Marie and Jen McBrierty sit down with Neil Robinson, CEO the South Africa based non-profit organization Relate. They discuss the organizations mission, inspiration, logistics, and how you can get involved.
Visit Relate South Africa - https://www.relate.org.za/
Neil on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilrobinson1109
Neil in Entrepreneur Magazine - https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/330472
Jen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-mcbrierty-eta-cpp-442abb8
[00:00:06] Welcome to the Daughters of Change podcast. I'm your host. Solar. Each week we'll be bringing you stories from around the globe of the [00:00:15] women and girls who are changing the world, each in their own unique way.
[00:00:29] Hey, [00:00:30] everybody, welcome to another fabulous Daughters of Change podcast. Today, I have in the studio an honorary a very special honorary daughter of change. Neil Robinson from Relate Trust, who [00:00:45] is here all the way from South Africa in person. So I also have my partner in change, Jennifer McBrayer T. Jen, who you have heard from before and I'm sure we'll hear from again [00:01:00] on these podcasts. So welcome, Neil. Welcome, Jenn. Good to be here. Thank you. Likewise. Welcome. Yeah. This is this is this is going to be great. I'm first of all, Neal, it's so great to actually see you in person because usually we're talking over Skype [00:01:15] or Zoom. So this is sort of a momentous occasion in and of itself that we've got him here on Maine soil. And we're going to talk about what Neil does and how he is [00:01:30] an honorary daughter of change with the company that he is the CEO of Relaid Trust. So typically I read a bio. But Neil, your story is is really kind of unique. So can you give [00:01:45] us and the listeners some background? Sort of where you came from in the business world and to where you are now.
[00:01:55] Sure. Thanks for having me. Really good to be here. My life has kind of been interesting. I was [00:02:00] born in South Africa. My parents British and did school, did the army, did university there. And then I went to corporate's for about 25 years. And I spend most my time in tobacco, alcohol and [00:02:15] pharmaceuticals. So a white guy living in Africa selling things to people probably didn't really need them for many, many years or thought. Getting close to 50. I thought I have to do something different with my life. I wanted more [00:02:30] purpose and more give back. And I kind of was going to take a year out and figure out what I wanted to do. And I got connected with this company called the Relay Trust, which I now work for through a mutual [00:02:45] exact coach friend of mine. And I went through the process, got the job, and I've been running the company now for the last five and a half years and very different, but similar to what I used to do. But I think the main thrust [00:03:00] of what we do is, is give back helping other charities around the world raise money, as well as bringing awareness to what they do.
[00:03:07] And we we provide employment opportunities for people in South Africa and for those who don't know, it's a it's a very much of a few [00:03:15] haves and millions of have nots. And we try and bridge the divide as much as we can for people living in very poor conditions. We try and give them employment and a leg up and some form of empowerment [00:03:30] programs. And we raise money for other charities around the world. So we do a lot of work in the states. Hence why I'm here. We work with big organisations like the UN, UNICEF, Bonner's One Foundation in Washington, and we work with other organisations [00:03:45] around the world. Selling a simple thing like a bracelet, a handmade bracelet, which we use the funding thereof to raise the funds and to bring awareness to our programs. So we've raised quite a lot of money in the last 10 years. And [00:04:00] the purpose of my visit, Israelis are supposed to look at opportunities and connections and collaborations in America to again, to further our causes.
[00:04:10] The interesting thing about relaid trust vs. [00:04:15] the you worked for big pharma and tobacco, C-1, Fortune 500 ads and big companies that were for profit. So the difference now with relaid trust. Let's talk a little bit about how they're structured and [00:04:30] how every step of the way with what you're doing is giving back because it's a true truly a self-sustaining social enterprise.
[00:04:38] Hundred percent. So we have a very simple model. It's unique, but it's quite powerful in the sense that we [00:04:45] we have a product in the form of a bracelet which is handmade by people in poor areas. And we sell our products through various distribution markets globally. So, for example, we partner with a lot of retail outlets globally. We partnered [00:05:00] with distribution like hotels, restaurants, hospitality arcades, sports franchises, academia, et cetera. And. The bracelet raises funds for other charities, so we are a non-profit ourselves, but we also [00:05:15] raise money for other non-profits, so we sit between the corporate commercial world and the NPR NGO world and my job. What keeps me up at night is to try and I suppose leverage enough commercial opportunities [00:05:30] and distribution opportunities for our NGO partners. So I brace it for for, for instance, an example how the model works as a retailer will come to us and said we want to support women's empowerment programs. We will sell. We'll put [00:05:45] a brace at concept and design together for that particular outlet. We will then sell at Bracer to that retail outlet for three dollars. A dollar will go to the people who actually hand make the bracelet in South Africa. A dollar will go to the [00:06:00] charity that's retail outlet A wants to support and a dollar goes to us as relate as a non-profit for Amatil's and running costs. That retailer will then sell that bracelet, for instance, for five or six dollars.
