Hello, listener!
I have a new feature on the podcast.
Now, you can click on the link, directly send me a message, so that I can hear how has Beyondhood impact you, how does Beyondhood make you feel.
It would be lovely to hear, and it's super easy.
Go to the show notes, above the description, there's a link, say, click here to direct message.
Once you do that, it will directly link to your phone.
And don't worry, I won't be able to see your phone number.
I'll just receive the encouragement or comment from you.
Looking forward to hear direct message from you all.
Welcome to Beyondhood, where we go beyond elderhood, one chat at a time.
Before we start, do you have one or all three of the following issues?
First, do you want to know more and deeper into your loved one's childhood?
Second, do you feel it is hard for you to talk to your loved one to understand them more deeply?
They are often not as open with you because you are family or good friends.
Or you find it hard to ask them questions because you are close to them.
Third, have you thought of one day when they are gone?
You can never ask them about their lives anymore?
If any of the above comes to mind, our Record Life Story service is your solution.
Listen to this episode and see how we can wave a story for your loved one and create this legacy for you and your loved ones.
Contact me.
My contact info is in the show notes.
Hello, everyone!
We are going on a field trip this week.
I received many questions from listeners about the story of Beyondhood.
So this week, I'm going to bring you on a field trip from the beginning of how we started Beyondhood to our first exhibition at the Agenda Festival in the Hurlingham Club on May 20th.
How did we start?
Lending a pair of ear to listen.
My grandpa and I have always been close.
He is my storyteller, from going through his solo travel picture to listening to his business story while we drove through rural China.
We have always shared an indescribable bond through story.
I recorded a very special episode, episode 5, Sun Sing, about my grandpa.
If you haven't heard it, go check it out.
In 2016, I moved to Corby, which is in northern part of the UK, and become a digital champion volunteer.
For older adults, because the connection reminded me of my grandpa, every week, I visited Kathleen and answered all of her tech questions, such as how to book a travel trip online and how to fix her printer.
Kathleen shared a story of how she and her late husband communicated during the world war with me, and there's nothing as memorable as listening to a first-hand World War II love story.
Then, after I moved to London, I continued to volunteer with the Alzheimer's Society and What the Tech, which is a volunteer organization that teaches digital skills to older adults.
I have listened to countless stories, from Rusty, who told me the reason he learned to use a computer is because he wanted to find his young self recorded gym steel video on YouTube.
Guess what?
We finally found a black and white video of him in the 1950s showing people how to use gym equipment.
From Leslie, telling me how in order to raise a family, she used to run a dorm for international students, taking care of 40 children all at once by herself in the 1960s.
When I started, I only knew my heart was telling me that I wanted to create something that related to older adults.
But I didn't really know what.
I read the mom's test, which is a book about you should never ask your mom whether your idea is a good idea because she loves you so dearly and will lie to you.
Also, you shouldn't ask anyone if your business is a good idea because it's a bad question.
Because everyone will lie to you at least for a little bit to protect your feelings.
It is my responsibility to find it instead of their responsibility to tell me the truth.
Instead, talking to the customer is the key.
And how to talk to the customer to get a useful conversation?
I had the aha moment once I read this sentence.
I will take my smartest and oldest friend Donald for a coffee.
If you haven't heard of our episode 1 Donald, you are missing out.
Donald is a very well-dressed gentleman.
Positive, unread, and always have brilliant ideas of what to do and where to go in London.
I actually feel I've become even more cultural after meeting him.
He was so kind to let me interview.
I asked him all of the questions that I wanted to ask.
But it was the last question I asked him that started the journey of Beyondhood.
Guess what is the question?
I asked, is there anything else I didn't ask that you want to share?
He said to me, think a pair of ear to listen.
I had a dung dung ah-ha moment.
I had an absolutely lovely time asking him questions, getting to know him, and really loved listening to stories.
Everyone or at least other people should listen to the same story.
I wrote it down on my notebook, possible a podcast on this story?
Question mark.
I literally had that note for three months on my notebook.
It was always kind of in the back of my mind.
The negative voice in my head was saying to me, Hey, Nicole, how are you going to do this?
You already tried to start a business, and you want to start a podcast?
You've never done it.
They have meant your side of me, like the angel.
You can learn this, and you love podcasts.
That's your favorite entertainment.
You can become one.
What's the harm to do it?
You will not lose anything.
Try it.
I couldn't decide should I start it or not.
