Supporting LOCAL FILIPINO FARMERS, Province to City!

This is the Do The Thing podcast by the Juicy Vlog. This episode is sponsored by Safety Wing. Safety Wing is a flexible and affordable travel medical insurance for international travelers and digital nomads, offering worldwide coverage from only $1.32 per day and can be purchased when you're already on the road. Welcome back to the Do The Thing podcast. Season one, episode two, we have three guests this time. We're gonna need a big couch if we have any more people, so I hope it's not too cozy for you guys, but thanks so much for coming on. These are the guys from a company called Hi Fred. Gonna get into everything that you guys do, how we met, but first of all, just wanna introduce yourselves, like in order, your names, and yeah, just your names. Sure, well thank you for having us. My name is Jeremiah. I'm Sam. I'm Alyeska. Perfect, and can you tell us a little bit, okay, so for the audience watching, let's give a quick background on how we met you guys. So we actually found you on Google when we were looking for, we just moved to Manila into this apartment. We were looking for a fresh produce, vegetables kind of delivery service, and you guys showed up on Google, so first of all, I don't know how you did that, so well done. You were like their first page. I don't know either. So I think that. I'm not saying that. Yeah. That is not, yeah. Yeah, that's like, I think that's the goal for any business is well planned out. So we contacted these guys and. Set up a meeting. Set up a meeting, and then we were expecting to meet, I don't know, slightly older people, like in suits, like businessmen and stuff like that, and then these three lovely people just show up and they're like, hey, we're from Hi Fred, and we ended up. Yeah, ended up having way longer meeting than we thought it would be, and we were just kind of chatting about life and stuff. Really seemed to click and get on, have similar ideas and things. Yeah, and then we went for lunch, and then it turns out we'd chosen the same sports so we thought you guys were getting the same day. Right? So that's the kind of, do you wanna give us a background on Hi Fred? Sure. So basically the way it started was, it was a vision that bore fruit into a business. And with me personally, I came from an agricultural background with my dad, and his generations above him being farmers. Yeah. And so one of the things we learned in school, because we've all come from the same school, same course, which is entrepreneurship, and one of the things we learned is that the bottom two industries are farming and fishing. In the Philippines. And knowing that we are an agricultural country, it doesn't make sense how it's the bottom industry. Yeah. Is it the bottom is in the least desired, or? Least paid. Actually almost in every sense of the word. Really? We get paid maybe an average around 192 pesos. Wow. Per farmer. Wow. Per day? Per day. And it's physical hard work in the sun. Exactly. Yeah, wow. And they feed everyone, but they can't feed themselves. Wow, okay. And so that's what drove us to find a solution for them. Because when we were looking at all of these other solutions that the government was proposing, very few of them were actually what they realized. And so the thought was always, when you enrich the wealthy, it will trickle down to the poor. But we believe that the best way to reach out to them is inclusive growth. And so we focus our efforts to work with them directly. And so every time you order from HiFRED, you order directly from our farmers, our suppliers, so that they help us feed you, and you help us feed them in return. Great, so it's like a- More direct contact, that's great. It's like a benefit for everyone involved, really. That's great. So where did the idea come from? Quickly though first, what are your roles within the company, the three of you? Because it's just you three, right? Running HiFRED. For me, I'm handling the operations of the business. Okay, cool. I'm operations, half operations, and finance. Okay, split down the middle. Which side does which? That's brave. Right hand does this, left hand does that. Yeah, like two computers, all the... Yeah. And I assume the role of CEO, but I'm also handling marketing. Nice, cool. Amazing. We all complement each other in what we do. So where did the idea come from? No, you said where the idea kind of started. Who came up with the idea? Did it start as something else first, or did one of you say, hey guys, I've got this idea, come and help me with this, or? Well, it was really different at first. The whole HiFRED setup, because we had like... Because it was our thesis. It was our thesis for school. We had to come up with a business. Right, so it started like fictional, almost. Well, at the beginning, we started with a different business, and then when Jeremiah came to us and said like, oh, I have this idea, it's the same idea. And why don't we try it for a thesis? So we did, and then in the middle of the semester, that's when we completely changed our whole concept. Really? So we had to rush everything. We almost failed this. But now you've got a real life business, and not just part of... So it started as like a school project? Yeah. Wow, that's great. He also revolves around his idea, because he first told Al, and then Al created... She created this, oh, why not? Let's