WEBVTT 00:00:01.279 --> 00:00:05.200 Hey, it's Shalaysia Harris, your host of Buzzworthy. 00:00:05.559 --> 00:00:09.099 Join me as I sit down with entrepreneurs to talk 00:00:09.099 --> 00:00:12.320 about their innovative businesses and their unique 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:16.800 stories. Remember to follow us on social at Hamilton 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:20.600 Hive on all platforms, and don't forget to rate 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:25.679 our podcast. Let's jump into today's story. Hello, 00:00:25.699 --> 00:00:29.539 everyone. Today, we have Kerry Sobers in the 00:00:29.539 --> 00:00:34.200 studio with us. Kerry is really interested and 00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:36.979 has dropped a few nuggets to me a few minutes 00:00:36.979 --> 00:00:42.039 ago. And Kerry wasn't a chef, but now he's the 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:46.600 owner of a restaurant called Bring Me Some Vegan. 00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:51.679 And he's designed all the recipes and is now 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:55.579 building this business that the food is amazing. 00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:58.700 And Kerry's going to tell us about his story 00:00:58.700 --> 00:01:03.320 and how he started Bring Me Some Vegan. So Kerry, 00:01:03.399 --> 00:01:05.560 thanks for being here. I'm glad I could be here. 00:01:05.939 --> 00:01:09.819 Awesome. So one of the things we like to ask 00:01:09.819 --> 00:01:12.980 entrepreneurs is, you know, what do you think 00:01:12.980 --> 00:01:17.730 set you up to be an entrepreneur? The truth is 00:01:17.730 --> 00:01:22.430 that I was raised in such a household where like 00:01:22.430 --> 00:01:25.790 education meant a good job. So you go to school, 00:01:25.890 --> 00:01:28.370 you do well and you get a good job. That's my 00:01:28.370 --> 00:01:32.290 Caribbean mother speaking, you know, so I never 00:01:32.290 --> 00:01:35.450 had any type of inkling or any type of thought 00:01:35.450 --> 00:01:38.510 process towards owning a business for my own. 00:01:39.849 --> 00:01:44.349 My thought of success was making. you know 60 00:01:44.349 --> 00:01:48.769 to 100k a year at a job that i can go to maybe 00:01:48.769 --> 00:01:51.609 get some time off from you know for holidays 00:01:51.609 --> 00:01:56.170 or whatever but um i never had any idea that 00:01:56.170 --> 00:01:59.450 uh entrepreneur entrepreneurship or business 00:01:59.450 --> 00:02:03.090 owning is is anything in my future yeah and what's 00:02:03.090 --> 00:02:05.730 an option for you it wasn't it was not even an 00:02:05.730 --> 00:02:12.990 option um it was actually um my wife's Her family 00:02:12.990 --> 00:02:19.270 is what sort of coached me to that mindset. Her 00:02:19.270 --> 00:02:24.830 dad pretty much, I mean, he runs the city with 00:02:24.830 --> 00:02:29.210 all his, he does videos, like video editing and 00:02:29.210 --> 00:02:34.110 so on. And he has, since he's been here in Canada, 00:02:34.389 --> 00:02:37.990 specifically in Hamilton, he's been an entrepreneur 00:02:37.990 --> 00:02:40.919 for himself. And he's done, he... just takes 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:44.759 uh takes an idea and runs with it um and it's 00:02:44.759 --> 00:02:47.080 always been a scary inspiration for me to watch 00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:50.280 him kind of like just you know spend you know 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:52.800 how much ever like all of his money on one project 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:57.360 and sort of hoping that uh it pays out and he 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:01.139 does that often and you know he would do his 00:03:01.139 --> 00:03:04.530 entrepreneurship work with the same hours and 00:03:04.530 --> 00:03:07.069 the same effort he puts into his current business, 00:03:07.229 --> 00:03:11.729 which is doing videos and so on, video editing 00:03:11.729 --> 00:03:16.310 and things like that. And I was always perplexed 00:03:16.310 --> 00:03:18.949 because, I mean, how how do you how do you do 00:03:18.949 --> 00:03:20.629 that? Like, why would you do that? Just, you 00:03:20.629 --> 00:03:22.669 know, settle down, do the one thing that's working 00:03:22.669 --> 00:03:29.650 and and be happy. Selena also had that type of 00:03:29.650 --> 00:03:32.650 drive. She always knew that she would do something 00:03:32.650 --> 00:03:35.569 for herself one day, and even that mindset sort 00:03:35.569 --> 00:03:40.030 of caught me off guard. I was like, well, what 00:03:40.030 --> 00:03:43.789 if it fails? And a lot of fears is what kind 00:03:43.789 --> 00:03:48.229 of made me just think, okay, stick to school, 00:03:48.550 --> 00:03:51.990 stick to a good job, and one day I'll just be 00:03:51.990 --> 00:03:57.669 happy. And that's it. They are the ones that 00:03:57.669 --> 00:04:00.729 sort of instilled into me the entrepreneur mindset. 00:04:01.009 --> 00:04:03.050 Because before that, I didn't even know that 00:04:03.050 --> 00:04:06.669 was really a thing. And it was, like I said, 00:04:06.750 --> 00:04:10.009 an option for you. And I think that happens to 00:04:10.009 --> 00:04:14.129 a lot of people. And unlike you, who didn't think 00:04:14.129 --> 00:04:17.750 it was an option for you, my... dad is an entrepreneur 00:04:17.750 --> 00:04:21.149 he's always been that way even though he's always 00:04:21.149 --> 00:04:24.709 had his nine to five as a teacher but just that 00:04:24.709 --> 00:04:27.750 exposure of being able to think in that capacity 00:04:27.750 --> 00:04:31.910 really allows you to overcome the fears even 00:04:31.910 --> 00:04:35.410 when you're still terrified absolutely yeah so 00:04:35.410 --> 00:04:38.509 there must be something even in your nine to 00:04:38.509 --> 00:04:41.949 five that you feel like you know prepared you 00:04:41.949 --> 00:04:45.350 in some way to say i'm gonna do this regardless 00:04:45.350 --> 00:04:50.209 of the fear attached to it it was the truth is 00:04:50.209 --> 00:04:53.870 it's all based on being very desperate um as 00:04:53.870 --> 00:04:57.949 i tried to you know i went to school And I could 00:04:57.949 --> 00:04:59.889 never figure out what it is that I want to do. 00:04:59.970 --> 00:05:02.990 So I'll get to a certain point in college or 00:05:02.990 --> 00:05:05.790 university and taking a course in behavioral 00:05:05.790 --> 00:05:10.329 psychology or power engineering. And I'll just 00:05:10.329 --> 00:05:13.050 get bored and I'll just stop. And so all that 00:05:13.050 --> 00:05:15.170 money for school is gone, all that time wasted. 00:05:15.910 --> 00:05:19.889 And there came a point where, and at the time, 00:05:19.889 --> 00:05:24.899 sorry, I was working for this. phone sorry a 00:05:24.899 --> 00:05:27.819 call center as a supervisor there and I thought 00:05:27.819 --> 00:05:30.819 okay well I'm making decent money thinking what 00:05:30.819 --> 00:05:33.560 I was making was decent money at the time and 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:38.439 I was there for so long that when I finally left 00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:42.819 the only thing on my resume was things like treasurer 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:47.139 at cathedral high school or um you know so basically 00:05:47.139 --> 00:05:50.160 it was it was such a waste of time and when i 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.899 look back now it was like i had nothing to even 00:05:52.899 --> 00:05:56.759 show on a resume to take to another job so now 00:05:56.759 --> 00:06:00.819 my only uh so now i had um nothing on my resume 00:06:00.819 --> 00:06:05.899 and so no prospects and i also had uh nothing 00:06:05.899 --> 00:06:08.139 that any other employer would want including 00:06:08.139 --> 00:06:11.240 school i kept dropping out over and over again 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:15.360 and so I'm kind of sitting there and I'm thinking, 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:18.779 no one's going to hire me. I tried. I tried everything 00:06:18.779 --> 00:06:21.939 that I could to the point where I copied and 00:06:21.939 --> 00:06:24.759 pasted other people's resumes that looked really 00:06:24.759 --> 00:06:27.060 cool. And I thought, okay, well, maybe I can 00:06:27.060 --> 00:06:29.220 just get in the door and learn what I got to 00:06:29.220 --> 00:06:31.720 learn if they get me the job. Maybe I can get 00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:35.420 an interview. So I was bouncing around in temp 00:06:35.420 --> 00:06:38.100 agencies, in fact. And they had me at this one, 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:42.720 it was a factory, like a bakery factory style. 