Misconceptions of Our Roles
 
spillthetea, pochibubbletea, podcast, misconceptions
 

Welcome back to another episode of Pochi Bubble Tea’s Spill the Tea!

On today’s episode, our hosts Ralph, Malyn, Arthur, and Sai sit down to discuss a few common misconceptions of their roles in the company. It’s always important to never judge a book by its cover, and our hosts know that they definitely get their fair share of misjudgement when it comes to what their roles involve around the stores. From management, marketing, IT, ownership, and of course, working in-store, tune in for an exclusive glimpse into what it's REALLY like to be a part of the Pochi Bubble Tea team!


“Bobaristas have it so easy!”

When you walk through the doors of any Pochi location, it can seem like a very laid back place to work! From the friendly cashiers, to Bobaristas smiling while making drinks, to workers singing along to their favorite songs, it can be easy to make the misconception that working at Pochi is a piece of cake. But we’ll let you in on a little secret – things aren’t always as easy as they may seem! In reality, the work our Bobaristas do is no joke! Of course the team is able to have fun with each other, but hustling and keeping each other accountable is always a priority. Although they experience some busy hours and serve hundreds of customers a day, the best part about the team is that they always know how to lift each other up when things get stressful!


“Don’t managers just tell people what to do?” 

It’s a common misconception that a manager’s only job is to “boss around” their team, but in reality, managers do much more than you’d expect! It can be easy to think that they only delegate tasks to their crew, but there are tons of behind the scenes tasks that even regular team members aren’t able to see! Rather than “bossing” around their team, our managers instead act as leaders to GUIDE their teams to success, and hold a large amount of accountability and responsibility for themselves when mistakes are made. It can also be easy to think that managers never make mistakes, but in reality, they’re human too! Everyone makes mistakes, and by owning up to theirs, our managers are able to build trust with their team and grow an even stronger relationship with them.


“Marketing is not even that serious of a job!”

If you aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of marketing, it can seem like an easy job from the outside! In fact, the role comes with an extreme attention to detail, even when it comes to a “simple” product. It may seem like an Instagram post or story would be an easy task, but the process from start to finish takes much longer that you’d expect! From editing, to future planning, to crafting the perfect picture and caption, a post that you could view in two seconds could take up to more than two hours to execute. Marketing also isn’t all about photos and advertisements, but also involves countless behind the scenes tasks to manage analytics, strategy, and branding.


“Technology comes ready to use!”

Setting up technology can’t be that hard…can it? According to host and IT specialist Arthur, his job can be a never ending set of responsibilities. From troubleshooting and testing, being on-call to repair any complications, to finding hands-on solutions at a moment's notice, working with technology involves a challenging process that can only be perfected by the most experienced IT professionals – we’re talking about you Arthur! Without Arthur’s expertise, our locations would not be able to function properly!


“When you own your own business, you can be your own boss!”

According to our hosts Ralph, Malyn, and Arthur, many people assume that by owning Pochi they are able to work independently and under their own jurisdiction. In reality, the higher you move up the ladder, the more people you serve, not the other way around. Our hosts share how important it is to acknowledge that their team members don’t work for them, but instead they work for their team, and do everything they can to support their growth. It can also be misconstrued that the owners are experts about everything that goes on in their business, and that they are knowledgeable about everything all at once. Instead, Ralph, Malyn, and Arthur emphasize that giving their team the space to succeed in their strengths allows them to take a step back and not micromanage, and is able to build an air of confidence and trust with their crew.


S'mores Galore: Unforgettable Summer Fun
 
pochibubbletea, blog, spillthetea, bubble tea, smores
 

Summer is the perfect time to soak up the sun, relax, and create unforgettable memories with friends. And what better way to celebrate the season than by indulging in the classic summer treat: s'mores! In this blog, we'll dive into some exciting ways to incorporate s’mores into your summertime activities to enjoy with friends! From a traditional bonfire to fun competitions, get ready for a season filled with laughter, delicious treats, and adventures!

smores, pochibubbletea, shake, bubbletea, summer


Grab A S’mores Creamy Shake

You heard that right! Our signature S’mores Creamy Shake is making its way back to Pochi on June 1st! Back by popular demand, this summer staple is guaranteed to make any sunny day or cozy night feel like you’re sitting fireside! With a decadent marshmallow base topped with rich chocolate swirls and graham cracker crumbles, we simply can’t wait until the S’mores Creamy Shake is back in stores!

pochibubbletea, summer, smores, campfire, shake, bubbletea

S'mores Bonfire Bash:

Nothing screams summer like a cozy bonfire evening filled with laughter and the irresistible aroma of toasting marshmallows. Set up a designated s'mores station with all the essential ingredients, including graham crackers, chocolate bars, and marshmallows. Encourage everyone to get creative by adding unique twists like peanut butter cups, flavored marshmallows, or even fresh fruit slices. As the fire crackles and stories are shared, savor the delightful combination of gooey marshmallows, melted chocolate, and crunchy graham crackers.


 

Outdoor Movie Night with S'mores:

Combine the fun of outdoor movie nights with the scrumptiousness of s'mores! Set up a cozy outdoor theater in your backyard or a local park, arrange blankets, cushions, and a large screen for an authentic cinematic experience. As you and your friends watch your favorite movies under the stars, create a DIY s'mores bar nearby. Roast marshmallows over a fire pit or grill and assemble your customized s'mores creations while enjoying the movie magic!

pochibubbletea, pochi, smores, spillthetea, summer

pochibubbletea, spillthetea, smores, bubbletea, summer

S'mores Picnic Adventure:

Pack a picnic basket full of s'mores fixings and head to a picturesque location. Find a scenic spot at the beach, a park, or even in your backyard. Lay out a comfy picnic blanket and set up a portable grill or fire pit. Enjoy a leisurely afternoon playing games, soaking up the sun, and relishing the delightful process of making s'mores. Don't forget to capture those special moments with photos to treasure the joy and laughter shared with your friends!


 

S'mores Cook-Off Challenge:

Turn your love for s'mores into a friendly competition. Invite your friends over for a s'mores cook-off challenge. Each participant can bring unique ingredients and creative ideas to craft their own extraordinary s'mores concoctions. From exotic chocolate flavors to unexpected toppings, the possibilities are endless. Taste-test and vote for the most delicious and innovative s'mores creation, crowned the champion of the cook-off. It's an interactive and delectable way to bond with friends while exploring the limits of s'mores creativity.

pochibubbletea, smores, shake, campfire, summer, bubble tea

pochibubbletea, smores, campfire, bubble tea, summer, marshmallow

Adventure-Filled Camping Trip:

Embark on a camping adventure with your closest friends, where s'mores become the official dessert of the trip. Choose a scenic camping spot with hiking trails, stunning views, or a nearby lake for swimming. Spend your days exploring nature, swimming, and engaging in outdoor activities together. As the sun sets, gather around the campfire to share stories, play games, and indulge in the timeless pleasure of making s'mores. The combination of nature's beauty, the warmth of the fire, and the taste of s'mores creates an unforgettable bonding experience.

 


Would You Rather?
 
pochibubbletea, spillthetea, podcast, would you rather, bubble tea, questions
 

Welcome back to another episode of Pochi Bubble Tea’s Spill the Tea Podcast!

On today’s episode, hosts Megan, Sai, Ralph, and Malyn play a classic game of “Would you rather?”, and challenge themselves as they choose between some difficult topics. With questions about morals, death, injuries, superpowers, and of course a few disgusting choices as well, join our hosts as they determine what they’re willing to overcome and endure with their decisions. Of course, for any one listening, feel free to follow along and see if your answers match up to our hosts’!


Decisions, Decisions!

Going into the game, our hosts knew that the questions wouldn’t EXACTLY be the most forgiving, and sacrifices were definitely going to be made! Here’s a few of the questions that our hosts must decide between:

  • Would you rather have to magically flip genders every year or have to move and start over in a new place every year?

    • MAJORITY VOTE: have to move and start over in a new place every year

  • Would you rather have everyone know how much is in your bank account or have everyone see your lovey dovey text messages?

    • MAJORITY VOTE: have everyone see your lovey dovey text messages

  • Would you rather spend the rest of your life always cold or always exhausted?

    • MAJORITY VOTE: always cold

  • Would you rather be the first person on mars on a one way trip or never get the chance to go to space?

    • MAJORITY VOTE: never get the chance to go to space

  • Would you rather run into your ex at the club or run into your parents at the club?

    • MAJORITY VOTE: run into your ex at the club

  • Would you rather cuddle with a giant slug or a giant spider?

    • MAJORITY VOTE: giant slug

  • Would you rather live until you’re 200 years old while looking 200 years old the whole time or look 25 years old until you die at age 65?

    • MAJORITY VOTE: looking 25 until you die at age 65

  • Would you rather be stabbed in the stomach 10 times or shot in both knee caps?

    • MAJORITY VOTE: stabbed in the stomach 10 times

  • Would you rather spend the night in a haunted hotel or spend the night in an insane asylum?

    • MAJORITY VOTE: night in an insane asylum

  • Would you rather never wash your bed sheets again or only be able to shower every 2 weeks?

    • MAJORITY VOTE: never wash your bed sheets again

  • Would you rather trip in front of a crowd on the dance floor or rip your dress in front of a crowd?

    • MAJORITY VOTE: trip in front of a crowd on the dance floor

  • Would you rather have uncontrollable nose hair or uncontrollable ear hair?

    • MAJORITY VOTE: uncontrollable nose hair

  • Would you rather read minds or be able to become invisible?

    • MAJORITY VOTE: read minds

Do you agree with all of our hosts' decisions? We know it was not an easy choice for any of the questions! Comment down below how you would have answered these questions!



Who is the Mole (ROUND TWO)? & Discovering our best lying abilities playing "Liar Liar"
 
The mole round 2 blog cover on pochi spill the tea podcast
 

On this episode of Spill the Tea

Welcome back to another episode of Spill the Tea! In today’s episode, we’re bringing back another round of “Who is the Mole?” and introduce a new podcast guest: our Lynnwood Assistant Store Manager Misa! For those that have seen our first installment of “The Mole”, you’d know that the results weren’t exactly what we had planned! But not to worry – in this episode, Ralph, Malyn, Misa, and Sai MAKE SURE that there is an obvious winner (or loser?).



If you haven’t seen our first episode of “The Mole” or aren’t familiar with the Netflix show we were inspired by, the rules are pretty simple:

  • For our version of the game, everyone receives the same flavor of bubble tea with identical toppings. Our drink of choice for this round is our brand new Green Envy Slush with Lychee Jelly – a delicious concoction of Honeydew, Green Apple, and Lychee!

  • One of our drinks contains a sneaky, secret ingredient that sets it apart from the rest, and makes it taste, well, not the greatest! In today’s episode, our DELICIOUS ingredients of choice are non-alcoholic gin and lots of salt – YUCK!

  • The drinks are swapped around and handed out at random so that everyone can have a fair chance. The person that receives the altered drink is now “The Mole”!

  • During the progression of playing “Liar Liar”, our podcast hosts will sip on their drinks as neutrally and inconspicuously as possible.

  • Whoever is voted correctly to be “The Mole” at the end of the game loses! If the person with the ~special~ drink fools the rest, then “The Mole” wins!


“Liar Liar” Rules

Along with playing “Who’s the Mole”, our hosts will also be playing a few rounds of “Liar Liar”! The rules of the game are as follows:

  • Each player draws a topic card and a “truth” or “lie” card. 

  • For each round, each player will tell a truth or lie based on the contents of the topic card. For example, in this episode, Sai draws a topic card with the words “Limousine”, “Fun”, and “Celebration”, and as a response says that she’s been on a limousine four times in her life. 

  • Although the rest of our hosts are not sure if she drew a “truth” or “lie” card with her topic card, they must vote on whether she is lying or telling the truth! If they guess wrong, Sai wins the point! 

  • The first player to twenty one points is the winner!


If you want to play along with your friends, make sure to check out “Liar Liar” on our Amazon storefront!


Win or Lose?

Although the outcome of “Liar Liar” may have one distinct winner, let’s not forget about the other competition at hand. As our hosts conclude their card game, they must now vote on who they believe is “The Mole”! Ralph, Malyn, Misa, and Sai have all been studying each other closely during their game, and even point out their suspicions of one another throughout! Of course, we wouldn’t want to spoil the fun! Make sure to check out our latest podcast episode to find out who “The Mole” ends up being! Did you guess correctly? Comment below!