do this with Sam, and then me and the team. So you guys were friends before? Yeah. You knew each other? We were roommates, yeah. Really? Yeah, the whole high school. Oh, wow. College, first day one. Were you like... Did you have ideas back then? Were you entrepreneurial when you were younger? No, not really. Really? We were forced to, because of school. Yeah. Interesting. Instead of regular tests, most of our teachers were actually performing the role that they would teach us. So we had real lawyers that teach us law, we had real entrepreneurs that teach us entrepreneurship. And so one of the things we had to do, especially for finals, was to actually create a business. A real business. Or if it's maybe, let's say, sophomore year or third year, we had to create business plans, try to make money during that semester. Wow. So what was it like, because you hear a lot of stories from entrepreneurs who were crap at school. They were really bad at school, failed. Oh, that's me. Really? There you go. See, it seems to be a common theme. You will never see him in class. Really? Yeah. Well, in case my parents watch this. Oh, okay. Ah, we'll get on to that. We'll get on to parents. So what was it like being in a school where you're taught entrepreneurship? Because some people might say it's something more in you and very separate from school, but to merge those two together, sounds really interesting. Was there stuff that you thought, ah, this isn't for me, or actually I'm learning really good knowledge here? Well, with the first statement you gave, I remember a lot of my friends were telling me, you don't need to take up business because anyone can be a businessman. To which I replied, you don't need running shoes to run, it helps. Yeah, nice. And so, since I know that this was going to be my direction anyway, I'd like to put myself in the best position to enrich my skills and my balance, and same with them as well. Yeah, great. How about you guys? Well, for me it was different because I never really wanted to be a businesswoman. I'm like, towards different paths. And then I found this school, and then I just checked, you know, whatever, and then I got in, and then I think it's actually, it also helped that she was with me throughout the thing, because if she wasn't there, like, I would really drop, because it's a hard core. Yeah, so you got like support of friends. Yeah, that's why. And then you always told each other. Because you're always group mates. Yeah. So what was the other thing you were interested in before? Fashion design. Oh, right, okay. Yeah. Nice. Could you merge the two somehow? Hopefully. Yeah. Can you try it once? Not really, it was just designing. Yeah, nice. So the three of you, so you're running this business. What's the scene like in Manila for new businesses? And what, is there, because we know there's a lot of startup businesses starting to crop up and stuff like that, we've seen. So has it been difficult for you? Have you found it easy? You know, how has it been starting a new business in the Philippines, in Manila? And is there much like competition as well? Is it that you're quite niche, and that you find it's like, not easy, but you kind of stand out naturally, because it's quite a new idea? Or do you find that there's a lot of other people? And yeah. Well, one of the things we noticed since we talked about school a while ago, is that there are a lot of things we experienced in the real world that we were never prepared for. So it was all, maybe a lot of it was based on the book. And then we never knew really much about, let's say, permits. Yeah. That was the hardest thing. Okay. Managing people. The real gritty admin. We had to learn as we went. Interesting. But one of the things that was interesting with us starting our business, was we weren't really thought about outsourcing our departments as well. And so when we got into it, we would just always figure, you know, I'll handle marketing, and you'll handle maybe the legal side. Sure. And then different pieces started to fall into place, and we met different companies as well, that could help us. So it was able to sort of take out that burden from our shoulders. So you can focus on what each individually you're best at. We've actually learned a similar thing recently, for like, it's a different world, but with YouTube and things, that's why we're using Rory, like we've got a graphic designer we work with now. Before we'd try and do everything ourselves, but we've tried to kind of strip away a little bit of the things that other people can do better than us, so we can put all our time into what we do best. We could do it all, but the things we're really good at, like actually filming videos and stuff, it wouldn't be as good quality, because we're thinking about other stuff that someone else could be doing. Yeah, exactly. So I'm gonna dive into a bit of a topic that could be potentially deep, or potentially controversial, and I think it's more prevalent, is that the word, prevalent? Sounds right. In the Philippines, perhaps, more than maybe Europe or something like that. But the parental aspect of your child going off to do something that's a bit different, that's not studying for this job and this career, and stuff like that. Did you guys face any backlash or negativity, or support, or how was the reaction when you told your parents, hey, I'm starting