Victoria Prince Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Podcast
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Introducing Victoria Prince
Victoria Prince is today’s guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast.
She is a woman who is the classic model of the side hustle entrepreneur that has truly got the ball rolling.
As she says “First and foremost, I’m a Marketing Consultant for businesses who have big ambitions; whether you’re a start-up or a large FMCG brand, I have extensive experience in both arenas.
My current side hustle however as an Entrepreneur is Energy Ball Recipe Kits.
I design and make recipe kits for customers (on subscription) to make fresh energy balls at home.
I launched the Kits on Kickstarter in July 2018 and within 12 months I had my first order from Selfridges.
Of course that seems easy, and a side hustle isn’t for sure and that success had a four year build up since March 2014: Victoria Prince Energy Ball Founder, started to make energy balls.
Over time, if she had run out of an ingredient, she would substitute it for something else, and before she knew it, she was making recipes up as she went along.
How The Dots Led To Energy Balls
January 2017: Vic decided to start publishing the recipes she made onto this website, for no other purpose than to share what she had made so others could try them out.
December 2017: She wondered why there isn’t a regular subscription kit for snacks like there are for mealtimes.
So she built a great team of people around her and developed an Energy Ball Recipe Kit.
23rd March 2018: At an Enterprise Nation Wellness event in London, Victoria took her prototype ‘Energy Ball Recipe Kit’ and talked to lots of industry people about her ambitions.
29th July 2018: The Recipe Kit launched on Kickstarter and smashed the target, with over £2700 in pre-sales of Energy Ball Recipe Kits, which were posted around the globe.
22nd July 2019: Selfridges placed their first order.
They will be selling 3 ‘unique’ energy ball recipe kits via their website. LAUNCHING VERY SOON.
In her spare time (ha!) I’m a Mentor at the Nottingham Trent University Business School, and I carry out public speaking engagements for business networking/wellness events.
So how did she overcome the impostor syndrome that seems to stop most side hustles from occurring even before they get any movement?
And as most people say to me, “I wish Id started earlier” would she say the same to her younger-self if she ever got the chance?
Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots, with the one and only Energy Balls herself, Victoria Prince
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weight subjects with Victoria Prince such as:
Victoria shares the initial starting point of her desire to create her fledgling business due to her own health issues.
We delve into why building a business that already has competitors is actually a very wise thing to do.
The reason that you should never reveal your dreams to your close friends and colleagues right at the beginning when the are most fragile.
And lastly……………..
Why starting a business can not only be great for your bank balance but also amazing for your own personal health.
How To Connect With Victoria Prince
Return To The Top Of Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince
If you enjoyed this interview with Victoria Prince why not check out other inspiring interviews like Bettina Arnafjall, Jessica Cox, Lunden DeLeon and Jack Canfield
Or of course you can check out thousands of podcast interviews in our archives here
Interview Transcription For Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince Interview
David Ralph [0:01]
Once upon a time there was a guy with a dream a dream. He’s Jobs for himself online and have a kick ass life working when he wanted him where he wanted across the world. Little did he know that dream would lead him into a world of struggle, burnout and debt. Until he found the magic ingredient and knows drunk was became a thing of the past, of course, was bad person. And now My dream is to make things happen. for you
Welcome to Join Up Dots.