[00:06:13] So they'll also make a margin. So [00:06:15] it works for the charity. It worked for the retailer and it works for obviously the people who get jobs in South Africa. And often people will say to me in the UK or Australia, why said Africa? And I say, well, most of your products [00:06:30] that you buy global are made in China and you probably pay, you know, a tenth of the costs. But again, ours are ethically sourced. There's a moral, I suppose, initiative behind will be do because we are creating jobs for the poorest of the poor. [00:06:45] I'll give an example. If you put it into dollar terms, a lot of our workers get a state pension or a state grant of about 170, probably about 140 US dollars a month. And they are looking after AIDS [00:07:00] orphan grandchildren because they were all wiped out by HIV AIDS decades ago. And we were able to puts if I create enough demand for the products in a quarter a month, the yearly cycle, we are [00:07:15] able to put an extra 40 or 50 US dollars into their bank accounts every month on a consistent basis. Now, that might seem like a little money, but if you look at percentage wise, it's quite a leg up and. I [00:07:30] suppose our job is to really create consistency across the years, so we re creating sustainability for them, so it's not just a once or.
[00:07:37] Project, it's consistent over a period of time. And we probably work with about. 500-page Montney [00:07:45] woman probably 98 percent of them are woman, and they they are the matriarchs of their families. They look after them. They give them, I suppose, education, health, food on the table and many, many other things [00:08:00] that be, you know, Middle-Class Citizens take for granted. So. Our main philosophy is, first of all, job creation in poor, very poor areas and then secondly, to raise money for charity. We all remember the Lance Armstrong Livestrong story. [00:08:15] And you know, my founder, Lauren Gillis, who started the company, thought humanity wants to be connected. You know, people want to be connected to charities, to causes, to initiatives which do good in the world and to make the world a better [00:08:30] place. So. His brace was made in China. In fact, in China, he sold over a half million of those bracelets and she thought of the time. What if we could create jobs for people in very disadvantaged areas by [00:08:45] creating a handmade product and brace? It was obviously a very perfect example because it is a wearable tattoo. You know, once you put a bracelet on, you don't take it off. Yes, it will eventually break because it has a lifespan, maybe three, four, five [00:09:00] years. Buy another one. It costs five dollars. Most people have a job around the world, can afford one a year. So that's the model that we've raised millions of dollars throughout the world, our biggest seller to date.
[00:09:12] Primarily because we partnered with big corporate [00:09:15] run the World is our malaria bracelet. We've raised a lot of money for malaria over the years. We work with the Global Fund in Switzerland. We do a lot of work in the States. We've done a lot of work with a brand called nandos, which is a prepaid chicken brand, which [00:09:30] is becoming bigger in the States. It's very big in Europe, the U.K., Australia ET. In Washington, it's in Baltimore, Philadelphia. And they're growing quite nicely as we talk. But it's about partnerships, collaboration. We call it ourselves. We [00:09:45] look to partners, to to spurs great gain traction. And the reason why I come over here every day, every year, sometimes twice use, is to look at those those partnerships. MIT with Harvard, yesterday with M.I.T., we're looking at doing [00:10:00] some work across various social entrepreneurship programs where M.I.T. run programs for people who are trying to change the world for the better through tech. So that's one of the avenues we're looking at doing work with. So lots of different ways [00:10:15] we work, but essentially collaborations, partnerships and getting money, getting money to the most. I suppose worthy causes and charities around the world and we work right across from health woman's uplift and kids [00:10:30] in porn programs, trafficking endangered animals, you name it, we do it. So that's us.
[00:10:38] So Jen and I were really excited to meet with you because we are really thinking about a is of change bracelets. [00:10:45] So, Jen, I'd be curious, because this is your first time hearing some of this, which will be the same for the listeners. And Neil and I have talked a lot. What is what's the question that you would want to ask [00:11:00] Neil about this process? Yeah.