a business from scratch, and that's what I'm gonna do? No, go ahead. Well, I think for me, my parents have been very supportive since the beginning. If I wanted to be, for example, I don't know, if I wanted to take a painting or whatever, they'd be okay with it, they'd support it. But I feel like for me, that wasn't really a struggle, it was moving away from home that was the hard thing. Because I'm from Cebu, so they didn't, they weren't that happy. I mean, not like they weren't happy, but they wanted me to be home. Especially after graduation, because actually that was my deal with my dad. He said, I'll let you study in Manila, but only if you come home after. I was like, okay. But then, towards the end, I was like, uh, dad, I think I'm not gonna come home. For now, as of now. So, yeah, I feel like there are more opportunities here, like there's more room to grow. And I think the more that we're growing, the more that my parents are seeing like, okay, she's good where she's at, and she's happy, and she's doing well. So they support me. Yeah. Seeing the progress. Yeah, and although from time to time, they're like, when are you coming home? They just say that once in a while, but then I'm like, uh, I don't know. Yeah. But yeah, my parents have been supportive throughout all this. That's great, that's really nice to hear. Similar for you, Sam? Well, with fashion designing, I wasn't, like my mom never supported it, because she said that there's no money in it, and she would have these reasons, and that's why I went to a different college, because I was supposed to go to, I was supposed to study in New York. I really wanted to study there. My dad allowed me, but it was my mom. I think it's also because I was young, like I was 17, and no one would take care of you there. They worried for you. I think it's more on that side, but when I entered in this business, she was actually really supportive. She was actually one of her customers. Oh, nice. I was her customer. Perfect. So yeah, so until now, she's very supportive about it. Even though she sees, like, you know, every day I wake up early, she doesn't say a word about it. She just calls me up, oh, are we gonna have dinner here? And if I say no, because I still have to go to work, all of those stuff, she's like, okay, then I'll just eat something. Kind of gets it, yeah, yeah. Yeah, she gets it. Like every day, she calls me, you know, 4 a.m. in the morning, oh, are you awake? Did you leave already? So that's, yeah, everything. Yeah, nice. And I think we're lucky. Yeah, I think we're lucky. Yeah, would you say there's people who do things just because their parents want them to, or because the parents, I don't know, maybe they're paying for their education and stuff like that, but then the person doesn't really want to do that, or we've had situations where we've spoken to people and they're like, this isn't my passion, I'm not really into this, but I'm following it through. We were just talking to, on a podcast before, to our other guests about, actually, you can try different things out. Like if you're young, there's no harm in trying things out. What do you think about that versus really following your passions, even if your parents don't see eye to eye with it and maybe don't agree with it or approve? Well, I think that's more, that's closer to my story. Yeah, yeah. So, well, my mom is like a helicopter mom. No, I'm kidding. She's gonna walk to me right after this. I'm just joking. We apologize now. We also question, it's awful. They always had this set life, especially after college. Work two years, earn money, and then you can consider starting your own thing, or pursuing corporate life. And so right after graduating, what I did was I applied for a company. And so I was already in the managerial training department. And so I was working there, and after six months, I realized, I think I wanna start a business. That's how High Fred was born. I woke up the next day, after all the research and everything, and I wrote down the business plan. And I remember, I ran to my parents' room. My mom was the only one in there. And I said, I think this is my business. And she looked at it, and she said, okay, come back to me in two years. Really? Yeah, okay. So she didn't want you to go ahead with it then? Yeah, she liked the idea, just not for today. Wow, okay. And in me, I really believe that I had to start it now, or someone else would do it. Yeah, and at the right moment. How old were you at the time? Was that last year? It was last year. I was 23 years old. Yeah, yeah, wow. And so every day, I would always talk to my mother-in-law. I think I need to start it, I think I need to start it. But the thing with my parents, knowing how maybe traditional they are in that mindset, the only thing that could convince them was a plan. Because a vision without a plan is just a dream. And to them, dreams won't pay your bills. And so I had to prove to them that I'm not just dreaming about this, I actually have a plan to execute it. I think that's really important. I think a lot of people have ideas, and maybe they haven't properly thought it through. And they just kind of expect it to work. Yeah, so how did you make that first step to take it from a plan on a piece of paper with the dream behind it, how did you take it from that to actually starting the business? Okay, so I read this book, I