Intro [0:31]
When we’re young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling. Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here’s your host live from the back of his garden in the UK, David Ralph.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [0:54]
Good morning, everybody. Good morning and welcome to the 800 million episode. Join Up Dots I’ve got no idea what we’re at now base a lot is a lot. And if you want to spend some time going back over the back catalogue, feel free because you want to hear, not only will our guests have been on the journey, I’ve been on the journey as well, and it’s a journey that you can all do. Well, today’s guest who is on the other end of the line is a woman who is the classic model of the side hustle entrepreneur but has truly got the ball rolling. See what I did that way it won’t make sense at the moment, but it will do later. As she says first and foremost, I’m a marketing consultant for businesses who had big ambitions, whether you’re a startup or large, FMCG brand, I have extensive experience in both arenas. Now. My current side hustle however, as an entrepreneur is energy ball recipe kits, I designed to make recipe kits for customers on subscription to make fresh energy balls at home. Now I launched the kits on Kickstarter in July 2018. And within 12 months, I had my first order from self produce. Of course, that seems easy, and a side hustle isn’t for sure. And that success had a four year build up since March 2014. She started to make energy balls. And over that time, she ran out of ingredients. So she would substitute it for something else. And before she knew it, she was making recipes up as she went along. Now jump forward to 2017. So she’s already been doing it for three years, she decided to start publishing the recipes she made onto a website, but no other purpose meant to share what she had made so others could try them out. And then and then she wondered why there isn’t a regular subscription kit for snacks like that, for mealtimes. So she built one and she built a great team of people around her and developed energy bought recipe kit. Well, we’re going to jump on a bit but it’s all really doing very well. And we’ve sell produce now selling her stuff, and they’re going to be selling three unique energy ball recipe kits via the website too. She’s doing very well for herself. Now in her spare time. She says I’m a mentor at the Nottingham Trent University business school, and I carry out public speaking engagements for business networking wellness events. So she’s a busy lady. How did she overcome the imposter syndrome? That seems to stop most side hustle from occurring even before they get any movement? And as most people say to me, I wish I’d started earlier would she say the same to her younger self if she ever got the chance? Well, let’s find out as we bring on to the show to start joining up dance with the one and only energy balls founder herself Victoria Prince. Good morning, Victoria. How are you?
I’m really good. Thank you. Introduction.
David Ralph [3:35]
It was good. It was good. Tell you Well, I need about six energy balls to get over that one. I’m gonna be ramming them in my mouth. Left right and centre. So So I’ve got to come straight clean, but because this has been bothering me, Victoria, okay. Okay. Yeah, I love what you’re doing First of all, okay, and I was watching your video, and you’ve got the most beautiful sparkly face when you were talking about energy balls and everything you said it was like I love this I love this product and your your your eyes lit up. I almost wanted to watch the video twice because you were so you were so engaging. But about three weeks leading up to this I’ve kept on going over to your website. I’ve seen the main green ones. And I’ve been thinking if they were in my fridge, I would have loved them out. they they they don’t look very attractive. The green ones is that is that something that holds it back? Is that something that holds it back because now I’m on there and I’m flicking around? And there’s all these other ones they all look gorgeous but the green ones are horrible.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [4:40]
now that’s that’s that’s a fair comment and and one of the things that I say to people so if we are at an event and we’re giving away free tasters people to see what the bulls taste like, what I generally say with the main green ones is that your eyes tell you something different than than your total. So when you actually looking at it, you’re saying Oh, this looks disgusting. It’s green actually. This isn’t something I’m supposed to eat. But actually, as you’re eating it, it’s like people’s eyes light up and then surprise like, Oh, it’s actually quite sweet and it’s you can taste it with peanut butter in there and you know, you get these different flavours so it’s it’s very different to what to what it looks like so I think once you’ve eaten one you definitely went through that phase
David Ralph [5:19]
the rest away Do you think so? I would be converted do you think?
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [5:22]
Yeah, definitely.