Well, maybe I should start it with a name first.
What should I name it?
Well, in search of what should I name this podcast, I remembered this Chinese saying, do not worry about a bad life, but be afraid of a bad name.
A good name goes far along in your marketing.
I started to think about all the different names.
I thought of Shea Granny, the reason being, I love Granny.
At one point, I thought the podcast could be a marketing tool only.
My main business was a platform, matching young and older people to become friends.
Shea Granny, very catchy, very cute, very like me.
But then, I didn't want to limit myself.
I didn't want to sound sexist.
Especially, I love grandpa too.
I voted this out.
And I keep thinking, searching.
And what do you do when you don't know what to do?
Progressing it.
I did for a bit.
I thought, I might as well be in the circle.
Where people who can inspire me are?
And where can I find older adults?
Because this is the group that I wanted to empower.
This is the group I wanted to work with.
I joined the London Aging 2.0 Book Club.
And one night, there was an international virtual gathering with Susan Golden.
Stage, not age.
This is why name matters.
I was drawn by the title.
I signed up and I joined the book club.
The whole idea of stage, not age, is a concept of feeling life in stages instead of age.
It was so new to me.
If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it.
You will have a new perspective on age and realize age is linear while stage is circular.
For example, if you look at life in age, then you might talk to and view 265 years old the same because there's the same age.
However, 265 can have a very different life.
One can be in ill health, so her focus would be on health and longevity.
She's in a stage where she's resettling life priority.
Another 65 years old is healthy and has started a new business.
I then checked out the Cambridge and Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Do you know that elderhood is not even in the dictionary?
Surprise, right?
But it's true.
There's a word for childhood, adulthood, which means the state of being a child and an adult.
But there's not a word for elderhood.
There's one for elderly.
I started to think, how should I name this state where people are not just by age?
I couldn't find anything.
I decided to make up my new word, beyondhood.
It means beyond elderhood, where we can have new opportunity and live a legacy in our later adult life.
That is how I come up with the name beyondhood.
Okay, now, I know kind of what to do and the name of the company.
I'm ready to go.
Fast forward, in July 2023, I decided, let's do it.
I spent hours researching how to do a podcast, where to host a podcast, what is the difference between different podcast directories, what equipment do you need for editing, what equipment do you need for sound, how should you answer questions?
What question to ask, how to make the sound, and what interview style should I be doing?
All of this, I watched YouTube video, researched on Google, I joined different podcast community to find out what is the best way or what will be my style of doing this podcast.
I finally got on my courage to ask Donald, Donald, can I record your story onto a podcast and to share?
Donald said yes, so I was like, yeah, let's go.
I went to Donald's house and that was how the first Beyondhood podcast started.
At the beginning, I thought it would be lovely to have 10 downloads.
Little did I know that is the beginning of how the recording become the main part of my business.
I started to get email and inquiry about what I do for someone's mom and how much do I charge.
And this is how it all started.
Things changed a lot since last year when I started the first podcast just for fun.
I realized through talking to different customer, some people wanted to do the recording privately because they want to share with family and friends only.
But some people, they get excited to have a platform, the podcast, to share their legacy and the story.
And this is how Beyondhood has become a platform to record live stories.
Fast forward to April this year, after I met with Episode 6 Liz, I realized I needed to expand from word of mouth.
If you haven't listened to Liz's episode, it is Episode 6.
Liz is a PR expert.
So I asked her for idea of where to advertise.
I discovered the Oldies magazine.
Would you say British Monthly Magazine, written for older people, as a light-hearted alternative to a press obsessed with youth and celebrity?
I really enjoy reading it.
This is the crowd I want to get to.
Older adults who are witty, who value family, who value legacy, and who are still full of life.
And this led me to the Agenda Festival, which is a luxury later living show.
When I found out about it, it was 6 days before the show.
I looked at the website of the show, I saw those of the crowd I want to target and want to talk to and share the product with them.
I saw that the two later living residential halls that I want to talk to, they were the extrovert.
This would be such a good opportunity to showcase Beyondhood, Beyond Word of Mouth.
I find out the details online and send the organizer an e-mail about Beyondhood and see if I could still join.
And then I ran them.
I thought, if I don't call that, what if they didn't see my e-mail?
When I talked to the organizer, she was very excited about the service and thought it was something very different from what they usually have exhibited on.
She offers us a spot at the show.
