Speaker 1: It's the Flavor Podcast Network.
Speaker 2: Island Roots Auckland Ways. This one's for the Brown brothers
Speaker 2: and sisters who want to be one with themselves, their culture,
Speaker 2: their identity, their roots.
Speaker 3: This is Island roots Auckland Ways. So look, we love everyone.
Speaker 3: Welcome back to Island Roots Auckland Way.
Speaker 1: Hey girl, how are you?
Speaker 3: We were just singing with you? Use some songs off mike.
Speaker 1: Up. Honestly, that such a good song. A banger. You
Speaker 1: are really snorting today.
Speaker 3: I can't have it when I laugh. Speaking of I
Speaker 3: believe that children are our future.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, your ways.
Speaker 3: Is no link not billy baby.
Speaker 1: Yes, so they sell baby products, so think of raps blanker,
Speaker 1: I think like play mats, those kinds of things. Here, girl,
Speaker 1: I don't know what babies use, but they need a lot.
Speaker 3: Wait do you want a baby?
Speaker 2: You?
Speaker 1: So do?
Speaker 3: I would you do if I came into the Flavor
Speaker 3: studio tomorrow and I was like, maes, I'm pregnant.
Speaker 1: I I'd be happy. I'd be happy for you. I
Speaker 1: don't think they'd I want to be shocked what I
Speaker 1: want to be shot?
Speaker 2: Off?
Speaker 1: Age? Now? How old are you?
Speaker 3: Twenty four? Like?
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's just I don't.
Speaker 3: Know anyway, Let's chat with Nolan was so lovely and
Speaker 3: we can't wait for you to get into it now.
Speaker 1: And welcome back to Alan rootz Auckland Ways. On the
Speaker 1: podcast this week we have superstar Mama business owner and
Speaker 1: south Side Queen, Queen of Rework. Do you know about Welcome?
Speaker 2: Thank you?
Speaker 3: Well, how are you feeling today?
Speaker 2: I feel really good, actually nice. I'm so glad to
Speaker 2: be here with you guys.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, we are very blessed to have you in
Speaker 1: the fal and Alsa's gonna take the.
Speaker 3: Reins now absolutely, I'm sure you already know. But every
Speaker 3: week we have a little segment called what we Love
Speaker 3: about Home. Basically we can just boast about the great
Speaker 3: things about our home, whether that's back home in the Islands,
Speaker 3: whether that's home and Money, dinner, the two six seven,
Speaker 3: or what ever feels like home to us. But Mas
Speaker 3: will start us off, Maz, what do you love about home?
Speaker 2: This week?
Speaker 1: I must the water of some more, Oh my gosh,
Speaker 1: healing blue, crystal clear, warm like when you get into
Speaker 1: the sea and some more. It's not like freezing cold
Speaker 1: like it is here in I feel because you know,
Speaker 1: New Zealand is very close to Antarctica's the designs behind it.
Speaker 3: I don't know. Why do you look at me when
Speaker 3: you're there?
Speaker 1: Yeah, of the ocean and some wore I miss it dearly,
Speaker 1: one of my villigious and which is where man was,
Speaker 1: and so I very much miss just swimming, girl. I
Speaker 1: haven't gone for a swim since I was that's crazy.
Speaker 1: The last time using for a swim.
Speaker 3: I don't even I wouldn't swim in the beaches here
Speaker 3: in Auckland, to be fair, I wouldn't even know, like
Speaker 3: it's been that long.
Speaker 2: Summer, like back in the summer.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well that's not I don't even think I swam
Speaker 3: during summer. Sometimes when I'm on my little runs, I
Speaker 3: will take a dip, okay, just for the lull. But
Speaker 3: I always am checking like this is it like swim
Speaker 3: sing yeah, to make sure like it's the green light,
Speaker 3: because if it's a red light, to stay out.
Speaker 1: All black, I think it islack.
Speaker 3: Girl, okay alert, Damn it's disgusting anyway, what I love
Speaker 3: in this week speaking of my runs, Yesterday I was
Speaker 3: out on a run around money dealer and I was
Speaker 3: just like, oh, the potanical gardens are so beautiful, Like
Speaker 3: I love this kind of like it's not un untouched,
Speaker 3: but I feel like we forget about how you do forget,
Speaker 3: Like we are literally in South Auckland and the potanical
Speaker 3: gardens are right there. Though I will say I did
Speaker 3: do a stop off at South Mall and I Another
Speaker 3: thing I love about home is like those really bad
Speaker 3: quality six State five T shirts that like the Chinese
Speaker 3: shops out.
Speaker 2: I love him.