David Ralph [5:24]
Yeah, I’d be going over green ones right. So I’ve got that out of my system now. And and it was it was a brain based app ready to burst. I had to share it. So let’s go back in time, okay. You are busy. You’re a lady and being just just being a ladies busy enough because I know how much effort it takes my daughters to get out the house each morning. So that’s difficult. Your business is going to take up your time. Why did you want to do this side hustle? Why did you want to add something more one to you. So take us back in time through that thought process
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [5:59]
started with a diagnosis of polycystic ovaries which one of those one of the symptoms is weight gain? And when I was looking online on, you know what, when you try to Google things to work out, what am I going to do to try and combat symptoms, and one of the things was to reduce my sugar. And I was looking for non sugary snacks. And bearing in mind when I finished my degree I had my first job in marketing was for Thornton’s chocolate company. And so therefore, when I when I was there, I would literally eat chocolate on the way to the printer and a chocolate on the way back, which meant that I was constantly printing things because like, this is chocolates open all the time in the offices. It’s lovely. But so I was I was serious chocoholic, so in order to try and kind of change my attitude to what I was eating. I need to start eating a bit cleaner. And you really reducing my sugar I mean, I don’t think anybody can reduce it fully unless someone a serious plans but and I just want to be really wary of what I was putting into my body. So it really was born out of out of a health condition that that I wanted to cater for. And that there wasn’t anything out there that apart from recipes online, I already made energy balls, of course, that there wasn’t anything where I could literally have all the ingredients ready to make the eligible special at home and really conveniently and unhealthy, like less food ways and lots of benefits that come off the back of that being a you know, straight to the door with all the ingredients. And so it it just really kind of evolved itself. It wasn’t I set out to say, I’m going to launch this product on Kickstarter, and I’m going to sell for just website and I’m going to, you know, send all around the world to Olympians and it that was never something that I wanted to that wasn’t my aim. It was just that I wanted to eat healthier. And actually this all came about as a result
David Ralph [7:50]
of it. And what that have scared you, you know if somebody joined up your future in the saying, right, you’ve got to speak to sales bridges and you’ve got to do business. You got to speak to Libyans, would you pay? can’t be bothered. All I wanted to do is eat a few of these not not all this
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [8:10]
I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve been scared. I don’t think. I don’t think he can. I definitely shouldn’t be scared in business. I think it’s you’ve just got to jump in because what’s the worst that can happen? People say no. So even if somebody said, I’m going to, you know, speak to Selfridges then like I guess, just think, okay, let’s just do it, you know, like, like this call with you. It’s just Okay, let’s do it. It is, but I think people should ever be. If they’re scared of doing what their business is, then they’re not passionate about it. And they’re not they’re not in the right industry. I would, I would come on I don’t know.
Unknown Speaker [8:47]
Well, I because
David Ralph [8:47]
I I wonder myself because I saw this post on Facebook the other day, I don’t go to baseball very often but and it said that basically, entrepreneurs have 10 times as much mental health Problems 1020 times as much energy issues and there was a big list of terrible stuff and it said so they’re already going through so much support them, support them and try to help them out. And I thought yeah, that’s fair enough. Now, none of us know that’s going to be the case when we start until we actually get deep into it and realised that we’ve created a monster for ourselves and certainly with Join Up Dots I had a terrible time because naive Lee bouncing into it I bought it was GS you turn the microphone on? You have a chat and you know, you make lots of money, but there was there’s a bit more to it when the scenes.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [9:40]
Yeah, no, I get that. But going back to your point, just before you said about entrepreneurs have the biggest amount like 10 times might have mentioned I had depression and
like inviting everything when I was employed. So and now I don’t So I think I kind of put the trend on that, I would say. So I wouldn’t necessarily say that if you’re an entrepreneur, you’re going to have mental health problems. I think, I think mental health problems can happen for anybody at any point in the life anytime, for any reason.
David Ralph [10:15]
I agree. I agree totally. But
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [10:16]
just to book the trend on that one, yeah.
David Ralph [10:19]
No, I think you’re going to be somebody who’s bucking a lot of trends through this conversation. Yeah, I already sent that with you, Victoria. I’ve got I’ve got to tread carefully. So you get these little things, and you start making them into balls. And why balls? Why not like triangles? Why not squares? Why not? Because I got told by somebody that the worst shape is a tin because you lose all the space around it. If I made baked beans in square cans, they’d be able to store more on shelves. And so I’ve always looked at round products and think there’s a lot of wasted space there. Square One would just like blinking
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [11:07]
genius isn’t it? So I I like that I like the round 10 on the shelf because obviously that is something that is taking up space and I know where you’re coming from with that. But I think then when it’s something that’s in your fridge, it’s not costing expert pounds x, x pounds per centimetre of space in your fridge is it? It’s not it’s not a rental. Unless you’re
Unknown Speaker [11:30]
working on that basis.
David Ralph [11:32]
One blows Do you remember?
Unknown Speaker [11:36]
Do you remember right?
David Ralph [11:40]
O Victoria. Victoria. You’re too young. You’ve just made me feel like a decrepit old man. Everywhere used to have a run blows and you could go in you could tie your TV show.