Friendships as Young Adults
 
Friendships As Young Adults
 

Welcome to Spill the Tea, the podcast by Pochi Bubble Tea!

In this episode, we will be talking about a topic that is near and dear to many of our hearts - making and maintaining friends as a young adult. Hosts Megan and Sai will share their personal history of friendship and discuss the challenges they faced as they navigated the ups and downs of friendship in their early twenties. They'll also offer tips on where to make friends and how to create meaningful and valuable friendships that will last. 

Whether you're starting college, moving to a new city, or simply looking to expand your social circle, this episode is for you. Megan and Sai will discuss the importance of finding common interests, being vulnerable, and putting in the effort to maintain relationships. So sit back, relax, and get ready to spill the tea on all things friendship. We hope you enjoy this episode of Spill the Tea by Pochi Bubble Tea.


TUNE IN ON YOUTUBE | APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY


The History of Our Hosts 

To kick off this episode all about friendship, Megan and Sai delve into the history of their own friendship, and how our two hosts came together in the first place. Although they first meet at Pochi Bubble Tea, it isn’t until they pursue another job together and find common struggles in their new position that they find their friendship begins to blossom. As they manage to find their way back together (AGAIN) through their pursuit of marketing positions at Pochi Bubble Tea, the rest is history and you can always find these two side-by-side. 


The Reality of Meeting Friends

Whether it be through school or work, Megan and Sai share how they have managed to make and maintain friendships as young adults in their twenties, and how things aren’t as easy as it may seem. They’ve come to discover that the places they spend their time the most are the most promising environments to potentially make friends, and they both share how these friendships can often be based off of a common struggle. As they spend the majority of their days with their coworkers, Megan and Sai have come to find comfort and close friendship with their coworkers, and how a strong team environment correlates to the fostering of these relationships. 


The Value of Friendship

Having a lot of friends may seem like something to aspire to, but from Megan and Sai’s experience, having a tight-knit, smaller friendship circle has been key to meaningful relationships. Rather than having a bunch of surface level friendships, our hosts have come to realize that quantity does not always equal quality, and how prioritizing the people that will add the most value and positivity to your life are the ones worth keeping.




Mother's Day GIFT GUIDE
 
Pochi Spill the Tea Mother's Day
 

We all know the saying – April showers bring May flowers! This May, as we approach nature’s full bloom and an abundance of sunshine, we can’t forget to acknowledge one of the most special people in our lives – our mothers! Marking your calendars for May 14th just isn’t going to cut it, and it’s time to do a bit of planning for the women that matter the most to us. Whether it be your own mother, the mother of your children, or any other women in your life that has taken on the role of motherhood, Mother’s Day is the perfect opportunity to show the women in your life just how much you care! 

From the day you were born to every milestone of your life, mothers always have your back and show unwavering love for you! As the backbone of our families, their contributions to our lives are immeasurable. A lifelong job that allows for little selfishness, motherhood is a role that requires a lot of patience, dedication, and hard work. Mothers often have to juggle multiple responsibilities, including work, childcare, and household chores. It is important to recognize and appreciate all the hard work that goes into being a mother, and we’ve put together the perfect list that will guide you in the right direction when it comes to showing the mothers in your life just how much you cherish them. 


Pamper, Pamper, Pamper!

With all their responsibilities and little time for relaxation, it’s important to make sure Mom feels the same comfort she’s provided for you your entire life. Try setting up a spa day for Mom, and perform the services like facials, massages, or foot rubs yourself! Pick out movies that you both love and grab some snacks for a movie marathon! Sometimes all you need is a quiet night in, and our picks are sure to make her smile. From fluffy throw blankets, aesthetic oil diffusers, to cozy slippers to wear around the house, check out our current favorites:


Spice Up Her Kitchen

There’s nothing like a home-cooked meal from Mom, and let’s face it, spending time in the kitchen can be a lot of work! This year, why not switch the roles around! Cook Mom her favorite meal and treat her to an at-home fancy dinner! Try picking a new recipe that you two can try out, and may even discover a new favorite! For this Mother’s Day, consider spicing up her space by elevating her dish ware, investing in cute pots and pans, or even buying fun cookbooks that you two can enjoy:


Accessorize her! 

Let’s face it, no one can resist a beautiful new addition to their jewelry or accessory collection! Whether it be a delicate necklace of your choice or an adorable new charm for her handbag, Mom won’t be able to resist after seeing what you have picked out: 


Write it down!

Although physical gifts can be nice, the most thoughtful gifts are sometimes the ones that are the simplest! Letting your mom know just how much she means to you through a card or letter can elevate her day to the fullest! If you want to get even more creative, check out our keepsake picks that are sure to have tears of joy forming at her eyes:


Try A New Experience Together

Treating Mom to an experience rather than getting a physical gift can be an amazing present, and allows for memories to be made that you can look back on down the line. Here are some of our top suggestions that you can experience right here in Seattle:

  • Try an escape room at Reality Break Escapes in Bellevue

  • Go wine tasting in Woodinville’s wine country

  • Take family pictures at the Arboretum in Seattle

  • Visit Portage Bay Cafe for brunch

  • Take a bike ride around Juanita Beach Park

  • Grab fresh flowers at Pike Place Market


Megan Corypage3Comment
Finding Identity and Authenticity with Artiel Castillo
 
pochi spill the tea interview
 

On this episode of Spill the Tea, we have an extra special guest with us! We are lucky to introduce you to one of our greatest assets, Artiel! Artiel (previously known as Glency) is our Kirkland store manager and has been with Pochi for many years. On today’s podcast, we will learn about how he was brought onto the team and how he worked his way up! With a connection to Malyn, Arthur and Ralph before they took over Pochi, Artiel shares both stories from his past and hopes for the future. Throughout the episode, you will learn how much he cares for his team and the business he works so closely with. 


TUNE IN NOW ON YOUTUBE | APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY


Becoming Me - Artiel Castillo

Going back to Artiel’s very first interview with Pochi, he shares the nerves he experienced and walks us through his thought process. Now as an interviewer for Pochi, he reflects on how far he has come with switching his mindset for how he presents himself to others. Understanding himself as a person instead of living for satisfying others is something that Artiel has learned along his journey. He shares with us how he has become comfortable with being authentic and true to himself rather than striving for others to accept him. With his goal to run a store himself, Artiel tells us he wishes he had taken the time to appreciate the journey so that accomplishing his goals would have felt more fruitful. 

Along the lines of enjoying the journey, we hear everyone chime in on their personal experiences that have changed their perspectives on life. Things may not always come naturally, but persistence and hard work is what gets people closest to their goals, Ralph shares. As Artiel opens up about his mental state, he shares with us his journey of growth and how he focused on his strengths in order to push through times of doubt and challenges. 

Try Artiel’s favorite drink: Passionfruit Green Tea!


Try to find the yes instead of focusing on the no’s
— Artiel

Growth as a Journey 

As the episode concludes, Artiel tells us how his perspectives have changed and how his intentions have become more clear to him. Taking a trip down memory lane, Artiel is able to spot every lesson he has learned and dissect what happened at that point in his life. Now that he has grown from mistakes and has learned to overcome the, he tells us, “What I am focusing on right now is enjoying the process and enjoying the moment.”

Artiel has now gotten to a point where he gives without expecting anything in return. Earning the opportunity to train not only new employees, but future managers for new store locations, Artiel looks forward to sharing his knowledge and wishes to pass down his experiences with the next generation of team members. With his developed abilities and trustworthiness, Malyn, Ralph, and Arthur express how proud they are to have watched him grow. 



Megan Corypodcast, page3
Pochi Bubble Tea’s Branding 101
 
 

From the root of every business there's a story! From the feelings we want people to feel to the colors that make up our palette, branding is crucial to a business. Building an identity for our store has been a process that is never ending. Making you and every person feel welcomed to our stores has been the forefront of our brand. As we add our insight on branding we also discuss how far we have come with our  journey and what big plans we have in store. Grab your tea and join us as we talk about branding on today's episode!


TUNE IN ON YOUTUBE | APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY


Branding talks about ‘the identity and story of a company’
— Malyn


Pochi’s Branding Journey

As we unfold the inner workings of brand development we take a trip down memory lane. Malyn tells us what we've changed and what we've kept throughout our development of Pochi. During the early days of takeover, we were dealing with a more “grunge” aesthetic where friends could all meet up and have a great time! Throughout the years we have added a modern twist while still emphasizing the idea of a gathering spot. We also discuss what our brand currently stands for and how we reflect that through our ability to welcome everyone. 

Diving into the small details that make up our brand, Ralph discusses our Logo! As many of you may already know, our logo is a dog. “Pochi” is a very popular dog name in Japan and, as Ralph explains, we wanted to capture the essence of the meaning through a representative graphic. Throughout our rebranding journey, lots of thought went into how the logo was going to be perceived and what it essentially stood for. Ralph goes into detail about what inspired our brand logo and how we use it to welcome our customers!


BEFORE

AFTER


For marketing its main purpose is to really sell and attract customers, – branding is more of making an iconic presence that people are not going to forget.
— Megan

What Makes a Brand Appealing

What does it take to be a leader? A good vision and direction as Malyn shares with us. A brand that is worth following is a brand with good intention and attention to detail. Thinking of well known and successful brands, we further discuss how they attract so many consumers. Topics such as quality, aesthetic, and reliability are a few of the many aspects that make up our idea of a brand or company. On another note, we also discuss different strategies a business might take in order to optimize differentiation and remain unique! As far as our Band, we’ve always tried hard to represent the image we created for ourselves. By staying true to who we say we are has helped us gain extreme amounts of customer loyalty and connections that go far beyond the workplace. 

The route we've decided to take as a brand is family oriented. We try our hardest to develop connections within our community and grow close within our team. Many of you who have been customers may have picked up on our aesthetic and our brand composition. For those who are curious to what route we take as a bubble tea shop keep listening! We emphasize a stable and comfortable approach that includes people of all ages. We look forward to seeing you soon and hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about us!



Bringing Awareness to PMDD with Malyn
 
spill the tea podcast episode cover of bringing awareness to pmdd with malyn
 

Introduction

Hey everyone, in this solo episode today, I am sharing about my experience with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder aka PMDD! If you’re struggling with or know someone who is struggling with severe PMS, even if they have PMDD or not, this episode may be helpful and insightful. April is PMDD awareness month so this episode is a special one for me for sure and usually serves as a time to reflect on my health journey.

Like I mentioned in the episode, I am not a medical professional so please consult a healthcare professional for diagnosis, treatment, or any other decisions regarding your own health. Although my experience doesn’t encompass everything or speak for other people with PMDD, I hope in sharing my story, it provides you with a bit more insight and clarity on what PMDD could be like from my perspective.

I’d love to hear about what you resonated with and if you’d like to see more episodes around like this.


TUNE IN ON YOUTUBE | APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY

Understanding PMDD

So what is PMDD? So let me start with a definition from the International Association For Premenstrual Disorders.

“Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a cyclical, hormone-based mood disorder with symptoms arising during the premenstrual, or luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and subsiding within a few days of menstruation.”

In other words, if you have PMDD, your symptoms are present and really, at its worse during the 10-14 days before your period. Once your period starts, though, the symptoms tend to go away either immediately or within a few days of your period starting.

Now there’s no test to diagnose PMDD and it’s important to see a doctor if you might think you have PMDD because they are able to run tests to rule out any underlying causes.

To really diagnose the condition, you will need to track your symptoms daily for at least 2 menstrual cycles. And then, you’ve got to meet the criteria for the diagnosis as well.

Info on Diagnosis & DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria

A common way that PMDD is described is that it is a severe form of PMS. Is it the same thing though? The simple answer is no. Many of the symptoms of PMDD is like PMS. However, if you have PMS, the symptoms are typically less severe than that of PMDD. Now about 80% of women experience some forms of PMS and that is more common than PMDD which affects about 5% of women. PMDD is also classified as a mental illness in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders also known as the DSM-5 for short.