Speaker 3: You make that twenty dollars off that T shirt like
Speaker 3: it's such terrible quality, but I eat it up every
Speaker 3: time you have to take my money. I have several Wow, Yeah,
Speaker 3: I love them. I think they're great.
Speaker 1: Okay for one special.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Also, I had someone approach me in sophomore yesterday. I
Speaker 3: wear a running vest when I go for my runs.
Speaker 3: He thought it was like a bulletproof fist and he's like,
Speaker 3: where'd you get that vest from? I want one to
Speaker 3: cut my weapons, and he wanted it for his weapon.
Speaker 3: Good old I was like, yeah, I'm not telling you where.
Speaker 3: I'm sorry.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, because you are so the girl to
Speaker 1: look like a gangster and.
Speaker 3: Like a right like top on, like bright pink shorts,
Speaker 3: my silly little pink running shoes. Yeah, definitely selling something
Speaker 3: out of Baby, What do you love about home?
Speaker 2: I'm from Rera as well, good old, but actually it's
Speaker 2: it's the neighborhood like this week because we've just been
Speaker 2: doing it like a like boring old things like deep cleans,
Speaker 2: you know, home, but the neighbors like we get constantly
Speaker 2: we get missss from our neighbors like across the road
Speaker 2: and a bit further down because we live on a
Speaker 2: small street, just letting us know, oh hey someone someone
Speaker 2: came to your house today, Like do you know them?
Speaker 2: You know, as this person related to you, like they're
Speaker 2: looking out for and it's a sense of community, which
Speaker 2: is so good because again we live on this little street.
Speaker 2: But I think just the connections you know, that you're
Speaker 2: making in your neighborhood. Yeah, yeah, like if you if
Speaker 2: I've seen you at southwet Used today because I was there,
Speaker 2: I would have been hey cut. But yeah, I think
Speaker 2: that definitely for me, it stands out very proud to
Speaker 2: be and rewhere, have the neighborhood around you and just
Speaker 2: making the connections.
Speaker 1: It's almost lost that neighborhood connection. Eh. I feel like
Speaker 1: back in the day, like we used to sleep over
Speaker 1: at our neighbors there, used to be barbecues.
Speaker 2: And it used to be safe to do so, like
Speaker 2: we used to ride our bike school like walk to school.
Speaker 1: Yeah, everyone going between everyone's houses pecking.
Speaker 2: But now I'm just like my son's like can I
Speaker 2: go to my friends? And I'm just like, what's the address,
Speaker 2: what's the mom's phone number? Like who's going to be there? Yeah?
Speaker 2: But yeah, thank god for little streets.
Speaker 3: I live on a little street and I can vouch
Speaker 3: for that sense of like neighborly community. But I feel
Speaker 3: like those is it, those Facebook grape mind pages were.
Speaker 1: Really neighborhood pages. Oh my god, I.
Speaker 3: Hate this one for real. Yeah, and it's all just
Speaker 3: like this is a stray dog music down.
Speaker 1: Man. Well, Noline, billy Baby continues to grown so much popularity.
Speaker 1: Tell us about how you started up Billy Baby.
Speaker 2: Well, I have five grandkids and my grandson Writer was born,
Speaker 2: and I actually went looking for I really wanted a
Speaker 2: pacificate blanket and I found one in Australia actually, and
Speaker 2: it arrived and I was just so disappointed, like the quality.
Speaker 2: You know, you buy something online and you see it
Speaker 2: and it looks pretty and it's good, and then it
Speaker 2: arrives and it's just Cocker. Yeah, but I was so
Speaker 2: pissed off, Like I was pissed off for my not
Speaker 2: only myself, but I was pissed off for our people
Speaker 2: who were buying these blankets because I was like, like, realistically,
Speaker 2: who was going to like make the time to send
Speaker 2: it back email them, like send it back to Australia,
Speaker 2: wait for a reface, so you're stuck with it. And
Speaker 2: that for me, I think was like that was the moment,
Speaker 2: like it was the defining moment when I was like, Okay,
Speaker 2: this is literally what I meant to be doing, you know,
Speaker 2: because growing up it was always as a brown girl,
Speaker 2: I would always look at the shopkeepers and I would
Speaker 2: think to myself, what makes them so special? Or why
Speaker 2: do they get to own a business or why can't
Speaker 2: we own a business? And it never went away, like
Speaker 2: what into my twenties, Like I would take my husband
Speaker 2: and get him to drive me around to the rich areas,
Speaker 2: you know, call it the rich areas, and you know,
Speaker 2: I'd look at these nice houses and I'd say, yeah, it.
Speaker 3: Was botany, Okay girl, I think it was like Pam.
Speaker 1: Like outside of South.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and he would just I would like I would
Speaker 2: be like, oh, you know, what job do they do?