Unknown Speaker [11:53]
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
David Ralph [11:54]
yeah, yeah. And I 2010 on a Saturday afternoon, there was always loads of men looking out. Standing outside watching a football results come in. Yeah.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [12:04]
I was thinking about a product you just talking about like this the baked beans on the tongue I thinking oh okay like I was imagining like a waggon wheel off. I could treat
David Ralph [12:14]
my waggon
Unknown Speaker [12:16]
tree
Unknown Speaker [12:18]
sounds like a tree
David Ralph [12:18]
but do you think waggon wheels have got smaller or have you got bigger? I know this is a bizarre thing to ask because I argued the point the other day that when I was a kid, I used to be able to take a curly Worley remember them and I used to be able to lean it up on my house and climb up it like a ladder they were that big. And now but tiny little thing I noticed said is because I’ve got bigger but I swear for a waggon will has got smaller
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [12:44]
they do have products like that do tend to go small over time and it’s all about marginal gains the retailer isn’t it they just they just make an extra bit of profit on the tiny tiny tiny little bit of extra profit on everything is settled obviously them built
David Ralph [13:01]
That’s it. That’s it, I’m gonna hit this is this is why Join Up Dots is such a great programme. And I’m going to say that myself, because if I open a bag of crisps nowadays, and for people in America, potato chips, you open it up, there’s about four in there that there’s like nothing in there. Now, if I’m going to open it up, it’s jam packed. I’m going to go back. So the consumer is actually shooting themselves in the foot by screwing us over on the size of things. Give us bigger ones, and we’re going to buy more.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [13:32]
Well, I don’t know. All I know is that over time when you look at anything, like any kind of product file that they do tend to get smaller and like when you buy a multi pack, they’re always smaller. Now if you notice, if I bought a pack of Chris, safe, they’re like 30 grammes was a normal bag. You’re like 28 in a multi pack. So you think you’re getting a good deal, but
David Ralph [13:53]
has anybody ever come up to you and said the word I want pick a bowls, and Victoria?
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [13:59]
Yeah, something Say, ask me how big bowl should be or they’ll say I only made four balls out the whole kit. And so when it makes 30. So when you mentioned balls that kind of size of a golf ball, generally,
David Ralph [14:12]
but I’m a large fan of people that say this to you,
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [14:16]
not necessarily sports people. Yeah. Anybody?
David Ralph [14:21]
Because I would have thought, you know, if you’ve got one large bowl, you’re used to eating large quantities. And so that that’s what you would be doing.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [14:30]
Yeah, I mean, I wouldn’t advise it, which is why we say you need 30 and the idea is you have a wonderful snack a day is something to keep in your fridge ladies got into healthy snack.
David Ralph [14:40]
Okay, well, I’m going to delve into a couple more questions that are in my head and then we’re going to get more into the business side. But how much energy would I get from one of these things? Because, you know, I remember drinking a can of red ball once and I couldn’t sleep for six days. I would like mad. I went mad on it. So it was Would you do the same thing?
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [15:02]
know, if you’re having one a day, they generally range from around 60 calories 205. So, and if you haven’t one day, it’s just like having a normal snack anyway, I mean, a bar chocolate or practices around now. So it’s not, it’s not about energy as in ridiculous amount of energy. In order for someone to be high energy, it just needs to be over a certain amount of kilocalories per hundred grammes. So it’s more about the factors where they’re known as energy balls and they do give energy because like any any food gives energy because it’s putting into your system. And but it’s not necessarily going to make you bounce off the walls like people to think.
David Ralph [15:49]
I thought that was going to be the case I’d be sitting here slumped, and I’d rather Bry my mouth and then be like, be like a superhero. Yeah, bursting out.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [16:00]
Well, you can try it. I mean, everybody’s different. Everybody’s bodies react differently. You know,
David Ralph [16:05]
I’m worried, I’m worried. I’m worried that my bouncy energy would be too much. And then suddenly it be like that the mask Jimmy Jim Carrey, when he turned into the mask, and he would be bouncing. Now, let’s take you back into the actual process of it. So what I find a lot is people come up with an idea. And then they think, oh, it must be out there already. Somebody’s already done this. Did you have that same kind of thing where you’re, you know, what’s the point?