[00:11:02] I mean, we've raised it's a wonderful program that you're running, and I'm so excited to hear more about it and how it's going to help us get daughters of change continue are our efforts. So I'm curious, you've obviously touched a lot of lives in your local communities and [00:11:15] throughout South Africa. So what are some of the the firsthand stories you've heard of people that this has made a real difference for in their lives?
[00:11:23] So because the model is so dynamic and and Lurdes, it's a simple model, it [00:11:30] empowers many different types of people so that people that we work with, we work with the the the middle aged elderly woman in the townships, which are, you know, if you haven't visited the township, you know, the poverty levels are unbelievable. You know, to [00:11:45] to see it on TV and to hear about it, to read about it is different to actually growing spending, touching it, feeding it. So we've got those people who we create jobs for. Then we have people that work in our offices in the city, in Cape Town. We based in Cape Town, South Africa. And [00:12:00] they come to us with a dream. They might not become lawyers and doctors, but what they might do is become a hairdresser, salon owner, a beautician, a truck driver, a soccer coach, etc., etc. And we [00:12:15] pay them a salary and we help them go on their journey of education, empowerment. So we will pay, for instance, a person, you know, five, six, sell a 1000 U.S. dollars to go on a hairdressing course.
[00:12:30] And [00:12:30] our aim is to then exit them out of our business in a good went on bad way to become much more employable. They're able to earn a better wage, better salary. And we've got someone who used to be a domestic worker who is now in [00:12:45] her final year of university graduating to become a caregiver.
[00:12:49] We've got people who have done successful truck driving courses, ambulance courses where they can now go out and get jobs in that particular field. So [00:13:00] we uplift the young who have got very disadvantaged backgrounds and we look to empower the middle aged and the elderly woman who make our base. So it's a multi prong program. And of course, the charities as well benefits [00:13:15] from all the work we do. So, for instance, we work with. Blind programs, so guide dogs programs who work with HIV programs. In fact, mothers2mothers and grassroots soccer, two programs which are run America, which we do local work with. [00:13:30]
[00:13:30] We work with so many organizations, it's difficult to mention all of them because they I think we reached that about 265 now. And if you take the spectrum of NGO. You look at the health [00:13:45] sector. We pretty much cover that, we cover education, we cover children's and PAM programs, early childhood development, human trafficking programs, sex workers, we do work with them. So we try and cover as many different sectors [00:14:00] and facets in the NGO field. And we get a lot of requests all the time for India's wanting to work with us because I see the model works, but it's difficult because we've got limited resources ourselves. So [00:14:15] we tend to work with, I suppose, commercially minded NGOs who who looking at doing funding in a different way because, you know, you go to all these different conferences and you look at people trying to get money from corporate to the old begging bowl mentality [00:14:30] of donations, they're drawing up. Kopus done what it's tied, becoming passé, lost to. They want innovative funding methods and models and replaces a very simple one to bracelet. It's a certain price and it brings awareness [00:14:45] and obviously fundraising in so much as it's a multi-pronged value chain item.
[00:14:52] So I love the model. It's unique. Yes. It has a lot of touch points. It does all along the way. Hundred percent.
[00:14:58] Hundred percent. It it [00:15:00] does. It totally gives back, which is one of the things that attracted me so much to it. And so, Neil, can you walk us through? So there's really kind of two ways that you can get involved. So Daughters of Change, for instance, is a for profit, although the name might suggest [00:15:15] otherwise. However, we are as socially responsible for profit. So everything we look at, we look to try to hit all these touchpoints, as Jen says, with our products. What we're doing and we're always giving a percentage back or doing something that's giving back. So there's kind of two [00:15:30] ways that you can work with relate. So as a for profit, for instance, I can come to you and or we can come to say, OK, we want to have some Daughters of change bracelets made. Now everything will be branded to our colors. I mean, you can't see out. We'll [00:15:45] put a link in the show notes so you can actually get a visual of what these bracelets look like. But they're really cool. So they're they're fully branded to your company, to your brand now. So I come and buy those from you for [00:16:00] three dollars per bracelet.