How I was diagnosed with PMDD

I really started noticing my periods getting really bad in my early to mid-twenties. The cramps were debilitating to the point where I could not get out of bed if I did not take any ibuprofen or something to manage the pain. I’d literally be curled up in a ball, balling my eyes off. And I remember, I just felt one, very alone in my pain. I felt that, although logically I knew I was not alone, I still couldn’t help feeling that way. I also oftentimes felt like a crazy person – not really sure how else to describe it – because I knew I felt terrible, depressed, hopeless, and just all of these things for a certain amount of time and then next thing I knew, I felt better and this was before I knew it was cyclical and before I made those connections. I didn’t understand what was going on at the time.

Like others with PMDD, it was like 1 week was excruciatingly difficult while the other weeks felt like cleaning up after the mess/fallout of what happened in what others describe as the “hell week” to only repeat it every single month. For others, I know suicidal ideation or thoughts come up and fortunately for me, that was not the case.

At work, I noticed that I would start to get anxious. I started having panic attacks when I had no prior history of them. I was starting to have trouble focusing and concentrating at work. Issues that would not normally set me off, would. If anything stirred me up emotionally where I would end up crying, it would be these crying spells that I could not stop which made it difficult to pick myself up, compartmentalize, or keep it together.

One day, I just about had enough. I was sick of feeling the way that I did and was so exhausted. Honestly, I wanted to take more control of my situation and life. One of my biggest motivating factors is this sense of responsibility to myself, but to the relationships I have in my life and owning a business and having all these people depend and rely on me. Something that is said in the Maxwell Leadership community is that everyone deserves to be led well and that is something I believe in. And so, I wanted to become the leader I knew I could be and that my team deserved. So, something needed to change.

I started to do a bit more research about what I could possibly be experiencing. I came across PMDD, after going down the rabbit hole of every diagnosis possible, and definitely resonated with what I learned about it; however, I didn’t really know much about it yet and I knew I had to be sure and went to see a doctor. I was fortunate to have a doctor at the time who was familiar with PMDD and was able to diagnose me with it.  I felt a tremendous sense of relief. Because then I knew. I knew I wasn’t crazy and could explain what I was experiencing a bit better. And with a diagnosis, it felt like I had a place to start tackling the problem. There’s a framework of what is happening and gave me more to work with.

Treatment options for PMDD

First-line of treatment for PMDD includes oral contraceptives/birth control pills and SSRIs. Those two options were the only ones presented to me as well. So I wasn’t aware of what else could have been effective and there also weren’t a lot of studies or resources back then either. I do notice there is a lot more information now and more studies are being done.

 I started off with Birth Control Pills for about 1 year to 1 year and a half. I noticed it wasn’t as effective when I was sick or if I forgot to take a pill, symptoms took a little bit to subside again.

When I decided to go on an SSRI, I stopped Birth Control Pills. The SSRI has been the most effective for me in being able to regain stability and consistency in my life again.

I went on medication with the intent that I would eventually get off of it one day. Being on medication allowed me to focus on areas of my life, one at a time, without being overwhelmed by all the PMDD symptoms that would hold me back.

I am currently OFF of medication. The weening off process and withdrawals is a whole other experience of its own, so I do caution to think about your long-term plan of being on medication and if you have a plan for coming off of medication. That itself can take a toll on your body.

My Lifestyle Changes & Habits to Treat PMDD Naturally
I do quite a bit and this is what feels right for me and has been working so far for me. All of this did not happen overnight. Slow, consistent and sustainable changes is what I aim for! I’m also still working closely with a doctor for guidance & assistance in my health journey.

  • SLEEP - working on good sleep hygiene. Sleep has a huge impact on your MOOD, brain health, & overall health really! Getting enough rest is vital! I supplement with Magnesium (this is the one I take, not sponsored or an affiliate) & L-theanine 1 hour before bed to help relax.

  • HYDRATE - sounds easy enough, however, I always struggled with drinking enough water and even when I do, I don’t always feel hydrated. So the key is to make sure you’re getting electrolytes as well! I try to make sure I drink water first thing in the morning BEFORE my morning drink (which for me is a chai tea latte.) For electrolytes, I add in either lemon juice & Himalayan pink salt OR electrolytes from GOODONYA. Their electrolytes are organic, clean ingredients, & glyphosate-free!

  • REDUCING TOXIC LOAD - being more aware of what I put into my body, on my body, and the environment. Some things I do is open the windows in my house for some fresh air, use air filters, vacuum frequently to get rid of dust, use toxic-free cleaning products when possible. I am not perfect and I already have a bunch of products already, so after finishing a product and then opting to purchase a better, cleaner product next time is what I’ve been doing. All my skin care and hair products are clean and now I am working on my make-up!

  • SUPPLEMENTS - Magnesium is huge one for me that has helped with my migraines/headaches among sleep as well. I take that DAILY as well as a good multivitamin. Other things I take: probiotic, ashwagandha, Vitamin D + K2.

  • DIET - No ultra-processed foods. Processed foods occasionally as a treat. Reduced sugar intake or added sugars. Avoid anything with fructose corn syrup or sucralose. Reduced dairy intake. Incorporated more vegetables into my meals. I try to make sure each meal has some sort of vegetables. When I can, I try to change it up and go for different colors or kinds to get in different phytonutrients and benefits. I follow Glucose Goddess’s protocol in eating foods in the right order to prevent spiking your blood sugar levels.

  • DE-STRESS - reducing stress loads is important for activating your parasympathetic nervous system and getting your body out of survival mode. Looking at stress from a wider perspective of physical, mental, and environmental stressors and reducing the stress from all aspects. How to regulate my emotions. My favorite daily practice is mindfulness & breathwork! One of my favorite treatments to the physical stressors in my body is chiropractic care at Apex Chiropractic!

  • MINDSET - looking at and working through insecurities, especially the ones brought up during my PMDD, and working through those. Understanding my self-limiting beliefs and how to grow from them. Applying techniques learned through therapy like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.


Final Thoughts

The experiences of PMDD differs from each individual to the next. For some people, they’ve actually been misdiagnosed as having Bipolar Disorder. For others, they have other health conditions on top of PMDD which makes things even more complicated to address. Some have lost their jobs, are constantly questioning the validity of their feelings, or this conditions just prevents them from showing up fully as themselves.

It seems that more information is coming out and more resources are becoming available though! That makes me so hopeful for those who are just getting diagnosed with this condition or may be currently struggling with it.


More resources to learn about PMDD & other people’s stories:

11 Women With PMDD Share What It's Really Like
Treating premenstrual dysphoric disorder
PMDD Almost Ruined My Life Before I Found out What It Was
PMDD AND WORK: ONE SUFFERERS STORY


Summer Bucket List: Snohomish County Edition
 
Summer Bucket List Snohomish County blog cover for Pochi Bubble Tea Cafe. Blog lists things to do in the summer around Snohomish County.
 

As the sun shines brighter and the temperatures rise, it's time to start planning your summer adventures. And what better place to enjoy the great outdoors than Snohomish County, Washington? Nestled in the heart of the Pacific Northwest, this region offers stunning natural beauty, vibrant communities, and a wealth of recreational opportunities. Whether you're seeking an adrenaline rush or a peaceful escape, there's something for everyone in Snohomish County during the summertime. From hiking and biking to festivals and nightlife, let's explore all that this stunning destination has to offer during the warmest months of the year.

We’ve put together a list for you of things to do in Snohomish County this Summer season. Which one would you do?


 
 

Grab a drink at Pochi Bubble Tea Cafe in Lynnwood

When the temperature starts to rise, you know it’s prime time to grab your favorite refreshing drink at Pochi Bubble Tea! One of our favorites for summertime is DEFINITELY our seasonal Fresh Watermelon Slush! When paired with your favorite popping boba or jellies, this summer staple is the perfect cure to any scorching weather!

 

Summer Nights in Bothell (July 14-August 18)

If you’re looking for good eats, live music, and great vibes overall, make sure to mark your calendars for Summer Nights in Bothell (July 14-August 18)! Whether you’re looking to explore some new food trucks, listen to a few local bands, explore the art scene, or experience cultural performances, join the Bothell community every Friday night this summer to see what is in store!


Mill Creek Festival (July 15-16) 

A yearly favorite for the Mill Creek community, you won’t want to miss the two days of fun that the Mill Creek Festival brings to the table every year (July 15-16). With booths from vendors all over the community, an exciting array of food options, and of course an area dedicated just for pets, the Mill Creek Festival is truly a marker that summer is in full swing!


Snohomish Valley Golf Center Mini Golf

Want to test out your golfing abilities and challenge your friends? Make sure to check out the Snohomish Valley Golf Center for a round of mini golf! You can also stop by the Valley Grill for a bite to eat or visit the pro shop to get a drink or two! Our suggestion: try to book your visit during the sunset — the views are unmatched!


Catch the sunset at Port of Edmonds Marina

Speaking of sunsets, the Port of Edmonds Marina will always be one of our top picks for some amazing views over the waterfront! Grab your friends and lay down a blanket to enjoy the beautiful colors over Puget Sound!


Go hiking in Gold Bar at Wallace Falls

For all of our nature enthusiasts, hiking the Wallace Falls trail (aka Woody Trail) in Gold Bar this summer is an experience you won’t want to miss! For forest, waterfall, and valley views, Wallace Falls is the place to be to get a taste of the great outdoors! Bonus points is you bring your pup along for the hike!


Evergreen State Fair (August 24-29, August 31-September 4)

The summer is fair is a classic event that is great for the whole family! Whether you’re a thrill seeker looking for some awesome rides, an animal lover looking for the petting zoo, or a foodie looking to find the strangest items that can be deep fried, the Evergreen State fair is the place to be! From August 24-29 and August 31-September 4, bring the entire family to Monroe to experience this Snohomish County favorite!


Megan Corypage3Comment
Continuing to Build Community & Beyond with Content Creator, Foodie, and Storyteller Teena Thach
 
Teena Thach podcast cover on spill the tea pochi podcast
 
 

In this episode of Spill the Tea, Ralph and Malyn sit down with Teena Thach: a Seattle-based social media content creator. Teena is a storyteller and foodie, famous for her slogan “Hey Washington Foodies!” that has made waves on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.

In this interview, Teena discusses her motivations for content creation and shares a bit about her background as she tells stories about her love of food stemming from experiences with her family. We also discuss how Teena manages to keep up with her social media hobbies all while maintaining a “regular” nine-to-five career, and how she is able to stay productive and confident as she navigates a busy schedule. Join us in this episode as we explore the delicious and inspiring world that Teena Thach has created with her online presence!


TUNE IN ON YOUTUBE | APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY


“Hey Washington Foodies!”

If you frequent platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, we can almost guarantee that you’ve stumbled across Teena Thach’s bubbly narrations that follow her exploration of local Seattle restaurants you may have not discovered otherwise. As we sit down with Teena to explore her social media journey, she shares that her main focus when documenting her food discoveries are black and brown, underrepresented, BIPOC small businesses. Many of which, after discovering the power of social media, have reached out to her to try their own restaurants. Teena realizes the impact of her words and storytelling through her food reviews, and has in turn, helped numerous small businesses thrive in a post-pandemic environment. 

While Washington Foodies has been an impactful passion project, she envisions herself growing beyond food in Washington State and is ready to expand her horizons into other areas.


Food and Family

Like many of those that have a similar background to Teena, growing up in a household with immigrant parents isn’t always the easiest experience. Teena discusses how although she may have felt out of touch with her parents in some ways, they are ultimately the root of her love for food and shares with us a few of her favorite childhood dishes. She also shares how her father inspired her to work hard as he did his entire life, but also inspired her to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, such as her hobby of food journalism. 


From Day Jobs to Dinner Tables

Although Teena is most known for her presence on social media and the small businesses she is able to highlight through her videos, she also pursues a nine-to-five day job.​​ Teena shares with us her experience with juggling a day job while also pursuing a time-consuming hobby, and how making time for simple activities in the day can be a challenge. However, Teena is passionate about making time for her hobbies and even shares, “Having your nine to five is cool, but I feel like I've learned: if you put all your time in your nine to five, where's the fun out of it? If one day.. what if that goes away? Did you actually do everything you ever wanted to do? I never want to look back and say, I wish I did this.” Teena believes that life should not be full of regrets, and strives to live each day with purpose and appreciation for the small enjoyments of life. 