00:06:43.709 --> 00:06:48.550 And the work there was, it was the worst thing 00:06:48.550 --> 00:06:50.709 I've ever done in my life, you know, to make 00:06:50.709 --> 00:06:54.670 a minimum wage. And I remember being disrespected 00:06:54.670 --> 00:06:57.790 extremely by one of the managers there. And from 00:06:57.790 --> 00:07:00.689 that point on, I kind of broke and I didn't, 00:07:00.689 --> 00:07:03.009 I just kind of just kept looking. I was desperate. 00:07:03.389 --> 00:07:05.290 So I did things like everyone else did. I went 00:07:05.290 --> 00:07:09.930 to Shopify. I went to Upwork. I went to Fiverr. 00:07:10.050 --> 00:07:12.050 I went to all these websites that you can sort 00:07:12.050 --> 00:07:14.959 of... do something for yourself to make money 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:19.040 and nothing was making me any kind of substantial 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:23.060 income so that's when this was that's when i 00:07:23.060 --> 00:07:29.759 had to like figure something out wow it's really 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:35.199 interesting your determination your journey um 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:39.579 to see that you spent and invested all of your 00:07:39.579 --> 00:07:43.240 time in one thing and it still didn't pay out 00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:47.920 in the end and here you are desperate trying 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:52.300 to make a living and making a decent living for 00:07:52.300 --> 00:07:55.519 yourself and it just wasn't coming around because 00:07:55.519 --> 00:08:00.040 you weren't able to find your passion you know 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:03.540 employment environments weren't great for you 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:08.180 And then how did Bring Me Some Vegan start? What 00:08:08.180 --> 00:08:11.620 was the opportunity or what was the problem that 00:08:11.620 --> 00:08:15.439 you saw that said, I'm going to open a restaurant? 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:18.459 It's I guess who you surround yourself with. 00:08:18.680 --> 00:08:22.199 That was what it was for me because I was sort 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:26.240 of in like, I don't want to say depression. I 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:29.220 don't think I was depressed, but I was sort of 00:08:29.220 --> 00:08:31.220 out of options and I didn't know what option 00:08:31.220 --> 00:08:37.740 to now take advantage of. Selena's dad, amazing 00:08:37.740 --> 00:08:43.419 dude. And every time he creates something, everyone 00:08:43.419 --> 00:08:45.360 was sort of like, oh my God, you're at it again. 00:08:45.539 --> 00:08:50.519 You're at it again. But he's tenacious. So it 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:53.080 doesn't matter if you don't like it. If he sees 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:57.159 this vision, he'll go after it. So this was during 00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:01.659 COVID. And at this time, I was working still 00:09:01.659 --> 00:09:05.139 with the temp agency. at this one place where 00:09:05.139 --> 00:09:09.559 you build scaffolds and so on. During that time, 00:09:09.639 --> 00:09:13.879 he was working on a project called Squeezy Band. 00:09:14.179 --> 00:09:18.720 He had this idea where you have something like 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:23.639 a wristwatch, but it dispenses Santa hand sanitizer 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:26.440 on the go. So as long as you have it on, you'll 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:29.899 never leave home without something to protect 00:09:29.899 --> 00:09:34.539 you from germs and so on. again this was a great 00:09:34.539 --> 00:09:39.480 idea you know it was peak covid and so he just 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:43.679 kept working at it he invested in a he found 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.659 the finance he worked for it found the money 00:09:46.659 --> 00:09:51.860 he created he uh bought a um a 3d printer and 00:09:51.860 --> 00:09:54.360 like just a basic one just one that can get started 00:09:54.360 --> 00:09:58.379 giving him a prototype and so he he talked to 00:09:58.379 --> 00:10:01.299 people on fiverr talked to his son -in -law um 00:10:01.710 --> 00:10:06.250 Selena's sister's husband. And he was able to 00:10:06.250 --> 00:10:10.129 create a 3D printout of his watch, this squeezy 00:10:10.129 --> 00:10:13.850 band. Eventually, you know, fast forward a little 00:10:13.850 --> 00:10:16.769 bit, maybe a month or two, he has the product 00:10:16.769 --> 00:10:19.710 now. And he spoke to the right people, got to 00:10:19.710 --> 00:10:22.549 the right hands, and he was able to create his 00:10:22.549 --> 00:10:27.070 product. He went on, he had like this news feature 00:10:27.070 --> 00:10:32.019 on CHCH. and it ran through his ad because again 00:10:32.019 --> 00:10:34.679 he does videos like that so it ran through his 00:10:34.679 --> 00:10:39.000 ad and i was there it was airing it was the first 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:40.779 time doing something like this we're all kind 00:10:40.779 --> 00:10:43.059 of sitting around the computer watching this 00:10:43.059 --> 00:10:47.580 happen and then all of a sudden once the once 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:52.620 the the ad stopped the orders that started to 00:10:52.620 --> 00:10:55.720 come in on his computer was it was like a flood 00:10:55.720 --> 00:11:00.779 it was just I've never seen anything like it. 00:11:00.919 --> 00:11:05.340 And so that moment, like he told me, he proved 00:11:05.340 --> 00:11:07.480 to me that you can do something for yourself 00:11:07.480 --> 00:11:11.940 and make real money, make real, you can do something 00:11:11.940 --> 00:11:14.059 tangible. You can put your name out there. You 00:11:14.059 --> 00:11:16.840 can become something that you probably never 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:19.679 thought yourself to becoming, you know? So at 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:22.259 that moment, he proved that it does, it works. 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:25.759 And it's, and all I know him to do is be tenacious. 