[00:16:02] And of those three dollars, $1 will go to pay the workers who are making the bracelets. Right. $1 will go to a charity that we [00:16:15] choose to support. So whether it's, you know, empowering women, whatever that is. And you will actually broker you have some charities you're already working with, but you'll broker that. So if I come to you and say, you know, I want to work with women for women international or something like that, you'll actually broker that. Then [00:16:30] the third dollar will go to overhead costs to keep your nonprofit running. But the cool thing is I can now go out and sell those bracelets for, say, six dollars. We [00:16:45] make back our money because we are a business. And then of that, that profit we make, we can now take a percentage that and give to yet another non-profit. So that is continuously giving back. Now, that's [00:17:00] how that's how a for profit would work with you. Talk to us about how a non-profit so let's say a non-profit comes to you and they want to perhaps think of ways to sell the bracelets and become more sustainable. So they're getting away [00:17:15] from the traditional model. How would that work?
[00:17:18] So 100 percent correct. The just to go back to the full profits, the commercial entities who bought who buy our products. A lot of them, for instance, marriage, international hotel group, we [00:17:30] do a lot of work with. And they they give back extra from the margins they make when they sell the products through their restaurants or the through the guests, hotel services, etc. They give extra money back. As you said to these organizations, they support. We [00:17:45] work with a lot of non-profits who biobricks it straight without any commercial entity or sponsorship or partnership. And we discount the rates because they are a non-profit. And what they do is it becomes self-sustaining. So they buy. [00:18:00] It's always difficult to get funding for the first batch you buy. But once you buy it, the profit you make of the sales of the bracelets right upfront becomes sustaining over a period of time. So often what we find is they buy the bracelets once [00:18:15] off and then they sell them through the distribution long. So if they do events, they do golf days, tennis, they do a walks runs. There are many different outfits or touchpoints that they can sell these bracelets through. [00:18:30] They will make enough money to buy the second batch of bracelets and then it becomes okay to not become self-sustaining and self-fulfilling in the sense that they the profit they make of the first batch funds the second batch and more. And we fund [00:18:45] probably 80 percent of the people who come from the nonprofit world who buy products. It works a charm. Yes, you get the occasion. It's where they don't have enough distribution outlets and they don't do enough work to a supposed to get mass distribution. [00:19:00] But generally speaking, it does work and we get probably three or four orders from different charities throughout the year on an ongoing basis to top up and replenish the orders because they find it works. [00:19:15] It's so simple that it's not a massive outlay. Yes, it is a bit of funding that's needed, but once you get it going, it works.
[00:19:25] So there's really there are really a myriad of ways that [00:19:30] people can come and work with you, so you've got your corporate model. The nonprofit can actually act as their own seller of the bracelets and can put that under their umbrella of of their five A1C three. Or [00:19:45] they could collaborate with a corporate sponsor or somebody that they work with and and do that in tandem so that, you know, the store or the business is maybe selling on behalf of a charity [00:20:00] that they support exists. So there are.
[00:20:03] Exactly. There's no one shoe size fits all. All of our deals and all partnerships are done in a unique way. But is it essentially serve the same purpose [00:20:15] bracelets, support to charity, gives people work and builds a brand, it all works the same way. It's just, as you said earlier, what's on the bracelet? How is it designed? And we do a myriad of different different types of bracelets [00:20:30] and they're all pretty much biodegradable. They're recyclable. So it's not harming the vibe. We don't work. Plastics. And it's about saying. Our founding philosophy is how do you make the world a better place by connecting one person [00:20:45] at a time to charity or cause or brand, and lots of people around the world don't have the means or the mechanisms to go to these black-tie dinners and donate $100000. But what they can do is buy a bracelet once a year for five bucks and [00:21:00] feel part of a big movement for change in a very simple but meaningful way.
[00:21:07] It's interesting. I've been on both sides. I own my own business. And so I know what that's like in terms of constant solicitations. Right, [00:21:15] from local charities. Nationwide charities. I mean, it's it's incessant and it's nonstop. And honestly, there are times in the first quarter we've already gone through our donation budget for the entire year, yet the solicitations continue to pour in. And it's heartbreaking. [00:21:30] You read these letters. You want to help. You just feel like there's only so much I can do right as a business owner. So I love that it's got both facets because I've also been on the charitable side. I work locally with several different organizations. And I tell you, it's just it's [00:21:45] a struggle to find a new, innovative, unique ways to raise money. And I love that this is. It's like a snowball rolling down a hill. It just kind of grows on its own as you get it going. So I think it's creative. I think [00:22:00] it just it's it's a great story. I'm just so glad to get to meet you finally. I've heard so much about you and I'm excited that this is something we're going to get involved in firsthand.