 

CONNECT WITH TEENA THACH

Teena's Website | Instagram | Tik Tok


Connect with us on Instagram!

The Ultimate Kirkland Bucket List
 
 
 

Welcome to Kirkland, Washington — a charming city located on the eastern shore of Lake Washington! It offers an abundance of activities and attractions for visitors to enjoy. Whether you're a nature lover, a foodie, or an art enthusiast, Kirkland has something for everyone. Here are some of the best things to do in Kirkland:


1. Stop in for your favorite boba at Pochi Bubble Tea!

Of course we had to start off our Kirkland tour at our own home base! As we near our one year anniversary of our second Pochi location (mark your calendars for April 19th!), make sure to stop in to discover all the new items we’ve introduced since our grand opening! From our Kirkland signature “Beach Bae” to our brand new bagels, stepping in to our Kirkland location will surely make you feel right at home!

Check us out on Redfin’s blog post: Uncover the Best of Seattle: The Ultimate Seattle Bucket List


2. Take a leisurely stroll along the Kirkland Waterfront - it's like stepping into a postcard!

One of the most popular attractions in Kirkland is its picturesque waterfront! Take a stroll along the waterfront and enjoy the views of Lake Washington and the Seattle skyline. You can also visit the Kirkland Marina, which is home to a variety of boats and yachts. Don’t forget to stop by during the sunset — the views will blow you away!


3. Let your creative juices flow at the Kirkland Arts Center. Get inspired and let your inner artist shine!

The Kirkland Arts Center is a non-profit art center that offers a variety of classes, workshops, and exhibits. The center is housed in a historic building that was once the Peter Kirk Building, which was built in 1890. Make sure to check out their website for a schedule of upcoming exhibits and events!


4. Get your nature fix at Juanita Bay Park!

Hike, bike, or just bask in the beauty of Lake Washington. Juanita Bay Park is a beautiful park located on the shores of Lake Washington. The park features a variety of hiking trails, a boardwalk, and a wildlife viewing area. It's a great place to spend a sunny afternoon and take in the natural beauty of the area. Just look at that beautiful greenery — absolutely breathtaking!


5. Sip some tasty wines at local wineries. They don't call this area "wine country" for nothing!

Kirkland is located in the heart of Washington's wine country, and there are several local wineries that offer tastings and tours. Check out Woodinville Wine Country, which is just a short drive from Kirkland and home to over 100 wineries. Cheers!


6. Taste the freshest local produce at the Kirkland Farmers Market!

The Kirkland Farmers Market is held on Wednesdays from June through September. It features over 40 local vendors selling fresh produce, flowers, and artisanal goods. It's a great place to sample some of the region's best produce and meet local farmers and artisans!


7. Chow down at one of Kirkland's amazing restaurants. From fancy to casual, there's something for every taste bud.

Kirkland is home to a variety of excellent restaurants, ranging from casual cafes to upscale digs. In downtown Kirkland, Park Lane is home to atmospheric eateries, cute coffee shops, and boutique shopping — a must visit destination! For an intimate dining experience, we definitely recommend Bottle & Bull for delicious small bites and creative drinks! For a more casual experience, Ivar’s on the Houghton waterfront will always hit the spot for some fish and chips! From date night to brunch, downtown Kirkland is definitely the place to be!


8. Catch a show at the Kirkland Performance Center. Music, theater, and more - this place has got it all!

The Kirkland Performance Center is a non-profit performing arts center that hosts a variety of concerts, plays, and other performances. Check out their schedule to see what's coming up during your visit!


Overall, Kirkland is a fantastic destination for visitors looking for a mix of outdoor activities, cultural experiences, and culinary delights. Whether you're visiting for a weekend or a week, there's plenty to see and do in this charming city!



Megan Corypage3Comment
Gift Etiquette in Relationships
 
 

Welcome back to Pochi Bubble Tea’s "Spill the Tea"! In this episode, we're spilling the tea on the ins and outs of gift etiquette in relationships. We'll be discussing the great gift debate: is it better to give a thoughtful gift or an expensive one? We'll dive deep into the pros and cons of both and give you our hot take on what really matters when it comes to showing love and appreciation for your significant other.

We'll also chat about gift expectations, because let's face it, they can get pretty complicated in relationships! Whether it's the pressure to give the "perfect" gift or the fear of not living up to your partner's expectations, we've got you covered on how to navigate these tricky waters. But what about when you're the one receiving a gift? Do you ever feel guilty about being celebrated or receiving expensive gifts from your partner? We totally get it and we'll share our tips for handling those feelings and finding ways to appreciate and accept the gifts given to us. Let's learn how to give and receive gifts with love, grace, and gratitude!



The Price is NOT Always Right

Whether it’s an anniversary, birthday, or any holiday associated with gift giving, finding the perfect present for the one you love can be difficult to navigate. Should you go with something with a high-ticket price tag, or maybe something intimate and specialized to your partner? Megan, Sai, Ralph, and Malyn discuss their opinions on what types of gifts feel the most special to them, and how they approach holidays when gift giving can be a stressful matter. 


Expectations

Have you ever felt as though your partner expects certain gestures or gifts? Maybe you’ve been put in a high pressure situation where gift giving is the cause of all stress. In this episode, we explore the anxieties of “having” to fulfill your partner's expectations and how certain holidays, such as Valentine’s Day, hold a general expectation in themselves as to how they should be celebrated. From what we’ve discovered, communication is key in this area, and you’ll never be disappointed if your cards are all laid out on the table. 


Guilty Gifting

We know it can be stressful to acquire gifts for the ones you love the most, but how about being on the receiving end? Our hosts dive into feelings of guilt associated with being given gifts or celebrated, and how you may feel burdened or stressed when someone decides to go out of their way for you. As mentioned before, communication is extremely important for these feelings to subside, and setting proper boundaries with your partner about what is comfortable between the two of you can eliminate these feelings of being “too spoiled” or undeserving of their gestures.




2023 Resolution Check In
 
 

Happy Spring Pochi fam! Can you believe that it’s already nearing the end of March? We can’t believe it either! With sunshine just around the corner and flowers on the verge of full bloom, it’s time to get our affairs in order and do a little check in with ourselves. Spring cleaning isn’t just for around the house anymore, but rather what we could afford to “clean” up in our own lives.

Remember those New Year's Resolutions you made at the beginning of the year? Well, we’re here to offer a bit of guidance for those that DID follow through with their goals and those that may need a bit of help getting on track. Whether it be implementing more positivity into your days, working on your health, or even just finding motivation with getting your schedule back on track, we have got you covered with some of our favorite Amazon finds that will surely resuscitate those resolutions!


As we emerge from a long winter, it can be difficult to make sure your schedule is in order to prepare for what’s to come. Whether it be starting a new quarter of school, taking on new work projects, or even making room for hobbies throughout the week, here at Pochi, we know how hard it can be to juggle multiple priorities at once. By keeping organized and visually on-track, tasks can become a breeze and it will be easier to keep yourself accountable when you physically write down what needs to be accomplished. One of our favorite ways to stay on track and motivated is definitely some cute stationary, which could include a beautiful, leather bound journal or a daily planner that has your favorite stickers to keep you going. Remember: write it down and watch your productivity transform!


Motivation to keep up with your goals isn’t always physically tangible, and we know how important it is to maintain a good balance with your mental health as well. Sometimes, words of motivation are exactly what you need to continue your goals and see that there IS a light at the end of the tunnel. Even if those around you may not recognize your love language to be words of affirmation, we’ve got you covered! We’ve been loving daily calendars with motivating messages printed on them, reminding us that every day is full of possibility, and plus, we look forward to seeing the next message every day!


“When the new year starts, so will my journey for health and fitness!” We’ve all heard it so many times before, and may even be a victim of saying it ourselves! If you haven’t stuck to your fitness plan since the new year, not to worry! It can be intimidating at first to make the promise of going to the gym or finding outdoor activities to use as exercise – trust us, been there, done that! If venturing outside the confines of your room for a good workout isn’t exactly your forte, we’ve added some of our favorite picks to succeed in a home workout that will help you reach your goals one step faster! If the gym IS your thing, don’t worry, we’ve also got you covered! From pre-workout to our favorite protein powder, we’ve got the right tools for you to get your gains! 


When considering your health, one of the major things that often gets overlooked is your skin. Your health is your wealth, and that includes all parts of yourself! If it wasn’t already, improving your skincare routine is an awesome way to take care of yourself and can even make you feel more confident to take on the day. Being the biggest organ of the human body, why wouldn’t we want to make sure that our skin is well taken care of? It’s never too late to get down a good routine, and we’ve even included a few of our favorite picks that will get your skincare on the right track. 


Megan Corypage3Comment
New Hires at Pochi
 
 

Join us while we spill the tea on what goes on behind the counter! Joining the Pochi crew has always been a unique experience for every single individual that makes up our team. With that said, there are some core things to expect during the first few weeks of working with us. From learning the drink menu to developing deeper friendships, we are here to tell you all about it! During this episode we also discuss Sai and Megan’s first experiences from when they first onboarded with Pochi. Emphasis on the importance of friendship within our team is carried throughout every aspect we discuss. All of us are always eager to meet any new addition to our team. Grab your tea and get ready for a quick glimpse into the life of a new hire!



When you’re new, you have to know you have a whole team that has your back.
— Ralph

Memorizing the Menu

With so many drinks on our menu, it can certainly be an overwhelming sight, but we have figured out the key to success. Focusing on memorizing patterns, key concepts, and fractions will make all the difference in your ability to obtain and retain formulas. Reflecting back on their new hire process, Megan and Sai explain how much our training systems have developed. If you're an OG crew member, you may remember a binder of recipe sheets to take home and look over. As you listen further you'll see how much we've added to our drink retainment processes. With the systems we have created, you are never alone during your training sessions… you're stuck with us! Instead of being expected to memorize how to make each drink, you are expected to initially catch onto drink patterns. During this process, keeping a level head and an open approach to learning will set you up for success. Regardless of where your memorization skills lie, you can always rely on recipe sheets as a resource. In times of doubt, questions are ALWAYS welcome and encouraged!


You get faster naturally over time, with time and experience.
— Malyn

Adapting to the Pochi Flow

Working in fast paced environments is definitely something we see here on a day to day basis. To match our busy times we expect that the whole crew is high spirited and ready for fun! To an outside perspective it could appear hectic and stressful but you’ll quickly learn that we find fun in the chaos. As a new hire, you will experience first hand what goes into being a boba master! As some of you may know, there are many nights where the line will stretch and wrap around the storefront. During these busy nights is when it's most important we work as a unit. From a crew member’s perspective you will hear that it takes strategy and trust amongst all of us. With good communication and a positive attitude, the busy hours are our favorite! There's no doubt that every helping hand always has a purpose. 

Building New Relationships

Building new relationships and making memories is something we hold true to our culture. We want to create an environment that doesn't just feel like work… we want you to be excited to be a part of us. We cultivate positive experiences so that stepping behind the counter is exciting. Here at Pochi we want to provide a space where each crew member feels like they are supported and accepted. With that being said, you could expect lots of connections beyond the work environment and friendships that could last a lifetime!

OTHER RELATED LINKS:

Not-So-Secret Interview Tips & Tricks
More Spill The Tea Podcast Episodes
Pochi’s Origin Started & How We Got Started with Pochi
Shop our Merch Store

Saipodcast, pagetwoComment
Experiencing Burnout & How We Deal With It
 
 

Hey Pochi Fam!

We all know that life can get hectic and overwhelming, and it's easy to fall into the trap of putting too much on our plates. So we are exploring the effects of burnout, and why it's so important to prioritize rest and self-care when it comes to productivity and your overall health. 

Welcome to another episode of Pochi Bubble Tea's Spill the Tea, the podcast that's all about keeping it real and finding solutions to the challenges we face. We'll be sharing some tips and tricks on how to overcome procrastination-induced anxiety, so that you can stop feeling stuck and start making progress. And of course, we'll be providing you with some of our tried-and-true strategies for overcoming burnout in general. Because let's face it - burnout can happen to anyone, but it doesn't have to keep us down. 

So, get ready to Spill the Tea and join us for a conversation about the power of rest, the importance of taking breaks, and how to remedy burnout to be more productive and happy in all aspects of your life. 