Speaker 2: Tell me what job they do?
Speaker 3: Like making up stories to the harm owners, like what.
Speaker 2: Job do they do to be able to afford this hut?
Speaker 1: So they've got two cars, recent.
Speaker 2: Model's house, you know. And then my husband would just
Speaker 2: look at me like you're crazy, Like what is wrong
Speaker 2: with you? But then yeah, and it never went away
Speaker 2: until I launched feel it Like I always knew that
Speaker 2: I was meant to do something, you know, something special,
Speaker 2: but I just didn't know what it was until that moment.
Speaker 1: Was your career background related to business before setting up?
Speaker 2: I really have no business background at all. Okay, and
Speaker 2: I have been an executive assistant for so many years,
Speaker 2: so that's my background. But no, I don't hold any
Speaker 2: business qualifications. I didn't finish high school. Like I'm literally
Speaker 2: just a mom and a nana from Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3: That's really cool though. I feel like some of the
Speaker 3: most successful businesses that that I've heard of, like the
Speaker 3: people I've connected with, are the ones where you haven't
Speaker 3: maybe you've not realized that you you don't have the qualification,
Speaker 3: is what I mean, Like you don't have that kind
Speaker 3: of like background where they're like, this is what you
Speaker 3: need to do this to be strategic, Like I think
Speaker 3: this real value in like building a community through your
Speaker 3: business or like building it from the ground up and
Speaker 3: figuring out what works for you and then what doesn't.
Speaker 2: I definitely agree. I think even you know, even before
Speaker 2: I started, like the whole process, but to launch, I
Speaker 2: was like, you know, you get inside your head and
Speaker 2: you're like, but do I have any money? Like where's
Speaker 2: the money?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Do I need these qualifications?
Speaker 1: I guess that's the doorstop for heaps of people wanting
Speaker 1: to launch businesses. I don't have any capital, there's anything
Speaker 1: in the bank account to try and start this. But
Speaker 1: it's about lived experience, eh. And so obviously you're you're
Speaker 1: a mom, you're a grandmother too, and so you're using
Speaker 1: all those experiences like buying that blanket that was like
Speaker 1: the light switch moments.
Speaker 2: Like that was it And I had no capsule, like
Speaker 2: I think I have like five thousand dollars in the
Speaker 2: bank and I just made it work. And I think
Speaker 2: that's why it's so important, like when I get asked
Speaker 2: to share my story and wherever that wherever that might be,
Speaker 2: is for people to understand that you don't need these
Speaker 2: qualifications you don't need to be this person who's been
Speaker 2: in business for fifty years, yeah, to make like to
Speaker 2: start your business and have it become successful. Which yeah,
Speaker 2: I just think that's that's where people that's like you said,
Speaker 2: like it's the draw stop. It's like that's what stops them. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I just think that there's so many things that go
Speaker 2: into it. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Absolutely. I feel like one of the New age things
Speaker 3: that has gone into business is social media. And I
Speaker 3: feel like, girl, you're one of our biggest fans on
Speaker 3: social media, and I love that for us. How did you,
Speaker 3: I guess at what point we like, I really need
Speaker 3: to start using social media as like a mechanism to
Speaker 3: get my product out there.
Speaker 2: I was I wasn't even on Instagram before Billy, like
Speaker 2: I was on Facebook, okay, but that was where like
Speaker 2: because obviously my kids are older now, like that older
Speaker 2: like twenty seven and down. Okay, So just doing the
Speaker 2: research and realizing that that is where a lot of
Speaker 2: the market are sitting, like on Instagram, and that's how
Speaker 2: I started. Like, please don't go back through my old
Speaker 2: pictures did I have because you will clearly see the difference.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I just you just learn as you go
Speaker 2: like right, like you said, also like it's all a
Speaker 2: learning curve. You learn as you go and you get
Speaker 2: better and better.
Speaker 1: Was there like a period of time like can you
Speaker 1: like put your finger on It took the slog to
Speaker 1: get baby up and running.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it took me a year because I had no
Speaker 2: I had no financial backing, Like I literally jumped onto
Speaker 2: Google and I was like, blanket, where do I buy
Speaker 2: a blanket? Can I buy horse blankets? And it took
Speaker 2: a good year because I didn't know that there were
Speaker 2: other businesses out there that could help guide me. Like
Speaker 2: by the time I found Pacific Business Trust, I was
Speaker 2: already seven months into my planning, like I'd already had
Speaker 2: my product. I had no idea they existed, because how
Speaker 2: do you know if you if you don't know, like
Speaker 2: if you don't see them on social media a lot,
Speaker 2: because they went on social media a lot. And then
Speaker 2: but thank god I found them because I just needed
Speaker 2: a soundboard to tell me that I'm on the right
Speaker 2: track and if I've missed anything, and they will fight
Speaker 2: like they were perfect. They were like not, You're all
Speaker 2: good to go. And then I had no money left,
Speaker 2: so I had to figure out how to build a
Speaker 2: website from scratch, and I'm just like, like I don't
Speaker 2: have like an it bone in my body, Like this
Speaker 2: is the last thing I want to do. So it
Speaker 2: took me about two and a half months to build
Speaker 2: the website and then a few weeks later we launched.
