Meet Sohail Basirat: Small Business Advocate & Owner of I Love Juice Bar

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sohail Basirat and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sohail, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
Let me start of by saying that this is not exactly a quote but something very important to me. The fact that the most important conversations we have daily, are the conversations with ourselves. This is something that is often overlooked, but is truly important for happiness, health and success. Think of all the daily conversations you have with yourself. “Should I wear this or that? What does this person think of me? I’m doing a terrible job at this task? I feel like I wasn’t productive today?” We spend the majority of our day talking to ourselves, and this can either effect us positively or negatively. During the past year I have been observing and asking people close to me what things they say to themselves. I’ve heard self talk that many people would not say out loud to others, but constantly use it to bring themselves down. We as humans do an unfortunately good job damaging our selves personally and professionally with negative self talk. As a small business owner, you have to mentally train to empower yourself daily. There are so many people depending on your decisions that even the smallest amount of negative brain talk could hinder your growth. First you have the employees and team to look at you for guidance, and to a better future. Then you have vendors and other entities that depend on you to sustain their businesses. And the customers, whom you might not think of immediately, depend on you as part of their routines and lifestyle. Going into 2021, I would like more people to love themselves and bring a much needed positive self talk to their daily routine. Start off by treating yourself with respect, one suggestion I have is to stop using curse words even in your own head. Something so small could change your mood and turns your day completely around. Small daily changes lead to colossal lifestyle shifts. This is my secret weapon and I hope you can use it too.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a 29 year old CEO of Rosewater Capital LTD. My company owns and operates I Love Juice Bar here in Dallas Texas along with several other businesses in the vehicle parts/transportation industry. I am passionate about promoting health and wellness in my community. I am also a big advocate for small business in Dallas and Texas as a whole. As a graduate of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program I have had the opportunity to speak directly with Senator Ted Cruz and our local Dallas area lawmakers to help push for more help for small businesses. The journey so far hasn’t been easy but if you are a business owner you know easy is not the path you necessarily chose. Every day we face different challenges, but we need to be versatile on how we look at problems and opportunities. I often compare my week to a boxing match. One round everything goes as planned and you feel like you’re doing great. The next round you get hit with a big uppercut and you are down on the mat. The following round you feel like your world is ending. And at the end you may have won the week or lost it, but the key is that you continue on to the next fight.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Wow this is a tough question, I love Dallas and there are so many great places to eat or visit. As I’ve already said, I’m all for supporting our small business so I definitely how to give some of them a shout-out here. Here is goes, we start of the morning with getting some good old Bennys Bagels (@bennyslakewood). Hands down my favorite bagel spot here locally. I’m going to assume this is a classic warm Dallas day, so next we will go for some paddle boarding with White Rock Paddle Co (@whiterockpaddleco). You get the best views of the lake and you can take your dogs on the paddle or kayak as well which is a plus. For lunch after breaking a sweat, we have to stop by for a tasty acai bowl at I Love Juice Bar (@juicebarlakewood or @juicebardallas). Or a superfood smoothie if you’re hungry, they fill you up… trust me. Then we will zip off to Bad Axe Throwing to do some Texas style fun. If you haven’t been its much more fun than it looks. For dinner I would suggest Wabi House(@wabihousedallas) for some fresh made ramen. This place will blow your mind and make anyone become an instant ramen fan. To finish off the night you can visit one of the many parks (@klydewarrenpark) or (@katytraildallas) for a late night walk. Or you can call over some friends and visit Truck Yard (@truckyarddallas) for a beer or two.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Last year I was privileged to be accepted into the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. This organization includes some of the most talented small business owners across our nation. The program provided me with skills and a network that I will forever be thankful for. Their goal is empower small business to ultimately grow and prosper. With the current economic climate, I continue to be an active member of this wonderful organization and have gone before our representatives in Congress to advocate for small business help. We are not in this fight alone and my wish is to help as many small businesses in Texas as possible.

Website: https://www.ilovejuicebar.com/
Instagram: @juicebardallas or @juicebarlakewood
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohailbasirat
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juicebardallas
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/i-love-juice-bar-lakewood-dallas-4