TUNE IN ON YOUTUBE | APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY


Stacking Your Plate Too High

In today’s day and age, the pressure of feeling like you have to constantly be productive or creating something innovative is at an all time high, and it can be easy to fall into a habit of putting too much on your plate at once. In a strange twist of fate, putting too much on your agenda can actually produce the opposite effect of productivity, and instead spiral into a place of overwhelming mental strain. Ralph, Malyn, Megan, and Sai discuss the motives behind causing burnout to oneself, and how to spot warning signs in order to combat them.

Prioritizing Rest

We get it: there’s always so much to do and seemingly so little time! WIth a busy schedule, it can be easy to put rest to the wayside in order to accomplish all of our goals. But, as we’ve come to find out, productivity is nothing without a balance of rest to go with it. Whether it be studying for finals, starting new projects at work, or simply getting things done around the house, setting time aside for periods of downtime and relaxation can provide one with a greater capacity to be more productive and avoid pesky burnout. 

Procrastination 

We’ve all said this to ourselves at some point or another: “I’ll just get to it later!” This “later” then turns into days, months, and can even be put off all together. As Megan shares in this episode, “Stress isn’t about what you are doing, but rather what you are not,” and includes her experience with procrastination induced anxieties. In this episode, we discuss how to break the cycle of procrastination and find remedies that make the tasks we need to accomplish a little more enjoyable and incentivized.

Some Tips From the Episode:

  • Tune into your body & listen to it

  • Find moments of happiness & joy

  • Truly RESTING without the guilt

  • Prioritize a good night’s sleep

  • Write it down. Whether it’s a list or a brain dump. Get it on paper and out of your brain.


How have you experienced BURNOUT? What are your favorite ways to prevent it or bounce back from it?

Comment and let us know!


Hang out with us on Instagram!

Embracing Your Struggle Story: Insights From His YouTube Journey & Life with Benji Travis
 
Benji Travis YouTube headshot on spill the tea podcast blog cover
 

We’re welcoming YouTube expert, creator, and good friend, Benji Travis, to Spill the Tea. In this episode, we discuss the humble beginnings of his YouTube journey and the lessons learned throughout the years, including some of the experiences he has shared with Ralph and Arthur. We talk about how he went from simply helping his wife with her video set-up to publishing a book and becoming a YouTube expert and mentor.


TUNE IN ON YOUTUBE | APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY


Full Transcript

  • Benji:

    Thank you. It's so awesome to be here. It's an amazing story what you guys started, and I can't believe I'm at your podcast now, so thanks for having me.

    Ralph:

    Well, thanks for coming, man. Why don't you let everybody, because I know there's a lot of things that you have done along the way. Why don't you give our audience a little bit for those that may not have heard of you yet, they're about to hear about you, so all right. Give 'em a little something about you.

    Benji:

    Well, first off, I'm a friend of yours goes way back. I mean, obviously also with Arthur, and grew up here in the Pacific Northwest north of Seattle. Started off just really using YouTube as somebody that was watching videos. I used to work at a YMCA and kids used to watch YouTube videos to learn how to break dance, right? Proper term, bboying. And so the reason I started with that is because the last decade of my life has been consumed by YouTube, but the very beginning I wasn't ever thinking of it as a platform to basically create a lifestyle, right? Run a business. And so those days, I literally used it to promote Bboy Jams events of ours. I was watching an old video of you and I promoting it.

    Ralph:

    360

    Benji:

    2005 or something like that. Oh wow. Maybe 2004. My first YouTube video that I uploaded was 2006, just to promote that event. And so when I first started, it was purely just something I used very casually. But my wife who then was my girlfriend, started a beauty channel, and I used to laugh at her, told her she was wasting her time, and I didn't think that it was going to go very far, but she has a last laugh because of what I'm about to tell you. About two years into it, she went full-time on YouTube, convinced me that this was a real thing. We avoided going to makeup stores because she was getting makeup sent to her. Every single day, I realized, okay, there's an opportunity here. Let's milk it for all it's worth. I thought it was going to be like 12 months, 14 years later, she's my boss. I've been a vlogger with her over 10 years now. Started multiple channels. I wrote a book with my friend Sean Cannell called YouTube Secrets. So like you said, I've literally done it all. I've got a food channel. I always wanted to be on the Food network, got to experience that.

    Ralph:

    Benjamin TV

    Benji:

    Man raising my family on YouTube, which is a fun experience as well as I got to travel the world. So many amazing people I've met, and so it's hard to really explain what I've done, but in a nutshell, that's what it is. I'm consumed by YouTube. I love social media. I think that it has more good than bad, even though the press these days would convince you otherwise. And so my goal right now is to help other people follow their passion, make it into a profitable business and coach creators who do it full-time.

    Ralph:

    One thing that I know I admire about you, and I've told Malyn about this too a long time ago. How humble you are because you've really helped with, as far as getting Judy's channel just take off and everything. We've had this discussion and you told me, and this stuck with me. You are the best number two right? You don't try to be the person in the front. You don't try where you best are suited to support the team, and you put yourself in that position to support the team. And that was like, man, that's huge. That rang, that still rings in my head to till this day, that you know where your strength is, and you definitely double down on that, and you're so humble with that.

    Benji:

    Yeah. I think self-awareness is so important in life. It's not really talked about a lot, so I'm proud to be a number two. Obviously, everybody wants to be number one, or they want to be out in front. Funny story because Arthur being here, he knows exactly what I'm talking about it. This has been my position way before YouTube. I always clinging on to mentors, and I like supporting the leader, whoever is running the show. And so I talked about that. Bboy Animals called 360, and then Arthur started Breaking the Silence. Now, Arthur and I both know that a 360, I mean, I was full-time at the YMCA. That was my job, but I had no problems letting Arthur be the front man. There'd be oftentimes where I would show up at Jams and I'd be promoting the event, and they'd see the flyer and they'd say, oh, this is Arthur's jam, right?

    I was like, oh, yeah, totally. I'm with Arthur, right? Nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's so important to have a number two, a number three, have a team of people. If everybody's trying to be number one, things won't get done. So I appreciate you highlighting that, and you've always been so good, and I feel like sometimes maybe some people do, I don't know if this is you, because they feel like they want to give me some flowers, give me some credit. I guess that's where I, I'm different from other people. I don't mind that I don't get the credit or people don't praise me. I've met so many YouTubers who after an hour of talking to me, realize, okay, well, Benji's kind of knows what's going on with YouTube. I could learn a thing or two, because previously they thought I was just the YouTube husband, right?

    Yeah. I'm the guy just playing with the kids, doing goofy dances, and I've always been behind the scenes. I'm still behind the scenes and I think that for me, that's where I'm comfortable. Don't get me wrong, I've got my own channels where I'm the star of the show. I'm in the limelight, but when it comes to my bigger vision, always connecting with somebody that I think has a true passion and a drive that's completely organic, because I'm a businessman first, right? Yeah. Before I'm a creator, and Judy, it's very obvious because she still edits every single day. She still edits. She's on a vacation right now, and she was editing, so we're talking 12 years. She's uploaded over 4,000 videos..

    Ralph:

    All by herself?

    Benji:

    All by herself. When you find somebody like that in your life, whether it's your wife, it's a business partner, or just somebody that you believe in, I believe for what I do, I want to get a hundred percent behind that, and so that's no different than when I was at the YMCA working with Arthur working with my mentors before on different programs. Yeah, so that's kind of my perspective of being a number two.

    Ralph:

    The thing, the biggest thing that people don't really see is all the hard work that goes behind it. And you said your first upload was 2006? Yep. Yep. It's 2023, and it's taking that long to get where you guys are now and you're still growing. Your business is expanding, and we talk off script and everything and off camera and stuff between the two of us, and you're expanding the business and it's taken a long time and it's taken a lot of time, and I think that's something that a lot of people, it's one of those things Instagram, everybody just sees the, what's it everybody, the highlight reel. The highlight, the highlight reels, but I think, I'm glad you're here because we get to talk about some of the hard work that you've actually put into building what I would call your empire, the Travis Empire, which is still growing, which is so fun to see. It's being in Japanese class with you. We sit next to each other, oh, man, and always..

    Benji:

    This is real personal

    Ralph:

    And sitting next to you sharing food and stuff to, we still hang out and then randomly going around and people like, oh, can we take a photo? I'm like, this guy.

    Benji:

    Yeah, that's crazy. No I want to say something. I actually thought about this. So it's not on the fly. Everybody wants to pay attention or pays attention to the success story. When there's a struggle story that's even more important and most people just struggle and that's it, and they quit or they move on to something else. It's those people that don't and just pursue and persist that get to the success story. The struggle story is absolutely part of it, but it's a struggle story to me that actually is important to learn from both as an individual going through it as well as somebody maybe that's aspiring to become whatever it is you want to go after. So we didn't necessarily struggle, but again, I keep talking about that BBoy jam, I remember. That's a good, you want to talk about a fun story of struggle when Arthur and I first put that on, nobody believed in us, right?

    Yeah. Everyone thought it was a, so we live in basically what's a farm town of Seattle? Yeah. It's not anymore. It's more like a suburb, but back in the day, there was literally strawberry fields in this. I mean, city, our high school was right by the cow fields. Exactly. So we smelled the cow manure every morning, single day, every morning. And so when we wanted to put on this Bboy jam in the midst of so many amazing events in the northwest, people almost kind of chuckled or laughed it off, and that first event, we had maybe barely over a hundred people, barely. And then by the end of the, what, eight year run when we were really going strong, I would definitely say we're top three in the northwest. At one point we had over a thousand people in one of these events, which is freaking mind blowing, and it no longer was a cheesy little event in the middle of nowhere.

    It was like the premier BBoy battle for crews, and so that's why I love sitting here with Arthur in terms of that season, because that was the struggle story, right? Yeah. That video I'm telling, we should either show it or talk about it. We were going to record stores in Seattle. We drove all the way to malls in Vancouver, BC. We went to places, and now I'm thinking about, it's like, why would you even go there? But we were struggling to just get people there. We went to every single BBoy jam, just hit the ground. I mean, you tell me, what else did we do that now you can't even fathom because we have technology makes it so easy.

    Arthur:

    Hey, I'll just, the amount of paper flyers we passed out was kind of crazy. And we passed them out everywhere. Schools, records, stores, malls..

    Benji:

    Paper flyers. Yeah. Yeah. My gosh, I'm embarrassed to say we had paper flyers.

    Arthur:

    Went to all the other YMCAs across the northwest from all the way up in Was that Burlington?

    Benji:

    We couldn't even afford regular flyers. I remember. So we worked at a YMCA Arthur was a volunteer there so we had a copy machine, and we literally printed on Golden rod paper and we hand cut all these things and handed those out. That is so crazy.

    Benji:

    Wow. We're innovative. Wow. Hey, shout out to Jennifer. So Jennifer was also the co-founder of that event, and one reason I want to give her credit is because she literally had to hand cut all those circle flyers for us.

    Ralph:

    I did not know that.

    Benji:

    Yeah, so those were the struggle stories that made the success story what it is. Everybody wants to kind of skip it. They don't even know they're skipping it. They just want to get right to that. And so everything in life, including YouTube and social media, is just the same.

    Ralph:

    It's all humble beginnings. Honestly, that's kind of where we all came from. It's just kind of humble beginnings. It's just kind of cool. I still remember our living room was nothing in it except two hand-me-down seats.

    Benji:

    Struggle story.

    Ralph:

    And this was back when Blockbuster was actually a thing, and we each got the unlimited rentals and we just walked down the street to Blockbuster.

    Benji:

    We milked that membership, man, my Lord. We milked it because we couldn't afford, because we didn't have cable tv, and so we went to Blockbuster every day before there was a Netflix, before you could connect it to the internet, and so our TV was Blockbuster. It was literally everything. That was just after we both worked full-time jobs and we were both in martial arts too and doing all kinds of stuff. This is on top of us doing our different activities. So yeah, I do remember those days, and I remember that living room. We had two couches. I wouldn't even call it a couch. No, it was like a wicker basket that was on a stand, right? Yeah. And then you had a proper couch.

    Ralph:

    Was a little swiveling thing. Yeah. Yeah. It was weird.

