Arnika Carter is a local entrepreneur with a passion for helping people stay healthy.
Prior to launching her business, Carter was making cold-pressed juices to help relieve some of her own health issues. Her company
Loaded Juice was founded after she decided to share those recipes with others.
Since its launch in early 2023, Loaded Juice has continued to gain in popularity. Being a first-time entrepreneur has its challenges and there’s a lot to learn, but being unafraid to ask questions and seek out answers from those who came before her has positioned Carter and her business for success.
“I started juicing because I was looking for some health improvements for myself,” she says. “I had started breaking out pretty badly and I had a pretty bad digestive system. I was doing research and realized that juicing could possibly help me so I ordered a juicer and I started juicing for myself.”
After noticing health improvements, Carter decided she wanted to share the success of her juice diet with others.
“Once I started spreading the word about what juicing was doing for me, like helping with my digestive system and overall health, my family started to get interested in it and more people started asking about it, and the next thing I knew I was selling my juice to people.”
Carter says she didn’t know how to create a business out of her juicing passion, so she hired a business consultant for help.
“I invested in a small business consultant and reached out to a lady named Christian Byers. She’s located in Brownsville and has her own boutique, and has been helping a group of people start their small businesses from the ground up.”
It was Byers’ business advice that helped Carter launch Loaded Juice.
“She helped me to attain an LLC and get an EIN number and learn how to put together a website for customers to use for transactions,” Carter says. “Her help really helped me launch the business. Another thing that helped me scale it was word-of-mouth. A lot of my customers initially get recommendations from other people to try my juice and that’s how my customer base increases.”
One of her biggest successes was partnering with Brownsville gym
Flex Fitness. “I sell my juice there and customers are able to pick it from the freezer. I also have a pick-up option, where people can order it and get it picked up from the gym weekly.”
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Carter (center) posing with customers at the Shop Black Festival in downtown Memphis.Other avenues she has taken to promote Loaded Juice is through selling it at festivals and even her church.
“I’ve also participated in the local Shop Black Festival two times,” she says. “The first time I participated, I sold out. I also created a partnership with my church,
Family Life Fellowship in Brownsville, TN, and now church members are able to order juice after service.”
Still, for all her early success, challenges remain.
“Some of my biggest challenges have been with marketing and using
social media,” Carter says. “I do have a graphic design background and my full-time job is as a graphic designer. I’ve also been marketing and making graphics for the business by myself. However, it's not as easy to get people who see you on social media to automatically want to order your juice online, because people usually want to go to the store for their juice, so that’s been more of a challenge.”
In spite of these challenges, Carter encourages other women who are interested in starting a business to start now and figure out the rest as needed.
“Advice I would give is to just get started and don't allow yourself to get discouraged,” Carter says. “Creating a business feels like a lot, so just get started and don’t worry about the process. Whether you’re signing up for a sole proprietorship or LLC or getting a business license, just start somewhere. Get your products out to people to see how they react to it.”
As Carter approaches year two of operations, she’s looking to take Loaded Juice to new places – and a new set of wheels might help her do just that.
“I’ve been in business for almost a year, and I’ve been super pleased with how things have been going,” she says. “My business has been taking off way better than I imagined and I’m really excited to see where it will go next year. I’m looking forward to having a food truck and being able to offer even more with Loaded Juice and continue to help people on their health journey, so I’m excited about that.”
For more information on Loaded Juice, visit: www.loadedjuice.store.
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