[00:22:09] Well, thank you. I think, you know, we don't do any personal endorsements and things like that because, you [00:22:15] know, when you get into trouble by doing that. But yet, you know, we have a lot of well-known people around the world who do wear our bracelets. So, you know, without us asking them to or without them coming to us, it just it's it happens organically [00:22:30] in. Yeah, we do get some publicity through it, but it's not like we tie to a person or a brand, which we kind of we put it out there that we doing good in the world. One thing about us is we very transparent and we re accountable for every dollar that [00:22:45] we spend. All gets donated because there's so much in proprietary in nonprofits, a lot of, you know, terrorism gets funded through it. And yet. When we do work with big organizations like United Nations or the Global Fund, you [00:23:00] know, the red type is immense. But once you're in, you become a partner for life. And that's it works really well. So, yeah, it's complex, but it's simple at the same time. And we try and keep it as simple, as simple as possible. As simple works. Simple [00:23:15] is understandable. Once you start over complicating things, people get suspicious as to don't quite understand that under way that money is going. How much what percentage of your profits is going to charity? And we don't do that. It's not about profits. It's about [00:23:30] the income that we raise that goes to charity and to the people who make them.
[00:23:34] So what's this been like for you? Talk about a 180 change from what you were doing before to this. I mean, I love that you kind of grappled with what was next. And it sounds like you've fallen into the [00:23:45] perfect position for your obviously very passionate about it.
[00:23:48] It's been a change that I couldn't have ever imagined or thought about. So when I was in corporate and for profit, I touched the non-profit world and doing some work, because in South Africa we had [00:24:00] to through our business tax purposes, etc. We have to do a certain amount of work with non-profits or social enterprise, etc. And I really liked it and I thought that's what I want to do more of is giving back [00:24:15] is helping and and making a difference. As a white guy in a country like South Africa, you know, apartheid, the history, the the legacy, etc. and guilt didn't propel me. It was more about, you know, I wasn't getting [00:24:30] what I was what I should be getting from, I suppose, putting money into shoulders back pockets. I wanted to do it as you I want to use my expertise, my experience, my time, my my passion to help other [00:24:45] people. And I thought it'd be cool. I couldn't have imagined I couldn't have imagined it would be this fulfilling. So I work hard, very hard. I probably certainly don't earn as much as I used to. But it's not about that. It's [00:25:00] about saying how we make. South Africa, Africa, the planets, the world, a better place, Yeah, one breath at a time, and he would have thought that we could have raised so many millions of dollars through symbol bracelets. And that's about lots [00:25:15] of little make big impacts. You know, you do lots of little $5 through millions of people across the world. In Sunny, you've raised a lot of money. So that's filling. And it's about what keeps me up at night is creating more demand for the products. Thought [00:25:30] about making the next block. It's about saying how can we create more jobs and help more charities do the work that doing so. Hello. How very much fulfilling. A lot of hard work with G. We work with a lot of cool people, have a lot of fun and [00:25:45] do a lot of very weird things.
[00:25:48] We love very weird things. We love very weird, very good things. And I know that my favorite mischievous prince. Where's your bracelets? And I'll just leave. Good luck. [00:26:00]
[00:26:01] Yes. In fact, we had a rule visit a couple of weeks ago in Africa. And the the duchess wears our breast as well. The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, where's our bracelet as well? He has [00:26:15] for a while. In fact, it's one of these organizations which we do work with and think he's the patron. So he wears three or four of our different bracelets. Again, we speak. There's no link. There's no formal arranged with nothing like that. It's just, you know, he's seen the work we do [00:26:30] and clearly he likes it and, you know. Fantastic. Nice to have someone like that who does. He does wear your products. Yeah.
[00:26:38] And there's there's actually a great video on your website and we'll have a link to that as well. I shared it recently [00:26:45] on the Daughters of Change, Facebook page of the Duchess of Sussex is actually visiting with the founder, Lauren. Exactly. Yes. So that's a really it's a it's really. I was actually talking to you that day. Yes. Where when they came [00:27:00] to visit. So that was that was really exciting.