think it was by John Maxwell, and he said, you can achieve good things alone, but you can only achieve great things with other people. And so when I realized that, I knew I needed to get a good group of people who could help me during this and materialize this. So I first approached Aliaska, because I remember at that time, I think Samantha already had a business plan. We both had. Oh, you both did. Oh, we were separate? Yeah, you were separate. Oh, of course, yeah, yeah. And you were questioning yours, so I knew since you were questioning yours, I pitched it to you. And then I shifted. Yeah, did you agree, like, okay, let's do this together. Wow, nice, okay. We went to Samantha next, and we pitched it to her, and what really caught Sam's attention was more the advocacy, because she's actually, out of the three of us, she's the one who really wants to help with the charity and the foundation. So when we pitched that to her, that's what caused her to accept that role and pursue that vision. I think that's what made it stand out to us as well, when we were looking at, like, there's a few others, but yours, I mean, your branding was the nicest, and it did stand out the most anyway, but the message behind it, I think, I think I found it and showed it to you, and I was like, this looks great, because it's not just for us, it's also helping other people as well. Definitely, it stands out. And you guys are young, so what would you say to someone who, because we know we have people watching, also people on the Do The Thing Facebook page and on our Instagrams who follow this kind of content of ours for, you know, really following your passions, doing something yourself, doing something that you've wanted to do, but you might have held back, what would you say to someone young who has an idea, who wants to start something, but maybe they have, they're scared of what people might say or they're scared of what people might think, family, friends, outside pressure, they're scared of failure, what would you say to someone who's at that point, who kind of has an idea, wants to give it a shot, but is holding back for some reason? Can I say something fast? Go, go. I'm scared. I feel like you're the one who is in the best position to answer that. Well, with me, what I would say is, the pain of growing can't compare to the pain of staying where you don't belong. Very nice. When you listen, you're constantly listening to other people, you end up living your life for them and not for yourself. And because of that, you'll never really reach your full potential. Yeah. And the other thing I would say to that young person is, you have to embrace the suck. Yep. And I forgot where I heard that, I think it's some military quote, but that's one of the things we had to learn the hard way, where every time we'd receive a problem, we would either run away or pray it away. Sure. But then you also pray away that promotion. So you're praying away your promotion thinking it's a problem. Right, okay. Because that's what causes you to grow. You learn from it. You learn from your setbacks and your mistakes. I think people should not be afraid of failing. I think you should always try something. And then how do you even define failure? It wasn't as big as you thought, or it didn't quite go, it might change as it goes along, but- And you can't grow without experiencing failure. Exactly, exactly. I think everything just went well constantly, being in this bubble, and then if something went wrong at the end, you'd be like, oh, it's the worst thing ever. But if you experience little fails throughout, you're more prepared and you can just- And you have nothing to compare it to. It's like YouTube. We did YouTube for a long time with very small audience, who we were extremely grateful for, but we never really worried about that or pandered to the smaller numbers and things like that. In terms of marketing content and social media, are you finding that social media in the Philippines is helping your business? What are you doing on social that's for high thread? Well, actually, it's interesting you said that, because we're taking a really big shift in terms of our marketing. So we're working with a new company and they're gonna be handling our marketing. Well, technically, I'm the one- It's this company. You've started another company, right? He's making it sound like it's this. Oh, you actually have? You've actually started a marketing company? So we used to outsource it. We had a different perspective. We knew that we wanted to go through a different direction. And because I went to ad school after business school, I knew that I think I had something to offer. And these two people I partnered with specialize in their own perspective field. And in terms of social media, the CEO of Google once said, I think just recently, he said, advertising is dying, but there is a rise in content that's either educational or entertaining. That's very true. Sorry, who said that? CEO of Google. Of Google, yeah, okay, okay. So we're always constantly trying to do the hard sell. We have the best products, so buy our product. People tend to just shut it off. Absolutely. So everyone lies about it anyway. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. But if you're entertaining and they can get value out of your posts. So true. They'd rather follow you. Absolutely. So that's our new direction as well. I love that you said that. That's really, really cool. I think you'll- Wiser than he looks. Yeah. And he looks pretty wise. Oh, that's great. I think that's so, so key. I think that'll put you way ahead of other businesses who haven't quite learned that yet. Because who would want to follow an account that's like, buy this, buy this, buy this? It's like, whoa, why would I follow that? I know you're there, but I don't need to follow you. But I've seen you do sort of funny memes and stuff on your Instagram, which I love. I've never seen a company like you do that. It's contextual to the target market, I guess. Have you thought about vlogging or YouTube? We have. Yeah? We have some ideas. Yeah? Nice. Because he loves being in front of the camera. I can tell. I'm very comfortable. But one of the things is we noticed that there was a rise in what we call explainer videos. Okay. So they explain how to, for example, if children hate vegetables, how do you get them to eat vegetables? Nice, okay. That, yeah, you could kill with some content like that. Yeah. Definitely. Your first guest will be. Congratulations. In one day, you'll have baby juicy. Yeah, exactly, exactly. And we'll need to get them to eat some vegetables. That'd be awesome. So something else that you guys do really well, because we actually ordered one of your deliveries as a little trial run recently, and there's like no plastic at all. So we often shop at supermarkets in Manila where there's like one carrot wrapped three times in cling film. And like, it's a crazy amount of plastic, which is obviously really bad for the environment, but you guys just put it in a bag and they're all loose, which I absolutely love. So yeah, can you tell us like, is that quite a big part of it for you guys? And you went sort of, are you plastic free pretty much? Or maybe? We're trying to be. Yeah, we're doing our best. We're doing 20%. Yeah, okay. It's hard to be fully. Yeah, of course. Yeah. Vegetables that you can't just take out the plastic. Peas just loose in there. Why don't you share why we are pushing so hard to be eco-friendly? Well, I think like, for the way I see it, like the problem with the Philippines is we have so much trash. And like, it really piles up a lot. And I guess like what we wanted to do is lessen all the waste that we see. Like it goes to like all the beaches. Like, for example, like was it the middle of the day that they had to clean up? Like, if we don't lessen or like at least try to do something about it, like it's just gonna keep growing. And I think even just with one company, like it can help. Yeah, definitely. It will catch on eventually, like plastic free, waste free. If you set the example. Yeah, like. Educate the consumer. And I feel like Filipinos are slowly starting to understand the importance of like waste free products. Because the problem doesn't just go away. Yeah, you really have to do something about it. Definitely. I actually learned about this with the whole plastic thing. Because I lived in Australia. I lived with a German person. And then she would see me throw the tupperware. She's like, why are you throwing tupperware? Oh, really? Yeah. And she knows that the Philippines is like one of the third largest country who does that. Yeah. Just throw everything out. Yeah. And then she taught me like how to recycle things. Really? So it's like an education. Yeah, and so like with that perspective, I learned how to, you know, just put it in the business. Because like, it's really like, it's something that we should look at. Like it's a huge thing. Yeah. One of the things we believe in is the word sustainability. Yeah. But in every sense of the word. So we want holistic sustainability. So that means even our farmers can live sustainable lifestyles. Yeah. And they can feed themselves. But also translate in our materials. Yep. Because if you think about it, if you go to the grocery, you'll see bananas sometimes wrapped in plastic. Yeah. But then the banana has a natural peel to protect it from the nature. Yeah, it's already there. Yeah, so it really is redundant. So it's thinking a little bit more outside the box about it. Yeah, and the fact that it's just a one-time use. You go from the grocery, you go home. Yeah. You unpack everything and throw it in the trash can. Yeah. But then it stays in our oceans forever. Yeah. And a lot of the floods that's here in the Philippines is caused by so much trash. It blocks the canals. Yeah. So the water won't get drained. So yeah, it causes a lot of floods. And it's like, it just messes up the whole environment. It's a problem that needs to be started to tackle. And you guys are starting to do that by making decisions within your business. So outside of, well, no, as part of the business, but also in your day-to-day lives as humans, what do you think about work ethic and hours worked and the balance between working incredibly hard for a goal and a dream and for your own thing, your own company, and also taking time to look after yourselves? Have you guys experienced burnout? Have you guys, how do you balance kind of work and life when the two, I'm sure you're like us, when they merge? Because it's your own thing. Because it is your life. How do you balance the two things and look after yourselves? I feel like, yeah, we do experience burnouts, but more on like, like what you said