Speaker 2: Ah wow, it was Oh, there were so many tears,
Speaker 2: Like it's crazy to think that I'm here now after
Speaker 2: that first year of just planning to launch. Yeah, there's
Speaker 2: so many things, but I only wish that there were
Speaker 2: like people out there that everyone knew where the guidance
Speaker 2: was okay, yeah, you know, or even if I knew
Speaker 2: of another pacificate business that I could reach out to
Speaker 2: while I was doing it. Yeah, because just there in
Speaker 2: itself that you just want to give up because it's
Speaker 2: it's so hard to just do that yourself. They'll support.
Speaker 3: That's like one thing that with the podcast, that support
Speaker 3: is so important, Like we have each other and I'm
Speaker 3: so grateful for that, But so many small business owners
Speaker 3: it's literally just you and then maybe like your family,
Speaker 3: has there been people for you on your journey, whether
Speaker 3: they were there right from the beginning or you found
Speaker 3: them along the way that you've been like oh, Thank
Speaker 3: god I have you lean on.
Speaker 2: I'm more obviously my family's there. Yeah, well they can't
Speaker 2: go anywhere even if they want to, so they were
Speaker 2: always there, you know if I need anything. But I
Speaker 2: think like I have found Danika Cooper Jewelry. Danika there
Speaker 2: husband and wife and as soon as they meet them,
Speaker 2: like I just clicked out they're in our Nation and
Speaker 2: collective store. Yes they're based out Eastockland. But just having
Speaker 2: like meeting that couple and they we just vibe like
Speaker 2: we are on the same path, completely different products, but
Speaker 2: we're on the same journey and we can sort of
Speaker 2: feedback off each other. We saw all these ideas and
Speaker 2: to have someone who is going through it as well
Speaker 2: is so important. Otherwise you just ended up alone and
Speaker 2: then ended up going crazy.
Speaker 1: Were you working full time alongside starting up the business
Speaker 1: or what was your situation.
Speaker 2: I'm still working full time? Wow, yeah, so only recently
Speaker 2: I got to girl, it's crazy, like I only recently
Speaker 2: I got to drop to four days, so I still
Speaker 2: work full time for a community housing provider, so the
Speaker 2: nights are still there. Like obviously, every single day I'm
Speaker 2: praying that you know the day's going to come when
Speaker 2: I can just resign and run Billy full time because
Speaker 2: this is this is my passion, right, this is what
Speaker 2: I want to do, this is what I am destined
Speaker 2: to do, or you know, that's how I feel. And
Speaker 2: my job's great, Like, don't get me wrong, but it's
Speaker 2: just not where my heart is.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So the late nights are just still there, like
Speaker 2: I'm just like I'm trying to keep up.
Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, what is your why beyond? You know that
Speaker 3: really a quality blanket? Like what is the thing when
Speaker 3: it's like two am and you're like, oh, I really
Speaker 3: don't want to keep, Like I part of you is
Speaker 3: like I kind of want to quit a little bit
Speaker 3: right now. What's the thing that keeps you going?
Speaker 2: Like I could say, you know, I want to say
Speaker 2: my family, because showing them what can be achieved, like
Speaker 2: if your dreams come true and the hard work that
Speaker 2: you put in, the sacrifices will be worth it. But
Speaker 2: more than that, I actually think it's it's actually the
Speaker 2: community that Billy have built. You know, they might they
Speaker 2: might think that just a customer to me, but I
Speaker 2: literally like I see them as family, Like I would
Speaker 2: not be here sitting here today without them, Like I don't.
Speaker 2: I don't think they realize just how much their support,
Speaker 2: you know, means to me as a small business owner.
Speaker 2: So that's my push and because for me, I have
Speaker 2: like I just feel like, Okay, these products have done well,
Speaker 2: Like there are so many more things that we could do,
Speaker 2: like Pacifico designed and things like that that I have
Speaker 2: on the go, and I just can't wait to share
Speaker 2: them with everyone so they can, you know, continue to
Speaker 2: immerse their babies and their culture, you know, by wrapping
Speaker 2: them in a blanket or whatever it might be, because
Speaker 2: you know, to some it might just be a playmate
Speaker 2: and a blanket, but it means so much more than that.
