27back afterwards?
22:28Absolutely.
22:30But at the time, it wasn't so much out of my control
22:33that I was essentially losing, if you will.
22:37For me being able to provide that
22:39for whether it was a youth group,
22:41a girl group or a community event,
22:44that exposure at that time
22:46allowed me to kind of bring it down a notch
22:48just a little bit.
22:50So thinking about the pricing,
22:52I had to pivot the way that I handle my business
22:55a little bit, because you're right.
22:57For some reason, and who knows why,
22:59I'm leaning on the government.
23:00But for some reason, healthier options
23:02are a little bit more expensive.
23:06So knowing that,
23:07I knew that I couldn't come into the game
23:09just selling juices person to person.
23:13So I started to pivot,
23:16and this is where the beauty of being
23:18in constant contact with community,
23:20I was able to pivot and say, you know what,
23:22I want to provide these juices to this group of people,
23:25but maybe if I angle it through organizations,
23:28and I'm talking to the organizations
23:30for them to provide the need,
23:32now I'm going business to business.
23:37That is a great business.
23:40Because we don't want to charge the people.
23:43But we know business to business,
23:44we can make moves.
23:46So now, instead of me trying to sell
23:49almost door to door, if you will.
23:51True.
23:53Now I'm going to these larger scale events,
23:57positioning myself to sell juices either at their events
24:01and they're given to the people,
24:04or positioning for them to purchase something
24:07from me directly.
24:09Because they have an event that I want to attend,
24:12so either you will afford the cost upfront
24:14for me to come to your event and give out juices for free,
24:17or we can work something out
24:20where you have an event and you want me to pop up,
24:22but we need to think about how can we both make this.
24:26That's right.
24:27Right, right?
24:28So it's just realigning your actual target.
24:31My target audience is always going to be the community,
24:34but how do I access them is through partnerships
24:39with the resources putting on these community-led events.
24:43So it's just, you know,
24:45once again, going back to that community.
24:47The need is there.
24:48The partnerships had to become available
24:50for me to meet that need.
24:51So just connecting with the people
24:53and the partners that are out there
24:56organizing these events so that we can
24:59make it affordable for the people attending those events.
25:03So I'm still learning.
25:04I'm still figuring it out,
25:06but I just had to think if my target audience
25:09is the people, how do I get to the people?
25:11And that's through organizations
25:14who are hosting people, essentially.
25:19So with that being said,
25:23as far as like events,
25:25have you ever been to like trade shows
25:27and kind of market through trade shows?
25:29I have not yet.
25:31Have not yet.
25:32I've done some youth engagement with Queen I Am.
25:38Big shout out to Queen I Am.
25:40Yeah, she was my first youth group
25:43that I did a presentation for.
25:46And that was beautiful.
25:48That was something that I really won't ever forget.
25:51Cause like I said,
25:51that was my first presentation to a youth group.
25:54And kids are different than adults.
25:56I just got down from, coming from the school,
25:59man, so bad.
26:02They're just, you know, full of energy.
26:04Well, yeah, full of energy.
26:10So it was through those partnerships,
26:14and this is where I can start rambling.
26:15So please divert me back on the right track
26:17if I go too far off.
26:23But through those community partnerships,
26:26I was able to kind of expose myself to different groups
26:30that I might not be able to do so on my own.
26:33So now current events coming up,
26:36I'm a part of the Civic Engagement Collaborative.
26:38That's a group, a collective of myself
26:41and three other women came together.
26:44Once again, all roads lead to Ward 5.
26:47So we either live in the area, work in the area,
26:51or we are invested in the area.
26:54And we came together,
26:55we've been working together now for a few years
26:57and the need there was the voter engagement.
27:02And voting can be a scary topic
27:05because either you live down the way
27:07and you don't think it affects you directly
27:09or you live up the way and you don't see the need
27:12in the same distractions or the same disadvantages
27:18of those who are directly impacted
27:21but don't understand the importance of voting.
27:24So it was a double-edged sword.
27:25Some people like, oh, I moved out of that
27:27because I didn't want to be around that anymore.
27:29So now it no longer affects me.
27:31And then there's others that this is where I'm at,
27:34live here, die here, this is home.
27:37But I've been down here forever
27:39and I've never seen anything good for me from voting.
27:43Why vote?
27:46Ooh, what about samples at the voting?
27:52What you mean?
27:54Passing out samples at the voting.
27:55Yeah, so the civic engagement collaborative,
27:58we were able to think about those two
28:01very opposing sides and think of a way
28:03to how do we bring everybody into a room
28:05to get everybody to understand whether you are
28:08up the way, down the way, out the way, right?
28:10Politics affects you directly.
28:13So we thought of these ideas and we came up
28:15with the karaoke and conversations events, right?
28:19Gotta ring to it right there.
28:21It does, wow.
28:22And that's because we had to find a way
28:24to bring people who didn't see the need,
28:28who didn't realize the importance of it
28:31or who maybe they are interested,
28:34but they don't have the right people in front of them
28:37giving them the knowledge that they need
28:38or they don't have the spaces available to them
28:42to express their want to know more.
28:46So we came up with karaoke and conversation
28:48and it's events that are catered to the community.
28:52So for all adults, we're working on some things
28:54for kids as well, because we really need
28:55to make these 18 year olds know
28:57and 17 too, your opportunity to vote,
29:00your time now as an adult, it really starts then, 18,
29:04but you can really register to get ready to vote at 17.
29:08So karaoke and conversation, we kick off the event
29:11with networking, we have free food available.
29:14If we're at a space that has beverages,
29:17alcoholic beverages, we accommodate that as well,
29:20depending on the space that's available.
29:22And then we have a variety of guest speakers
29:24to help you understand the power of your vote,
29:28the importance of your vote,
29:29what current things are available
29:32for you to vote on at that time.
29:35So we've had a lot of guest speakers,
29:38a couple of our familiar speakers
29:40who try to come out as much as possible,
29:42Congresswoman Shantel Brown,
29:45State Rep Darnell Brewer,
29:48State Rep Terrence Upchurch,
29:52Callie Hall, the County President, Pernell Jones.
29:55So we definitely try to keep it local, right?
29:59These are folks who are from the area,
30:02who live in the area, work in the area,
30:05and they're very dedicated to it.
30:08So they're, and they're us,
30:10they look like me and you,
30:12they understand the same problems or concerns
30:15and issues we might have as black people.
30:20And so they're able to take that high political knowledge
30:24and break it down into a way that we can understand.
30:28Because that's the most important part.
30:30Me and you could have a conversation,
30:32but I can't take it always to the top
30:34like Congresswoman Brown will do.
30:36But she'll break it down and get you to understand
30:38why current events right now,
30:41why you need to pay attention to them
30:42and how some of these current cuts
30:45that are being taken by the administration
30:47are immediately impacting.
30:50And once again, my disclaimer,
30:53all roads leads to Ward 5, right?
30:56So working in an environment
30:58where people who depend on the food bank,
31:03they depend on it every month, every week,
31:05whatever they may need,
31:06they go to these food pantries.
31:08And recently the current administration
31:10made budget cuts to the food bank.
31:15So if you were one of those people
31:17who were going to the food bank,
31:19every week,
31:21you may have already felt that impact
31:24of those budget cuts.
31:25So did they make cuts to the food stamps as well?
31:29Absolutely, that's all down the pipeline.
31:32All of that is what's coming down
31:34and that if we don't,
31:35number one, are interested in watching the news,
31:38we might not get it.
31:40And then even if we do watch the news,
31:43we still don't get a full understanding
31:44of just how quickly things can impact us.
31:49Because the news stories
31:50will always make a little special twist
31:52and you can only get five minutes.
31:55Or they give what they want.
31:57Very short, very short.
31:59So it's good that you're aware of issues,
32:01but where do you get the opportunity
32:03to learn more about that?
32:05And some people are on the fence, right?
32:07Some grandparents, they've been around for decades.
32:10Wama vo vo, what it's gonna help me do?
32:13All these years I've been down here, 30, 40 years,
32:16and now you want me to vote?
32:18Why?
32:19Right?
32:19And that's a valid question.
32:21Valid question.
32:22You done lived through this, been through this,
32:23you may have voted every year you could of your life.
32:26And now you like, you want me to vote again for what?
32:29And I'm still down here, nothing's changed,
32:32school's still underfunded, food pantry's getting cut,
32:35and you want me to vote?
32:37Make it make sense.
32:39And I'm a big believer of the underdog,
32:43and I kind of lose to the story you're telling.
32:46I mean, I've kind of been an underdog all myself,
32:49that's why I always root for the underdog.
32:51Because at the end of the day,
32:53as long as you try, what do you have to lose?
32:55Yeah, as long as you try.
32:58And now we're not even trying for us,
33:00we're trying for the next generation.
33:02Which is important.
33:04And along with the food, even the house
33:08is getting cut.
33:10A lot of programs have already been cut from nonprofits.
33:15So when you think about your after-school programming,
33:18you think about your Micom,
33:20you think about the programs for kids
33:22that have been around for years.
33:24Now, we're all trying to figure out
33:26where does funding come from to maintain.
33:32So, all roads leading back to war five,
33:35those were some of the pressing issues
33:37that were always in my ear, in my face,
33:40right in front of me every day.
33:41So the Civic Engagement Collaborative,
33:43we were able to come together
33:44and kind of try to tie up some of those loose ends.