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:29.539 He never stopped, you know? and so from that 00:11:29.539 --> 00:11:33.320 point on i was determined even if i'm working 00:11:33.320 --> 00:11:36.039 at a temp agency i'll take whatever funds i make 00:11:36.039 --> 00:11:39.639 there and i'll put it into a project that i that 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:43.399 i um whatever project i'm thinking about i would 00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:46.220 put it into work so i started again i went back 00:11:46.220 --> 00:11:50.080 on shopify and i started to research businesses 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:53.440 and what uh what makes money and what you know 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:55.159 all these things but none of these were my passion 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:57.940 but i just knew that i i can do something now 00:11:57.940 --> 00:12:03.139 i knew that it's possible and um again uh selena's 00:12:03.139 --> 00:12:06.440 father being kind of this we always call him 00:12:06.440 --> 00:12:08.580 he's a head by a century because he always has 00:12:08.580 --> 00:12:12.740 a thought always has an idea and he was at the 00:12:12.740 --> 00:12:17.269 time because we stopped eating meat I was cooking 00:12:17.269 --> 00:12:20.830 more. And the food I was cooking was vegan. And 00:12:20.830 --> 00:12:24.129 I like to veganize the products that I used to 00:12:24.129 --> 00:12:27.909 enjoy. The first thing that came to mind was 00:12:27.909 --> 00:12:33.009 a lasagna. And Selena made lasagna. And she used 00:12:33.009 --> 00:12:35.009 cashews and all these other things to kind of 00:12:35.009 --> 00:12:38.070 make it taste similar as possible to a real lasagna. 00:12:38.809 --> 00:12:42.509 And it tasted good, but it didn't... you know 00:12:42.509 --> 00:12:44.590 it's not lasagna you didn't taste like that you 00:12:44.590 --> 00:12:46.649 know that nostalgic flavor that you're looking 00:12:46.649 --> 00:12:48.970 for but i looked at it and i said you know what 00:12:48.970 --> 00:12:50.809 give me a try let me see if i can do this again 00:12:50.809 --> 00:12:54.190 so um i enjoy cooking in general i saw my mom 00:12:54.190 --> 00:12:57.870 cook my grandmother cook and um so i took the 00:12:57.870 --> 00:13:01.409 the concept of making lasagna and i didn't want 00:13:01.409 --> 00:13:04.289 to spend all that money on cashews soaking it 00:13:04.289 --> 00:13:07.730 overnight and all this other stuff so i use the 00:13:07.730 --> 00:13:09.990 products that i that i have ready available things 00:13:09.990 --> 00:13:12.879 like mushrooms or whatever, whatever else to 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:15.860 kind of create textures that I wanted. And I 00:13:15.860 --> 00:13:19.980 did it. And the family was gassed, you know, 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:21.879 and they don't, they're pretty honest, you know, 00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:23.679 so they'll tell me if something didn't taste 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:26.519 good or, and they'll be, yeah, they'll, they'll 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:28.779 be brutal about it. So that's what happened. 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:32.159 So they, they, he specifically, Salim's father 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:35.080 was like, wow, the moment he says that word, 00:13:35.179 --> 00:13:37.299 it's something, it means something because he's 00:13:37.299 --> 00:13:39.669 the one that will say no. I can't. Ew, gross. 00:13:39.929 --> 00:13:42.049 But then when he says that word, you know that, 00:13:42.110 --> 00:13:45.250 all right, so this is good. You have something 00:13:45.250 --> 00:13:49.830 here. So he started pushing. He's like, this 00:13:49.830 --> 00:13:52.049 is it. Do this. You should go to the market. 00:13:52.149 --> 00:13:53.809 I know this place. And he's talking about the 00:13:53.809 --> 00:13:56.649 Hamilton Farmer's Market. He had friends there. 00:13:56.730 --> 00:13:58.269 And he says, come on, let's go. He'll take you 00:13:58.269 --> 00:14:02.029 right now. And he takes us to friends that has. 00:14:02.590 --> 00:14:05.269 um a spot in the hamilton farmers market and 00:14:05.269 --> 00:14:07.450 we're just talking and i'm sitting there like 00:14:07.450 --> 00:14:10.690 man come on i'm not gonna i can't cook i mean 00:14:10.690 --> 00:14:12.850 i cook for you guys but i can't like what am 00:14:12.850 --> 00:14:15.389 i supposed to run a business cooking food and 00:14:15.389 --> 00:14:18.850 so he was again to nate like he saw something 00:14:18.850 --> 00:14:21.909 that i definitely didn't i mean i knew i wanted 00:14:21.909 --> 00:14:24.309 a business now i knew i i know no one was gonna 00:14:24.309 --> 00:14:26.730 hire me so this is what i completely believed 00:14:26.730 --> 00:14:31.490 and so he made it he pushed and he pushed and 00:14:31.490 --> 00:14:35.370 he pushed And then I was let go of the temp agency 00:14:35.370 --> 00:14:39.190 at that point. It was again, peak COVID. So like 00:14:39.190 --> 00:14:41.950 things like the truckers weren't like the shipping, 00:14:42.009 --> 00:14:44.450 something about that was happening. And the material, 00:14:44.850 --> 00:14:49.210 the supply chains were exactly. So they liked 00:14:49.210 --> 00:14:52.049 me there, but like, I mean, they pay me to stand 00:14:52.049 --> 00:14:55.889 around. So, all right, I got let go. And so now 00:14:55.889 --> 00:15:01.389 almost not to, sorry, not to shut them up, but 00:15:01.389 --> 00:15:05.460 like, All right, I'll do this. I'll I'll I'll 00:15:05.460 --> 00:15:08.960 start working on it. So immediately I start working 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:11.980 on the concept and we start working on the concept. 00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:14.659 The concept was like, you know, do kind of like 00:15:14.659 --> 00:15:20.860 gourmet sandwiches or. And so we eventually went 00:15:20.860 --> 00:15:23.539 to the board. We like I made a sandwich. It was 00:15:23.539 --> 00:15:26.059 like a pulled pork made out of mushrooms and 00:15:26.059 --> 00:15:29.580 took it to the board at the market. They accepted 00:15:29.580 --> 00:15:33.840 it and. okay here we go this is something the 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:36.279 day that we went to the market now to kind of 00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:39.740 sign the papers you know and make sure everything's 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:45.039 official um we in the meantime we actually figured 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:46.799 out like okay we don't want to do that kind of 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:49.159 sandwiches let's do i've been working in the 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:51.879 kitchen more and more and i kind of came across 00:15:51.879 --> 00:15:55.220 this idea to do not the idea but i kind of uh 00:15:55.220 --> 00:15:58.149 stumbled on a recipe where, like, I was just 00:15:58.149 --> 00:16:01.090 trying something else, and it tasted like chicken. 00:16:01.269 --> 00:16:03.830 So I was trying to do something. I can't remember 00:16:03.830 --> 00:16:06.309 what I was doing, but the product turned out 00:16:06.309 --> 00:16:08.370 like a chicken. Like, that's what it gave me, 00:16:08.389 --> 00:16:11.889 like, the texture, the toughness, the way that 00:16:11.889 --> 00:16:14.649 it rips apart. And I was like, whoa, this is 00:16:14.649 --> 00:16:19.509 good. If I work on this, I can, you know, make 00:16:19.509 --> 00:16:22.509 it really efficient and make it really chicken 00:16:22.509 --> 00:16:25.240 -like, and I want to really create that. And 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:27.659 so I started playing around with that idea. I 00:16:27.659 --> 00:16:29.500 fried it like regular. I treated it like regular 00:16:29.500 --> 00:16:33.460 chicken. So I pan fried it. I steamed it. I did 00:16:33.460 --> 00:16:35.419 everything to cook it the way I wanted to cook 00:16:35.419 --> 00:16:40.600 it. And, you know, I fried it. So when I fried 00:16:40.600 --> 00:16:44.720 it, it was like amazing. So the concept changed 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:47.320 now from doing just the standard sandwich shop. 00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:51.580 to doing something like a vegan Popeyes. So now 00:16:51.580 --> 00:16:53.139 we're going to the market and trying to sign. 00:16:53.340 --> 00:16:55.139 And we're like, you know what? We want to fry 00:16:55.139 --> 00:16:57.419 here. We want to do this. And the market manager 00:16:57.419 --> 00:16:59.539 was like, fry? What are you talking about? You 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:02.279 can't do that because there's no hood. And so 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:06.380 instantly my heart sunk because that means the 00:17:06.380 --> 00:17:08.859 business idea is gone. You were so invested. 