Phil Hemmings

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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: It's VanCoovers Podcast on the Canada's Podcast Network.
[00:04] SPEAKER_00: Merry Christmas everyone!
[00:28] SPEAKER_01: Hey this is Robert, just wanted to wish all our listeners happy holidays and all the
[00:33] SPEAKER_01: best in 2019.
[00:34] SPEAKER_01: It's been a great year for VanCoovers Podcast on the Canada's Podcast Network.
[00:38] SPEAKER_01: We wanted to have something a little special for you this episode.
[00:41] SPEAKER_01: The last interview of the year is going to be a delicious one.
[00:44] SPEAKER_01: Just for Christmas, we have a special episode on chocolate.
[00:48] SPEAKER_01: How sweet is that?
[00:49] SPEAKER_01: Have a great holiday season and we'll see you in the new year.
[00:56] SPEAKER_01: Hello, this is Robert Smilow coming to today with a VanCooVangePoneer.ca where we talked
[01:00] SPEAKER_01: to young entrepreneurs who are making it happen here in British Columbia.
[01:04] SPEAKER_01: Phil Hennings is a sales manager at Ross Chocolates in Porco Quetlam.
[01:08] SPEAKER_01: His experience stems from starting and running two food related companies as well as overseeing
[01:13] SPEAKER_01: sales for other natural food companies.
[01:17] SPEAKER_01: Phil will be in charge of spearheading the product launch in the US and to work closely
[01:22] SPEAKER_01: with his team at Ross Chocolates to ensure all areas of the company are ready for launch
[01:27] SPEAKER_01: in late May.
[01:29] SPEAKER_01: Ross Chocolates have been making Canadians no sugar added chocolates for over 20 years.
[01:36] SPEAKER_01: Well Phil, welcome to the show.
[01:38] SPEAKER_01: Thanks for taking the time today to be here for all our listeners.
[01:41] SPEAKER_00: Hey Robert, thanks so much for having me.
[01:44] SPEAKER_01: Great, okay, I want you to tell us a little bit more about yourself.
[01:47] SPEAKER_01: Where you're from, give us the details on your career business.
[01:50] SPEAKER_01: We know it's chocolate so it's got to be good.
[01:53] SPEAKER_00: Chocolates always good.
[01:54] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I know I originally came back from Ontario, London, Ontario,
[02:00] SPEAKER_00: came out as a councillor the first half of my life.
[02:03] SPEAKER_00: I did council with young offenders and mental health here in Vancouver.
[02:08] SPEAKER_00: But just felt there was something else that I really,
[02:12] SPEAKER_00: I just wasn't reaching my potential.
[02:14] SPEAKER_00: I'm a very creative guy.
[02:16] SPEAKER_00: So I ended up starting a fruit smoothie business.
[02:21] SPEAKER_00: Had that for over a year or so.
[02:24] SPEAKER_00: I love the creativity.
[02:27] SPEAKER_00: I guess my first understanding of business,
[02:30] SPEAKER_00: but I didn't know much about business and I was giving things away.
[02:35] SPEAKER_00: That soon evolved into actually a snack food company,
[02:41] SPEAKER_00: originally with cattle corn, doing cattle corn events here,
[02:46] SPEAKER_00: and then seeing there was a niche to it.
[02:47] SPEAKER_00: I thought, well, hey, maybe I can get this on the grocery shelf.
[02:53] SPEAKER_00: That's what eventually happened.
[02:55] SPEAKER_00: Being able to package this in a food safe environment,
[03:01] SPEAKER_00: able to get into at first the small medium stores in the Vancouver area,
[03:08] SPEAKER_00: and then eventually a national.
[03:11] SPEAKER_01: Okay.
[03:12] SPEAKER_01: Now, did you need financing to start your company and how you currently making money in your business now?
[03:18] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, with that venture, it was very conservative.
[03:25] SPEAKER_00: I was working full-time and I really wanted to see what sort of appetite was out there for
[03:32] SPEAKER_00: the consumer for this product.