33:47We're activating the community,
33:48we're getting them engaged,
33:49we're mobilizing the community.
33:51So yes, we want you to vote,
33:53but then we want you to also know that
33:55within that power of that vote,
33:57not as you voted,
33:58now let's work on some of the issues
33:59that you voted on.
34:01So, healthcare, medical coverage, right?
34:05They're kind of hand in hand.
34:06If we know that things are getting cut,
34:10budget cuts have happened with food,
34:12then guess what we think is gonna happen next?
34:14Medical, right?
34:16A lot of things, social, security, stamps,
34:19all that stuff that we're used to.
34:21Once one thing started getting cut in my mind,
34:23I'm like, all right, let's prepare.
34:25So, what they think is gonna happen?
34:29Robots taking over us all?
34:31Look, so that's why it's important
34:33for us to take care of us, right?
34:35Thinking about those backyard gardens,
34:38community gardens, bartering, right?
34:41It may sound far off and scary,
34:44but if we looking out for us,
34:46then the one way we gonna look out for us
34:48and make sure we got food,
34:50make sure we know how to take care of each other,
34:52and make sure that we can maintain ourselves.
34:55So, I mean, you really just have to make sure
34:57that you are knowledgeable of a lot of stuff.
35:01So, the karaoke conversation
35:02helps you to learn a little bit,
35:04have a fun at the same time,
35:05because there's a lot,
35:06and it can be a little depressing,
35:07but we don't wanna end off on that note.
35:10So, through the conversation, we learn,
35:12then we transition into the karaoke spot.
35:15So, we started doing some line dancing,
35:18because that's the hottest thing out here now, right?
35:20So, we got our boots on the ground
35:22and our fans clapping.
35:24Okay, okay.
35:26So, we go from the conversation
35:27and making sure that we leave
35:29a little bit better than how we came.
35:31We lighten it up a little bit, have some fun,
35:33because remember, we're going into the places
35:35where people don't typically go for this knowledge.
35:39So, we don't wanna bore them out.
35:40We wanna have some fun, engage the people, right?
35:43So, we do the karaoke,
35:45and it's a great time for everybody.
35:47So, this is an event for all ages 18 and up,
35:52but we're working on the youth,
35:54getting them involved and getting them activated as well.
35:57Not sure when this podcast will air,
35:59but our next event is Friday, June 1st.
36:03We are working on our Friday, June 6th.
36:07Okay. Let me clarify that.
36:10Friday, June 6th is the first Saturday in June.
36:15So, first Friday in June.
36:17Let me make it make sense,
36:18because I just butchered that.
36:20No, no, you're fine, I love it.
36:22So, our karaoke and conversation,
36:24the next karaoke conversation event
36:27will be held Friday, June 6th.
36:30The event will be at Platform 13.
36:33It's a new event space on Cedar.
36:36So, it's 7500 Cedar Ave.
36:39We're there at 530.
36:40Kicks off the networking and the conversation flows
36:43and start at six,
36:44with karaoke kicking off around 715-ish, 730-ish.
36:51So, yeah, this is,
36:52it will probably release a little after the date.
36:55Oh, no problem.
36:56We're gonna promote before then on social media.
37:01Yeah, I had a chance to attend that venue.
37:05It's a nice space.
37:08All roads lead to Ward 5, so there we have it.
37:12It was a unique space
37:14and they are a community-focused venue.
37:18So, we're blessed enough to have in a space like that
37:21right in Ward 5, where you have to go, right?
37:23You have to go somewhere far
37:25to be seen like you are not where you're at.
37:29Last year, we also were at the Box Spot, right on Kansman.
37:32And that is a very unique outdoor space.
37:35If you have not seen that space, ride down Kansman.
37:41Take a ride down Kansman,
37:42right down the bridge, down the hill,
37:45across the street from the CMHA headquarters.
37:48A beautiful outdoor space.
37:49It is.
37:50Made of storage containers.
37:53So, it's a sustainable space
37:55because it's not a regular brick and mortar,
37:57but it's made with containers.
37:59There is an outdoor stage area
38:01and there may even be opportunities to set up for vending.
38:05So, who knows?
38:06If you are looking, if you are an entrepreneur,
38:08I'm a connector of people.
38:10So, I'm connecting people right now.
38:12And how can I connect with you?
38:13So, if you are looking to connect with me directly,
38:17you can follow me on Instagram, Jessica Williams,
38:22on social media or Facebook, Jessica Williams as well.
38:30I'm also can be reached
38:31on our Civic Engagement Collaborative pages.
38:35So, the Civic Engagement collab
38:37that's on Facebook and Instagram.
38:42If you are a community advocate,
38:46if you are a community resource
38:49and you are looking to attend upcoming events
38:51and you want to partner to attend,
38:54whether it's our award five back to school resource fair
38:58or it is our community cleanups
39:02that we have throughout the year,
39:04any of our award five events,
39:07feel free to reach me via email,
39:13jwilliams at clevelandcitycouncil.org,
39:20216-664-2309.
39:24And pretty much that's a good way to connect with me.
39:27Like I said, if you're a community-based organization
39:30and you are looking to find ways to partner with us
39:34for events, to attend events, to provide a service,
39:37to talk about the programs that you have available,
39:39connect with me.
39:41We have award meetings that you can attend
39:43and be a vendor at.
39:45We have a variety of events throughout the year.
39:47So whether you're looking to connect with me
39:49through our civic engagement collaborative
39:52directly through award five
39:54or you wanted to reach out to me directly
39:55to talk more about juices,
39:57you can find me on any platform,
39:59really at Jessica Williams,
40:01but you have my social medias, handles,
40:05and yeah, I'm available.
40:06I'm around.
40:07You might see me out in the streets.
40:08If you see me, say hey.
40:11So again, I'm gonna ask you that
40:12at the end of the podcast episode,
40:17but I kind of want to shift gears
40:18and since you know me, I'm big into media
40:21and all different facets of media.
40:25So how has media affected more of the political side,
40:29but also your business and just juice?
40:32Oh my goodness.
40:33Media has really taken it to the next level,
40:37if you will, because you're able to reach
40:39so many people and even the way
40:42that I present myself in my videos.
40:45So because I am on the go so much,
40:48I try to kind of vlog it, if you will,
40:52and put it back out there in the space
40:53just to showcase because a lot of times
40:55I'm at events where I feel like
40:58if someone was to see this,
40:59they could learn something from it as well.
41:02So if, and it was actually through vlogging
41:05me attending different events,
41:08I was able to connect with people.
41:12People were able to see themselves
41:13in some of my videos that,
41:14oh, I was there, I seen you there.
41:15It was nice seeing you from back then.
41:17So it really just keeps me in tune with everyone.
41:21I've even been able to receive different type of,
41:27I don't want to say like gifts,
41:30but connections have been made through social media
41:33and sometimes it's with people
41:35who I would never been able to connect with
41:37had it not been for us connecting virtually.
41:41So it's given me confidence
41:44because behind the camera,
41:46it's way easier to take the photos
41:48than it is to be the one in.
41:51So that boost of confidence
41:53because you are so in tune with what you're doing.
41:56You're so passionate about what you're passionate about
41:59that sometimes you don't know
42:01how big of an impact you have
42:02until people start coming back and telling you,
42:05you encouraged me, seeing you in the gym,
42:08I've gotten up now.
42:09And I don't get up as often or as early,
42:11but I get up and I work out.
42:13So for me posting my workout journey
42:15and my videos from that,
42:16I never really understood why people would post
42:19some things that were a little bit intimate or personable,
42:24but for me doing that,
42:27and I didn't think it was that personal,
42:29but for me doing that and getting the feedback
42:31and response from other people
42:33who may be trying to figure out
42:35how to start working out
42:36or trying to gain that encouragement to even start,
42:41that was something that I didn't expect to get
42:43and I got it.
42:45So that helped me out tremendously
42:46because sometimes you want yourself so bad,
42:49you don't even think about the good that's being done
42:52or that you're doing.
42:53So it's definitely a journey.
42:56It's something that I've learned to love.
42:59I didn't know that I loved it,
43:01but through those hard trials
43:03and trying to figure things out
43:05and late nights on YouTube University,
43:07trying to learn something,
43:08it kind of really brought out the public relations in me.
43:13So it's been a great benefit.
43:14I love it.
43:15I'm here to learn.
43:16I'm watching you everywhere we go.
43:17Every time I see you out in the streets,
43:18I'm looking at how you're moving,
43:20how you're taking pictures,
43:21the angles you get in.
43:22Yeah, yeah, you're doing well as, you know,
43:25like oh, I guess we get you on a team.
43:29Oh yeah, oh yeah, so.
43:32But I'm glad you mentioned that,
43:34especially with the fitness journey.
43:36Like I just started back playing basketball once,
43:39sometimes twice a week.
43:41So my favorite sport,
43:43but it's also a full body worker.
43:45So I'm working out every muscle
43:47and sore the next couple of days.
43:50But that's also good for the mental,
43:53especially as an entrepreneur and, you know,
43:55business owner,
43:57gotta be sharp mentally, physically as well,
44:00especially these heavy equipments and tripods.
44:03It's like, it's just perfect.
44:06And you know, I stepped away from the fitness,
44:08you know, just being so busy.
44:09Life was lifin'.
44:11Oh yeah, kids, business, partnerships,
44:15multiple podcasts, products.