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:10.960 I was so invested at that point because I was 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:15.609 working tirelessly. I mean, day and night. I 00:17:15.609 --> 00:17:18.170 was obsessed with getting this right, obsessed 00:17:18.170 --> 00:17:21.210 with getting... Because again, this is my last 00:17:21.210 --> 00:17:23.390 hope. It would have felt like it. It's like, 00:17:23.470 --> 00:17:26.190 okay, here's a prospect. I got to make it work. 00:17:26.589 --> 00:17:31.430 So all my time was spent on cultivating this 00:17:31.430 --> 00:17:33.609 product and making sure it was exactly how I 00:17:33.609 --> 00:17:37.650 wanted it. And how I wanted it was to be like 00:17:37.650 --> 00:17:43.170 you cannot... a non -vegan can still use it and 00:17:43.170 --> 00:17:46.250 and not realize you know like oh my god i'm eating 00:17:46.250 --> 00:17:50.450 plants but it tastes like chicken anyway that's 00:17:50.450 --> 00:17:53.289 what i was working on and to be told sorry we 00:17:53.289 --> 00:17:56.450 can't do that because you need a hood i don't 00:17:56.450 --> 00:17:58.509 know about a hood i mean i'm just trying to cook 00:17:58.509 --> 00:18:01.230 but like in the restaurant game yeah you need 00:18:01.230 --> 00:18:04.670 when you're frying legally you need a hood and 00:18:04.670 --> 00:18:08.319 a and like a an extinguisher and all these other 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:10.960 things and i was just gonna set up a table at 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:14.420 a boot with a pot you know and cook my food um 00:18:14.420 --> 00:18:19.339 so i'm sunk but selena's again she's like her 00:18:19.339 --> 00:18:23.079 dad she's extremely tenacious no doesn't mean 00:18:23.079 --> 00:18:26.339 no no means okay what's the next step another 00:18:26.339 --> 00:18:28.759 solution and i'm but i'm sitting there and i'm 00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:31.119 like kind of like what with me sort of thing 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:35.039 and i'm feeling like defeated again but she never 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:39.460 really uh like faltered she was pretty like okay 00:18:39.460 --> 00:18:43.619 so we can't fry here where can we fry and the 00:18:43.619 --> 00:18:46.460 market manager at the time was he's he's a good 00:18:46.460 --> 00:18:49.599 guy but he was uh you know saying i don't know 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:51.420 nothing else nothing else and then one second 00:18:51.420 --> 00:18:55.140 he was like wait i can show you the spot and 00:18:55.140 --> 00:18:57.680 at the time the spot that he's showing us it 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:00.220 was so invisible to like because it was kind 00:19:00.220 --> 00:19:03.339 of like in the back area away from where the 00:19:03.339 --> 00:19:07.269 um The stalls that cook food are or the food 00:19:07.269 --> 00:19:09.890 court in the market is so we're in the opposite 00:19:09.890 --> 00:19:12.990 side And he goes and shows us this room and it's 00:19:12.990 --> 00:19:15.230 it's storage. You know, there's chairs benches 00:19:15.230 --> 00:19:18.390 this that the other and Turns out that it was 00:19:18.390 --> 00:19:20.549 a test kitchen for the market. So what they did 00:19:20.549 --> 00:19:24.809 was like They would use the produce from the 00:19:24.809 --> 00:19:28.150 market and they would show like host classes 00:19:28.150 --> 00:19:30.910 and stuff like that how it's cooked and how prepared 00:19:30.910 --> 00:19:35.849 and so Weird. So here we are. This is like this. 00:19:35.930 --> 00:19:38.210 He's showing us a space and basically it's a 00:19:38.210 --> 00:19:42.410 kitchen. And immediately I was like, this is 00:19:42.410 --> 00:19:45.670 it. I couldn't like I could like if I was buying 00:19:45.670 --> 00:19:48.250 a car, he would up the charge, you know, because 00:19:48.250 --> 00:19:52.230 like I did not have a poker face on. I was like 00:19:52.230 --> 00:19:54.589 ecstatic. Like, this is it. It didn't tell us 00:19:54.589 --> 00:19:58.470 the price of rent. And my heart sinks again because 00:19:58.470 --> 00:20:02.970 I don't got no money. Again, Selena being who 00:20:02.970 --> 00:20:06.369 she is was like, yeah, we'll take it. All right, 00:20:06.369 --> 00:20:13.109 we'll look into it. We'll talk. I was like, Selena, 00:20:13.250 --> 00:20:16.650 what are you talking about? I have no money. 00:20:16.789 --> 00:20:18.630 I took the bus here. What are you talking about? 00:20:19.789 --> 00:20:23.609 She was calm. She was cool. She was like, it's 00:20:23.609 --> 00:20:26.029 okay. We'll figure it out. That's all that she 00:20:26.029 --> 00:20:29.650 always says. We jump off the bridge and then... 00:20:29.930 --> 00:20:31.309 all right we'll figure out how to land on our 00:20:31.309 --> 00:20:34.130 feet i'm like all right so i'm just kind of her 00:20:34.130 --> 00:20:38.769 little sidekick and um it and then all of a sudden 00:20:38.769 --> 00:20:42.190 where we get the space we lock it down we pull 00:20:42.190 --> 00:20:45.670 money together from every every crevice of my 00:20:45.670 --> 00:20:48.609 bank account of her bank account and uh we got 00:20:48.609 --> 00:20:50.970 the first we got the first and last ramp paid 00:20:50.970 --> 00:20:55.460 so now we own the spot and From there, we said, 00:20:55.500 --> 00:20:57.599 OK, well, once the spot was put together, eventually, 00:20:57.819 --> 00:21:00.720 again, through friends and family helping as 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:04.099 best as they can, all we said was like, all right, 00:21:04.180 --> 00:21:09.559 it's here. You know, we have we made like a pittance 00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:14.240 worth of a product to sell. But everything that 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:18.359 we worked on was was really well done and we 00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:21.990 were happy to serve it. But we didn't do any 00:21:21.990 --> 00:21:24.890 marketing, any advertising. We literally just 00:21:24.890 --> 00:21:31.470 opened the door. And one person came in. He was 00:21:31.470 --> 00:21:33.369 a local artist, actually. His name was Dope Chief, 00:21:33.470 --> 00:21:37.930 I think. Dope Chief, sorry. And he came in. He 00:21:37.930 --> 00:21:42.250 was our first guy. As soon as he came in, I didn't 00:21:42.250 --> 00:21:44.089 know how to serve the guy. I was just like, oh, 00:21:44.130 --> 00:21:45.509 my God, I'm going to have to make a burger now. 00:21:46.049 --> 00:21:51.559 So I make it, and he was happy. He left. And 00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:55.640 God bless him because as soon as he took that 00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:59.339 out, he posted it. And once he posted it, we 00:21:59.339 --> 00:22:03.019 had a flood of customers the first day and the 00:22:03.019 --> 00:22:05.680 second day and the third day. And they were out 00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:10.200 of inventory. And it was incredible. So that 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:13.359 was the start of it all. And you had that moment 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:18.700 when you first saw... you know selena's dad with 00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:21.940 the wrist watches and having those orders come 00:22:21.940 --> 00:22:25.900 in was that a similar moment for you it was it 00:22:25.900 --> 00:22:28.099 was something i because it's not something i 00:22:28.099 --> 00:22:30.559 expected we said to ourselves like okay if customers 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:33.299 don't come in we said all right we need this 00:22:33.299 --> 00:22:37.079 amount of money to pay the to just keep the keep 00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:39.720 the business open just the doors open we need 00:22:39.720 --> 00:22:42.539 to make this amount every day So if we have to 00:22:42.539 --> 00:22:45.299 go car to car, door to door, if we have to sit 00:22:45.299 --> 00:22:47.359 on the street and we have to hand out flyers, 00:22:47.400 --> 00:22:50.440 we will do whatever it takes to make sure that 00:22:50.440 --> 00:22:53.119 we get five customers. Oh, we need five customers. 