Speaker 2: You know, you're actually celebrating your baby's culture and immersing
Speaker 2: your baby and their culture from day one. Like that's
Speaker 2: crazy to think that that's that they want to do
Speaker 2: that as well, and they feel the same that I
Speaker 2: I do.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's nice to know that option is out there,
Speaker 1: because I want to say, maybe even like ten years ago,
Speaker 1: there weren't these options for our Pacific babies and so
Speaker 1: you'll just get your stock standard wrap for your baby.
Speaker 1: But I've seen on Instagram heaps of Pacific families proudly
Speaker 1: showing off their products from Billy Baby and other businesses
Speaker 1: like yours. And it's like those little things. Ah, especially
Speaker 1: if you're a mum when you're preparing for your above,
Speaker 1: you know that your baby will be dressed in the culture,
Speaker 1: so to speak, and they want.
Speaker 2: It like you know, because I obviously get started because
Speaker 2: I because of the blanket for my grandson, and I
Speaker 2: want to do that by just seeing like I just
Speaker 2: seeing the number of other people who want to do
Speaker 2: that too. You know. It always blows my mind because
Speaker 2: obviously the things that I design and that I love,
Speaker 2: you know, I don't love them because it's going to
Speaker 2: be great on the market, you know. I don't make them. Sorry,
Speaker 2: if it's got to be great on the market. I
Speaker 2: make them because I actually genuinely love them and want
Speaker 2: to you know, have my grandkids have them. But for
Speaker 2: people to love them just as much. Yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 2: The number of people like it always blows my mind.
Speaker 1: It's so small. Speaking of culture, I want to ask
Speaker 1: you about your relationship with your culture. So tell us
Speaker 1: about your cultural background and how that relationship has been
Speaker 1: over the years.
Speaker 2: So my dad is Simon and my mum is half
Speaker 2: tongue and half Irish growing up, you know, the culture
Speaker 2: was there because I feel like I've always been proud
Speaker 2: to be an islander, because that's just what you know,
Speaker 2: Like you don't know any different, you don't know whether
Speaker 2: you have you have an option to feel any different.
Speaker 2: But the culture, I think, is a whole different thing.
Speaker 2: Like I could read up on the history of Somemore
Speaker 2: or the Kingdom of Tongue. But if I'm not in
Speaker 2: the culture and immerse theon and have someone there with me,
Speaker 2: then you know, does there even complete the whole picture.
Speaker 2: So when my dad, my dad passed away in twenty ten,
Speaker 2: the year he passed away before I got married, so
Speaker 2: the same year and just and when he passed it,
Speaker 2: I realized that for me the culture had almost been
Speaker 2: lost as well. You know, it's hard to put into words,
Speaker 2: but just like obviously I'd love to have them back here,
Speaker 2: but for my kids and my grandkids not to have
Speaker 2: the presence there, you know, for him to tell stories
Speaker 2: and you know, stories of the islands and how he
Speaker 2: grew up and all these other stories, it's not the
Speaker 2: same if I tell them. So the culture did get
Speaker 2: lost on me a bit. But the beautiful thing about
Speaker 2: Bella is that I didn't actually realize how far disconnected
Speaker 2: I was from my culture until Belly came in and
Speaker 2: then you know, it slowly reconnected me, which is such
Speaker 2: a beautiful thing because my kids and my grandkids now
Speaker 2: connecting the dots as well. Yeah, because it was just
Speaker 2: really hard when my dad passed, just for me to
Speaker 2: feel I guess, like a sense of belonging. You know,
Speaker 2: you're a pacific person, always first and foremost, but the
Speaker 2: culture is completely different. You know, it's a completely different
Speaker 2: thing in my eyes. So I've definitely come back to it,
Speaker 2: which is so nice because you know, Billy is a
Speaker 2: representation of me. You know, it's an extension of me.
Speaker 2: You know, I've got five kids, but Billy is like
Speaker 2: the sixth one, you know, the needy baby.
Speaker 3: All the attention.
Speaker 2: So that's what Billy is for me. So it's definitely
Speaker 2: brought me back to my culture, and it's so special.
Speaker 1: You're so right about your dad passing away and his
Speaker 1: passing almost feeling like a part of your cultural knowledge
Speaker 1: was lost, because that's how we learn, right, Our traditions
Speaker 1: are passed down orally, and so it's through the stories
Speaker 1: and like those little anecdotes that are out as will
Speaker 1: share with us. That's how we learn about our culture.
Speaker 1: So I definitely feel you on that one.