44:17I do a lot.
44:18That's just, you know, a little tad bit of what I do,
44:21but you know, I kind of lost sight of it,
44:23but I'm glad to be back on that fitness.
44:25Yeah, big ups to you for being back.
44:28The hardest thing is getting started.
44:30Getting started, yeah.
44:32And a plus, the lock journey.
44:37I had no clue the community was an entire community.
44:42So even, and that was something
44:43that just by chance happened.
44:45Even going back through your posts
44:47and seeing your hair a year ago, two years ago,
44:50you know, I don't got the length you got.
44:51I'm coming for you.
44:54But I mean, that alone right there,
44:57entering that lock community,
44:59learning about it online, being visible to others.
45:02I mean, it's crazy to see the positive side
45:06of social media, because we hear so much of the negative.
45:09You see so much of the negative.
45:11Yeah, so, so much.
45:14And you know, you get caught up with scrolling,
45:17like, whoosh, whoosh.
45:19And then the whole, it's a whole gamut of it,
45:22and I can see, like, how did I get caught up in this?
45:25Like, I had to start unfollowing people.
45:28But the way to get over that, and I've learned,
45:32and it happened by mistake, is even on social media,
45:36keeping yourself around a certain group of people.
45:39Influencing you.
45:40Man, if you are around people who are like-minded,
45:43if you are around people who are interested in juicing
45:46and working out in the lock journey, in media,
45:50I mean, if you are into that and you focus on that
45:53and that's what you're looking at in your social media,
45:55it's exposing you to even more of that.
45:58So, I really had to kind of make
46:00my social media work for me.
46:03You can say that again, because even, you know,
46:05with our phones and stuff around us,
46:07we want to start circulating that in different advertisements
46:10and how all the algorithm picks up in our social media.
46:14You don't pull up a website like, oh.
46:16I had to make it work for me,
46:18because I was on the move so much,
46:20but I really think that was the blessing in it.
46:23You're on the move so much,
46:24I'm posting all these events, I'm researching,
46:28because as soon as I meet somebody,
46:29I'm going to LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, so.
46:32Oh yeah, oh yeah, because time is of the essence.
46:35So, before I meet somebody, I'm trying to look up
46:36what I gotta say, what are they into?
46:38Let me see a little bit about them,
46:40because I know that if my time is tight,
46:42theirs may be tighter.
46:44So, I had to really get the social media
46:48to make sense for me, so, because of my job,
46:51I'm constantly looking up pages for resources.
46:54So now, my social media is really no longer
46:58just a lazy, boring, rabbit hole scroll.
47:01Literally, my social media is now is full of,
47:05whether it's county resources, city resources,
47:07women-led events, networking events,
47:10civic engagement events.
47:12I mean, I'm so deep dive into what I do,
47:15and I just listed off, you know, the three elements,
47:17juicing, civic engagement collaborative,
47:19and working in Ward 5.
47:21Those are so heavy into my lifestyle now,
47:24that's all I see.
47:25So.
47:26Now, you've just changed a whole life, see?
47:28Yeah, I put my mindset, I made everything that I do
47:31kind of what I do, so.
47:34I hear about baddies, but it ain't on my timeline.
47:40Holy.
47:41I actually got approached to do some filming for,
47:45and their budget wasn't there,
47:47but it's not my target audience anyway.
47:49You gotta go to the gym for that.
47:50If I'm gonna do that, I mean,
47:53y'all gotta have the right budget, it's not.
47:54Number one.
47:55Would I advertise anyway?
47:56Number one.
47:58I work with corporations and, you know,
48:01nonprofits mainly, so yeah.
48:03Y'all really, really want me,
48:05then y'all gotta have the money, right?
48:06They didn't, so.
48:07Yeah.
48:08God bless them.
48:09They lost.
48:10But, I mean, my word of advice and encouragement
48:15to those thinking about everything we talked about
48:18over this whole podcast, you know,
48:19think about living simple.
48:21I will always revert back to that
48:24because I'm still too close, right?
48:25Very humbled and very close to where I came from.
48:29So if you don't have a dollar to your name,
48:33you have a phone.
48:34Okay.
48:35With Instagram.
48:37Start searching.
48:38Start looking up the things that you wanna become.
48:41If you are interested in juicing,
48:42type in juice in the search bar.
48:45Do you follow hashtags at all?
48:48I don't know if they took that feature away,
48:49but I know those.
48:50I didn't know you could follow hashtags.
48:53Wow, see, there you go.
48:54But it's just the knowledge.
48:56Use what you have to get to where you want to be.
49:00So if you don't have enough money just yet,
49:03start researching recipes.
49:05Start pulling up YouTube shorts.
49:08Have that around you.
49:09The more I had that information around me,
49:12the more I felt encouraged to actually get up
49:14and do what I saw.
49:16So I saved a lot of workout videos
49:18because I'm gonna do that workout routine one day.
49:20What's your favorite workout?
49:22My favorite workout.
49:24It's not my favorite, but it's the easiest.
49:27Okay.
49:27Walking.
49:29Perfect.
49:29I just actually read an article about that.
49:32That's why a lot of older people,
49:37mainly older, white women, do it a lot.
49:40And I see it a lot too,
49:41but after reading certain articles,
49:43I'm like, okay, it's more powerful than you think.
49:46And it's actually calming and relaxing.
49:48And it's free.
49:49And it's free.
49:51You can do it anytime, anywhere.
49:53It is free.
49:54If it's free, it's for me.
49:56So walking.
49:57One more time.
49:58If it's free, it is for me.
50:01Okay.
50:02If you don't have a car,
50:03walk around the neighborhood.
50:04Walk around.
50:05Repository everywhere.
50:08I've seen and witnessed some free BS.
50:12Yeah.
50:12No, no, no, no, no.
50:13Quality free.
50:13There you go.
50:14There you go.
50:15Free and quality is for me.
50:17So no car, no problem.
50:20Walk around the block.
50:21Block isn't safe.
50:22Walk during the day.
50:23I used to, when I was 16,
50:27I used to walk from Mayfield all the way to Lakeshore.
50:31Ain't nowhere.
50:33Oh, yes.
50:33No car.
50:34So this is before I was driving.
50:37I had to go to work, so.
50:38Yeah.
50:38My mother ended up moving.
50:40We used to stay by Commonwealth,
50:41so that walk used to be a little different
50:44than Mayfield all the way to Lakeshore.
50:46But I did it.
50:47But hey, it still was a walk.
50:49I was guaranteed a ride,
50:50but last minute I ain't dropping you off, so.
50:53That's how we grew up.
50:55The fundamentals.
50:56It was raining.
50:58The foundation character was built on those walks.
51:02No excuses for me, you know.
51:04And then I don't mind walking in, you know.
51:06I'm an athlete, so that was just another challenge.
51:10Like, you know, it's all about mindset
51:13and getting it done.
51:14You know, it was like a three and a half hour walk,
51:17but I did it, and it rained, it was cold.
51:20But I made it happen.
51:22And that was the foundation for you
51:23to be able to sustain the hard times that you have now.
51:27Now it's left of you to pick up a bag,
51:29go across town, unpack, set up, do what you got to do,
51:32and then pack up and go back home.
51:34Because in them three hour walks.
51:38I mean, I was still actually doing it, you know.
51:41Kids nowadays, you know, I have two daughters, you know.
51:45I was on a lazier sass.
51:47They're not like this.
51:49But with me, we walking.
51:53My legs hurt.
51:55Yeah, we got to build them up,
51:57because they don't have what we got,
51:58but we can expose them to it a little bit.
52:00It doesn't hurt.
52:02But walking, walking was the easiest thing to do.
52:05And throwing the headphones,
52:06that's how I learned or learned to love podcasts.
52:10Because after a while, I can only listen to so many songs.
52:12And sometimes the songs may be too hype,
52:15too sad, too mad.
52:18I mean, you know, the songs we used to listen to
52:21back in the day, I can't listen to anymore.
52:24But yeah.
52:25It helps to mellow me out.
52:27And so it was, it turned into my me time.
52:31And so then thinking about, you know, being simple,
52:34then I was able to elevate once funds became more
52:36available to membership, a gym membership.
52:40Cheapest membership out there,
52:41Planet Fitness, Big Ups.
52:44But they're accessible.
52:46They're cheap.
52:47And now for summers, your kids can go for free.
52:51June 1st through August, up to year 18,
52:54they can go to the gym and workout for free.
52:57Wow.
52:59So that's amazing.
53:00I did not know that.
53:01And then-
53:01Every summer.
53:02As you mentioned, Planet Fitness,
53:05if you'd like to be a sponsor of any kind.
53:08Come on now, I got plenty of videos in there.
53:11But also like, what about getting your juices
53:15in Planet Fitness?
53:16That's a franchise, you know.
53:18Yeah.
53:18So I like the way you think.
53:20So that's why I'm taking those little sample bottles
53:22everywhere I go.
53:23Everywhere I go, I was pulling out that phone,
53:25pulling out the little four ounce bottle.
53:27Do you mind giving a little testimony?
53:28You taking the juice?
53:29Not since I was 10, it was sure.
53:32So it's an exposure.
53:35Everything that I do is intentional.
53:37Cause we only got 24 hours.
53:39And somebody demanding, my job demanding, eight.
53:43Right, sleep.
53:44You gotta sleep.
53:45Yeah.
53:46I'm a mother, gotta take care of home.