[00:27:04] In fact, she's got a background, obviously, in female empowerment and women's empowerment. And she got to meet with these female entrepreneurs. Lauren, obviously, our fund was one [00:27:15] of them. And obviously looking at doing things in developing markets around female empowerment, uplifting programmes, etc., using tech as a as a backbone, as a as a sort of a pillar to to make that happen. So a lot [00:27:30] to come out of that visit. We doing work with some of the other female empowerment projects that the duchess got to meet with. And a lot of this stuff happens around collaborations and meeting people connections with other humans. And [00:27:45] it's amazing how just by talking, telling your story, collaborating the universe is a funny place. You get to meet interesting people, do interesting things and suddenly something happens way. You know, you thought [00:28:00] maybe a brick wall here, suddenly something happens and opens up.
[00:28:03] So there's so much good going on in the world that we sometimes say so focused on the negative write. The news is negative, but you see it firsthand. I mean, you travel the world and you see the impact that these organizations are having [00:28:15] and it's real. You know, people people do care. Overwhelmingly, people care. So I just I love this idea.
[00:28:22] Yeah, it's it's a wonderful thing. You know, the head of Married Globally Only Science and came out the townships of probably three or four years ago and he saw [00:28:30] firsthand the kind of stuff that was going on.
[00:28:33] And it's difficult to explain to someone who hasn't really been in abject poverty. That's a person, an organisation, a brand can make so much difference with just doing something simplistic, [00:28:45] different, maybe Sarti left field and then suddenly the ball gets rolling. And, you know, you've raised money for ten thousand children or you've done something around HIV AIDS or you've done something around early [00:29:00] child development, education. And it's as simple as that.
[00:29:05] And the inclusiveness with these bracelets, because they are affordable so everybody can feel like they're taking part in this, whether your, you know, a company that can buy a batch and sell [00:29:15] them or, you know, funded nonprofit to do it, or whether you're just simply going out and buying the bracelet. I mean, it's at a price point that most people that are working can afford, and it helps them to feel like they're giving back because not everybody can cut, you know, hundred dollar check or [00:29:30] $50 check even or even twenty five, you know, but they might be able to buy a bracelet and they're going to give that as a gift maybe that they were going to buy. So it's really I love the price point on it as well. It's something I actually don't want to forget to bring up because I didn't realize [00:29:45] that you did this your. So if a nonprofit wants to sell the bracelets, but they're not set up to actually have a storefront on their website, you will handle [00:30:00] the drop shipping of that as well. That is. It accurate to say correct?
[00:30:04] So we have an online shop w w w related ROGO today where people can shop our products and we deliver across the world. I mean, FedEx has been a great partner to [00:30:15] us over the years and we supplement batches of 10, but we do distribute globally and we will have them as a stock item on our website. So that is another option. They are minimum order quantities, obviously, but essentially we will we [00:30:30] will partner in and leverage those kinds of deals. Absolutely.
[00:30:35] So you could help somebody out. And by the way, we will have that Web site up in the show, notes with a link. So be easy for people to find all of this. So deal before [00:30:45] we wrap up. What is the best piece of advice that you have for the daughters of change out there listening? Well, I've learned not dispense advice so I can tell you the lessons I've learned, [00:31:00] and that is that works.
[00:31:01] You know, you. Everything seems impossible until it's done. That's our ex president to that, Mr. Mandela said. That's true. You think things are impossible until you actually start working on them. And it's amazing what you what you can do with the right [00:31:15] partnerships and people who believe is something that you believe in. And we've achieved great things through that. It's never giving up. Because the goals are there. We have our goals, we have ambitions, we have our vision, and [00:31:30] it's about looking at that goal in the short, medium and long term way, chipping away at that goal. And it's amazing, you know, five years down the road, I mean, not being re-elected, not five and a half years. It's amazing what we've achieved. And I would have thought that impossible [00:31:45] five years ago. So no advice, just lessons that I've learned.
[00:31:49] The journey begins with one step. Yeah. Right. And what what have we. We were talking one day about having ideas. And I think both. I've had this conversation with both of you as an idea is just [00:32:00] an idea until you actually you can have a great idea. But if you don't do anything with it, it's really it's nothing. So it's it you have to take that step. Like you said, I'd take that first step.
[00:32:10] And as you were saying, you know, Neal, 100 percent, I believe in 10 percent thinking strategy, [00:32:15] 90 percent doing because doing stuff. The value of an idea on paper was worth nothing of value to a value of an idea worked in the real world scenario commercially realized is a great idea [00:32:30] because it's actually lives in the world. You know, whitepapers a great. To a certain extent, but do what you write down.