Speaker 3: Did you like growing up in Money Deer, did you
Speaker 3: always feel really connected to your like pacificness, Because I
Speaker 3: feel like we were so diverse that when I went
Speaker 3: to high school away from Moneyda, I was like, this
Speaker 3: is a culture shock. What's it happening right now? Oh
Speaker 3: my gosh.
Speaker 2: For my dad again, he brought the culture, you know,
Speaker 2: because when I went to school at Monida, there weren't
Speaker 2: like there were more Mahdi than there were Pacific Eye
Speaker 2: lind kids. So I was always around brown faces. But
Speaker 2: again the culture. Like my dad, he was my presence, right,
Speaker 2: he was the person that will take us to the
Speaker 2: family things, and you know, well, you are immersed in
Speaker 2: the culture. And then I went to McCauley Girls High
Speaker 2: and Odaho and again like PACIFICA Girls. So that was
Speaker 2: nice because you don't you never felt like a minority
Speaker 2: and you just you're surrounded by all these brown faces.
Speaker 2: This is like you just don't know any yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 2: And I think it wasn't until it was actually a
Speaker 2: few months ago, the first time in so many years
Speaker 2: where actually felt like a minority. I went to the
Speaker 2: Baby Expo over the North Shore. Oh oh my gosh,
Speaker 2: and shout out to the organizers are great, But I
Speaker 2: was the only Pacificer business owner at the expo and
Speaker 2: even at Peking. As soon as they walked in there,
Speaker 2: it just felt you know, you just know, you just
Speaker 2: feel the eyes on you, and maybe they were just
Speaker 2: looking because oh, it's this beautiful lady. But standing there
Speaker 2: and amongst all these other brands that were predominantly white
Speaker 2: business owners. Nothing against them, but I just like, at
Speaker 2: the first night, I just went home and cried, like
Speaker 2: I was literally I just couldn't shake the feeling that minority. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: and it just cold me, Like I still can't shake
Speaker 2: the feeling.
Speaker 1: Was that the first instance you had felt kind of
Speaker 1: isolated as a Pacific business owner?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it really was. And I sort of I should
Speaker 2: have known, Like I was so upset at myself that
Speaker 2: I'd put myself in that situation. But for me, I
Speaker 2: don't see Billy as. I'll wear this niche brand that's
Speaker 2: only the only Pacific Islanders are going to Like, like,
Speaker 2: I walk into a space and I talk about Billy As, Oh,
Speaker 2: it's a mainstream product. Everyone loves it, and then it
Speaker 2: sort of like hurted me like a ton of bricks,
Speaker 2: and with it the expert like, girl, what do you think?
Speaker 2: But are you like crazy kings?
Speaker 3: Yeah, well you're not. But like it's wild because I
Speaker 3: feel like, at least with Marina and I, we've built
Speaker 3: our world to be so pastigo centric that when we're
Speaker 3: into spaces that are not passibigo centric, it's like, what
Speaker 3: do you mean There's a whole world out there that's
Speaker 3: not as haughty about being prospiguo as I am, Like,
Speaker 3: what do you mean? I'm the different ones. I can
Speaker 3: like it totally empathized with how you're feeling, because you know,
Speaker 3: even when we went to the Radio Awards, it was
Speaker 3: like it was like, hits you like a ton of bricks,
Speaker 3: Like you are not like we can sit here. All
Speaker 3: what we do is talk to brown people all day
Speaker 3: every day when we do the podcast. And then you
Speaker 3: go on to space like that and you're.
Speaker 2: Like, oh, like.
Speaker 3: One of yeah, we want to like teen of us. Awesome,
Speaker 3: that's great. You know, in a room of like a
Speaker 3: thousand people.
Speaker 1: It's quite isolating.
Speaker 2: That's definitely isolating. That's the first time I've ever felt like, look,
Speaker 2: I will you know, not not again, not anything. It's
Speaker 2: the organizers, but I just I will not go back
Speaker 2: to the baby expo over the shore again because I
Speaker 2: can't put myself through it. You know. And majority of
Speaker 2: people that we did sell to on that day were
Speaker 2: brown people. But it just sort of made me realize
Speaker 2: that again, like you said, Alyssa, like we may you know,
Speaker 2: we surround ourselves with our you know, people and brown
Speaker 2: faces and things like that, but again there is like
Speaker 2: a whole different world out there. Yeah, but you know,
Speaker 2: I'm still here, Like Billy's a mainstream brand, not just fonders.
Speaker 1: Well, imagine if you weren't at the baby expo, all
Speaker 1: these brown families looking for themselves and the businesses that
Speaker 1: they were going to would have never come across you.
Speaker 2: It's so true and I never thought about that.
Speaker 1: So maybe maybe go back to the shore girl.
Speaker 2: With me.