[03:35] SPEAKER_00: So instead of starting my own plant, I would go to, I called up a bunch of food safe places,
[03:41] SPEAKER_00: food factories in Vancouver area and asked them if they're working
[03:46] SPEAKER_00: seven days a week. Most of them weren't, so I was able to get in at some places working
[03:52] SPEAKER_00: Saturdays and Sundays with my product. That way is giving me a food safe environment to
[04:00] SPEAKER_00: produce food and I was able to go to market in that way.
[04:05] SPEAKER_00: Once I found that I had a good following, good orders were coming in,
[04:12] SPEAKER_00: I was able to make the jump and get my own place. I guess,
[04:18] SPEAKER_00: mortgaging the house, Robert, I guess, is where my funding came from initially and that helped
[04:25] SPEAKER_00: launch that product off.
[04:27] SPEAKER_01: Okay. Now, what is the long-term vision and what will your company look like in the future?
[04:34] SPEAKER_01: Do you see the company expanding into other areas and where, beyond Vancouver, BC, or even Canada?
[04:39] SPEAKER_00: Okay. Well, with that particular venture, that was the real treat,
[04:45] SPEAKER_00: Skellocorn Company. That one was, went for about 12 years and then the margins started getting low
[04:54] SPEAKER_00: and we ended up shutting it down. It just doesn't make sense anymore after that.
[05:01] SPEAKER_00: Beer companies coming in, they're able to do things more efficiently.
[05:05] SPEAKER_00: So, with that, I started, I had gained any skill. I was in the food industry and understood the
[05:11] SPEAKER_00: marketing, understood the sales side of things. So, I was able to get positions as a sales manager,
[05:19] SPEAKER_00: director with national food companies in Canada. That led me to this opportunity that I'm at now,
[05:28] SPEAKER_00: or sort of, Roba, Ross chocolates, which, as again, as you mentioned, been making no sugar
[05:34] SPEAKER_00: added chocolate for a number of years. But what they've just done in the last few months is,
[05:41] SPEAKER_00: has gone into a stevia tweaked chocolate that's kind of a mixture of your redatol. If you have a
[05:48] SPEAKER_00: stevia which is stevia by itself, it's a bit bitter. Your recent tall is a sugar alcohol.
[05:54] SPEAKER_00: It's natural. It doesn't sound natural, but it's got a great flavor to it.
[06:00] SPEAKER_00: And it's something that Diabetic can have. It's a zero glycemic on the index,
[06:08] SPEAKER_00: gluten-free, GMO-free. So, that's going to be the new product that we're launching
[06:15] SPEAKER_01: some month down in the United States. Okay, good. Now, what are the biggest benefits for you
[06:21] SPEAKER_01: in being an entrepreneur in Vancouver, BC? I want you to give us some of the good points about
[06:24] SPEAKER_01: starting a company here, but I also want you to give us some of the tough things or challenges
[06:28] SPEAKER_01: for listeners so they can keep you in the aisle for them. Yeah, certainly the good things is the
[06:34] SPEAKER_00: just the brain flow out here. There's an awful lot of, there's a lot of creative people. There's a
[06:41] SPEAKER_00: lot of entrepreneurs I find in this area. It's, it seems, especially in the natural sector,
[06:49] SPEAKER_00: I've noticed with the food businesses like Ben-Ak, there's a way of thinking out here that is
[06:57] SPEAKER_00: very progressive. As far as some of the challenges out here, certainly be shipping and freight,
[07:05] SPEAKER_00: especially if you're anybody who's producing a product of any sort, we'll tell you that it's
[07:12] SPEAKER_00: all the people learn necessarily around here. They're all back east or down south.
[07:18] SPEAKER_00: So it costs a fair amount of money to get product to them. Okay, now we do some of our best work
[07:24] SPEAKER_01: outside the office. Is there a place in the lower mainline close to where you live or work,
[07:28] SPEAKER_01: where you like to go recharge or get inspired or just think about your business? And does it change
[07:33] SPEAKER_01: with the season considering all the rain we get here? Yes, it certainly does.