[00:32:39] Absolutely. I'd love to hear that because that, you know, we're we're seeing, thankfully, a [00:32:45] switch in the way people look at, you know, the the antiquated, getting a long winded business plan that just overthinks everything. And not that I'm saying you don't have a plan. But for heaven's sake, like get out there and makes it happen. Like to do [00:33:00] something right?
[00:33:01] Hundred percent. Yeah. I've seen a lot of people hide behind analysis paralysis and they their research to death. And yet this intuition, you know, people like Simon Sinek, some of the books that [00:33:15] I've read around The Tipping Point Blink. Books like that they talk about. Yes. Think. But then do. And then if you get things wrong, nothing's perfect in life. You know, you launch when you got at 70 percent. Right. Don't [00:33:30] wait until you get the perfect brand or product or initiative because there's no such thing. Perfection is overrated. Do it. If you've got 80 percent of a rights and then test people give you if you get something wrong. Be honest and open and authentic about it and you continue giving [00:33:45] people like authentic brands. And we've made lots of mistakes. We learn from mistakes. We try and course. Correct. And and that's how we work. As long as you honest and open to your consumer. We try and not make mistakes, [00:34:00] but we human beings, after all. And that's my philosophy, not teach my kids the same thing. You're gonna make mistakes, but just do things. Get things going. Try things. Fail, fail quickly. Learn from it and then move on.
[00:34:14] I just [00:34:15] I get shivers. That philosophy. This is why you're an honorary daughter of change. We're not letting you go now. We will keep you here a little longer. Dale, how can we connect and support you? Is there for the listeners out there? Where? How can we help [00:34:30] relate trust?
[00:34:32] The obvious one is get our website related. Org Today we have Facebook pages, we've got Twitter feeds, Instagram, etc. Just go and Google relates with Africa, relate bracelets and guns. Look, all we [00:34:45] do, we've got really cool content online.
[00:34:48] Lots of videos, lots of some very cool, interesting stuff. A cool. You'll see. Obviously our products all way we want to see and. If you've got an initiative, [00:35:00] if you've got something that you really interested in doing, if you've got a business that wants to connect, that wants to do something slightly left, feel differently. We're open to to do business. We as I said. We've we've got business in America [00:35:15] and the UK, Europe, Australia, etc. SA travel a bit and.
[00:35:20] Now the world is about a face time call away or a Skype call resume, cool. It's a it's a very small world we live in nowadays.
[00:35:27] And. It's about the [00:35:30] world, not a country or a region. You know, we hear all this splitting of countries and immigration and I believe in humanity is one and. We support each other. We don't support you because you're a Brit or American [00:35:45] or South African or an Australian. It's about supporting each other across the world in eight billion people almost now. Very few haves, lots of have nots. So. It's about the opportunity, [00:36:00] it's about taking, seizing the day, looking for the opportunity, and we work with pretty much. People in all sectors and walks of life. So if there's an opportunity, they will look at we look at doing business and that [00:36:15] that Web site, again, just for translation.
[00:36:17] So Z A is Zoé. Yes. So it's relate doorknock dot org, dot z dossier. Dossier sales relate. Dot org dot Zoé. And [00:36:30] we will also have that in the Shona notes. But in case you're listening and you can't wait to check this out. You heard it from us here today. Relate. Dot org, dot Z. So, Jen, Neil. [00:36:45] Any last thoughts before we sign off for this fabulous conversation that we've been have?
[00:36:52] This is wonderful. Neil, it was so nice to meet you and hear more about what you're doing. And I thank you for the change that you're impacting on the world. It's wonderful. [00:37:00] And it's just it's refreshing. I think our listeners will really enjoy it as well.
[00:37:04] Thanks for having me. It's really been an honor to sit here and have a discussion with you guys. I look forward to reading lots more partnerships and collaborations [00:37:15] in the states. So thanks for having me.
[00:37:16] Marie, we need more people with accents. This is I know. I said this is my husband, right? Absolutely.
[00:37:26] Thank you for listening to this week's episode of the Daughters of Change podcast. [00:37:30] To learn more about today's guest or any of our previous guests, you can visit Daughters of Change dot com forward slash podcast. You can connect with Daughters of Change on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching those platforms [00:37:45] for Daughters of Change. If you are a daughter of change yourself and would like to appear on the show, send me an email at Marae at. Daughters of Change dot com. Thanks again for taking the time to listen today. Take care.