00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:55.259 We kept talking like that to each other. This 00:22:55.259 --> 00:23:01.559 is before the door opened. And when it opened, 00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:05.759 the type of love that the city showed us was 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:13.910 unexpected. appreciated beyond i don't know because 00:23:13.910 --> 00:23:16.069 it stopped being about money after like after 00:23:16.069 --> 00:23:19.750 that it became like they want like oh my god 00:23:19.750 --> 00:23:22.690 these guys are liking my food and like my food 00:23:22.690 --> 00:23:27.109 is is unorthodox you know it's it's it's it's 00:23:27.109 --> 00:23:29.789 something it's a soy and pea protein based product 00:23:29.789 --> 00:23:33.660 and i don't know how like you guys like it like 00:23:33.660 --> 00:23:35.859 oh my god that's that's cool appreciate that 00:23:35.859 --> 00:23:38.759 thank you for enjoying my product you know thank 00:23:38.759 --> 00:23:41.039 you for enjoying the time that i put into these 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:44.359 things um even when i did like my i started to 00:23:44.359 --> 00:23:47.599 make biscuits for the for the for bring me some 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:51.579 um the first biscuits that i've ever baked ever 00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:56.500 and i gave it to my give it to my mom selena 00:23:57.450 --> 00:24:00.049 And they tried it and they spit it out because 00:24:00.049 --> 00:24:03.430 it was vinegary and weird. And like, I was like, 00:24:03.490 --> 00:24:07.569 all right. So at that point, I didn't know. Like, 00:24:07.589 --> 00:24:11.069 that's how far I've come because I have no training 00:24:11.069 --> 00:24:14.750 in cooking. I have no background. I just love 00:24:14.750 --> 00:24:18.369 to eat and I love to cook and I love to see people 00:24:18.369 --> 00:24:23.289 happy. So incidentally, this is what became my, 00:24:23.430 --> 00:24:26.640 like, I realized this is my. This is my passion 00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:32.140 all of a sudden. And from there, to be making 00:24:32.140 --> 00:24:36.740 a living, it was a different goal. It wasn't 00:24:36.740 --> 00:24:38.720 about the money anymore. It wasn't about me being 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:42.220 broke. It was like, I'm really happy to serve 00:24:42.220 --> 00:24:45.700 people and have them enjoy my food. It was humbling. 00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:50.180 And if you were to look back on the Carrie who 00:24:50.180 --> 00:24:54.789 had... Just walked away from, you know, managing 00:24:54.789 --> 00:24:57.809 a call center. What would you say to that carry? 00:25:00.569 --> 00:25:04.690 That's a good question. But I don't know, that 00:25:04.690 --> 00:25:07.710 carry, he was lost, you know, like he was lost 00:25:07.710 --> 00:25:10.410 in a lot of different ways. So I don't know that 00:25:10.410 --> 00:25:12.549 even this carry today would have been able to 00:25:12.549 --> 00:25:17.809 get through to him because he was like, he was 00:25:17.809 --> 00:25:20.349 stuck. Again, I don't want to say the word depressed, 00:25:20.450 --> 00:25:24.829 but he was definitely sad and defeated, especially 00:25:24.829 --> 00:25:28.569 when you look back. The moment I saw my resume 00:25:28.569 --> 00:25:31.309 and that it had stuff when I was in high school, 00:25:31.470 --> 00:25:34.809 and I was long past high school, and my resume 00:25:34.809 --> 00:25:40.029 had high school jobs, high school tasks, and 00:25:40.029 --> 00:25:42.789 nothing else. So at that point, you're stuck, 00:25:42.970 --> 00:25:46.809 and I didn't have school, and I didn't have... 00:25:47.500 --> 00:25:50.440 any type of experience, work experience. So I 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:54.799 was stuck. And so he was, to convince him otherwise, 00:25:55.019 --> 00:25:58.799 or start a business, that would not happen. I 00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:02.339 think that's what makes every journey so important 00:26:02.339 --> 00:26:06.799 is, and your answer obviously isn't a typical 00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:09.619 answer that, you know, I would have expected 00:26:09.619 --> 00:26:14.319 and most people wouldn't have given is, you know, 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:17.019 you can always say something great hindsight, 00:26:17.079 --> 00:26:21.000 but I like your insight that, you know, that 00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:24.170 Carrie just wasn't. ready to receive it. All 00:26:24.170 --> 00:26:27.390 of these things he had to go through all of that 00:26:27.390 --> 00:26:31.410 pivotal moment when Selena's dad started this 00:26:31.410 --> 00:26:33.630 business, no one thought was going to go anywhere. 00:26:33.990 --> 00:26:37.730 Those things had to happen for you to really, 00:26:37.849 --> 00:26:41.930 you know, take that leap and believe in yourself 00:26:41.930 --> 00:26:44.930 even when you're like halfway through it already 00:26:44.930 --> 00:26:49.369 and you have your new kitchen location and you're 00:26:49.369 --> 00:26:53.299 ready to open up and you're still going. am i 00:26:53.299 --> 00:26:58.660 am i crazy why am i still doing this but you 00:26:58.660 --> 00:27:03.420 push through that never ends like you will the 00:27:03.420 --> 00:27:07.420 restaurant game is i love it i love it but it 00:27:07.420 --> 00:27:10.140 is the hardest thing that i've ever done in my 00:27:10.140 --> 00:27:12.799 life and that's because that's me maybe it's 00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:14.539 because like everything i have to do is learned 00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:18.140 on the spot everything um you know the effort 00:27:18.140 --> 00:27:21.079 that i have to put forward is you know, to start 00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:23.880 because we, again, I'm not trying to say that 00:27:23.880 --> 00:27:26.460 other people's journey isn't different, but I 00:27:26.460 --> 00:27:29.440 know, or isn't difficult, but like where we started, 00:27:29.460 --> 00:27:33.059 we had nothing. We just had a wish and we had 00:27:33.059 --> 00:27:37.019 a dream and we just left. And then it was almost 00:27:37.019 --> 00:27:40.940 like, come what may, because if we failed, the 00:27:40.940 --> 00:27:42.980 only way that we decided that we would fail is 00:27:42.980 --> 00:27:44.900 if we don't get back up. You know, if we stop, 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:49.150 then we fail. So as long as we... keep that tenacious 00:27:49.150 --> 00:27:53.490 attitude, and then keep pushing, then, okay, 00:27:53.509 --> 00:27:55.970 who cares if I don't know what a thermometer 00:27:55.970 --> 00:27:59.029 does for, you know, for chicken, I could learn 00:27:59.029 --> 00:28:02.789 that, but who cares if, like, I don't know the 00:28:02.789 --> 00:28:05.369 bonding heat of, you know, it doesn't matter, 00:28:05.470 --> 00:28:09.269 like, if you want something, it's possible, but 00:28:09.269 --> 00:28:12.609 this is, this has been, like, this is a continuous 00:28:12.609 --> 00:28:16.269 journey, continuous learning experience, it never 00:28:16.269 --> 00:28:19.789 ends, but it's like, I literally wouldn't have 00:28:19.789 --> 00:28:24.049 it any other way. Last night I was up, I worked 00:28:24.049 --> 00:28:30.990 from, what was it, like 6 till 4 .30, 6 p .m., 00:28:30.990 --> 00:28:36.349 6 a .m. to 4 a .m. last night. And it's because 00:28:36.349 --> 00:28:38.250 we were, you know, we had a busy Valentine's 00:28:38.250 --> 00:28:41.250 Day, which, again, the universe blessed us with 00:28:41.250 --> 00:28:42.970 that, with customers coming in the door every 00:28:42.970 --> 00:28:47.000 time. I ran out of inventory. And the only way 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:49.119 to make sure that we have inventory for today 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:52.099 is if I stayed up and did all the prep last night. 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:55.440 And I wouldn't have it any other way. You know, 00:28:55.460 --> 00:28:57.799 I'll do that again tonight if I have to. I'd 00:28:57.799 --> 00:29:02.039 love it. But it's hard work. But, like, everything, 00:29:02.259 --> 00:29:07.400 when I see the customers, you know, they are 00:29:07.400 --> 00:29:10.740 what make it so worth it, to be honest with you. 00:29:12.250 --> 00:29:15.569 the kid like it's so wild to see like a family 00:29:15.569 --> 00:29:19.029 coming into my restaurant and eating with their 00:29:19.029 --> 00:29:22.450 kids and like that's such a surreal moment to 00:29:22.450 --> 00:29:25.750 see that you know because i mean carrie was working 00:29:25.750 --> 00:29:28.890 in a call center just like not four years ago 00:29:28.890 --> 00:29:32.650 or he was temp agency you know hammering you 00:29:32.650 --> 00:29:35.250 know bricks for a living you know and all of 00:29:35.250 --> 00:29:39.279 a sudden he created a product where people are 00:29:39.279 --> 00:29:41.859 sitting in his restaurant, like a family sitting 00:29:41.859 --> 00:29:44.539 in his restaurant, eating their food. And like, 00:29:44.619 --> 00:29:47.220 I don't know if many people understand how big 00:29:47.220 --> 00:29:50.960 that is, but like, it's huge for me because that's 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:53.279 never something that I expected ever in my life, 00:29:53.380 --> 00:29:56.480 you know, but there they are. There you are. 00:29:56.640 --> 00:30:00.460 This is something you built and you had an incredible 00:30:00.460 --> 00:30:05.480 support system around you. And I think that. 00:30:06.200 --> 00:30:08.859 is something a lot of people don't often see 00:30:08.859 --> 00:30:13.859 and you you started this conversation with them 00:30:13.859 --> 00:30:17.819 and it's incredible to see where your inspiration 00:30:17.819 --> 00:30:21.619 came from and ultimately how they still support 00:30:21.619 --> 00:30:27.559 you today in every way to a 22 hour day um just 00:30:27.559 --> 00:30:31.220 last night and here you are recording this podcast 00:30:31.220 --> 00:30:34.380 it's lovable that's all it is my mom has been 00:30:34.380 --> 00:30:37.839 like like she's a trainee so she's again she 00:30:37.839 --> 00:30:41.500 doesn't know she doesn't she again she always 00:30:41.500 --> 00:30:44.119 believed initially that the only way to make 00:30:44.119 --> 00:30:46.440 a living realistically is to go to school get 00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:50.900 a good job so for her seeing where we started 00:30:50.900 --> 00:30:53.400 and we started in like her kitchen learning everything 00:30:53.400 --> 00:30:56.440 and then we had to get a test kitchen to learn 00:30:56.440 --> 00:30:59.900 everything and to make it legal and all this 00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:02.700 other stuff that we had to learn and all through 00:31:02.700 --> 00:31:05.230 the way all through it all she was Kind of holding 00:31:05.230 --> 00:31:07.109 her breath because, like, what are you doing? 00:31:07.490 --> 00:31:09.750 You're trying to do a business. It's so risky. 00:31:09.849 --> 00:31:11.829 Yeah, it's, like, so risky. It's not what I taught 00:31:11.829 --> 00:31:15.789 you. But she was backing me with her breath held 00:31:15.789 --> 00:31:18.849 every time, you know. So she was in the kitchen, 00:31:18.990 --> 00:31:23.680 like. helping me learn the recipe and and giving 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:26.519 me all her tidbits of what she knows and and 00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:31.240 she'd be at the restaurant folding the the boxes 00:31:31.240 --> 00:31:34.019 with us so we have enough boxes to serve or she'll 00:31:34.019 --> 00:31:37.160 be you know mixing something or she'll be right 00:31:37.160 --> 00:31:39.259 there with me all throughout with her breath 00:31:39.259 --> 00:31:43.900 held you know my uh my mother -in -law like like 00:31:44.929 --> 00:31:47.109 consistent she's there every day she's there 00:31:47.109 --> 00:31:49.910 every day helping us clean up after a shift she's 00:31:49.910 --> 00:31:54.150 there all the time uh giving us advice and and 00:31:54.150 --> 00:31:55.750 putting us in touch with the right people or 00:31:55.750 --> 00:32:00.150 you know helping she's she's a kind of a can't 00:32:00.150 --> 00:32:02.490 do woman so she you know she'll grab a hammer 00:32:02.490 --> 00:32:05.089 and wrench and she'll fix our sink if it's broken 00:32:05.089 --> 00:32:10.069 um you know some of the sister she she came in 00:32:10.069 --> 00:32:11.809 and she we didn't have any staff but we were 00:32:11.809 --> 00:32:15.640 busy and She was there. She helped. She helped 00:32:15.640 --> 00:32:17.640 all the way through. She helped until we got 00:32:17.640 --> 00:32:21.740 on our feet. The support that we had with this 00:32:21.740 --> 00:32:26.720 was... We couldn't have done it alone. But it's... 00:32:26.720 --> 00:32:30.640 I feel... It's just blessed. All through it all, 00:32:30.740 --> 00:32:32.640 it's blessed. Whether it's the hard work that 00:32:32.640 --> 00:32:34.460 needed to be done in order for it to happen. 00:32:36.119 --> 00:32:39.599 But... To have customers that are super polite, 00:32:39.819 --> 00:32:44.160 super kind. They leave us amazing reviews, which 00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:48.140 grows any business. Google reviews are something 00:32:48.140 --> 00:32:52.779 that businesses depend on. They take the time 00:32:52.779 --> 00:32:55.940 and they go on and they write something about 00:32:55.940 --> 00:32:59.099 us that's nice. That gives me energy. That gives 00:32:59.099 --> 00:33:04.109 me reason to keep going. It's the same for everyone, 00:33:04.609 --> 00:33:10.089 our staff, our team that we're building. I hear 00:33:10.089 --> 00:33:14.690 it all the time that it's almost like the manipulation 00:33:14.690 --> 00:33:18.430 tactic where some businesses talk about their 00:33:18.430 --> 00:33:20.869 employees and say, oh, you guys are like family. 