53:49And I wanna have a business and be on boards
53:51and be a part of collaborative.
53:53So anything that I do, it makes sense.
53:56Being here today, it makes sense.
53:58This is my time, right?
54:00My time to relax, let my hair down,
54:03communicate, have some good vibes,
54:04good conversation, connect, collaborate.
54:07That's right.
54:08Right?
54:08We working, but we chilling at the same time.
54:10It makes sense.
54:11So when you start thinking about things
54:12that make sense, if you are a busy person
54:15and you feel like a workout routine
54:17isn't something you can add to your day,
54:19then in that day, what can be replaced?
54:23Wow.
54:24Never heard someone say that.
54:26What can be replaced?
54:27Your lunch break.
54:28Yeah.
54:29Right?
54:30Yeah.
54:31Or do you force yourself to get that five minutes away
54:34from whatever you're doing?
54:35I definitely do.
54:36To reflect, to be still, to be quiet,
54:40to gather your thoughts, to pray, to walk.
54:43What time?
54:44We got it.
54:45We just gotta find it to make it make sense.
54:48So when I'm walking, I might be listening to a podcast.
54:51I might be listening to a song.
54:54I might be voicing and taking voice notes
54:58of things that I need to do for the next day
55:00and organize my day.
55:01I started doing voice notes a lot.
55:02I love voice notes.
55:04I got a whole list on every phone that I have.
55:08I have multiple phones, old phones,
55:11all voice notes, and actual notes.
55:13It's just so cool.
55:15Like, man, there's some jewels in there for sure.
55:18Yeah, for sure.
55:19And lyrics and poems, like.
55:21I have meeting events, meeting notes, ideas, thoughts.
55:25A lot, a lot that I don't have necessarily the time
55:28to sit down and just map it out.
55:31So if I'm walking, if I'm on a treadmill,
55:34if I'm on a stair stepper,
55:36that's five minutes doing, listening to something.
55:39I mean, even in a car,
55:40like I don't typically put on music anymore.
55:43For road trips, I do,
55:44cause you gotta stay out to be a little more upbeat.
55:47I've turned that into a university, you know?
55:50Stuff I wanna learn or catch up on.
55:53You know, I might put on YouTube.
55:54I purchased so many courses.
55:56Probably some, you know, I ain't get around,
56:00so I just been throwing people money.
56:03Couple hundred, couple thousand.
56:04The most I spent on a course or a master
56:07was a little over a thousand.
56:10And yeah, I even get through all those courses.
56:13So it's like,
56:14I'm gonna get through one of these days.
56:16I'm gonna put that on or even an ebook, audio book.
56:20I love audio books now.
56:25So that's kind of highlight spending my time
56:27or my quiet time.
56:29I need to get back to meditating.
56:31And then if you are listening to this,
56:35check out episode 10,
56:37where I do dive into some meditation
56:39that mindset calmness for entrepreneurs.
56:43Cause we need it.
56:45So yes, every 10 episodes or my solo episodes,
56:49I'm gonna dive into like meditation work.
56:52Nice.
56:53And I also have a meditation track.
56:58Forgot what it's called,
56:59but if you look up on YouTube, Alien Odd Player,
57:06I think it's something meditation,
57:08but if you put in meditation, the shit pop up.
57:10But I will also link it in episode 10 as well.
57:15Nice.
57:17This was nice.
57:21I'm always on the go and I definitely appreciate
57:26every conversation we've had.
57:28Every single one.
57:29And you said you wanted to start a podcast.
57:32And we on the right track.
57:34We on the right track with that too, yes.
57:37And I know you took a break from juice
57:39and I'm like, you starting it back up?
57:41Yeah.
57:43Okay, okay.
57:44And I am, I am.
57:45All right.
57:46Absolutely.
57:47It's amazing.
57:48I'm definitely gonna have to get another,
57:51the doses after this, like, oh.
57:53So this a plug for the community.
57:56If you have upcoming events
57:57and you are looking for an interesting way
58:00to encourage people to live a healthier lifestyle,
58:04eat a little bit healthier,
58:06learn how to become a little bit healthier,
58:08let's connect.
58:09You know what?
58:10I do a lot of weddings.
58:12Mm-hmm.
58:13Kind of slowing down with weddings,
58:15but have you ever provided juice at a wedding?
58:21I like the way you think.
58:23Yeah.
58:23I love the way you think.
58:25Change people's, you know.
58:27Let's have a healthy shot.
58:29Cause we gonna take some shots.
58:32But let's take the healthiest shot you've ever taken.
58:35Take it with me.
58:37Healthy shot.
58:38Uh-huh.
58:39Woo!
58:39Cause think about the whole camera.
58:43Camera and shots.
58:44Oh.
58:46And then healthy shots like a double dose.
58:48I did not think of that.
58:50I love the way you thinking that the mind is flowing.
58:55Yeah, shots, let's do it.
58:56Let's do it.
58:58Don't play with me now.
58:59Cause you know the event planning with me
59:01to put those dots together.
59:03Let's do it.
59:04After this, let's look.
59:07Juice and head shots.
59:09I am down for that.
59:12Oof.
59:12And we can do a variety, right?
59:14So sometimes when you think of juice
59:16and you think of shots,
59:17you think of those heavy hitter ginger shots.
59:20So it might be a little bit rougher.
59:21I love them.
59:22But they wake you up.
59:23They start the day.
59:24So we can have shots for anybody, right?
59:26Whether you need that good morning power punch.
59:29That mid afternoon pick me up.
59:32Just something a little sweet.
59:33Maybe you party too much the night before.
59:37Wanna liven up again.
59:38Get the juices flowing back in your body again.
59:41Why take your Asper?
59:43Take a shot.
59:44Exactly.
59:44I am not big on pills at all.
59:48Like even people that's bipolar and depressed.
59:51I try to weave them away from medication and pills.
59:55That's just, you know.
59:57Absolutely.
59:58Cause there's a holistic remedy for a lot.
1:00:00Everything.
1:00:01If you just open your body up to it
1:00:03and get your body used to it.
1:00:05Cause your body had to get used to medicine.
1:00:07And it's gonna have to get used to these juices too
1:00:09if you give it to them, right?
1:00:11If you give it.
1:00:12Yes.
1:00:12Knowing me, knowing that the whole medical industry
1:00:16is a business in itself.
1:00:17A big business.
1:00:19Especially hospitals.
1:00:20Bigger hospitals.
1:00:23Please just listen to me sometime.
1:00:25I know some people will be like, no.
1:00:27If I don't take any of that.
1:00:29No, listen.
1:00:31Listen, listen, listen.
1:00:33And I even have backup.
1:00:34I didn't pay her to say that.
1:00:38Yeah.
1:00:38I'ma take my meds, but I'ma also make sure
1:00:42that I increase my juice intake,
1:00:46my fruit intake, my vegetable intake.
1:00:49So I can eventually eliminate that.
1:00:51That's the goal.
1:00:52To eliminate all those unnecessary medications.
1:00:57Manmade medications.
1:00:59When you got everything you need to heal yourself.
1:01:01And some of these are not even, you know.
1:01:03They're just fillers.
1:01:04Mm-hmm.
1:01:05So that's just my thoughts on it.
1:01:07I don't know what y'all gonna do with y'all.
1:01:08We're at the end of the day, but hey, this is free game.
1:01:12I've been around 30 plus years, so hey.
1:01:17Okay.
1:01:17Like I'm saying, what works for me?
1:01:19I'm just saying, my locks didn't, you know,
1:01:21take off the way they did.
1:01:23From a relaxer.
1:01:26I like that.
1:01:27So what are some of the juices
1:01:28that kind of became fan favorites?
1:01:32So I have an orange pineapple.
1:01:35That was like a sunshine.
1:01:36That was like a sunshine burst like that.
1:01:38And the color again.
1:01:40So, but between that and then my beet juice.
1:01:43Those are the two.
1:01:44Because a lot of people are shocked
1:01:47when they hear they're drinking beets.
1:01:51And so those were the main two.
1:01:53Very simple ingredients.
1:01:56But either you want something light and sweet
1:01:58or you want something with a little bit more
1:02:01of a powerful punch.
1:02:03But those are the two.
1:02:04My two top.
1:02:05Fan favorites.
1:02:06So when you see me with that red color,
1:02:09know I threw some beets in there.
1:02:11You see me with that shiny yellow orange.
1:02:16Know that there are a few
1:02:17shiny orange colored ingredients.
1:02:21Whether it's fruits or vegetables.
1:02:24It's power packed.
1:02:27And you gonna love it.
1:02:29I love it.
1:02:30So I also like to talk about different trends
1:02:34in the podcast.
1:02:35So is there any trends from when you started juicing
1:02:39versus like now?
1:02:42Even on social media you see different trends
1:02:44that's been popular.
1:02:50Trends.
1:02:52So maybe a few years ago,
1:02:57probably during COVID,
1:02:58I feel like COVID heightened people's need
1:03:01or want to work out.
1:03:03But people were taking like apple cider vinegar.
1:03:09And people were taking it either like first thing
1:03:13in the morning on an empty stomach.
1:03:15And it's a hard thing to get down.
1:03:17Like you can get it down.
1:03:19Just raw in the water.
1:03:20Yeah.
1:03:21A shot though.
1:03:22Not a lot because it's very acidic.
1:03:24I got to mix it with water.