Speaker 1: Actually I will come with you.
Speaker 2: I'll be like, but yeah, definitely one for the books,
Speaker 2: that's expert.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, I mean you have that learning, Maybe won't
Speaker 3: go back to the shore for the expert. What are
Speaker 3: some other like big whether they're strategic or like cultural
Speaker 3: learnings that you've had with Billy Baby. What are some
Speaker 3: of the ones that stick with you.
Speaker 2: I think just being invited to spaces like this, the podcast,
Speaker 2: or being invited to speak at schools like I went
Speaker 2: back to McCauley last week to speak to the girls.
Speaker 2: I think those types of spaces it definitely highlights for me,
Speaker 2: Like I like, I love those spaces and sharing the
Speaker 2: story because I just keep taking myself back to when
Speaker 2: I was younger, how I used to think, And I
Speaker 2: just wonder if these girls are thinking the same, yes,
Speaker 2: like it's too hard to get into business or you know,
Speaker 2: I'm not the right color to get into business. And
Speaker 2: I just feel like more of us need to share
Speaker 2: our story. And it's not only the youth like we have.
Speaker 2: I had people after that McCauley interview parents come up
Speaker 2: to me and say, I really want to start my business.
Speaker 2: Can you help me? And I was like, yeah, I'm
Speaker 2: all for this. Email me because it's never too late
Speaker 2: to start, and we just need to see someone or
Speaker 2: listen to something that's going to give us confidence to say, Okay,
Speaker 2: actually I can do it.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: You know, you know she's from Rewa and you know
Speaker 2: she's from Rewa. Yes, yes, they can do it. You know,
Speaker 2: if they can do it, then I can do it.
Speaker 2: So those are definitely the highlights for me obviously, other
Speaker 2: than meeting like beautiful customers and at the Pacifica Festival
Speaker 2: and things like that, but being in the spaces to share,
Speaker 2: like because it's not just you talking, right, you're actually
Speaker 2: there and who knows, Like those audiences, one person might
Speaker 2: be like, oh my gosh, that's gonna that's that's me,
Speaker 2: Like I can do that, might just go and do it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, because of you. And in the simplest sense, it's
Speaker 1: that ability to dream and be inquisitive and these girls
Speaker 1: who for example, when you meet some o'cauley, who might
Speaker 1: be thinking, oh, man, like, I've really got so much
Speaker 1: ideas and so much energy that I want to put
Speaker 1: out into the universe and it might not be through
Speaker 1: business or might be through university or what have you.
Speaker 1: That I just need to know that there's someone out
Speaker 1: there applying what's in their mind in real life.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, yeah, Yeah, it's just it's such yeah, like for
Speaker 2: you guys, and then I mean to be in the
Speaker 2: space right where you get to share people's stories, it's
Speaker 2: just so valuable. You know, it could just make some
Speaker 2: oh yeah, you know, you could make the next millionaire.
Speaker 2: You could give them the confidence.
Speaker 3: You know, I'd like to be the next brilliant metal.
Speaker 3: But it's that whole like you can't be what you
Speaker 3: can't see, right, Like it's so important to platform ourselves
Speaker 3: and like learn more about the different people and our
Speaker 3: communities who operate outside of the potentially like the stereotypes
Speaker 3: that often put on our people, Like a stereotype would
Speaker 3: be that our people can't own a business or something
Speaker 3: like that, you know, like which obviously we don't buy into.
Speaker 3: But like I think that's what makes things like Billie
Speaker 3: Baby so important because you know, all it takes a
Speaker 3: S five k in the bank account and a dream.
Speaker 2: That's it. Like it's literally, I mean, I know it's
Speaker 2: hard when you're doing yourself and you're planning, but when
Speaker 2: you come out the other end, it's just so worth it.
Speaker 2: And you know, another thing when we're on that topic
Speaker 2: is the career exposed. Like I've reached out to a
Speaker 2: few schools and I'm just like, hey, look, I realized
Speaker 2: you have a career expoke coming up, but why do
Speaker 2: you not have an entrepreneur at these expos you know,
Speaker 2: like even if it's not myself, like I'm just asking
Speaker 2: the question because you have all these different stands and
Speaker 2: all of these different pathways right into what they might
Speaker 2: do next. But entrepreneurship and owning a business is a step,
Speaker 2: like that's literally a pathway, you know. But they obviously
Speaker 2: don't they don't answer me.
Speaker 3: Maybe you've got them start.
Speaker 1: Hey, Noeline, what are some gyms of advice that you
Speaker 1: would in part on other PACIFICA businesses or PASIFICA people
Speaker 1: wanting to start their own business?
Speaker 2: It's the support, you know, like you need to. I mean,
Speaker 2: there are places out there who can help guide you.