00:33:21.490 --> 00:33:23.529 And that's supposed to manipulate them to be, 00:33:23.630 --> 00:33:26.549 you know, okay, well, okay. Buy in to be better 00:33:26.549 --> 00:33:32.690 employees. Exactly. I hear that. I, like these 00:33:32.690 --> 00:33:37.009 guys, we have, we have, we built such a team 00:33:37.009 --> 00:33:39.630 so far and it's, it's only a, they're like, we're 00:33:39.630 --> 00:33:41.349 building a team still. So we're hiring a lot 00:33:41.349 --> 00:33:44.710 of people, but there are two members specifically 00:33:44.710 --> 00:33:47.130 that's been with us for a long time and thick 00:33:47.130 --> 00:33:52.009 through thin, they've been there and it's, I 00:33:52.009 --> 00:33:57.990 would be. When I call them family or I think 00:33:57.990 --> 00:34:01.390 of them that way, it's the truth. It's genuine 00:34:01.390 --> 00:34:05.390 because they were there. They were there from 00:34:05.390 --> 00:34:07.910 the ground up. They were there through our hardest 00:34:07.910 --> 00:34:09.789 times. They were there when we were crying and 00:34:09.789 --> 00:34:14.510 we were at a festival and something happened. 00:34:15.349 --> 00:34:19.610 There have been so many ups and downs that these 00:34:19.610 --> 00:34:23.269 guys were there with us. They held us up. You 00:34:23.269 --> 00:34:26.869 know, they held us down. So, like, I don't know. 00:34:26.909 --> 00:34:30.789 So, it's this support system all through it all 00:34:30.789 --> 00:34:34.090 that makes this worth it. Yeah. And helped you 00:34:34.090 --> 00:34:37.309 grow and help you become more successful. Absolutely. 00:34:37.630 --> 00:34:42.769 Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. So, when, you know, hindsight 00:34:42.769 --> 00:34:46.929 looking back, I know your father -in -law just 00:34:46.929 --> 00:34:51.079 took you to the farmer's market. But did you 00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:54.199 look at what were the offerings for vegan things 00:34:54.199 --> 00:34:58.400 in Hamilton? You know, was there a market for 00:34:58.400 --> 00:35:02.159 you? Did this make any sense? No, all we did 00:35:02.159 --> 00:35:06.320 was cook. That's it. We didn't know any logistics. 00:35:06.460 --> 00:35:10.340 We don't know if we're correctly pricing the 00:35:10.340 --> 00:35:14.619 foods. We didn't know. We were dumber and dumber 00:35:14.619 --> 00:35:19.340 going into this. We did not have any idea. Probably 00:35:19.340 --> 00:35:21.239 still don't have any idea what we're doing right 00:35:21.239 --> 00:35:24.840 now, but I mean, we just keep going. But the 00:35:24.840 --> 00:35:26.659 fact is, we didn't know if there was going to 00:35:26.659 --> 00:35:30.920 be a demand for it. I did actually notice, though, 00:35:31.000 --> 00:35:37.500 during COVID that fast food was the only businesses 00:35:37.500 --> 00:35:39.579 that were staying afloat. In fact, they were 00:35:39.579 --> 00:35:43.019 thriving. It was the bigger names like McDonald's 00:35:43.019 --> 00:35:47.070 and Popeyes and all those other guys. They showed 00:35:47.070 --> 00:35:52.690 record numbers, whereas some eateries like Wolfgang 00:35:52.690 --> 00:35:55.250 Puck's restaurants and so on, those guys had 00:35:55.250 --> 00:35:57.909 to close down and all the dine -in places were 00:35:57.909 --> 00:36:02.130 really getting hit. They were struggling. But 00:36:02.130 --> 00:36:04.989 the fast food, they were not only surviving, 00:36:05.050 --> 00:36:07.630 but they were thriving. So that would be probably 00:36:07.630 --> 00:36:12.769 the only research that we did in respect to... 00:36:13.469 --> 00:36:16.550 open but we just said okay well our food tastes 00:36:16.550 --> 00:36:20.070 good the food looks good let's let's try to sell 00:36:20.070 --> 00:36:23.489 it that's that's a big part of any business though 00:36:23.489 --> 00:36:29.710 is the product is the product good and you identify 00:36:29.710 --> 00:36:33.130 that there was you know something that kind of 00:36:33.130 --> 00:36:34.769 worked against you because like you said it was 00:36:34.769 --> 00:36:39.630 only big guys really succeeding and hitting record 00:36:39.630 --> 00:36:43.230 numbers during the pandemic and how do you think 00:36:43.230 --> 00:36:48.210 you managed through all of that and still able 00:36:48.210 --> 00:36:53.269 to grow the business the honestly like i mean 00:36:53.269 --> 00:36:57.050 this sounds weird but like i don't know how this 00:36:57.050 --> 00:36:59.510 business is growing i don't it's because like 00:36:59.510 --> 00:37:06.059 we we have just worked every day and In spite 00:37:06.059 --> 00:37:10.159 of McDonald's doing well and so on, we just said, 00:37:10.199 --> 00:37:15.000 okay, well, our product tastes really good. And 00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:17.539 the way that we presented, we believed it was 00:37:17.539 --> 00:37:21.920 really good. If we were to look at our food and 00:37:21.920 --> 00:37:24.559 judge it honestly, we were just assuming, okay, 00:37:24.639 --> 00:37:30.400 this is a good thing. It was also a unique product 00:37:30.400 --> 00:37:34.619 within... probably Ontario in general, maybe 00:37:34.619 --> 00:37:37.840 further than that. I know there are other places 00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:40.400 that do something similar, and they're good, 00:37:40.539 --> 00:37:43.360 but nothing quite like what we were trying to 00:37:43.360 --> 00:37:50.579 do. So that's all we went on. We went off of 00:37:50.579 --> 00:37:54.380 the fact that if I like the food, someone else 00:37:54.380 --> 00:37:57.380 might like the food. At that time, I was still 00:37:57.380 --> 00:38:02.719 under the meat -eater construct. The only reason 00:38:02.719 --> 00:38:05.099 why I decided to become vegan at the time was 00:38:05.099 --> 00:38:09.619 literally out of respect for my wife and my family, 00:38:09.980 --> 00:38:13.880 you know, like my extended family. You know, 00:38:13.880 --> 00:38:15.699 and that's the only reason why I decided to do 00:38:15.699 --> 00:38:20.769 it initially. being vegan you appreciate every 00:38:20.769 --> 00:38:22.650 other nuance that it is that comes with being 00:38:22.650 --> 00:38:25.550 vegan you know the suffering of animals and and 00:38:25.550 --> 00:38:28.409 and you know the concept of why eat meat when 00:38:28.409 --> 00:38:32.510 there is a viable other option so things like 00:38:32.510 --> 00:38:35.110 that started to to sort of awaken in my thoughts 00:38:35.110 --> 00:38:37.829 because I was already eating vegan anyway so 00:38:37.829 --> 00:38:41.030 you know that's the segue but anything else about 00:38:41.030 --> 00:38:46.429 this business I have no idea as to to how people 00:38:46.429 --> 00:38:49.230 still hear about us or how they, they come in 00:38:49.230 --> 00:38:51.929 and they find us. And we have people coming from 00:38:51.929 --> 00:38:55.710 like the States and coming from places deep within 00:38:55.710 --> 00:38:59.070 Ontario, you know, just to come find us and that 00:38:59.070 --> 00:39:02.010 every day we see it. And it's like, it's been 00:39:02.010 --> 00:39:05.690 a two year journey so far from the market to 00:39:05.690 --> 00:39:10.880 where we are now in concession. And. Every day 00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:13.099 it feels like the first day a customer comes 00:39:13.099 --> 00:39:15.579 in and I kind of peek out while I'm cooking. 00:39:15.780 --> 00:39:18.800 I peek out and I see people eating and enjoying 00:39:18.800 --> 00:39:21.380 and taking pictures. You're taking pictures? 00:39:21.699 --> 00:39:25.780 That's so cool. How are you doing that? But that's 00:39:25.780 --> 00:39:28.420 still what drives me. That's what fuels me to 00:39:28.420 --> 00:39:33.500 continue. I have no idea why they come. I don't 00:39:33.500 --> 00:39:36.900 know what makes them like the food the way that 00:39:36.900 --> 00:39:41.909 they eat. They do, but I'm grateful. But I don't 00:39:41.909 --> 00:39:43.929 have a strategy, unfortunately. You have to figure 00:39:43.929 --> 00:39:46.789 it out. We need a strategy. I do need a strategy. 00:39:46.909 --> 00:39:55.590 I do need to figure it out. Selena is the strategist. 00:39:56.489 --> 00:39:58.809 She's the one that looks at logistics and numbers. 00:39:59.050 --> 00:40:03.389 She just lets me enjoy what I do, which is create 00:40:03.389 --> 00:40:07.960 now. When I'm in the kitchen, it's me creating. 