Recipe for success

John Williams (BSBA ‘09, MSE ‘10) turned his University of Florida education and passion for wellness into SoFresh, a growing restaurant chain bringing healthy options to communities across the country.

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For John Williams (BSBA ’09, MSE ’10), choosing the University of Florida was never really a choice at all. As a triple legacy and devoted Florida sports fan growing up, he couldn’t wait to be a Gator when he was applying to colleges. Watching his father run his own business in the automobile industry, Williams knew he wanted to pursue business when he arrived on campus.

“I had seen [entrepreneurship] work out for my dad, and after exploring my options, recognized that finance was the best degree to graduate with because of how many doors it could open,” he recalled.

Williams’ time at UF extended beyond his undergraduate years. While he jokes that he didn’t want to leave UF because he was living in the Tebow era, his decision to pursue a master’s degree in entrepreneurship was strategic. 

“I knew that even if I didn’t start my own business right after graduation, it would still be a good option to help prepare me for future opportunities,” he said. 

Williams’ intuition on both his finance and entrepreneurship education proved correct. With his finance degree, he landed his first position at Deutsche Bank in Jacksonville, where he learned an important lesson about his aspirations. 

“Most people don’t know what they want to do when they graduate, and I think that experiences like your first job help you understand what you want to do, but also what you don’t want to do,” he said. “For me, I learned that I wasn’t meant to be in front of a computer all day. I like to be on my feet and engaging with people.”

To pursue a job that would get him out of an office, Williams moved to Tampa and worked at a car dealership in sales and marketing, where he gained hands-on experience with customer interactions, sales processes and lead generation. 

These experiences in finance, sales and marketing became fundamental building blocks for his entrepreneurial aspiration and the launch of SoFresh, his chain of fast-casual, healthy-food restaurants.

The decision to launch SoFresh came from identifying a clear market need. As someone passionate about fitness and healthy eating since his youth, Williams recognized how difficult it was to find quick, healthy food options.

 “So many people who are working full-time jobs don’t always have the opportunity to pack lunch, but they still want healthier options,” he said. 

Seeing the opportunity to address this gap with something he genuinely cared about, Williams took the scary leap into his own venture in 2013. While he knew that leaving a secure job was risky, being young and analytical, he recognized it was the optimal time to take that risk. Without family obligations holding him back, he simply jumped. For Williams, the alternative of never trying and living with regret was unacceptable. 

Today, SoFresh is expanding across Florida and into multiple other states, with plans to open another 15 locations over the next two years. Williams is particularly excited about franchising opportunities, which began with the seventh restaurant location. He believes passionate local owners with established community networks can serve their areas better than corporate management. 

For aspiring entrepreneurs, Williams offered hard-earned advice:

Work in your target industry first. 

“If you want to own a landscaping company, go do that work for 6-8 months,” he advised. “You should understand all of the ins-and-outs of the entire business.”

Find a mentor. 

“Find someone 10 to 20 years ahead of you who has achieved success,” he said. “Have someone to call so you can avoid failing over and over again.” 

Just start. 

“There’s no perfect time, so jump in before it’s too late,” he said. 

Know your numbers. 

As a 25-year-old launching his first business, Williams worked 100-hour weeks only to discover minimal money remained in the company bank account after paying bills and employees. He had drastically underestimated margins and profitability timelines. 

“Everything is a margin when you’re running a business,” he said. “You need to think about getting profitable as quickly as you can.”

Embrace microfailing. 

Microfailing is acceptable and normal, Williams stressed. Success requires grit and the ability to figure things out over time. As the sole person in charge, there’s no boss to hear your complaints, you must lean into yourself.

“In today’s world with social media and hustle culture, mistakes can seem like the end of the world,” he said. “But, it’s part of business. You can’t black out when you make a mistake.”

Looking back, Williams treasures his UF experience, between learning important life lessons to the sports culture. Now splitting his free time between his two young children and running his business, Williams is committed to his life as an entrepreneur. 

“It’s hard to be an entrepreneur,” he said. “But, even harder to go back and not be one.”