earlier, like when they're like failures or they're like things that didn't happen the way we wanted it to. So that gets in the way. Yeah. But then I think the good thing about the three of us is that we help each other. Like we somehow like, we bring each other up. Nice. Yeah, so like when one is feeling like, oh, I don't want to work. I don't feel like working. So the other two are like, no, it's okay. Like, you know, like we got this. Similar to us. Yeah, so I think that's a good thing about us. Like not all three of us, it's like we help each other. Yeah, because you can't all be on fire the whole time. We have that, like sometimes if we're, we've got like seven videos to edit and we've edited three in a day and we're tired and we've got all this other stuff going on to do and stuff. If I'm not slightly feeling it and you'll take over, then we'll bounce back off each other. I think it's important. It's nice to be a team. I don't know how people do it on their own, but like you were saying, it's always better with other people. Yeah, I actually remember in school, my accounting teacher once said, the fastest way to turn a friend into an enemy is to get into business with them. I found it so interesting. Yeah. But I didn't believe it completely. So we, and we were first best friends. Yeah. We got into business. And it definitely did affect our friendship, especially at times. Where you know, everything was just about business, about work, about money. And you would start to forget about the relationship. And while you're friends in the first place. Yeah. And so if you don't watch over that as well and keep that balance, one will give up. Yeah. Every single time we see each other, we meet, it's always about business. Yeah. We always end up talking about business. Yeah, because you must have to. Yeah. That's your day to day. Do you see each other every day? Do you work closely together? Almost every, like six months a week. You like, you have an office or you work from? We're moving into an office in Green Hills. Okay, nice, nice. So what are the things you do to keep that relationship as friends as well? Do you go from movies or like, what do you do? No reason. No, but even though we would do things as friends. Yeah. I feel like the biggest thing that really helped us, especially recently, was transparency and honesty. Because you know, you can go watch a movie but still have that tension. So it's communication and even though you are friends, just saying how you feel and then working through. It's interesting. So one of the interesting conversations we had was we would basically have like a hot seat and we would sit down next to each other and we would, for example, Sam's in the middle, we'd say everything we're frustrated about with her and then she can explain. Poor Sam. And she will tell us. Why are you picking on Sam? Sorry, Sam. And then she would share her frustrations with us. Yeah, sure. And we can't say, no, you know what? You don't understand. Yeah. And we just have to be open about this. That's right. I think a lot of businesses with friends might fail because they'll just fall out and then. You can't be too emotional or personal, right? Yeah. It's interesting for us because what we do is sharing our lives online. So for us, it's like what, we were speaking about this as well. What do we share and what don't we share? Where's the line with vlogging? Especially when your vlog is about you. Yeah, where does it cross over from vlog to personal life? Yeah, because it's not really a business with us. It is a business, but it's about us. It's about traveling. It's about us going around and doing things. So it's kind of interesting that you say that, well, firstly, that you admit that you do like, sometimes have tensions and stuff. So I think people see, I don't know, three young people starting a business, living the dream. But obviously there's challenges along the way and stuff. What's one of the biggest challenges you guys have faced personally or in the business or between the three of you? You guys go ahead. I've been talking so much. Okay. The way I see it, I think it's more about the relationship with each other because we kind of started drifting apart and that was like, I don't know, for me, it really affected me a lot because I expected all of us to be okay. All of us. And that's one thing I also realized. I've already watched this series, How Your Mother, and if you guys know that Mosby, he said this line of, you'll be shocked how easy it is to part ways with people forever. You want to keep them. You do something about it. And I think that's a good thing also that we were in that difficulties in our lives that we were drifting apart and we saw it. And at that moment, none of us wanted to drift apart. And so we fixed it right away. And in the future, it would help us once we see if it's gonna happen again, but I think it won't anymore because we already know how to fix it, how to get a solution to it and just to have a better relationship with each other. It really affects, because we're always moving and we're in this one vision that we just want to put out and share with a lot of people. And if we don't have that kind of relationship with each other, then it would just fall out. Yeah. That's cool that you guys are self-aware enough to work on that. I don't think many people are like that. I think a lot of