1:03:25Yeah.
1:03:27And then they had the Braggs,
1:03:30apple cider vinegar, whatever drink
1:03:35or whatever that's supposed to be the best one to take.
1:03:38So.
1:03:38It's expensive.
1:03:39Yeah.
1:03:41When all in reality,
1:03:42you can just make you a ginger shot
1:03:44with some turmeric and some lemon.
1:03:47Throw a little mint in there
1:03:48to help you out a little bit.
1:03:49And if you need some extra juice,
1:03:51mix it with the pineapple.
1:03:53Boom.
1:03:55So just seeing the crazy fads that people was into,
1:03:58that was one thing that really stuck out to me the most
1:04:00was that apple cider vinegar.
1:04:02And when you think about it,
1:04:03it might do a little bit more damage than good
1:04:05if you're not drinking it properly
1:04:07because it is so concentrated.
1:04:10If you chug a bottle of vinegar,
1:04:11I don't know what happened to you,
1:04:13but I don't think it's the best thing.
1:04:16So just fads because people thought
1:04:18that it was on the empty stomach
1:04:20help clear out the stomach a little bit better
1:04:22or break down anything that was left in there
1:04:23that might take a long time to digest.
1:04:26So that was something a little, now that I look back,
1:04:28yeah, was that the greatest advice?
1:04:32I don't think so.
1:04:35I would have never, never known.
1:04:37I mean, I haven't actually taken apple cider vinegar
1:04:41in a long while.
1:04:43It kind of like popped up overnight.
1:04:45Yeah, I used to drink it with water.
1:04:48Maybe now and then, but yeah, I kind of stopped.
1:04:51Yeah, it's rough on you.
1:04:53Well, that too, but I mean, I used to take it.
1:04:57I actually enjoy the taste.
1:04:59I don't mind it, but like you said, it was a fad.
1:05:05So what are some things that you do
1:05:08to keep your mindset sharp?
1:05:14I wanna do so much that I really just try
1:05:19to put myself around people who are doing a lot
1:05:24as motivating for me.
1:05:25So I really dived in deep
1:05:28on the podcast shows, YouTube shows,
1:05:33because I love-
1:05:33Favorite podcast.
1:05:36Okay.
1:05:37Uh-oh.
1:05:39Right now, I don't know if you know,
1:05:42but Living Single, the show has a podcast
1:05:48and it's called Re-Living Single.
1:05:52Wow.
1:05:53And it's with, I don't wanna mess their names up,
1:05:57but it's with the characters who play Maxine
1:06:03and Kim Coles is her name,
1:06:07the cousin of Kadeep Sinclair.
1:06:10Sinclair.
1:06:11So it's with Maxine and Sinclair
1:06:15and they go over the episodes of Living Single.
1:06:19So other episodes.
1:06:20It's really good though,
1:06:22because I mean, that's just a go-to show for me.
1:06:25When you wanna have something on TV,
1:06:26but don't know what to put on,
1:06:27you put on something old.
1:06:28Nine songs out of 10,
1:06:29you replaying something just to throw it on.
1:06:31Even with music, you throw on something.
1:06:33Even with music.
1:06:35So Living Single, that's my show.
1:06:37So when I seen the episodes come out,
1:06:39I'm like, oh my gosh.
1:06:41Check that out.
1:06:42If you like the show,
1:06:44then you're gonna think it's interesting
1:06:46and even coming more so from a production standpoint.
1:06:51They talk about the background of the show.
1:06:54They talk about the producers.
1:06:55They talk about how it was managed,
1:06:57how the production was something similar to that of Friends.
1:07:01But the TV show Friends got the accolades,
1:07:04the acknowledgement, the awards.
1:07:06Friends bit off Living Single.
1:07:08Exactly.
1:07:09Living Single came first.
1:07:10So yeah.
1:07:11And then it was a spin from Martin
1:07:15because some of the characters came from Martin.
1:07:18So it was just interesting.
1:07:19I love it.
1:07:20And it's led by women and seeing them
1:07:23following, I need to memorize her name.
1:07:27Maxine is the character.
1:07:28I think her name is Erica.
1:07:31I'm so sorry about that,
1:07:32but I'm gonna get that right
1:07:33because I love the show.
1:07:34But seeing her and seeing her from then to now
1:07:37and being a part of, I don't know if you know,
1:07:38she was in the series Wultang.
1:07:42Wow.
1:07:44Maxine, the lady who played Maxine in Living Single
1:07:48was the mom to one of the Wultang members in the show.
1:07:53The Wultang, it was a series on Netflix, Hulu.
1:07:57It was really good.
1:07:59Didn't I know that.
1:08:00Yeah, really good.
1:08:01So I've been seeing her here and there.
1:08:02So that's right now an ultimate fave.
1:08:05But Kiki Palmer, her podcast to die for.
1:08:10Cause I feel like me and Kiki Prince.
1:08:13Man, she been doing her thing.
1:08:16Doing it since a kid.
1:08:18So, and seeing her life story and her being a mom now
1:08:21and going through her trials and tribulations
1:08:23with that as well.
1:08:24So encouraging her guests, phenomenal.
1:08:26Her style, it grabs your attention.
1:08:30I think she's a dope person anyway.
1:08:32So that's another one.
1:08:33And then, you know, the ever so classic,
1:08:36Shannon Sharp.
1:08:37Ha ha.
1:08:38Club shay shay.
1:08:40Yes, wow.
1:08:43Okay.
1:08:44So yeah, I mean, you know,
1:08:46can't forget the one and only Pull Up Experience.
1:08:50Pull Up Experience, my media partners.
1:08:53Yes.
1:08:54Shout out to the Pull Up Experience
1:08:56who actually got me back into podcasting.
1:09:00I used to have a podcast when I used to do music,
1:09:03breaking down different lyrics
1:09:04and dissecting different songs and poems
1:09:08with other artists.
1:09:09So yeah, this is me back in the podcast
1:09:12but more geared to entrepreneurs and business owners.
1:09:16So, and then also my other media partners
1:09:18who studio, we are at Launch Artists Media.
1:09:22So big shout outs to the Pull Up Experience
1:09:24and Launch Artists Media,
1:09:27my media partners who keeps me going.
1:09:31I ain't gonna say weekly, but daily.
1:09:33Daily.
1:09:33You know, my biggest partners when it comes to media.
1:09:37So yes.
1:09:39I love social proof.
1:09:42Social proof podcast.
1:09:45One of the best business podcasts I've witnessed.
1:09:50Shout out to Donnie and Davin,
1:09:52who's getting back to coaching on their podcast.
1:09:56Oh, okay.
1:09:58Let me get back into it.
1:10:00I love them.
1:10:01I'll be seeing them again in August
1:10:04for the podcast.
1:10:06In Atlanta?
1:10:08Yeah, yeah.
1:10:09I'm gonna make it there one day.
1:10:11I'm gonna make it.
1:10:12That's the goal.
1:10:13For real, I think I'm gonna be driving.
1:10:16Last year I flown down in this year, I might drive.
1:10:20That's not that.
1:10:22Man, what the event last year?
1:10:24Oh yeah, Davin came to Cleveland.
1:10:27Yeah, that was-
1:10:28Iconic.
1:10:29We bringing them to the city.
1:10:31We packed out the whole room.
1:10:33It was full of like, man.
1:10:36And they say, what's in Cleveland?
1:10:38We support-
1:10:39We are.
1:10:40Support.
1:10:42Right, we are.
1:10:43That's a start.
1:10:46Got the kitchen scientists and the media wizard.
1:10:50There we go.
1:10:51And we're just getting started.
1:10:53We got a big network and we're power connectors
1:10:55and love plugging and playing
1:10:57with different people that we meet.
1:11:01So I think that's what we have in common.
1:11:04We're big on connecting
1:11:05and connecting other people with others.
1:11:08Absolutely.
1:11:09We don't always have to be in the forefront
1:11:11and we don't mind being in the shadows.
1:11:14It's like, as long as our community is thriving
1:11:17and people around us are thriving and we're growing,
1:11:20that means a lot.
1:11:21That means everything.
1:11:23That's the purpose.
1:11:24That is the purpose.
1:11:27So not to make it all high and mighty
1:11:29or like everything is golden
1:11:31because we have those dark days.
1:11:35So what were some of the dark times?
1:11:37Even when you were on the civic side,
1:11:41what were some hardships
1:11:43or some things you had to overcome?
1:11:47Okay.
1:11:49Deep, I can feel it.
1:11:53But that's important in having that transparency.
1:11:56I was just talking to somebody earlier
1:11:58about large scale events that they had hosted
1:12:01and kind of some of the things they learned,
1:12:04lessons they had to take.
1:12:06And that right there, that alone is encouraging
1:12:08because sometimes you feel like
1:12:10you only want this down and out when you're going through.
1:12:16So thinking of that,
1:12:20because I got stories for days.
1:12:21Let me find the most fitting story.
1:12:29Well, I wouldn't say it was down and out,
1:12:31but it was a huge lesson that I had to learn
1:12:34with positioning myself as the executive assistant
1:12:38for Councilman Richard Starr.
1:12:41And it's crazy to say it, but I just have to, right?
1:12:44All roads lead to Ward 5.
1:12:47That was a starting point, walking into a role
1:12:50that does not have a training manual.
1:12:55So every connection that I have now
1:12:58standing almost four years later
1:13:00was built primarily in that first year.