    Benji:

    I'm not kidding you. In addition to that, we had a TV and a lamp that was our whole living room.So just imagine that picture. Now we live in proper homes and the..

    Ralph:

    Shades and the shades that were cut.

    Benji:

    Oh my gosh. Yeah. He liked to practice in the living room and cut the blind.

    Ralph:

    Yeah, I was practicing about that. I was practicing with a sword in the living room.

    Benji:

    I literally just came home one day and they were cut in half, and I looked at him, he's like, I was practicing with a sword. I really didn't say anything. I just went right into my room, but we were on the second floor. It didn't matter.

    Ralph:

    That was fun times, man. Even up to that point leading up to that point, I remember I was living was that in the basement? I was renting out a basement that you were going to rent out, and then somebody, the landlord was saying, oh yeah, somebody's going to rent out the room. And the door, the knock came and there's Benji. I'm like, what are you doing here?

    Benji:

    Yeah, yeah. Well, we were both really young. You were way younger than me because I didn't realize you weren't 18 yet. That's another story. But I remember that's why you and I are close, because it was at a time where we were both a hundred percent independent. I would argue you were even more independent than me but I moved out. I was about 18, and I was going to move into my first place, but then when I met you, we quickly had coffee. I don't think we actually drank coffee, went somewhere else, and we were chatting. We're like, we should just move in together into a proper apartment. And so we went to go apply to that apartment when we had no money. It was, and I think that's assisted living or it was not assisted income, low, low income, income apartments which is crazy to think how much we paid there. It's so little, right? Oh my gosh. But we couldn't move in right away because somebody wasn't 18 yet and didn't tell me that. So we had to wait three months.

    Ralph:

    Fun. Oh, man. Yeah, it was low income and we were still kind of, I remember I was still struggling.

    Benji:

    I call it the chicken and rice days because literally that's what I ate. Chicken, chicken and rice, ramen, chicken and ramen and a bulk, of course, rice was much more cheaper back then. I lived across the street from where I worked, so I didn't need that much money, and I didn't have a commute. We both didn't really have a commute, so we didn't need a lot, but I don't know how you felt, but I didn't look at it as a struggle. I was excited. I was like, man, this is, no, it

    Ralph:

    Wasn't really a struggle. Struggle. Maybe financially, I know I was counting, but as far as our day to day, it was fun. We were doing the things that we enjoyed.

    Benji:

    I think that's another thing too. When I thought about what we would talk about today, because I know we're talking about what people don't see, what helps us get through those struggle stories or the years that most people don't enjoy is your perspective. We had a good perspective. We were very optimistic. We were really hungry, literally, but also hungry for life and in what we were doing. So we got through those times without the kind of negativity and the pessimism that most people have, and that's never left me even to this day when you could absolutely say, I've had success and I'm comfortable. I'm definitely not eating just chicken and rice. I eat whatever I want. I still have that same perspective, and that's helped me throughout all the struggles.

    Ralph:

    Nice. Yeah, definitely not having much. I think it's really led to a certain level of appreciation for what you do have. Nothing was, we were definitely not handed anything at that point, but kind of looking at your journey, Benji, it was just kind of interesting because I do remember working at the outlet mall for a while, and I remember Judy working at that. Oh, yeah. Makeup spot down the way, and then all of a sudden she was gone, and next thing I knew, the makeup YouTube thing for her just blew up. I know it wasn't overnight, that I know for sure, but it seemed like overnight because it was like one day she's there, one day she's not, and then one day her makeup YouTube channel is just everywhere. So what was that process like? I mean, I even remember you guys recording in your room at one point in time,

    Benji:

    And just to maybe give some numbers for context. Judy and I have been legit YouTubers creators for over a decade. We, we've got on one channel over a billion views. Judy's uploaded 4,000 videos on numerous other channels. I've easily uploaded a few hundred videos myself. We've made a living off of YouTube full-time since 2010. Awesome. Judy kind of struggled through making a living since 2008, and so we've gone through the whole evolution, but how it started is makeup. So Judy had a passion for makeup, and she was watching other women who were teaching makeup tips and hair styles on YouTube, and then she thought, you know what? I want to do this just purely because I think I could share something maybe from the perspective of a non-professional. And so she was making videos and she probably didn't even know who's going to watch this.

    She just wanted to do it because she saw other women doing it. Yeah, Michelle Phan is one of the OGs, the true makeup group. They don't like using that term, but that's what they were. And so she basically replicated it from her own voice, very authentic, very organic, didn't really think it through, but her first setup, when I used to make fun of her <laugh>, was shoe boxes for her tripod. It was literally three or four shoe boxes to get the camera at the right height. We're talking $60 camera. You remember back in the day, we'd go clubbing. We actually had the camera. I didn't have the camera. I remember women always had that camera. That was the camera she used, right? We're talking two camera, the climbing camera, club camera, and then you go upload it. You go upload it when you get home and then upload it to MySpace, and that's how you got pictures.

    Yes. Young people, MySpace we're going, we used have to wait way back to get that picture up online. So that's what she used. And then she had the oldest crappiest laptop and she used a free editing software. That's how she got started, and she really had that set up for a good six months, and I thought, you know what? I should get her tripod. So I thought it was a hero getting her the tripod, and then eventually when this was like, there was just so many boxes everywhere, and she actually had her set up at the corner of our bedroom at the time in front of the window because she got natural light. I thought, I'm going to do her huge favor and let her have half my real estate office. Right? Because back then I was a real estate agent, not realizing that yes, she had half the room.

    I got a proper desk, I put up lights, and the production team's going to appreciate this. I didn't understand temperatures and warm and bright lights. So literally she had a mix of light bulbs, so she would go from a nice, perfect, bright skin tone to yellow, and it's a, she's like, honey, I'm showing my makeup. It's changing colors. I'm like, what the hell is going on? Her background was my desk. I wasn't, and this was not conscious. I wasn't trying to be in her videos. I just didn't understand production at all. I didn't understand. I just thought, she just needs a space to be able to do what she does. Literally, I'm on my computer in the background and it's all my post-it notes, my desktop computer, it's a mess. I have my corkboard where I had all my notes and everything. That was how she got started.

    That's how the, it's shitty time was born, and so that's the beginning of our YouTube journey. I really got involved outside of the production, which wasn't even that good as her business manager. And so even in the beginning, I was just doing her a favor again, was my spare time to help her with these negotiations. At first, it was just getting free makeup, so there was none. It's just like, Hey, we're going to send it to you. Could you please talk about it? Some people said, yeah, you have to talk about it. And so at one point when they were starting to offer money, she didn't really understand or know what to do. I didn't either, but acted like I did. I felt like I knew. I love that,

    But I enjoyed being on the phone. I love negotiation. Like I said, business for me is fun. It's not scary. Even if I don't know what I'm doing, I'll just kind of figure it out along the way. Oh, yeah. And even when I did it, I was just having fun because I didn't take it that seriously. I wasn't looking to create a whole career or business out of it. I was just like, I'm going to help you out. You're making money. That's awesome. You probably should get paid more money. And that was really the beginning of my journey on both YouTube as well as being a creator with her. And so that was 2008, nine and 10. I was helping part-time. 2011, I went, she was already full-time, and then we got married, and then it was The rest is history.

    Ralph:

    I love that. That is such a fun story.

    Malyn:

    Yeah. I love, what I love about that story too is that you both of you just started. Yeah. <laugh>, you just started and went and for it, even if it wasn't all perfect, right? Oh, yeah.

    Benji:

    Even definitely wasn't perfect.

    Malyn:

    Even with if you guys knew about what the background looked like and all those little details, I feel like that would stop a lot of people from just starting in the first place. So I love that you guys just did it anyways.

    Ralph:

    And those videos are still up.

    Benji:

    Yeah, most of 'em are still up. In the beginning, there was a lot of copyright issues with music. There was no rules really. It wasn't really known, so she used some mainstream music, so some of those videos got taken down or she took 'em down, but a lot of the early ones from 2008 and nine are still up there. You can kind of see it if you can find it, because it changed a whole way to look for videos. But yeah, it's really important to consider that if you're going to start anything, you can't worry about what other people are thinking because if Judy worried about what I thought, she would've just stopped. Right? Yeah. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. I'm supposed to be the one person she can trust and I'm just discounting what she was doing. I mean, this is the greatest thing that's ever happened in my life outside of marrying her and having kids.

    This is crazy. And if she was derailed by that or, and we grew up, like I said, I say farm town, it legit was a farm town when we moved there, a chicken manure smells strawberry fields, and the only thing that replaced it was just housing. Even to this day, our downtown still looks same, which is sad. And nobody in 2008 back then was thinking, let's start a YouTube channel. Back then, it wasn't even a thing to be an identity, like a personality on YouTube. Used YouTube, use YouTube for promoting something or recording yourself and putting out there, but never thinking, I'm going to get known from this. You were just doing it very, I'd say journalistically, you're just doing it because you thought somebody else might benefit from this. Right? Or it's just fun. And if you worried about, and that's why those early days, the people that were there really in my opinion, were the most organic, most passionate people because nowadays nothing wrong with it.

    Some of the motives are, I could make money, I could get famous. This is a necessary part of my business. Those early years, whoever started, I have a lot of respect for and still have relationships with all those people because they did it purely because there was something they loved and they just want to do it. And if you let somebody's opinion stop you just as important, today may be more important because now people really are gunning for you. That would be a shame because everything that Judy's accomplished, my wife and everything that we've experienced would not have happened because I know there's people that didn't think this was cool, including myself, right? Yeah. So yes. Yes. Well,

    Ralph:

    I think the level of authenticity at that point too was much greater because we were saying right now the, there's ulterior motive sometimes by hopping on a YouTube so you can get business. So I think just purely out of this is fun. I want to do this just because I want to. A lot of people were a lot more authentic, not saying that they aren't now. Yeah. It's just back then when being YouTube a YouTuber wasn't really a business. It was kind of just like, this is great. This is fun.

    Malyn:

    And I think that's why a lot of people really connected to your channels and Judy's channels because you see that shine through in her videos. You can really see that it was authentic and she was enjoying the process. And I think people can relate to that, and when they can see that and relate to that, it's, it makes it more appealing to watch.

    Ralph:

    So I kind of want to circle back to, well, you've had all this experience, all this work with YouTube and stuff, and then eventually the culmination of that one, a point of it at least was your book YouTube Secrets. And I got to appreciate say that. I really appreciate the audio book to that because you were the one reading it and Sean was reading it too, right? So it was like, I love it when the authors read their own books. There's just so much that comes out of it, but all that has gotten to a point where you wrote that book, so that can you dive into that journey? What led you into writing that book and deciding what all my experience, because it's an easy book to read, it's very

    Benji:

    Helpful. It is real easy, and we're proud of that too.

    Ralph:

    You guys made it really easy for people to just understand where to start, how to start, but can you dive into what led up to that book?

    Benji:

    Yeah, for sure. I got to flex a little bit here. This is one thing I'm really proud of. It is an easy book to read, right? And that's why it's the number one book for YouTube. No one can even touch that book. I mean, go to Amazon, even if you try to buy another YouTube book, this gets suggested by Amazon. Hey, that's awesome. Often people buy this book too, and so it's just crazy what's happened. But it's a good point that a lot of people don't understand. It's easy to read, easy to listen to. We do have the second edition, which is longer, but back in the day, you could have really had a long weekend and finished the book. Now it's going to be maybe two weekends, but still it, it's great. How the book idea started was 2014, my friend Sean Kennel who at the time lived, I believe in Las Vegas, I met him here in the Seattle area was flying back, and he had listened to a podcast or something about somebody who had a business called Book in the Box, and they were just talking about importance of having a book.

    And at the same time, Sean, who is a co-author of the book, him and I geeked out on YouTube. So we were really early in thinking about YouTube as this proper platform because we saw how positive it was on our life at the time. He was using it for his job in the church that he was working at to market their services, and he was working for other entrepreneurs. For me, it was more as a creator, Judy being the creator. I was a vlogger at the time, and we were understanding things that now is common knowledge. You kind of have to have a YouTube channel if you're a brand and you want to create content that's going to reach a global audience, but back then it still was in its beginning stages, and we thought, there's not really a book about this. And he had this idea, I think I need to get a book and we got to do this together.