Now that I got the ticket in, the next step is getting ready.
I have never accepted before, but I have been to many shows.
You know what a good show and booth looked like.
To be honest, it was the most stressful sixth day in my life.
From creating the artwork of the roller banner to buying the tablecloth and flower for the show, I dealt with all of them myself.
By first day, I had ordered everything.
The moment I thought my part was done and just needed to wait for the order to be delivered.
On Friday morning, I saw this stressful email telling me that, I'm so sorry that your order will be delayed due to our unexpected large quantity order.
No, they said they will offer 15% off for my next order.
I literally screamed, are you serious?
That is the worst offer.
Why would I order from you guys again if you delayed my order this time?
I immediately called the company and checked to them online at the same time.
They keep telling me there's no way they can express the deliver because Rolla Banner was finished one day late.
It was supposed to finish on Thursday, but they finished on Friday.
And because they rushed the order out, they already put on the delivery notes to say to be delivered the next working day.
And now this is gone.
Even I asked them, I thought you guys open on Saturday.
Can you do Saturday delivery?
But they said it's too late.
There's nothing they can do.
Seriously, they just tell me, no, I'm sorry, we will compensate you.
I don't need to be compensated.
I need the products.
I cannot go to my first show without any marketing material.
The Roller Banner, if you guys don't know what it is, is the one that you see in a show that you can roll it up all the way two meters high so people can see what your company is about all the way from far away.
I even called DBT the delivery company, but they said because right now, they haven't received the order.
Probably the order just left the warehouse.
So it's in transit between the supplier to them, so they cannot do anything.
After COVID, they have not let people to come to their warehouse to pick it up.
It has to be delivered.
This, I dealt with for two hours, so it is 2 p.m.
now.
I couldn't find any company that can deliver on the same day.
I literally had tears in my eyes.
I decided to go for a workout because this stress was really killing me.
I took an hour off and come back.
This time, I'm determined to find something.
And when I come back, I look online again.
Magically, this time, I found that the companies that said, if I order within the next 30 minutes and go pick the rollerband in a warehouse in southeast London, I'll get it by 7 p.m.
As soon as I saw that, oh my god, this is it.
But something instantly pop up, the chat box, and a guy named Harry instantly says hi to me.
I thought that was a bit weird, as if someone was looking at me.
But desperate moment requires desperate need.
A door in my head, is it a scheme?
How could the website, when I scroll on it, a customer service quote unquote just chat to me, but I'm going to try.
In the next 10 minutes, I quickly explained to Harry what happened, and I've transferred money to him.
And he told me a guy named Mike would email me, asking me to approve the app work.
I was really praying to God that this is not a scam, because I just don't understand how do they know I was checking out the same day service and messaged me.
I anxiously waited for 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 50 minutes.
No one named Mike sent an email to me.
Have you guys done that?
When you're waiting for an email, you keep it refreshed, refreshed, refreshed.
Still no sign of Mike.
So I called it, the company.
When I called, it was a UK number.
But the guy who picked up had a heavy accent.
I couldn't really tell where.
I asked him what happened, and if this is legit, and when is Mike going to Yimamu with the artwork.
And within 5 minutes, he said to me, you should go to Yimamu with the artwork.
Take a look.
It looks fine, because it's the exact same artwork that I sent to him.
I approved it.
I told him, is this really legit, because it will take me at least an hour to go to your warehouse in South East London.
And he said, yes, it is.
I started my journey, go to this warehouse in South East London.
I made my way there, and the moment I get off the train, it was as if I was in a different part of the world.
There were so many warehouse, I walked through them, looking at the number, and people look at me a bit weirdly.
But I thought, you know what, it's bright, it's a sunny day, I'll be fine.
I finally came to the warehouse that I'm supposed to be, but it was closed.
I knocked on the door a few times, but no one responded.
I went back on the website of my phone, and now Henry is off.
And another mic was on the inbox.
I chatted to him on the little checkbox on the corner.
I told him I'm at the warehouse.
I sent him a picture, it's just a warehouse because it's very close.
He said to me, don't worry, we've seen you, please wait there for five minutes.
Seriously, in my head, I thought, oh my god, either the technology is so advanced, but how can they see me?
Seems like a long time, but then someone eventually opened the door.
He was wearing a robe, kind of long dress, like a pyjama.
He told me, the company is closed now, it closed at 5pm.