people would get too fired up, let anger and emotion overtake a little bit. But no, it's really, really cool. Yeah, I think people don't realize the importance of relationship, friendship, parents. And I think that's something that people should value the most because words are very powerful. Definitely. And do you think there's a difference now between, I think in the past, business and then personality and the real you were two separate things. Often with people on LinkedIn or on Twitter, if they're talking from their business, they speak very differently compared to a personal account or something or with their friends and things. Do you think now that you're on a podcast, you're here, people can see all three of you, we've been speaking about things that aren't just business related. Do you think there's now a, I think it's a good thing and I think it does exist. I think there's a less of a, no, more of a blur between those two things being separate. Do you think personality and personal brand with you guys is important for your business? Well, for me, in terms of the separation, at least the way I see it personally, with how it was born in the business, I don't consider it separate from my personal life because it was a vision of my life that just born through to the business. So I see it more as a part of my life than just another area. Yes. And so when you start to see business that way, especially if it's born through advocacies, it's very hard to give up on it. And I think the problem with too many young entrepreneurs is they're always looking at the bottom line. Is it red, is it black, are we making money or not? And the moment it's not, they stop, they wash their hands and let's do something else. Because they're always motivated by the money. Yes. Money alone. You've got the passion behind it. Yeah, I think the three of us, it's really involved in our everyday lives because we're really passionate about what we do. So it's like we wake up and we never get tired of doing what we do. Yeah, because you love it. Exactly. So it's not really like a business business. I mean, it is. We don't see it as something separate. It's a lifestyle for you guys. It's what you do. It's very much involved in our lives. It's like we're just walking on our own path. Yeah, nice. So if you could give one tip, I'm gonna ask you for one tip each. So you two have a bit longer to think about it, but I think you'll probably have an answer straight away anyway. There's so many tips to give. I love all the quotes. Yeah, yeah, I love them. I'm gonna be pulling out these quotes, they're great. You'll see them on my Instagram page. I'll tag you. One piece of advice for someone, any age, you know, you don't have to be young to start a business. I think time is on everyone's side now with the internet and opportunities. Someone has an idea, they wanna start something for themselves. One piece, it can be really general, it can be really specific. One piece of advice for that person who's about to start. I think I have two. That's fine. Of course, of course. Well, one is, like what I shared a while ago, is understand your purpose of why you're doing it. Because if it's money, which basically, I mean, if you really ask people, doesn't matter what course they took, and you ask them, how do you determine success? It's always financial. And for me, it's a sad way to look at things. It's very myopic and nearsighted. And if it's always just about the money, you'll never really stick with one thing. Because anything can crumble at the end of the day. But if you find something that you really are passionate about, and you really feel like you were built for this, then it's gonna take a lot more than just a simple bump in the road to get you to quit. Because it's really your thing you love. And the second one is, you were sharing about the blur between the personal life and business life. And I think, although I don't see them separate, I understand, especially when you're working with friends, you have to learn how to prioritize. And so there were times, I remember, when we'd have meetings, and we needed to get this one thing done. But we weren't seeing eye to eye, and there was that tension. And so I had that choice between, do we just go ahead with the meeting, or do we get to the core of the problem, so that we can benefit from it in longer time? And so I had to prioritize, we had to prioritize our relationships first, because that would trickle down and affect everything else. I like that. So I think it's priority and purpose. I like that, priority and purpose. Have you got a P word as well as with? Passion. Nice. Wait, wait, wait your turn. You can't steal that one from me. Okay, that's a big factor. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so, well for me, I've learned how to communicate with our suppliers, with different, working with different people. And you have to build that relationship, not just your partners, but also the people that can help you. Because once you see what he said, eye to eye, they will also help you push that mission. Yes. We have this, one of our great contact for helping us with the farmers, and she saw how we're just so passionate, and she would just, even if she doesn't get anything, she would just help us continuously. And it's really such a big help for us. So people. Starting up, yeah. Business is people. Not me. Yeah. Oh, love it. Yeah. Exactly, yeah. Yeah, you just really have to take care of them, and just be genuinely kind and open, and to have them as not just part of your business, but part of a family, because this is gonna be something that you do in the long run, and you want to see people with huge dreams, success. Good people, absolutely. Love it. Yeah, I think everyone wants to be valuable, but they don't understand that to be valuable, you first have to give value. And once you do that, they receive it. Very true, exactly. Without expecting it back or asking directly. I think people often go straight in asking for stuff, and people are like, buy this, buy that, follow me. And it's like, let's give them value back. Give me a reason why. A lot of things. Yeah. Well, for me, I think it's- Best for last. No, I think it's like a mix of both. It's like, what I said earlier that, no, so what I would like to say to people who are starting their own businesses is that, if you can, don't go at it alone. Because there are a lot of people who do, I don't agree also, like, oh, I want to do this for myself. Like, oh, I get all, for example, the income for myself, or like, I don't want to share. But I feel like that's the wrong way to put it, because if you can, like, for example, with us three, it's so hard to do it. If I were to do this by myself, I think I would go crazy. Yeah, yeah. There are things that they're good at that I'm not. Exactly. So it helps build the whole business, the whole company. And like I said, when one of us is feeling burnt out, or tired, or when we really just don't want to work, like, the other two just really comfort the other person, and like, help build the other person. So I think it's very good to have a community where you can really just share the same passion and help each other grow, and basically become better. Because we all start somewhere, and it's nice to grow with people. Yeah, or start zero. Yeah, exactly. And like with hers, it's very important to have relationships, not only to your customers, but also people working in the background. Like, I feel like they don't get appreciated much. Sure. Like, people are so focused on customers, customers, customers, that they neglect the people who are really working so hard to help make High Friend. Like, for example, the farmers, our suppliers, like all the people in the marketing team, and finance. And like, if we don't appreciate them and show that we actually appreciate them, then we wouldn't be where we are now. So it's really important to really surround yourself with a good community. Just being kind to everyone. Yeah, exactly. Such a good point. It comes back to basic human, being a good person. Sounds like you guys all have really, really good mindset. Good morals as well. Yeah, I think that's important, because I think now with social media and everything, you can't hide that anymore. You can't hide the type of person you are. So if you're not kind, and you're not a good person deep down, and you just want money and all this kind of stuff, I think it will be exposed. But if you say one thing to the wrong person, they're on Twitter, and I don't know, your things can get shared more these days. Yeah, absolutely. Should we do quick fire? Yes. Quick fire round. So, totally unrelated questions. One's related to High Friend. Oh, one's related to High Friend, okay. Very related. Shout it out all at the same time. Talk over each other. Negotiate. Exactly. They're very basic questions. Just first thing that comes to your mind, as quick as you can. Cat or dog? Dog. Oh, I think that was dog and cat. Yeah. Sunrise or sunset? Sunrise. Early risers, nice. Get the day going. Cookie or donut? Cookie. Bit of a mixer. This is a High Friend question. Carrot or broccoli? Broccoli. What? Broccoli's like a carrot. They like their greens. My logo is a carrot. A carrot, I changed my answer. Rebranding soon. Favourite day of the week? Sunday. Guys, we have to copy each other. See how in tune they are. Sunday is our day where we can relax and just go to church and enjoy being around people. So you take that Sunday as a, it's important to do that. It's important to do that. Okay, city or island? City. Bath or shower? Shower. Coffee or tea? Coffee. Instagram or Twitter? Instagram. Nice. And the last one, Netflix or YouTube? Netflix. Cool. We like you. I can spend hours just being in YouTube. Well guys, thanks so much for coming on. Thank you so much for having us. Really appreciate it. If you guys are watching on YouTube or if you're listening on Spotify or anywhere else, if you want to get in touch, we have an Instagram account at do the thing underscore. If you want to contact the show, ask us questions, suggest guests. We've got five guests lined up. You guys are number two on season one. We've got three more guests coming up on season one and then we're going to start planning season two. So we're very excited. Thank you so much. Appreciate it again. If these guys want to follow High Fred or get in touch with you guys about buying some of your produce, then where can we find you? So you can find us on Instagram and Facebook, High Fred underscore PH. And you can order our produce and artisanal products at www.highfred.ph. Perfect. Thanks for coming. Thanks so much guys. We appreciate it. We had so much fun. Good. He was born to do this. Who are you?