1:13:04So we built everything that we have now
1:13:07and as community partners, that's events,
1:13:10that's relationships, that's resources.
1:13:14And that was tough because brand spanking new job,
1:13:20brand new council person,
1:13:22and we have to kind of lean on each other
1:13:25to figure it out.
1:13:26Boots on the ground.
1:13:26Boots on the ground, certainly.
1:13:29That wasn't easy.
1:13:31It wasn't easy learning residents of an area
1:13:33that you didn't grow up in.
1:13:34I didn't grow up in Ward 5.
1:13:37I knew of it, been around it, but it isn't my home.
1:13:41So the disparities that they faced,
1:13:45to some extent I had to learn what they were.
1:13:47How long have they been facing them?
1:13:50But it was through those hard, tough conversations
1:13:52that a connection was made, an opportunity was made,
1:13:56a donation was given, an event became available
1:14:00because of the connections from those tough conversations.
1:14:04So that was hard.
1:14:07Learning my way through that, navigating through that,
1:14:10being able to have large scale events
1:14:13like our back to school resource fair and day of.
1:14:17You know what the day of goes
1:14:18and how that looks for a large event.
1:14:21Anything that can go wrong will go up.
1:14:26And learning how to pivot on the spot in the middle.
1:14:30Things not arriving on time,
1:14:31people not arriving on time,
1:14:33food not arriving on time, weather being bad, right?
1:14:37You have to learn how to pivot right then and there.
1:14:40So that entire first year was a lesson learned.
1:14:45And during that time was when I was playing around
1:14:47with my juices and buying food is expensive
1:14:52no matter what avenue or alley you're buying it.
1:14:55So learning and trying to figure out how to juice
1:14:58and messing it up and.
1:15:01Well, practicing.
1:15:02Practicing.
1:15:03Because I learned with like with doctors
1:15:05and in the medical field, they call it a practice.
1:15:08Me practicing on me.
1:15:10But practicing, you still gotta, yeah, get it right.
1:15:13Practicing versus playing.
1:15:14Practicing.
1:15:15I love that you said that I was practicing.
1:15:17But when you practice and make a juice
1:15:18that don't taste good.
1:15:20You perfect.
1:15:21You throw it away, you still chug it.
1:15:23I was still chugging.
1:15:24It was like I was talking about, I still chug it.
1:15:27I was chugging them nasty juices.
1:15:31Right, you know.
1:15:32But I mean, the benefit of that is I didn't realize
1:15:36that I was drinking so much juice
1:15:39and they might not have tasted the best,
1:15:41but a month later, skin clearing up, hair growing thicker.
1:15:45Energy levels higher.
1:15:47With that being said, everything you do
1:15:49is not gonna be lovely or fruitful.
1:15:52You know, no pun to that.
1:15:55It's not gonna taste good or feel good,
1:15:57but you gotta push through to make it to the.
1:15:59You gotta get uncomfortable.
1:16:00Yes.
1:16:01To the benefits that you want to see.
1:16:03Yeah, and that's for life.
1:16:05That is perfect for life.
1:16:06You gotta sow that seed.
1:16:08And sowing seeds ain't easy.
1:16:10It ain't quick.
1:16:11And it takes time.
1:16:12That seed, it takes, what they say,
1:16:15an apple tree, it takes months before you see the fruit.
1:16:19Don't give me no less time.
1:16:20I see those fruits of labor, you know.
1:16:22Yeah, so.
1:16:23Did you say four years in the making?
1:16:25Four years in the making.
1:16:27And we are still learning and growing.
1:16:29We've gotten some things together,
1:16:31and some things are streamlined, but that's hard.
1:16:35And you know, the job that I have,
1:16:37I don't have a nine to five.
1:16:38I have a nine to five plus.
1:16:40Plus the evening event.
1:16:42Plus a weekend event.
1:16:43Plus the evening meeting.
1:16:45Plus, now people came to your events.
1:16:49How dare you not return the favor?
1:16:52Support, yeah.
1:16:54So, you know, it's around the clock,
1:16:57but when you love what you do,
1:17:00some people call it a job, some people call it a passion.
1:17:03Ooh.
1:17:06Wow.
1:17:07Some people call it a job,
1:17:08some people call it a passion.
1:17:10Yeah.
1:17:12And what if I were something like
1:17:14those tougher conversations you had to have?
1:17:19You got a topic, it could be a person
1:17:21navigating their company, organization.
1:17:24So this the part of the club shay-shay?
1:17:27Where they take a shot.
1:17:29Okay, well, I think Junko ought to do.
1:17:32Gotta re-up after this.
1:17:35But some of those tough conversations,
1:17:39for example, abandoned buildings.
1:17:43How do you have kids walking to school
1:17:47past abandoned buildings
1:17:49where you know stuff going down in the mills?
1:17:55Or transportation?
1:17:57How do we tell our black men to go to the doctor?
1:18:02They don't have a car to get to the doctor.
1:18:07Or home repairs?
1:18:10How do we love on our elderly?
1:18:12How do we respect our elderly?
1:18:15And they don't even have a decent home to live in
1:18:18because their one month, once a month paycheck
1:18:23doesn't cover roof repair,
1:18:25plumbing, porch repair, tree removal, right?
1:18:30And that's just a short condense
1:18:32because the need is there, right?
1:18:35That's hard and heavy.
1:18:37How do you help a family call in the phone
1:18:39because they don't have nobody else to call?
1:18:41And on a hot summer day, refrigerator went out.
1:18:46So by the grace of God, you done found myself.
1:18:50Yeah, wow.
1:18:51And we putting boots on the ground right in the near
1:18:54connecting you with food pantries,
1:18:55connecting you with appliance resale shops,
1:19:00connecting you with family support services
1:19:02to help the kiddos out, right?
1:19:05So every day is a different day and a different struggle.
1:19:09But it's through these community partners,
1:19:12relationships and resources
1:19:14that I'm able to gear myself better and accordingly.
1:19:21It's like a story my pastor once said,
1:19:25when you're out and about,
1:19:26and you know you're going to run across
1:19:29old dude on the corner, you know we gonna be there.
1:19:33Do you prepare yourself with a couple of dollars
1:19:35or a change or a quarter or something in advance
1:19:38or you always act like you don't see him?
1:19:40So sometimes I walk into spaces
1:19:42not knowing what's gonna go down or what's needed
1:19:45or what the problem is,
1:19:47but I know I gotta come prepared with something.
1:19:50So taking it back to the juices,
1:19:51juicing that juice prepares me for the next.
1:19:56Having that clear thought of mine,
1:19:58drinking that this week prepares me for next week
1:20:01to give me the energy for then.
1:20:02So we know sowing that seed take time
1:20:05and with the time that you have,
1:20:06what are you doing today?
1:20:08That's gonna better your future for tomorrow,
1:20:11next week, the next 30 minutes.
1:20:14A lifetime.
1:20:15A lifetime, the next generation.
1:20:18Wow, yes.
1:20:20Legacy.
1:20:21Yes.
1:20:24So if someone wanted me to follow in your footsteps
1:20:28and create impact, what advice would you give them?
1:20:33Start with what you're lacking.
1:20:38Your weakness.
1:20:39Your weakness, something that you're missing, right?
1:20:42Because you can't pour from an empty cup.
1:20:46Okay, all right, now.
1:20:49Wanna drink from an empty cup too.
1:20:50I had a drop, I had a drink.
1:20:51You had a drop, right?
1:20:53And sometimes that's all you got to give yourself,
1:20:55drop by drop, but you have to give yourself
1:20:57something first, so as a teenage mom,
1:21:00I didn't have the money.
1:21:01I may have been close to a grocery store
1:21:03but really couldn't afford it.
1:21:06I figured out how to get a car
1:21:10but gas may not have still been there.
1:21:12So back to that element, we still walking.
1:21:16We still making the best of what's around us.
1:21:19So thinking about what you need,
1:21:23what you could have benefited from,
1:21:25looking back at that younger you,
1:21:26what were you missing then?
1:21:28Now that you're an adult,
1:21:29what things that you may have lacked
1:21:32that you see now are important to have.
1:21:35So just figuring out what's important to you
1:21:37and then figuring out how do you give that to the next.
1:21:39I can't tell people what they should do
1:21:42and I can't tell people to try to be like me
1:21:44because Lord knows, what's in it.
1:21:48But thinking about yourself, you know what you missing
1:21:51and if you don't know, you know that there's a hole there.
1:21:55How do you feel that hole?
1:21:57How do you make yourself feel whole
1:21:59so then you are able to give something to the next.
1:22:02So I was a good talker from a young age
1:22:06and I knew something I didn't mind doing.
1:22:09So through research,
1:22:10that's how I came upon public relations.
1:22:14While I was getting that degree,
1:22:16I knew that that was something that I could use anywhere.
1:22:19I just had to figure out how to get there.
1:22:22So I kept using my gift of gab.
1:22:24I kept perfecting my craft.
1:22:26I started speaking publicly wherever I could.
1:22:30When I was working in spaces
1:22:32that had opportunities to speak,
1:22:34I would take advantage of those.
1:22:37So I knew I couldn't afford
1:22:39to pay for a lot of professional development.
1:22:42Plus I got a degree, so I'm gonna use that.
1:22:44Right, right.
1:22:46Did you have your degree in?
1:22:48My degree is in public relations.