[07:39] SPEAKER_00: The Coquitle River is right by my house. So there's endless trails down there that
[07:46] SPEAKER_00: I love to go down and go for runs, go bike rides with my kids. You can kayak down that river
[07:54] SPEAKER_00: when the spring rushes on with the water. But you know what, it really doesn't change whether it's
[08:00] SPEAKER_00: raining or not. It's, you get used to the rain out here and when I got to pair your buds on and my
[08:09] SPEAKER_00: raincoat on, it doesn't matter if it's on your neck. Right, good. Okay, now we have a lot of
[08:15] SPEAKER_01: international listeners. So this next question I want you to speak to them. If you were to start
[08:20] SPEAKER_01: all over again and you just moved here to Vancouver BC, but this time you don't know anyone,
[08:24] SPEAKER_01: knowing what you know now, what would you do and how would you go about starting all over again
[08:28] SPEAKER_00: as an entrepreneur? Well, if it was a food business, I would approach it in a different way.
[08:38] SPEAKER_00: Once I found the product and an idea I'd like to, I would build a business plan around a co-packer
[08:44] SPEAKER_00: that would deal with all the production side of things and pretty much making me a marketer
[08:53] SPEAKER_00: of that product. If it was a service, I think I would see what New York, what Los Angeles,
[09:01] SPEAKER_00: what kind of services and businesses that are working well there that Vancouver doesn't have.
[09:07] SPEAKER_01: And maybe explore that. Okay, now what does the first hour look like for you when you get up in
[09:12] SPEAKER_01: the morning? Do you have a specific routine or a ritual that helps you get motivated to start your day?
[09:17] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's probably the most important hour of my hour and a half this morning of my day.
[09:24] SPEAKER_00: When I get up, I live in a water feature that I've built up with ferns and soft lighting.
[09:35] SPEAKER_00: I put it on soft music. I have my coffee. And you know what, I start off just by being thankful
[09:42] SPEAKER_00: all the, I mean, I go down the list every morning of all the things I have to be thankful for,
[09:47] SPEAKER_00: you know, from my relationship from where I live, the things I'm allowed to do, my health.
[09:54] SPEAKER_00: I start with that, I meditate, I pray, I go through the different areas of my life that I need
[10:01] SPEAKER_00: answers on, I'm looking for answers. Sometimes that might be 40 minutes, sometimes it's an hour and a
[10:09] SPEAKER_00: half like it was today, you know, but when I don't start a day that way, I feel it. I just feel
[10:18] SPEAKER_01: a little off, something's missing. Do you think entrepreneurs have to be weird or unique in a
[10:25] SPEAKER_00: positive way or wired differently? Yeah, you know what, I mean, I think you have to be a little
[10:32] SPEAKER_00: bit different because the tons of hours that you put in without pay or without knowing that it's
[10:40] SPEAKER_00: even going to work out at all in the end. I think you need an exceptional amount of faith and
[10:46] SPEAKER_00: confidence to really bring an idea all the way through to for attrition, I guess.
[10:54] SPEAKER_01: Okay, now what books are you reading now and why or even audio books and can you recommend any
[11:00] SPEAKER_01: books for our listeners who are also aspiring entrepreneurs? As far as the the book I'm reading
[11:07] SPEAKER_00: right now, it's onward by Howard Schultz. It's the founder of Star Box. Why I'm reading it,
[11:16] SPEAKER_00: because my friend gave it to me, but I'm finding it. It's a really interesting book. One of the
[11:23] SPEAKER_00: one of the things I liked from that book is how he would sometimes shut a meeting down early and
[11:30] SPEAKER_00: let everybody go home as long as they call somebody connected with somebody that haven't talked to
[11:35] SPEAKER_00: in years. I thought that was kind of a neat thing to inspire people to do. Interesting. So he would
[11:45] SPEAKER_01: say, okay, call someone you haven't spoken to for several years and you can go after you do
[11:52] SPEAKER_00: that. Exactly. You know, sometimes it's a great excuse to do that. It's all too often,
[11:59] SPEAKER_00: you know, friends and people fall away just because you haven't seen them and it gets weird to call.
