Conversations with the Inspiring Briana Richards

Today we’d like to introduce you to Briana Richards.

So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Growing up, I was an athlete and always had an active lifestyle. After high school, I became more aware of my diet and eating healthier and more natural. I made sure I always had fruits and veggies in my meals. I even got really into herbal remedies, you can say I was plant based pretty much. I was a go to person in my friend group when it came to exercise and food and I loved being that influence. What got me into juicing was my own personal life experiences. I went back to school and picked up bad eating habits due to trying to balance work and school causing some weight gain. When I began to make the transition to get back to a healthy lifestyle came juicing and I started getting active again. I shared my juices often with people and they really liked them so I kept doing it to get feedback and decided why not just go for a business. It meant a lot to me for my own health but also to be a face in the minority community advocating for a healthy lifestyle. Many minority communities do not have the resources to have those healthy lifestyles. So as of today, I am selling cold-pressed juices, they are available for pickup, delivery or when I am doing any pop-ups around town. I am also working on some other wellness related products to be available coming up in 2020. I am of course striving to open a unique juice bar as well within the year to come.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road was not smooth, to begin with at all. I was extremely under prepared because I didn’t believe in myself as much as other people did. There was a tremendous amount of support by way of orders. I was lucky because it doesn’t always work out that way and being unprepared can cause failure in a business. But I worked extremely hard to play catch up and get properly supplied. My advice to other women is to ask yourself “Do you believe in you and do you believe in your business?” because that’s going to determine your drive.

What should we know about Rooted Collective? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I’ve actually been working in mental health for over three years now and I’m also a Psychology student so for the most part that’s what I’m known for. I’m passionate about mental wellbeing and self-care. My Instagram for my business page is a microblog for me and I post a lot about mental health, self-care, wellbeing and things of that sort. I want it to be a positive safe space for individuals. I have people often saying they needed to see that post and that’s what makes me most proud. I think having a wellness side to my business and soon to be selling products to encourage self-care is what sets me apart. I think often we separate mental health as it’s own and not apart of health but we always say how we need a certain mindset to go to the gym, to eat healthier every day and reach those goals, so we can’t neglect our mental health. The name “Rooted” was formed just from that, tending to our roots, taking care of ourselves from the inside out for physical health, mental health, even beauty needs.

Who do you look up to? How have they inspired you?
My sources of inspiration have been four women directly in my life and also Rihanna. I have two friends who started businesses one which is a non-profit that I volunteer for and another who I watched go from working in makeup stores to becoming a full-fledged makeup artist with her own studio. The other two women were actually my nail artist and also my brow lady who I also watched become independent and open their own locations. They all inspired me to ponder about business but I just had to find my own niche. Rihanna has been an inspiration on the business side because she is limitless in her endeavors and I think that is why she is so successful.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 720-432-3344
• Email: rootedcollectiveco@gmail.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/rootedcollectiveco
• Facebook: facebook.com/rootedcollectiveco

Image Credit:
Briana Richards

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