1:22:50A big shout out to Baldwin Wallace University now.
1:22:53It was college when I attended,
1:22:55but they flipped the game up.
1:22:57But big ups to that because that exposure
1:23:00is the reason why I'm here today.
1:23:02You're doing amazing.
1:23:04Thank you.
1:23:05So think about what do you wish you had
1:23:08and figure out how do you now turn it into some money.
1:23:12Well, you said what would you feel your hole with?
1:23:14I would kind of answer that.
1:23:16Just juice.
1:23:18I love it.
1:23:20Like literally, I used to be a big juice drinker.
1:23:23Oh my gosh, all of them, every color.
1:23:26I slowed down.
1:23:27I mean, I'm a lot more water.
1:23:28I drink a lot of smoothies here and there too,
1:23:31but I used to drink juice night and day.
1:23:34All of it, because that's the cheapest thing to get.
1:23:37So if you got a dollar,
1:23:39you can't go buy anything out of Trader Joe's.
1:23:42Ooh.
1:23:43Anything out of Whole Foods.
1:23:46But the corner store.
1:23:47Right, right, ooh.
1:23:48Now back in the day with a dollar,
1:23:50you can get some chips, juices.
1:23:52Grams of sugar.
1:23:54Candies.
1:23:55Right, 25 cents bags of chips, where that at?
1:23:58Well, where is it?
1:23:59Bring it back.
1:24:00Bring it back.
1:24:02But yeah, so juicing for me
1:24:04just gave me a different outlook,
1:24:06a different outlook on life
1:24:09and it's been a different way to continue life.
1:24:14Ooh, I got kind of a two part question
1:24:16because I like how you said juicing
1:24:17gave you a different outlook on life.
1:24:20But kind of bringing it back as a young teenage mom,
1:24:24how did you not fall in line,
1:24:27being black teenage mother and become a statistic?
1:24:31Yep, being that statistic.
1:24:33So from the time I found out I was pregnant,
1:24:35I said, now look girl,
1:24:37we gotta get it together.
1:24:39So that was the ultimate kind of
1:24:44internal boost I needed to get myself together.
1:24:48You need to lead the odds against you.
1:24:49I was a straight A student.
1:24:51Straight A's.
1:24:52So when that came up,
1:24:53everybody was like, wait, what?
1:24:55Surprising you.
1:24:56So I didn't like those looks,
1:24:59but I knew they were coming.
1:25:00I think that's when I realized
1:25:01I had to always stay ready.
1:25:03Because I knew any room I went into,
1:25:06church, school, grocery store,
1:25:10anywhere you are the center of attention.
1:25:13Being 16 years old, what a bump.
1:25:18So I kind of blessed that, what a blessing.
1:25:21What a blessing.
1:25:2118 years later now I can say, what a blessing.
1:25:25But no, I just, I didn't like the look.
1:25:28I knew the questions was coming.
1:25:30I knew the thoughts was behind it.
1:25:31So at that moment, 16 year old me
1:25:36just started having it together.
1:25:38Did not have nothing,
1:25:39but in my mind, I had it together.
1:25:42So I positioned myself differently from that day,
1:25:45from the moment I found out I was pregnant.
1:25:47Hold me to change overnight.
1:25:49Cause I knew I like day by day,
1:25:50my stomach gonna start getting bigger.
1:25:52These old broads gonna keep talking about me.
1:25:55People looking at me crazy.
1:25:57Everybody got a story to tell me.
1:25:58Everybody got a lesson.
1:26:00Everybody, I don't wanna hear none of that.
1:26:02So I got myself together,
1:26:05graduated high school on time in a great state.
1:26:10I think I was top percentile of some percentage
1:26:13when I graduated, went straight to college,
1:26:16took my child with me,
1:26:18found a program that allowed me
1:26:20to have my son live with me on campus
1:26:22at a private school to receive a private education.
1:26:26So he was on a college campus,
1:26:28but well before his time.
1:26:30And remembers it.
1:26:33So immediately I'm positioning myself better.
1:26:36I knew I had to do it.
1:26:37I knew 18, graduated high school.
1:26:40I don't wanna sit around this house no more,
1:26:41but I can't afford rent.
1:26:43So I gotta go to school.
1:26:45And if I gotta go to school,
1:26:46I'm gonna make the best out of that time.
1:26:49Wow.
1:26:49So being resourceful out in your head.
1:26:51Being resourceful.
1:26:53Well, you don't have it all you can do.
1:26:55Just be resourceful.
1:26:56Tell me you're messing to a message.
1:26:59Immediately.
1:26:59And being tested, turning that to a testimony.
1:27:04Like wow.
1:27:04All of that.
1:27:06But like I was saying,
1:27:07you said like juice changed your outlook for life.
1:27:11So if you would have had juicing back then
1:27:14as a teenage parent,
1:27:15how you think you would have been accelerated?
1:27:18Or how do you think that would affect your mindset?
1:27:20I think it would have had a tremendous impact.
1:27:24Because when you deep down
1:27:26and you're going through what you're going through,
1:27:27you not picking up anything healthy.
1:27:31You picking up fried this and that,
1:27:34saturated fat this, sugary that,
1:27:36and that right there when you think about
1:27:38the simplicity of juicing, right?
1:27:42If I'm depressed and I have one or two options,
1:27:46either I can eat it out in a sugary, fat,
1:27:49nasty mess that tastes good in the moment,
1:27:53but gonna leave me bloated, greasy,
1:27:56all types of nasty, gaining weight,
1:28:00acne prone face,
1:28:03or if I'm deep down and depressed,
1:28:05I'm like dang, let me go ahead and make this juice.
1:28:08I already got the ingredients.
1:28:09Let me juice this.
1:28:10And now I'm juicing and juicing and juicing.
1:28:13So instead of me and my body
1:28:16getting all this extra mess, it's getting good.
1:28:20It's getting fruits and vegetables.
1:28:21So day by day I'm drinking juice, juice, juice.
1:28:24Now my thoughts are immediately becoming clear.
1:28:27I don't wanna say immediately, but they're clearing up.
1:28:31In one week, if you juice for one week,
1:28:34you're gonna see a difference.
1:28:35You're gonna feel a difference.
1:28:36Something's gonna change major,
1:28:39whether it's your skin, whether it's your urine,
1:28:43whether it's your energy.
1:28:44In one week, something's changing.
1:28:47One week of eating all that fat stuff,
1:28:49you tell me what you feel like.
1:28:51Dang, I heard that.
1:28:52So if I would have been in the mindset that I'm in now,
1:29:00the health would have been a little bit better.
1:29:02My mindset would have been a little bit clearer.
1:29:04My parenting ways may have changed up just a little bit.
1:29:07What I'm giving my child, right?
1:29:10The popsicle I brought in today.
1:29:12Imagine if I'd have been giving popsicles to a kid
1:29:16like clockwork with fresh fruits and vegetables
1:29:19versus full of artificial coloring dyes, all of that.
1:29:23Simple, simple things, right?
1:29:26Not saying juicing would have made me the best mom
1:29:28on the planet or the Earth,
1:29:30but it's all about what we do,
1:29:32the small little things that we do
1:29:35that then add up over time, right?
1:29:37Those small seeds that might have been sown
1:29:40that juicing that much,
1:29:42if you replaced all the sugary stuff,
1:29:45which I'm just saying hypothetically,
1:29:47if you did, then the results would be day and night.
1:29:51It'd be crazy, but that's all we know.
1:29:53That's all I had the money to get was...
1:29:55That part, yeah.
1:30:00McDonald's meal off the dollar menu
1:30:03was, if you want to keep it all the way 100,
1:30:07Dollar Tree when it popped out with food items.
1:30:10Yeah, ain't a dollar nothing wrong with it.
1:30:12Right?
1:30:12Dollar 25 or five now,
1:30:14but if we want to keep it all the way to what it was,
1:30:17$200 is gonna only take you so far.
1:30:20So wow, if I had the knowledge,
1:30:22could I?
1:30:23Maybe, but if I couldn't afford it,
1:30:25I did the best of what I had.
1:30:27So it definitely could have helped,
1:30:28but hey, now that I look back,
1:30:30all you can do now is do better for the future.
1:30:32That is amazing.
1:30:34What a journey and what a story.
1:30:36Right?
1:30:37Oh my gosh.
1:30:39I kind of want to hit it on a more positive note.
1:30:41Coming back to the juices,
1:30:43which is fruitful and flavorful.
1:30:45So we talked about ginger shots and juice shots.
1:30:49Is there any favorite food parents
1:30:52that you make with the juices?
1:30:55I'm still playing around with that.
1:30:58And that idea came to me one day,
1:31:02actually when I was drinking wine.
1:31:04What's your favorite wine?
1:31:08Okay.
1:31:08I love real wine by the way.
1:31:10Now I got into wine because of the TV show Scandal
1:31:14and Olivia Pope, always.
1:31:17And at some point that glass of wine.
1:31:20Yes, yes, yes.
1:31:22So, okay.
1:31:23Silence.
1:31:27So watching that,
1:31:28I was kind of feeling like my little Olivia Pope era.
1:31:31So I started really getting in tune with it.
1:31:34I don't know if I have a favorite.
1:31:35I like red wine, but I don't think it's sweet.
1:31:40Well, I like red wine
1:31:41because I know it's good for the heart
1:31:42and it has antioxidants.
1:31:44That's what they say.