No, I talked to your guy online, Henry, Mike, and I paid extra to get the product today at 7pm.
I saw him the receipt and the order number.
He seems like a nice guy.
The first thing he said to me was, can you give me some tips?
I was like, what?
He told me he cut his finger, because he was rushing the order for me.
And then he asked me, you can wait for me inside, I'll go get the order for you, in the 10 second before I answer him.
In my head, there was a very strong ink smell from the warehouse, and I definitely do not want to be inside with the door closed with a strange man that I don't know, in a warehouse, in a part of London, that I don't know.
Hypothetically, if anything happened, no one can even hear me if I scream.
I said politely to him, it's okay, I will wait for you outside, don't worry.
Two minutes later, he came outside, finally, with a box.
I said, can you open the box so I can see the product to make sure that this is my tumor surprise, it was a very nice, high quality end product, and it is exactly the artwork I sent them.
I checked, the QR code is working, everything is fine, and then he said to me, come inside and take a look, next time, call me directly, and I will give you a discount.
And then we had a chat, and he's from Pakistan, and I know in Southeast Asia, this is the way we do business.
We try to make direct contact, give discount, I have a common ground with him.
I have a feeling, he's a good person.
So I went inside, I couldn't really believe what I see.
I saw a mattress, a big ink machine, a big big printer, a bathroom, and now it kind of all makes sense.
I piece it together now.
He is the worker, and he probably lives inside this factory, or this warehouse.
This is where he lives.
I felt really sorry for him, and it mustn't be nice to live here with this smell.
So I did end up giving him some tips.
Yes, I do carry cash in my wallet, just in case.
He has a nice smile, and was very kind, and I can feel he is a good person.
This is the story of how I got the roller banner all the way back home, but I couldn't stop thinking.
Did he really live there?
I'm really grateful that I got my part of the show.
This is how having your own business means.
You could be working on a Friday night, and the supplier disappoints you.
You have to find absolutely anything or any way to make sure you have a marketing product on Monday, because otherwise you're screwed.
The next day, which is Saturday before the show, I was worried about all the other marketing products that the supplier promised me that will be delivered on Saturday.
I checked online.
Unfortunately, they said it's not going to be dispatched because there was some mess up in the production floor.
Again, this time, I talked to them instead of spending almost half a day arguing and thinking what they could do.
I'm not going to waste another day to check with them.
I immediately find two other suppliers.
After two very stressful hours, I finally went to another supplier to pick up the marketing material, which is in the bookmark, the book lab I'm going to get.
Finally, on the gorgeous Monday at AM, I arrived at the Hurlingham Club and set up my first ever booth for Beyondhood, will forever be grateful that Sonia, my friend, Liz, my other friend, and Episode 6 Liz, who was my client, but also advocate for Beyondhood, to come and help me with the booth.
I'm beelow grateful to have the support.
Most attendee there were very receptive and very eager to know about something new.
Well, except there was this lady, when I smile at her because I am there for a booth, so I put on smile and say morning, afternoon to people, she will scream, don't talk to me, and don't sell me anything.
I'm just browsing beside her.
The over experience talking to stranger about Beyondhood was really a lot of fun.
I really really enjoy it.
Some of them tell me their story, some of them tell me about their parents' story.
There was this gentleman who told me he lived in China.
When Chairman Mao was alive, I also met this lovely lady who immigrate from Hong Kong to the UK in the 50s, who was telling me how her son really want to know her story growing up in Hong Kong.
Meeting all these people really made it work for all this effort to come to the show.
With that note, this is a wrap of this real field trip of the Beyondhood Story, of how we started what we wanted to do, to how we decide the name, and finally have our first successful exhibition.
See you next time.
Thank you.
Before you leave, if you love this episode, please stay tuned for our next one.
If you haven't done so, please follow Beyondhood in your favorite podcast listening app.
Or you can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
If you found this conversation inspirational or interesting or fallible, chances are you did, since you're still listening.
Would you do me a personal favor, a six-second favor?
Share it on your social, email, or tell a friend.
Tell a person you know who can benefit from this conversation, who you think will be inspired by our Beyonder, who is navigating how to age with grace and motivation, so that they can join and be part of our mission.
You guys can discuss.
When a podcast becomes a chat, a chat becomes an action.
Then we're closer to create an intergenerational community through one chat at a time.
Lastly, if you love this episode, please support by being a member of the podcast, so that I can keep looking for new beyonder and continue this show