00:40:08.059 --> 00:40:11.420 Even the work that it takes to prepare the food, 00:40:11.599 --> 00:40:17.679 I love it all. I enjoy it all. I don't know what's 00:40:17.679 --> 00:40:20.199 going on. She might. She may have a better idea, 00:40:20.320 --> 00:40:22.579 but she was here to kind of shed light on it. 00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:28.119 But definitely, I just look at it as a blessing 00:40:28.119 --> 00:40:30.440 because we didn't do anything to deserve this. 00:40:31.719 --> 00:40:37.050 The customers, the... The media that kind of, 00:40:37.050 --> 00:40:41.309 you know, Urbanist City and, you know, all these. 00:40:41.469 --> 00:40:43.469 We have vegan and a whole bunch of different 00:40:43.469 --> 00:40:47.789 people that's really just spread our name because 00:40:47.789 --> 00:40:50.349 they liked our food. I mean, I can't express, 00:40:50.650 --> 00:40:53.889 literally cannot express more how grateful I 00:40:53.889 --> 00:40:56.769 am for that. You know, we were helped. People 00:40:56.769 --> 00:41:00.230 and the customers, I mean, luckily they truly 00:41:00.230 --> 00:41:03.210 enjoyed the food. I put a lot of work into hope 00:41:03.210 --> 00:41:06.250 and into making sure that that's a possibility 00:41:06.250 --> 00:41:09.389 that they will possibly like the food that I 00:41:09.389 --> 00:41:12.230 make. I mean, it wasn't just hope, right? It 00:41:12.230 --> 00:41:16.130 was a lot of work and you're doing a lot of things 00:41:16.130 --> 00:41:18.989 right, right? You differentiate yourself. No 00:41:18.989 --> 00:41:23.349 one else has food like you do. You have customers 00:41:23.349 --> 00:41:27.309 that speak on your behalf. That's the best marketing 00:41:27.309 --> 00:41:31.280 you can ever. get absolutely right it's important 00:41:31.280 --> 00:41:33.840 for you to be online but if your customers are 00:41:33.840 --> 00:41:36.920 gonna be online with you then they're gonna talk 00:41:36.920 --> 00:41:39.820 about you that's why you have people coming in 00:41:39.820 --> 00:41:44.119 from so far um to taste your product and talking 00:41:44.119 --> 00:41:48.280 about that what's your favorite thing on the 00:41:48.280 --> 00:41:52.840 menu that everyone should come to bring me some 00:41:52.840 --> 00:41:57.550 so they can try it um It's the big man never 00:41:57.550 --> 00:42:01.849 mind. It's a take on a popular product, you know, 00:42:01.889 --> 00:42:08.150 in a popular restaurant. Is it chicken? No, this 00:42:08.150 --> 00:42:11.670 is a beef one. It's a beef product. It's our 00:42:11.670 --> 00:42:15.110 only burger on the menu, our beef burger on the 00:42:15.110 --> 00:42:17.989 menu. Okay. And that's the one that I would, 00:42:18.110 --> 00:42:21.550 I'm really proud of that one because it's such 00:42:21.550 --> 00:42:25.219 a clone of the original. In fact, I've heard 00:42:25.219 --> 00:42:27.119 rumors that it's better than the original, but 00:42:27.119 --> 00:42:29.420 I don't want to toot my own horn. We'll leave 00:42:29.420 --> 00:42:31.420 that to the customer. Exactly. I'll leave that 00:42:31.420 --> 00:42:34.219 to the customer to try out. But that's my favorite. 00:42:35.019 --> 00:42:37.280 Because one of the things that I missed when 00:42:37.280 --> 00:42:41.039 I was a non -vegan is to go to this place and 00:42:41.039 --> 00:42:46.840 check it out. That's what I used to get. It's 00:42:46.840 --> 00:42:50.420 my order. So to veganize the way that I've done. 00:42:51.210 --> 00:42:54.050 It was kind of painstaking to kind of get the 00:42:54.050 --> 00:42:57.469 right flavor palette there. But I think I did 00:42:57.469 --> 00:42:59.409 pretty good on it. So hopefully they'll enjoy 00:42:59.409 --> 00:43:02.429 it. So what's it called again? The Big Ma. Never 00:43:02.429 --> 00:43:06.190 mind. It's the Big Ma. Never mind. All right. 00:43:06.349 --> 00:43:09.750 So we'll put that in the episode description 00:43:09.750 --> 00:43:13.269 and all of your contacts. But if people want 00:43:13.269 --> 00:43:16.889 to follow you right now on social media. Where 00:43:16.889 --> 00:43:19.710 can they find you? How can they follow you to 00:43:19.710 --> 00:43:20.789 see what you're up to? Instagram is definitely 00:43:20.789 --> 00:43:23.250 the best. We post a lot of the new foods that 00:43:23.250 --> 00:43:26.710 are coming up. We have a lot of new things that 00:43:26.710 --> 00:43:29.909 are on the, that's going to be on the menu soon. 00:43:31.949 --> 00:43:34.389 I'm working on a lot of cool things. I think 00:43:34.389 --> 00:43:37.510 it's pretty cool. But they can just go on Instagram. 00:43:37.909 --> 00:43:41.809 Bring me some vegan and check us out. Amazing. 00:43:42.409 --> 00:43:47.260 Well, guys. Carrie's story really took me back 00:43:47.260 --> 00:43:51.119 because I really didn't speak much today. But 00:43:51.119 --> 00:43:55.599 I really hope you enjoyed it, especially because 00:43:55.599 --> 00:44:00.800 it's so inspiring. And to see, you know, your 00:44:00.800 --> 00:44:05.000 face and how you told me your journey, there 00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:09.619 was such an evident. progression in terms of 00:44:09.619 --> 00:44:12.940 the emotion that came out as you were telling 00:44:12.940 --> 00:44:16.440 me you know Carrie from four years ago to Carrie 00:44:16.440 --> 00:44:20.760 that started you know bring me some vegan it's 00:44:20.760 --> 00:44:24.599 it's incredible to watch your progress just even 00:44:24.599 --> 00:44:29.090 in this room And I'm really excited for some 00:44:29.090 --> 00:44:30.869 of the things you're going to do in the future. 00:44:30.889 --> 00:44:34.429 And we know you have an incredible support system. 00:44:34.809 --> 00:44:38.110 I'll definitely be following you on social media. 00:44:39.210 --> 00:44:41.690 I'm gluten -free, but I can't have a lot of your 00:44:41.690 --> 00:44:44.650 products. But hopefully one day. We're working 00:44:44.650 --> 00:44:47.769 on it. One day I'll come by and try something 00:44:47.769 --> 00:44:51.730 special. And, yeah, I hope everyone else gets 00:44:51.730 --> 00:44:56.170 a chance to come by, try, bring me some, and 00:44:56.170 --> 00:45:00.570 support you. I would appreciate it. But everyone's 00:45:00.570 --> 00:45:06.210 been so amazing already. Just keep coming. You 00:45:06.210 --> 00:45:09.650 heard it. Just keep coming. Thanks so much for 00:45:09.650 --> 00:45:12.389 joining us on Buzzworthy, Kerry. It's been such 00:45:12.389 --> 00:45:16.130 a pleasure. And your story is going to hit home 00:45:16.130 --> 00:45:18.630 to a lot of people. And I'm really excited for 00:45:18.630 --> 00:45:23.090 that. I hope it helps. Because for anything to 00:45:23.090 --> 00:45:26.309 take away from what I've learned, it's just honestly 00:45:26.309 --> 00:45:30.769 that whole concept. normalized saying of never 00:45:30.769 --> 00:45:33.949 give up it's actually a fact like you work hard 00:45:33.949 --> 00:45:37.530 and you don't stop and eventually something's 00:45:37.530 --> 00:45:39.590 gonna happen something good's gonna happen yeah 00:45:39.590 --> 00:45:43.730 well keep working hard guys talk to you later 00:45:43.730 --> 00:45:48.769 bye a huge thank you to you our listeners for 00:45:48.769 --> 00:45:51.829 tuning in every week to hear about our buzzworthy 00:45:51.829 --> 00:45:55.190 businesses Don't forget to rate us on whatever 00:45:55.190 --> 00:45:58.530 platform you're listening and following us at 00:45:58.530 --> 00:46:02.329 at Hamilton Hive on all of the social media platforms. 00:46:02.750 --> 00:46:06.349 But most importantly, we want to thank our team 00:46:06.349 --> 00:46:09.610 of dedicated volunteers who make this podcast 00:46:09.610 --> 00:46:22.289 possible on a weekly basis. So here we go. Harsh 00:46:22.289 --> 00:46:27.809 Kumar Patel, Fernando Rodriguez, Yvette R., and 00:46:27.809 --> 00:46:31.030 yours truly, Shalacia Harris. Don't forget to 00:46:31.030 --> 00:46:35.170 tune in next Monday for a new episode of Buzzworthy.