Speaker 2: But another major thing to have as a soundboard, you know,
Speaker 2: reach out to well, to me, to other PACIFICA businesses
Speaker 2: because since barely started, like the PACIFICA community have rallied
Speaker 2: around Bailey. Is so hard, Like it's crazy. I never
Speaker 2: expected it. Because there's a seat at the table for everyone, right,
Speaker 2: we just want to see each other shine, like to
Speaker 2: it their full potential. That's why I get heaps the
Speaker 2: messages asking me what do I do? How do I
Speaker 2: do it? Where do I look? And I'm happily, you know,
Speaker 2: I'm happily sending off these replies because we just we
Speaker 2: just need more of us. We don't want to be
Speaker 2: the minority in business. We need to be seeing it
Speaker 2: as though, Oh you know, I don't you know, I
Speaker 2: don't want people to drive around to these rich areas,
Speaker 2: like I like, what do they do? You know? Yeah?
Speaker 2: Like everything has a story, Like there's always a meaning
Speaker 2: behind everything we do, right, there's always going to be
Speaker 2: a bigger purpose, which is definitely uplifting.
Speaker 3: I love it. Like lack of competition as well, I
Speaker 3: being like, no, like there's plenty of seats on the
Speaker 3: table we can all eat, Like I love that. But
Speaker 3: we're moving into our rapid fire came our game, so
Speaker 3: I would be live. I would like you to get
Speaker 3: a little bit competitive, and we're playing a little bit
Speaker 3: of rapid fire this or that, so whatever, I'm going
Speaker 3: to say something and you peck this or that. Essentially,
Speaker 3: does that make sense that it's easy? Okay? Introvert or
Speaker 3: extravert extravert night our early bird, early bird, sports or books, books,
Speaker 3: board game or video game, video game? Okay, text or
Speaker 3: cool text, coffee, your tea, water and the last one
Speaker 3: night out all night and night.
Speaker 1: And yeah, night and on the computer sales man Noline,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for coming on to Alan Auckland
Speaker 1: Ways this week. Where can we find Billy baby online?
Speaker 2: So billy our website jub dot billybabies dot com or
Speaker 2: on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and then you will see a
Speaker 2: stockers page on our website. Were all of our stockers beautiful?
Speaker 1: And nolane up? And oh I do have one more thing? Sorry?
Speaker 2: Yeah, just speaking of real wife forgot completely read. I
Speaker 2: can say Clinton, oh this is a soft spot for
Speaker 2: I'm sorry. Are you buying your fruit and veg is
Speaker 2: from the clearance table? Oh? My gosh. You know, you
Speaker 2: know you go to a different peg and save in
Speaker 2: different areas like Pekan, say Botany, for example, they cater
Speaker 2: to the area. They have foods pegan save Clanton. We
Speaker 2: can't even get Holandai sauce, no.
Speaker 3: Pegan save Clantons.
Speaker 2: Literally nothing nothing, nothing, not even I've been looking for
Speaker 2: like holdie sauce, Like just because we are low medium
Speaker 2: does not mean we do not want nice cheese for
Speaker 2: our crackers.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think I've looked for like bean sprouts on
Speaker 3: noodles there before. Where are they show me the bean sprouts.
Speaker 2: Please. You need to do better.
Speaker 1: Even at my local supermarket, like they don't have all
Speaker 1: the flavors of the yogurt and I'm like, girl, what
Speaker 1: is that one chocolate?
Speaker 3: Are we give me some passion fruit? Yeah?
Speaker 2: Yo?
Speaker 1: Please?
Speaker 2: Oh they need to cut it out literally, Yeah yeah,
Speaker 2: that's the right way.
Speaker 1: Stop stocking these by lay what about us?
Speaker 3: Thank you so much, thank you for having me. I'm
Speaker 3: so shocked that you you wouldn't be shocked. If I
Speaker 3: told you that I was having a baby, I'd be.
Speaker 1: Like, I'd be gagged, but I'd be happy. I think
Speaker 1: the happiness would override the I mean, that's a baby, girl, Like,
Speaker 1: it's not about me, it's about a baby. You're a
Speaker 1: wild I honestly wouldn't be shocked.
Speaker 3: Do you actually like I have all these suitors who
Speaker 3: are really to just give me a baby?
Speaker 1: I would be like, oh shit, crazy, my oh my gosh,
Speaker 1: should be so excited.
Speaker 3: Okay, okay, anyway, you guys obviously tep beck and next
Speaker 3: week we're here island It's awkward ways and you can
Speaker 3: also find us on the socials Island Roots orkand ways.
Speaker 3: But until then, have a great weeke. Bye.