    I don't know how it worked if I snuck my way into the book or if he said, you want to read? We don't know. We just we're so, we were so passionate and we were so close as friends and we didn't have anybody to talk about. We thought, let's just do this nice and well, let's sign up with this company. Back then they were called Book in the Box because we had never written a book before, had no experience. I like to write and enjoy it. Sean, he also is a great writer, but he also just smart in general how to put things together. And so we decided, hey, let's partner. In fact, there's a video end of 2014. This is also on YouTube in my backyard. This is when I was daily vlogging, so I had a camera. I was like, bro, let's start a YouTube channel for the book too, right?

    He's, it makes sense. Let's prove what we're going to put in the book. And so also just to give some context, the book is how to start a YouTube channel, how to understand the Platform and basically become a full-time creator or use it for your business. And we thought, Hey, we're going to apply the principles. We didn't really think it through this. It's just, it makes sense. Let's start a YouTube channel to promote the book. So I filmed it right there on the spot. Yeah. It's funny because this is probably the only time I've ever seen Sean nervous on camera before <laugh>, because I have been vlogging. He's a natural, yeah, he's in a natural now after literally thousands of videos. But I knew the importance of starting this YouTube channel say, Hey, this going to be a first video. Let's tell people about it. That was 2014.

    We thought it was going to take six months. Another struggle story here, <laugh> four years, four years of just life and running the business and opportunity and stresses and this and that. We never quit. And the original price for a book in the box was 10,000 and will honor it, but then they changed their business name to Scribe. So shout out to Scribe and by the end of our four years, the fee was like 30 grand. So we felt super lucky. Whoa. But 10 grand back then, even though I was doing pretty good, he had a full-time job, was a lot of money to spend on something. We didn't know what would happen with it. And we're not like we're first time authors. The whole point of Scribe is to help you write the book, right? Yeah. They're like the ghost writers behind the scenes. You are the author, proper author, but they're just putting everything together because they're, and we self-published, so we didn't get a publisher or anything like that.

    So we published it, self-published in 2018. And that book has helped so many creators, so many people, kids and grown people entrepreneurs and people that want to be a creator. So I'm really proud of that book. And now it's in its second edition because we're writing a book for YouTube. The question is, and Gary Vaynerchuk, I was on his podcast and he asked me, because he was promoting the book for us. He's like, you write a book, Benji <laugh>, why didn't you just make videos? Which we did, right? Yeah. That channel, by the way, it's called Video Influencers, hundreds of videos, hundreds of interviews. We've had all kinds of YouTubers and creators half a million subscribers, and that's just like we called it the Side Hustle Channel, right? But it's a legit channel. But when Gary asked me that, why'd you write the book? And it was so easy.

    It was like, because there's still a lot of people that don't know the opportunity of YouTube and are reading books. The second reason though is because in this day and age, it's not as common to have an artifact, something. So a book is your business card. It's the ultimate business card. Oh, yeah. I mean, it's everything that you've learned. It's decades put into that little pamphlet. And so that was the other reason. And we want people to have something and a reference point, but the actually the most important reason is because we want to help other people experience what we experience and get that success. We tell people about the struggles right up front. We don't sugarcoat it. That's great. And in fact, we share the stories so that that, Hey, we went through it too. We know what you're going through. And at the end of this is a ton of opportunity.

    And I can't tell you how many YouTubers creators even people that aren't YouTubers, but just use YouTube and maybe they're on Instagram, come up to me all the time saying, thank you so much for writing that book. That was kind of the beginning, or I was going through some hard times and that really motivated me. I'm really proud of this. Sorry, I'm just ranting on this. I love it. My number, the, the first comment on the Amazon listing for YouTube Secrets was from a YouTuber that had a million subscribers. Whoa. And it was a big deal because the book was really written more for beginners, but we knew it would help anybody including full-time creators. And he said, I read this book. I'm already a full-time YouTuber, but I can tell you not only is everything that they talk about the truth, it's important for me to read this and be reminded of what it takes to be successful on this platform.

    I was like, whoa, my gosh. I couldn't believe it. We were waiting for the first comment and it came pretty quick. Who knows? He might have been trying to get exposure to, but yeah, it had nothing to do with our niche. And still, that was my favorite comment ever because it really was why wrote the book? Because I'd say the last thing I want to say in relation to that is you can learn all these skills. I told you I didn't know how to light. I definitely don't use lamps to light my wife's setup. I have proper equipment now. The algorithm editing understanding how to tag and all that stuff, anybody can figure that out. There's not just books. There's a ton of videos. Everything's out there. Even if you have to pay for stuff, there's going to be courses that will teach you at least step by step everything to do.

    The number one most important aspect of succeeding on YouTube and social media is never quitting, is persistence. And that's what I hope that book and anything I do, including this podcast, will do for somebody, because that's why I led with the struggle story. If you just get through those struggles, there's success on the other side. You might not even know for sure that's true, what it is you're learning or what it is you're gaining. But it is, and I feel like you guys should talk because you guys have your success story. This is one reason I'm so proud of what you guys created, because I remember at the beginning, right, Pochi Bubble Tea was, it wasn't what it is today even.

    Benji:

    I was like, Hey, are you sure you want to do a bubble tea shop? I mean, it's like you guys never ran a bubble tea shop, and I've been there. It's not the best place or anything like that.

    Ralph:

    Tell you what, Arthur has some balls because I was like, Hey, can I borrow a ton of money to do this? Cause I'm broke? In fact, I'm not even broke. I'm like, negative. So this guy has some major coones just to let me borrow some money from him and get the business started.

    Malyn:

    And none of us have worked in food or beverage at all. So we had no business running a bubble,

    Ralph:

    No sales.

    Malyn:

    Going back to kind of your point earlier though, it's like there's so many people don't realize how close they are to success. They're in the heat of the moment and they're struggling and they're struggling and they feel like it's so hard, but they don't realize that they're literally on the cusp of success. If they just went at it one more day, one more day, one more week, whatever it is, one more hour they would've gotten there to where they want it to be at or to be successful, their own version of success, they're so close. So I love that you brought that up that story too, because people just see kind of the end result, but they can be there too.

    Ralph:

    I love that with you. Having chatted with Gary and stuff, meeting him, that changed the way I managed the team. So that was, it's kind of funny too, because he says about 70% of the people that meet me for the first time, don't him. I was part of that 70% because the person that introduced me to Gary, I was like, why the fuck is this guy cussing so much? Yeah, well, I'm cussing so much too. And it was kind of funny. I do it a lot, but when I first came across Gary, I was like, I don't know. I don't, after a while listening to him and stuff, he was, I mean, the guy spit some bars, and when I actually got to talk to him and meet him in person in Canada, it was kind of cool because it was the person that you see is a person that is there. And so that really helped me change the way I manage and worked with the team. And then to something that he says too, is you got to really enjoy the journey. When you're talking about the struggle, part of the struggle is what gets you there and just enjoying the process, just enjoying your way there. Sometimes it's not about the success sometimes actually. It's not about the success. It's not about the end. It's how you get there. And that's more important than anything.

    Benji:

    Can I disagree with you?

    Ralph:

    Yeah, go for it, man. Absolutely.

    Benji:

    Because you're my friend. I can disagree

    Ralph:

    With you. Yeah, hell yeah.

    Benji:

    So easily. But I feel like you and I probably have a similar perspective. I thought about this today too. I was working out at the gym and I was using the row machine, right? And I don't think anybody really, really truly enjoys the struggle. We have a perspective where we kind of see, we have gratitude and we're positive minded, but when shit sucks, it just is horrible. Yeah, okay. And I always tell people, embrace it, but I'm not going to sugarcoat anything. I was like, it's going to be crappy, and you're not going to want to be here again. In fact, it's going to drive you to never return to that place again. Yeah. Even Gary, right, who's super successful. He talks about his struggle days when he had to work at his parents' liquor shop every single day while all his friends were out doing stuff.

    And he claimed all these years that, oh, you know what? I knew what I was doing and whatever. And now hindsight, he says, no, I wish I had maybe spent more time with some friends or enjoyed life, or whatever. Interesting how perspectives change. But the point I'm trying to make is maybe not falling in love or enjoying that, the struggle, but falling in love with what gets you through that. And so talking about the RO machine, so I rode today for 55 minutes. Anybody that's worked out, especially if you're working out for the first time, it's mind numbing, doing the same thing over and over and over. You and I both know, I mean, Arthur, you too, right? But Marsha Arts, you have to do one punch a thousand times, maybe a hundred thousand times. It is mind numbing, fall in love with the rep though, with every time you pull.

    And what I mean is, even though it's mind numbing to do it, and you get bored, most people just quit. They can't go an hour because it's just, they need, they're, they're addicted to their phones. They need to be listening to something. They want to be doing something. That thing is beneficial. They don't see the good in it. But if you fall in love with the rep, or you at least enjoy it, know that every single time you pull that machine, this row machine that's adding, or that's getting you one step closer to that success story, it's hard when things are really bad to see the light at the end of the tunnel. So just be super focused. And so I was thinking about this as I'm rowing the machine, and this is my secret. This is where when I say disagree, you know, and I are on the same place with this.

    I get micro focused on this rep, and I just got to pull it. I just got to pull it. I just got to pull it. Same thing with YouTube videos. I just got a post. I just got a post. The last C in the seven Cs of success for YouTube is consistency. And we don't dive into enough because we have a whole book to write. But if there's one thing I could add or one thing I could leave anybody with in terms of getting to that light, just focus on that rep. And the rep could for you. It does. I don't know it. What's your business for you guys is the bubble tea, right? Mm-hmm. Make that bubble tea. Make that bubble tea. Make every bubble tea a little bit better. Not even 1%, half a percent, but you do that a thousand times, 10,000 times, the bubble tea 20,000 later is going to be way better than first one.

    And so you just focus on that one thing. Too many people, just like the mind numbing reps, it just gets to them. Versus for me, every time a pool, that's easy to do. You know what I'm saying? And don't worry about where you're at, what people think I told you, don't let people's opinions or what they say bother you. Just focus on that rep and you just do that. Do that. It's kind of like you were talking about some people get so close to the gold. Mm-hmm. Right? The gold mine and they stop. Yeah. I literally just keep chipping away until I'm dead. That's kind of how it

    Ralph:

    Looked like. <laugh>. See This's, what I love about this guy right here. So

    Benji:

    You don't have to die. No, no. You'll get to the

    Ralph:

    Gold. And here's the thing is, I love that you say this, that we disagree on some stuff and we're friends, and it's still not really, I think what I talk about as regarding the subject is not necessarily I think our idea of approach is different, but our execution is very similar because the way I look at this too is I totally see what you're saying there. And the way I look at it is a little bit different. And I think that's why we disagree on it. But I think our approach is so similar.

    Benji:

    We talked about martial artists too. Yeah.

    Ralph:

    That's thing. When you say martial arts, so I relate this to dopamine, right? Because when somebody looks at the success, that's the dopamine right there at the end. The more you train yourself, and this is why having a nine to five,

    Benji:

    There's no dopamine in the shit. The suck.

    Ralph:

    Oh, you know what I disagree with that.

    Benji:

    Oh, okay. For you. I

    Ralph:

    Disagrees. So here's like to punish itself. Yeah. I'm not punishing myself. I love it when it hurts. And that's just me, one person's perspective. That's just me. Okay, so here's the thing. This is why I don't think I can ever work a nine to five Monday to Friday, because it's like you always look forward to the weekend. There's that dopamine hit at the very end, which makes Monday to Friday really long. The nine to five sucks for me, one person's opinion because you're looking for that dopamine at the end of the day. This is why I enjoy the process. I enjoy the pain because let's talk about the punching. That pun that 1000 times the punches when you punch a hundred times, and when you do it properly, it sucks because it takes your whole body. That punch isn't just the punch. It's your whole body into it.

    And if I focus on, okay, if I do this a thousand times my last punch at the thousandth, the thousandth punch is going to be just on point. Well, that's my dopamine hit at the end, and I don't want to get there because that 999 punches is going to really suck. So I focus on every single punch, the process, the pole that you're talking about. And even though maybe the 552nd punch really sucks and it hurts, it's like, Ooh, I pivoted my hip just right. Yes. 553, oh, you know what? My shoulder pivoted. Just my shoulder just went right into that. That was good. Every single one has a kind of win for me. So no matter how much the struggle is, every step of the journey, no matter how much it sucks, no matter how much it's absolute shit, I love it. Because there's always a micro win in every single thing. Again, that's one person's perspective.

