ight green walls with fruit paintings, white ceilings and the smell of beeswax are what customers first see and smell as they enter Freshness in a Bottle, a juice bar on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border, owned and operated by 14-year-old freshman and St. Louisan Berklie Dias. 

The idea popped into Dias’s head a year earlier when she and her mother sought something healthier to put in the farm’s gift shop. Her mom owns an eco-friendly farm in Riverfalls, Wis. 

“I told my mom that I could make juice for the store. I had already been juicing for years because I’m a competitive swimmer, and [juicing is] the easiest way to get in all my nutrients. Then, a building opened up in Stillwater, Minn, [with] a commercial kitchen. We thought that would be a great place to just make the juice. Then, we realized that the juice market was bigger than we thought and decided to start selling them there, too,” Dias said.

Dias had the building but no idea where to start. But she was dedicated to learning.

“My parents are business owners, so they helped me with the finances. But, I also went to a three-day course in South Carolina. One of the biggest things they taught me was to always keep up with what’s in season because prices vary [depending on the season]. The course is also where I got one of our first recipes from. I learned everything about food safety and hygiene [while there as well]. I learned everything about juicing and smoothies from the course. I wouldn’t be able to run my business if I hadn’t gone [to the course].”

Despite being prepared, Dias says that she doubted herself at first.

Along with the initial self-doubt, Dias says others doubted her and still do doubt her.

“A lot of people think my mom just gave me the money or that she does all the work and just gives me the credit. But I do almost all the work, and if someone doubts that, I just tell them they’re wrong and move on with my day.”

After months of seven-day work weeks, Dias was finally ready to open. Freshness in a Bottle opened on May 23. But it wasn’t going to be easy. 

“We had setbacks the first month; we barely made any money. It made me feel not motivated to keep going. But after that, it’s been really good.”

One of the ways Dias got her and her business out of the rough patch was with marketing. Marketing is one of the most important things for a business, Dias says. She has several ways of marketing.

“I reached out to a few newspapers and a few of them reached out on me, so I [was] on the news a couple of times and in different newspapers, [which] helped,” she said.

Dias also pounded the pavement and went to nearby businesses, providing them with juice samples.

Dias has devised a way to manage her business while in her freshman year of high school.

“There’s a lot of communication. All of my employees know that they can always text me. I have a phone call with them at least once a day to check in and make sure everything’s okay with them. They also have multiple spreadsheets to fill out so I can see how they’re doing throughout the day. One of the spreadsheets is a to-do list, one’s how much money they put in the safe, one’s how many juices my juicer made, and one’s an inventory of everything in the kitchen. All of my employees fill all of them out, [except for] the one about how much juice was made. Only my juicer fills that one out,” Dias said.

Dias’s personal life has also changed. She says she manages her time by planning her day out, but it’s still difficult to handle.

Dias believes her biggest accomplishment was in July, when she finally started making money. She says she felt happy and proud of herself. She says it gave her a much-needed boost of confidence.

Dias has big plans for the future of her brand. She wants to open multiple locations and would love to franchise. She says her ultimate goal is to become a multi-millionaire in the business.

Dias started her business when she was just 14. She gives any young people who want to start a business the advice she wishes someone had given her. 

“You’re not going to have quick success. You can’t think that overnight, you’re going to become a millionaire. It takes a lot of time to create something good,” Dias said.