1:31:45So I don't have any benefits.
1:31:46Mine are so sweet.
1:31:47I don't have no benefits.
1:31:49Well, you had a sweet.
1:31:50I love sweet like Sangria, I love.
1:31:53Yeah, give me a red.
1:31:55If I'm gonna drink wine, it has to be red, mainly.
1:31:57But I love a Moscato.
1:31:58I love a Moscato.
1:32:00I'm learning a little bit by little bit about Riesling.
1:32:03So I'm learning.
1:32:04I like my wineries.
1:32:08Huff, there's a winery in Huff.
1:32:13I mean, I'm a fan of Tuyul wines.
1:32:16There we go.
1:32:17There we go.
1:32:18Oh no, I've even heard dry wines.
1:32:19I'm not a fan of dry, but her dry wines is durable.
1:32:23No flavorful as well.
1:32:25Local, too.
1:32:26Yes, all her wines is good.
1:32:28So whatever you may not like in a different brand,
1:32:33just try hers, I'm telling you.
1:32:35Shout out to Nakia Tuyul wines in Southpawid, Ohio.
1:32:39My favorite.
1:32:41Has to do some production and media for her as well.
1:32:44Nice.
1:32:45See, you record a lot of her episodes
1:32:47that are full of experience in Tuyul wines.
1:32:51And she just moved it to a new location, bigger location.
1:32:53Big shout out to her.
1:32:56And give back to the community as well.
1:32:59Beautiful.
1:33:00Oh, she has a wine and dine wine fest, August 2nd.
1:33:07So if anybody listen to this,
1:33:09that be coming out in it's face sign,
1:33:12both of us there.
1:33:13Yes, put that on my calendar.
1:33:15Here, I'm putting it on my calendar
1:33:16because if it's a wine event, I'm there.
1:33:19Yes, yes.
1:33:20Will I be working?
1:33:22A little bit.
1:33:23We always working.
1:33:24Always working.
1:33:25Even when we're not.
1:33:27I'm like, I ain't going to do it,
1:33:29but I end up doing it.
1:33:30Even when we are not.
1:33:32You know, in my sleep, I was like, what the hell?
1:33:36Waking up, like, dang, what the?
1:33:38Be like, damn, what a phone number, right?
1:33:40Man, yeah, might as well.
1:33:41Let me knock this out right quick.
1:33:42I don't hear, well, I'm thinking about it.
1:33:44Yep.
1:33:44Yeah.
1:33:45So what can we see in the future for just juice
1:33:48and Miss Jessica Williams?
1:33:50So in the future, hopefully sooner than later,
1:33:53yes, we did at once talk about a podcast,
1:33:56although that is definitely in the makes
1:33:58and in the working.
1:34:00Coming back out officially with the juices as well.
1:34:04And like we were talking about earlier,
1:34:05the approach may have changed just a little bit.
1:34:08So you may not be able to, you know,
1:34:10consistently purchase an individual juice just yet,
1:34:15but I will be attending community events.
1:34:19So like the civic engagement collab,
1:34:22those karaoke and conversations events,
1:34:23we will be popping out with popsicles and politics.
1:34:27So trying to get the kids a little bit more engaged
1:34:30or more family friendly feel to it.
1:34:33So those events are going to be coming out very soon.
1:34:38And then just being more involved
1:34:42in connecting with programs.
1:34:44So if you once again have a program
1:34:47and you're looking to add a healthy component to it,
1:34:51definitely available to connect and collaborate
1:34:53to see what that looks like.
1:34:56But you're going to be seeing me do more partnerships
1:34:58and collaborations with organizations
1:35:01so we can together impact, you know,
1:35:04the broader community.
1:35:06I'm not trying to sell one juice at a time.
1:35:08I'm trying to impact as many people as possible.
1:35:11Communities, neighborhoods at a time.
1:35:12I love it.
1:35:13Yes.
1:35:16Wow, that's amazing.
1:35:17That's incredible.
1:35:18Thank you.
1:35:19Have you ever thought about or reached out to Myers?
1:35:24So at one point I do have to give a shout out.
1:35:27We just shout out everybody at this point.
1:35:29That's what we do, right?
1:35:31But big shout out to Cleveland Central Kitchen.
1:35:37So they're located on Euclid,
1:35:40but it's a community kitchen.
1:35:44So it's a space where-
1:35:46Ghost kitchen.
1:35:47A ghost kitchen, there we go.
1:35:48I lost the word.
1:35:49It's a ghost kitchen right there.
1:35:51I want to say it is in Ward 5 as well,
1:35:54but right on Euclid, close to like 40th and Euclid,
1:35:59the ghost kitchen is there
1:36:00and it's available for entrepreneurs
1:36:02if you need a space, right, to prepare your food.
1:36:05No matter what it is, they have ovens available,
1:36:11refrigeration, storage,
1:36:12and like I said, it's a legit kitchen space
1:36:15for you to use to prep your food.
1:36:17So we were talking at some point,
1:36:19they have workshops available for entrepreneurs to learn
1:36:23how to get their business up and running and together.
1:36:28And so they were the ones who initially had,
1:36:31I had small conversations with
1:36:33about what does that look like?
1:36:35Because going through the central kitchen
1:36:39and going through their workshops,
1:36:41they have partnerships available with grocery stores.
1:36:45So some folks that were in the kitchen,
1:36:49there was a Squash the Beef.
1:36:54They originally were working in throughout that kitchen
1:36:57and there are a lot of local vendors
1:37:00who may not have their own space
1:37:03to sell out of just yet
1:37:06or their own restaurant space or whatever.
1:37:09So they come there and they create whatever they create.
1:37:12I mean, there are people that are making cookies
1:37:14and hot sauces and ice creams
1:37:19and whatever you can think of,
1:37:21you make in the kitchen,
1:37:22they were making in the Cleveland central kitchen.
1:37:26So I thought about it, it's a lot,
1:37:29it's a lot of manpower behind it.
1:37:31So that is definitely a goal down the line.
1:37:35But I think right now I'm just gonna keep it local
1:37:39for the moment being, yeah, keep it local.
1:37:43I love that.
1:37:45Keep it in the community.
1:37:48Wow, that's amazing.
1:37:51I'm trying, one juice at a time.
1:37:53Juice at a time.
1:37:54Well, we said.
1:37:56One community at a time.
1:37:57There we go, here we go, more broader.
1:37:59One community at a time, yeah.
1:38:02They drink one juice at a time.
1:38:04I'll drink about three or four, but.
1:38:08So yeah, just to wrap it up,
1:38:11any advice you would give a young entrepreneur?
1:38:15Advice of the day.
1:38:17Keep it simple.
1:38:21Keep it simple.
1:38:23Whether it is learning how to connect with people,
1:38:27figuring out what you want to build,
1:38:31grow, develop, produce, sell, keep it simple.
1:38:36Keep it simple so that way you're staying close
1:38:40to your roots, close to where you came from.
1:38:42Like I said, the humbling experience
1:38:44of being a teenage mother is something
1:38:46that 18 years later is still right there with me.
1:38:50Never can get too far away from it
1:38:51because that's kind of what shaped me
1:38:53into the woman that I am now.
1:38:54So keep it simple, use what you have,
1:38:57use that thousand dollar phone.
1:39:01You've already made the investment,
1:39:03use your social media pages,
1:39:06use the connections you already have,
1:39:08get into the community, meet new people, simple.
1:39:12Mostly everything I just said was free.
1:39:14Keep it simple, keep to your passion,
1:39:17keep making it happen.
1:39:19I love that.
1:39:21I thank you, thank you, thank you.
1:39:23I thank you.
1:39:24And again, I know you said it before,
1:39:26but where can the people reach you from?
1:39:28Yes, so feel free to reach out to me,
1:39:31LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Jessica Williams,
1:39:37on all platforms.
1:39:39Feel free to reach me through the Civic Engagement Collab
1:39:45or like I said, that community.
1:39:47If you are looking to do anything
1:39:49within the Ward 5 community
1:39:50and you want to get contacted that way,
1:39:52feel free to email me, jwilliams at clevelandcitycouncil.org
1:40:01216-664-2309.
1:40:05Thank you.
1:40:07Yeah, you can send me all that information
1:40:09and I'll put it in the show notes
1:40:10so there's no excuses for anybody to like,
1:40:14what did she say?
1:40:15Or if they're driving and they need to go back to it
1:40:18they can reference and contact Ms. Jessica Williams.
1:40:22Thank you.
1:40:23I appreciate you.
1:40:25Oh.
1:40:25This is a long time coming, I'm like, we can't wait.
1:40:29And it's just the beginning.
1:40:30It is.
1:40:32You'll be going to have to sit down again,
1:40:34update the people and drink some more juice.
1:40:40So with closing, I want to thank everyone
1:40:42for tuning in to Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
1:40:47The introspective business podcast
1:40:50as we break down everything in media
1:40:53and different industries and how it all collide.
1:40:58So again, thank you for tuning in
1:41:01for Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
1:41:04You can find this on all audio platforms.
1:41:09You can find my website at alieneyesphotos.com.
1:41:13You can check that out for more information
1:41:16and book me, all that good stuff.
1:41:19And if I'm missing anything,
1:41:21hey, it's gonna be in the show notes as well.
1:41:25This has been a great episode.
1:41:27Thank you, thank you, thank you.
1:41:29Until next time, everyone.
1:41:32Peace.