    Benji:

    This is me and Ralph sparring right now.

    Malyn:

    But you're listening to both of your guys' approach at it. It's, it is kind of similar though. It's like you guys find your own joy or passion or optimism in some part of that rep of struggle, sort of the journey. Yeah. And I think because both of you guys are able to do that, that's what keeps you going. So your approach are very similar, but you guys find just something a little different in,

    Ralph:

    We think of it differently, I think. Yeah.

    Benji:

    And also Asian too. So <laugh> pain is part of the process. Part of the process,

    Ralph:

    Yep.

    Malyn:

    No, avoiding it.

    Benji:

    Again, I talk about Arthur because he's here. He's one of the greatest I personally know that I've ever seen. Oh, yeah, right. Atrix. Look it up person. Appreciate that, man. And I, I don't even know. It's like, what are the chances to look in all these bboy battles that we threw the 360? And there was so many times, I remember because we worked together, and he would practice at the Y M C A, I mean, one practice and another practice didn't look that different. And so we want to talk about mind numbing reps, and I could see, I saw the stress in his eyes sometimes, right? Like, I'm not getting this, or whatever. Another fun story, the last significant 360 in this sense that I was part of that I planned Arthur and his crew won. And that was arguably the biggest prize too, because there was a prize for it. And I was watching that video when you guys won that pretty epic, because the best bee boy crews in the northwest were coming to our jam, and they were winning it, right? Yeah. Massive monkeys, Dan Brooms. There was a few others,

    Arthur:

    And sometimes even from out of state, from California

    Benji:

    And from Canada for sure, for, and so Arthur's crew at the time when they won wasn't just all people from that town we'd grew up in. It was a mix, but there was a few from our area. So that's a good example. And I knew Arthur when he first started, and getting a windmill, which is the most basic thing, was a big deal. It

    Arthur:

    Was right. Also very mind numbing, just over and over again until you get it.

    Benji:

    And you remember winning that last battle. How good did that feel? That was a big price.

    Arthur:

    That's good. Yeah. Yeah, it was good.

    Benji:

    And it makes all those, I mean, is there anything you want to speak to? Because I think that especially with bee boying, it doesn't lead to a business or a career for most people. Just yeah, it's not a huge industry. So it's even more mind numbing because it's like you're just doing this purely for the love of dance.

    Arthur:

    Yeah, purely for the love of it. I mean, I've been out of the scene for a while now, so definitely things have changed. Obviously now a lot of the dancers nowadays when it comes to breaking, now breaking is in the Olympics, and you have Team USA preparing for that and a whole bunch of other teams. That was actually one of my dreams back then to try to go and do that. But yeah, nowadays there's just so much more opportunity, at least compared to when I was doing it. Maybe like you said, if I just kept doing it, kept going, I maybe I could have been part Team usa, who knows? But I know my body doesn't feel like it would agree with that. But as far as breaking goes or even just dance in general, as you know, you're a dancer as well, going along with being consistent, the consistency and how you said hyper focus on that rep.

    Same thing with dancing is we, you hyperfocus on, at least for us, it'd be focus on the details of each individual movement. And sometimes we do that movement over and over again until the details are exactly how we want it and we execute the way we want to. And who knows how long that could take. Sometimes it could take a day, sometimes week, sometimes months. Sometimes it took me years to get one single move that I wanted. So yeah, it is just, it's got to, to whether you enjoy the pain like Ralph or it just have to push through it and know that you will come out on the other side regardless.

    Malyn:

    And with the practice and putting in those reps, right? It's not just going through the motions either. Right. Because just putting in and going through the motions and just doing it. Yeah. Also doesn't make sense. It doesn't produce any results in the long run. Right. It's actually the intention behind it too. So part of bringing in that enjoyment and bringing in the techniques and making sure you're doing things like correctly or how you want it, and making sure you do something a little different each time is part of bringing that intention into each wrap so that you can improve or that you do see progress too. Exactly. So you can't just be like mindlessly going through it or else you don't get Yeah, that's true. That's

    Benji:

    Really, that's true. That's why I was saying improvement. 1% improvement every single time. I'm looking at a whole bunch of people behind the camera breaking the third wall here, and I can just tell you, I'm not a camera guy. No production enough to just do my own thing. But kudos to the professionals, including in this room. Any one of these guys in here that's filming us right now mm-hmm. Will tell you, doesn't matter how much school you go to, what course you take, you know what video you watch, what you read. It's time behind the lens that's going to give you the experience. Right. And I'm telling you from personal experience, the best photographers, the best videographers, best people are literally the people that have pressed that shutter the most times with a little bit of improvement every single time. Right. And one thing to speak to your whole pain thing, because it's funny, I got a high threshold for pain too, but the pain dissipates over time.

    That's true. Going back to cameras, my Lord, I wanted to throw that camera so many times because I didn't know how to do white balance and all this stuff. It was so stressful. But you know what? Over time it dissipates because you start getting used to it. You start learning, your body gets stronger, your mind has a stronger will. And so that's one more thing I would say. Going back to how do you succeed on YouTube? Social media, really in life, getting through the struggles, the pain will go away. <affirmative> funny how our bodies and our spirits can over time start handling more than you could ever know. And again, people run from pain. They literally take pills to kill the pain. And I'm not hugging the pain. I'm not like Ralph, we're like, I love this. I embrace, I'm like, okay, this sucks so bad.

    How do I fix it? Yeah. And so the only way you do it by improving little by little, by little, having patience again. But that's another thing. Nobody likes to be patient. Let's be fris. Okay. Nobody likes waiting in line, but guess what? Eventually you get to the front. Yeah. And so the pain will go away. Because I know a lot of people right now especially, are experiencing pain or some kind of struggle, legit real stuff. Not like, oh man, my YouTube video's not getting views kind of stuff like legit health concerns and mm-hmm. Finances and just what's going on in the world. That too will go away. And I know this from personal experience, the chicken and rice days, that wasn't forever. That was probably, I don't know, a year or two.

    Ralph:

    I think we were there for a couple years too,

    Benji:

    Right? Two. But going back to improvement, if we didn't have, not just the perspective, but the work ethic to get to the next stage, we might still be living together in a part, which would be very scary.

    Ralph:

    I love you and everything. Can't do that anymore.

    Benji:

    Those are fun times though.

    Ralph:

    Yes, it was. Well, before we close this out, do you have any last words for our audience? Any last words of wisdom? I know you spilled a lot of mm-hmm. Yeah. A lot of gems today. If you guys were listening carefully, there was a lot to be heard. But any last words of wisdom that you would want to share with everyone?

    Benji:

    I didn't plan this out but thinking about the name of this podcast spilled the T, right? Everybody wants to know what day went through, what's the real thing or what's the secret. Realize your own secrets and your own story is what's most important. And add to that, build to that. And rather than waiting for the answer from somebody else, you already have the answers. You just have to have the will to utilize it and to get to the next place. For me personally, coaching creators, my goal is to make you better, to help you succeed at a higher level. And I'll tell people my stories. I use other people's examples, but I always, the number one way, I get anybody motivated, this is my secret. I just make you feel like a badass <laugh>. Because you have a story too, right? Yeah. Everybody's got an amazing story, and so be proud of what you're going through and realize that struggle will be a success story one day.

    Ralph:

    I love that. That is powerful. Yeah. Wow. Thank you. Well, Benji, thank you

    Benji:

    So much. Thanks for having me on the show. This was

    Ralph:

    Really cool. This is really fun. Oh my gosh. What an episode. Well thank you guys for tuning in and make sure you hang out for our next episode. Benji, what are you drinking today, by the way?

    Benji:

    Oh, so my favorite bubble tea flavor this'll be a new tradition for the show, is Oolong zero sugar and just boba, because boba has sugar in it too. It does. I mean, literally, I cannot tell that this is 0% sugar, so I'm trying to help you stay healthy as well.

    Ralph:

    There you go. All right, guys. Until the next episode. See ya.


 
BENJI travis bio youtube spill the tea podcast
 


Connect with us on the ‘gram!

Am I the Asshole?!
 
Am I the Asshole episode 13 of Spill the Tea Podcast blog cover showing picture of phone with screenshot of reddit thread of aita
 
 

In this episode of Spill The Tea…

Ralph, Malyn, Megan, and Sai dive into the popular subreddit "Am I The Asshole". In this subreddit, get ready for some family drama, social awkwardness, and relationship twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat! Working together as a panel to decide the verdict for these scenarios, we explore some of the most complicated situations on this subreddit and share our opinions on whether we believe the writers are – in simple terms – the asshole.  

From disagreements with family members to social faux pas, the scenarios on this subreddit can range from light-hearted to heavy and emotional, including that of family conflicts and disputes, relationship issues and etiquette, to cultural differences and social practices. We'll discuss the nuances of each situation and provide insight into why people might think a certain way. We'll also take a look at how people can communicate more effectively with their loved ones and handle difficult situations with grace and empathy. Join us as we explore the “Am I The Asshole” subreddit and share our opinions on the most challenging or trickiest of situations.



Hang out with us on the ‘gram!

Megan Corypodcast, pagetwoComment
The Pressure to Overachieve
 
 

In this episode of Spill the Tea,

We explore the challenges faced by first-generation immigrants and their children as they navigate the pressure to overachieve and fulfill their parents' dreams. Growing up in these households often means seeking validation and approval from parents, who have sacrificed so much to provide their children with better opportunities. However, the expectations placed on these children can often lead to burnout and a sense of disconnection from their own passions and goals. Megan, Sai, Ralph, and Malyn speak about how they have experienced these pressures firsthand, sharing their personal stories of striving for success while balancing the cultural expectations of their families. We delve into the impact that parental expectations can have on mental health, relationships, and personal fulfillment.

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE ON SPOTIFY | YOUTUBE | APPLE PODCAST



Hang out with us on the ‘gram!





Megan Corypodcast, pagetwoComment
From SEO Strategist to Plus Size Model, Doing What You Love with Vanessa Ronquillo
 
smg model vanessa ronquillo picture on cover of spill the tea podcast epiosde show notes
 
 

Ep. 11 - Spill The Tea Podcast

Join us while we welcome the one and only Vanessa Ronquillo to our podcast! As a woman of many talents, she is here to share with us her take on self-confidence and the deeper meaning behind what she stands for. As a model, makeup artist, content creator, and digital marketer she is able to do everything she loves. Energized by the presence of people, her purpose is to give back to her communities and allow others to feel accepted and loved in their own skin. Tune in as we dive into what’s next for Vanessa while discussing internal confidence and sense of purpose.


TUNE IN TO THIS EPISODE ON:
YOUTUBE | APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY


Community 

Vanessa speaks on the importance of not only finding her own community but also giving back to the community. Her social media platforms have helped her connect with people and give others a sense of relatability and comfort that she’s always wanted more of in her life.

Born in the Philippines and growing up in Japan, Vanessa has experienced new places and faces her entire life. In her final move from Japan to Seattle, she experienced hardships that she feels many others may relate to. With always feeling hungry for community, she speaks on how she adjusted to new beginnings and started to build a community for herself. With so much to take and learn from her past experiences, she dedicates herself to always finding new ways to give back. She aspires to radiate confidence and allow others that look like her to feel confident in who they are. 

Vanessa has created connections and experienced relationships within multiple communities. She makes it clear that she's still growing and building as a person and uses her community as a big motivator. With her continuous desire to expand her outreach, she has many plans for the near future!


The more you give, the more you get.
— Vanessa R.

Vanessa talks about being a role model for young girls and for her past self. We love that she is so thoughtful of the role she plays in other people’s lives in ALL the work that she does. This podcast was no exception. She was prepared and ready to go. She truly lives out what she speaks.

You really NEED to give this one a listen and truly get to know Vanessa!


I want to lean into...those insecurities I had because it’s what makes me different.
— Vanessa R.

What’s Next?

From catering in Japan to using food as a love language, Vanessa and her family have always been foodies! Coming up, she introduces Running with the Ronquillos, where she and her brother both share their love for cooking together on YouTube!

 


 
Saipodcast, pagetwoComment