[12:05] SPEAKER_00: So that gives you good excuse to break that habit. Good. What online or offline tools do you use on a
[12:20] SPEAKER_00: organize everything just on a notebook off? That'd be offline. I guess offline would be a relaxing
[12:30] SPEAKER_00: app I got called comp. We're so well. You sit down and it's got different features on it, but the
[12:37] SPEAKER_00: one I like the best is a breathing. It's forcing you to breathe in for a specific amount of time. Hold
[12:43] SPEAKER_00: it for a specific amount of time and breathe out. Okay. Now we have a lot of listeners that obviously
[12:51] SPEAKER_01: listen for learning from entrepreneurs and so forth, but entrepreneurs need to take breaks. We know
[12:58] SPEAKER_01: that. So Vancouver's got a lot to offer. We can we got the mountains here. We got the oceans, lakes,
[13:05] SPEAKER_01: everything, just like you said, the trails outside of your place. How do you balance work and how do
[13:09] SPEAKER_01: you relax and not think about work and what are your favorite activities to do here in BC? Do you ski,
[13:14] SPEAKER_01: bike, kayak, golf, hike or simply go for a drive? Yeah, it was certainly pretty active. One of the
[13:22] SPEAKER_00: things that we've been doing a lot lately is I got teenagers 12 and the 15-year-olds and so we play
[13:30] SPEAKER_00: a lot of tennis. We've actually weekend warriors when it comes out to paintball. That's something we've
[13:37] SPEAKER_00: been getting into a lot. Certainly skiing. I mean it's you know it's nothing more relaxing than
[13:45] SPEAKER_00: skiing. Even just going up the ski lift on a nice snowy night is just one of the most peaceful
[13:53] SPEAKER_01: things. Okay. If you weren't doing what you do now, what would you like to do for a profession?
[14:00] SPEAKER_00: Easy. I'd be the drummer on Saturday Night Live. That is what a D-Bass gig. What's his name? Vinny
[14:10] SPEAKER_00: Colletta? Is that his name? I know it's a Vinny something. Yeah, Vinny Colletta. Yeah, I think
[14:20] SPEAKER_01: that is him. Now how do you know that? I'm a drummer myself so I hang it up. There you go.
[14:26] SPEAKER_01: What kind of a job would you not like to do? I would not want to be in a call center
[14:36] SPEAKER_00: and even in a retail outlet in a mall or something like that would I have a hard time
[14:43] SPEAKER_01: in a hard time standing in one spot. In business, what is your favorite word quote or sentence
[14:49] SPEAKER_00: that you like to use? It is what it is and that's and that's because there's a lot of problems
[15:00] SPEAKER_00: that come up during the day in any business and you can sit around and decide whose fault it was
[15:06] SPEAKER_00: or why it shouldn't have happened. What you can say it is what it is and let's move on here.
[15:11] SPEAKER_00: Let's what are we going to do about it? So that tends to be my attitude and that's why I tend to
[15:18] SPEAKER_01: use that a lot when things happen. What is your least favorite word or sentence you do not like to hear?
[15:24] SPEAKER_00: It can happen or you can't do that. I know it sounds cliche but it's so true and it just
[15:31] SPEAKER_00: rips me especially when somebody who has limited information that's telling me that so
[15:37] SPEAKER_01: it's like to prove them wrong. If you had to pick one or two words to describe yourself,
[15:43] SPEAKER_01: what would be and why? Creative positive and funny. It's pretty well self explanatory isn't it?
[15:53] SPEAKER_00: What keeps you up at night if anything? Certainly creative ideas. When I think of something whether
[16:03] SPEAKER_00: it's for work or business idea, it's one of those things that really just takes over.
[16:13] SPEAKER_00: And you find yourself thinking about it continuously.
[16:19] SPEAKER_01: I want you to give us the top three things on your inspired lifeless. This could be a bucket list
[16:24] SPEAKER_01: of any sort whether you want to do a TEDx talk, write books, travel more, philanthropy, anything like that?
[16:31] SPEAKER_00: Yeah. Well certainly extend is Cuba, Trip and Fiji. The other one would be recorded a great album
[16:42] SPEAKER_00: with some good musicians. Lastly I guess it would be get a farm, get a farm with horses and dogs
[16:50] SPEAKER_01: to place you can online. Do you have any advice that you may have received that you can pass on
[16:57] SPEAKER_00: to entrepreneurs about BC? Yes. It's one of the best things that helped me and saved me thousands
[17:06] SPEAKER_00: of thousands of dollars and probably thousands of hours of times is I made a habit of reaching out
[17:13] SPEAKER_00: to people. I was a counselor. I didn't know anything about business or food industry. And so I called
[17:18] SPEAKER_00: everybody who had a food business in Vancouver and asked them if I could take them off for lunch,
[17:23] SPEAKER_00: if they have a coffee with them. Most told me to hit the road but the other half said,
[17:30] SPEAKER_00: yeah sure come on down and I'm still friends with them today. So really get out and ask people,
[17:38] SPEAKER_00: find mentors, just realize that there's people that have the answers out there and you want to find them.
[17:49] SPEAKER_01: Yeah and I think the message here is don't be afraid to make that call. You just never know where
[17:55] SPEAKER_00: it will lead. Absolutely. I was able to bring in a, with the stock food company, I was able to
[18:05] SPEAKER_00: have a huge investor just by making that call. It really came in and really taught me how to run
[18:13] SPEAKER_00: a business. They're coming from a hundred and fifty million dollar company. So it was a huge
[18:20] SPEAKER_01: advantage to me at that time. Okay. Okay, Phil, you ready to have some fun? Yeah, sure. Okay. Well, as you know,
[18:28] SPEAKER_01: entrepreneurs are very connected. People were very busy lots on the go. We're going to take you away
[18:33] SPEAKER_01: from all that. There's a small tropical island just off of Fiji that only has one phone booth
[18:37] SPEAKER_01: there with there is no internet. This place does exist. We're going to drop you off there. You
[18:42] SPEAKER_01: won't have a computer or smartphone or tablet. You can use the phone booth located there anytime to
[18:46] SPEAKER_01: call the boat. We'll come pick you up. How long would you last before you made that call? What would
[18:51] SPEAKER_00: you do while you're there? Well, it's got to, you know, I think I'd take advantage of it. I really
[19:02] SPEAKER_00: think I would take advantage of that time and make use of it whether it's just something as simple
[19:10] SPEAKER_00: as perfecting my role or something. Do you're learning how to play guitar or learn a language or
[19:15] SPEAKER_00: something like that? If I've got a beautiful scenery like that and I'm assuming there's going to be
[19:22] SPEAKER_00: food and stuff there and a water, warm water is what I love to be around. So I would give myself
[19:30] SPEAKER_00: three or four months before I had to get on that fault. Great. Wow. Three or four months. That's
[19:36] SPEAKER_01: good. You'll get a lot done. Yeah. Okay. How can our listeners get hold of you? Is there anything
[19:41] SPEAKER_01: you'd like to add before you leave us today? Yeah, absolutely. Just Ross chocolates is over
[19:49] SPEAKER_00: in Port Cucuillum. I'm sales manager at RossChocolate.ca. You know, if people are trying to reduce
[19:58] SPEAKER_00: sugar or other diabetics and looking for a great treat, we're at shoppers, we're at Superstore,
[20:05] SPEAKER_00: at Walmart, so Pharmacized, Rex also. We're around town. It's as for sure and we've got a great
[20:15] SPEAKER_00: product. But yeah, I'm always willing to connect with people, especially entrepreneurs who
[20:23] SPEAKER_01: looking, who have questions. Great. Okay. Well, thank you for coming on the show. I've learned
[20:29] SPEAKER_01: a lot about you and I'm sure our listeners have as well. Thanks so much, Rob. Great. Okay. We'll see you
[20:34] SPEAKER_01: next time. See you. Hey there. Thanks for taking the time today to listen to Vancouver's podcast
[20:40] SPEAKER_01: on the Canada's podcast network. We hope you enjoyed this show today. Make sure you sign up for
[20:46] SPEAKER_01: our newsletters and write a review for us on iTunes. And then connect with us on Twitter,
[20:50] SPEAKER_01: Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at Canada's podcast. You can also check out what other entrepreneurs
[20:56] SPEAKER_01: are doing across the country. See you next time.