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [16:35]
Yeah, I mean, that shouldn’t necessarily be a reason not to do it. Because say if there was somebody already out there doing this, which I don’t believe there is I’m not seeing anybody. I’m not come across anybody that does this already. worldwide. And so I’ve got friends in different countries, new people are like, oh, I’ve not seen this in my country. And why do you think that if this is somebody already they’re doing it they Kind of paved the path and created the kind of
Unknown Speaker [17:07]
what’s the word? desire?
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [17:09]
Kind of? Yeah, well, the desire and, and the, the ability to know that it’s there, you know, like they’ve done the marketing and they’ve kind of already got it out there. So the customers issue, the customer is aware that this product exist. Whereas the kind of positive and negative to be in a brand new brand to to the market but a brand new product and the market is that you kind of have to spend more money for people to understand what you do, and it’s harder for them to kind of just get it through to me and go, Okay, yeah, I’m signing up, or I’m going to buy a kit or whatever. Because I need to feel like they’ve seen it before and they’ve to spend it a bit more money to in order to get customers on board. And so what was that so I said there’s a positive and negative so that’s the negative but the positive is that you don’t really have a direct competitor. So you know, Having to compete against somebody who is spending as much or more, you know, Facebook advertising or you know, PR efforts or whatever it is that they’re doing, you know, having to like match and constantly look over your shoulder, like what are they doing now? How they what Christmas campaign, they got, what, what January complete, you know, what, you know, it’s this kind of positives and negatives to to be in something that is new and unique. But yeah, but but
David Ralph [18:26]
the key thing to this is, and I really want to emphasise it to the listeners, you can do the same thing. Every episode of Join Up Dots has got somebody doing a business. And if you want to replicate that business, it will make no difference on the rewards but that person’s getting it The world is too big is too abundant. And so you know, I let you into secret. There’s other podcasters it’s not just me, and Victoria is creating energy bowls, and you could be somewhere else and you could create energy, triangle or energy squares. We’ve even proved that energy squares are better because you started
Yeah. And you could do a multicolor one. So it looks like a Rubik’s Cube you could do you know? Good idea. Yeah. These ideas I don’t, I don’t follow through with these ideas. They just pop out of my mind and we go, but it blows my mind though that no one else has done this because the years My mom has been hanging out fat balls, the birds in the garden. Yeah, and that’s exactly the same thing but just for the crazy.
Unknown Speaker [19:35]
Yeah, yeah.
David Ralph [19:36]
Pretty much. So does that not blow your mind but somebody didn’t look out the window with their cup of tea in the morning and thing. The birds are enjoying that maybe I would enjoy it as well.
Unknown Speaker [19:50]
Does that blew my mind? Yeah.
David Ralph [19:59]
Your mind But not one person on this planet. I stood and looked out the window at some birds rubbishing a platform. I thought to themselves, there must be something in it.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [20:11]
Or do you know what people have done that because they’re already made energy balls out there, there’s already like them in the supermarket some unhealthy chops ready to just prep and go. And there’s different brands, different sizes, like tiny ones, big ones. And, you know, I mean, so I guess there are people that have looked at that not necessarily looked at the fat balls in the garden, I don’t know they might have done maybe need to interview them and ask them
David Ralph [20:34]
don’t interest me in the same way.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [20:37]
Yeah, so So somebody has made them they’re like ready to go. It’s just a make them so it’s, it’s a step before where you’ve got a bit of work to do.
David Ralph [20:45]
You know, it’s suddenly dawned on me. I’ve been watching you for about two weeks, it suddenly dawned on me that you’re absolutely right. But the thing that you’re selling is actually the family involvement that the parents can make them with their kids, and they can You know, be a bit creative and they can make things for their friends that there’s love involved in what you’re giving, which just get in a bag of Old Energy balls, it wouldn’t be the same.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [21:11]
Know you I and I like to say to this like families or if somebody poorly or not feeling well, it’s nice to send them something so that they’ve got a little something to make that, you know, all the time was saying to people who are in hospital like sending them chocolates and stuff. But actually, by I’m not saying like before in hospital. I’m saying this wrong. What I’m trying to say is, when people call it, it can sometimes be easier to send them something healthy
Unknown Speaker [21:38]
chocolates innovations
David Ralph [21:41]
in hospital, don’t send them the green ones that will know that will push them over the edge.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [21:47]
That the idea would be that if somebody was in hospital, you’d have to probably make the kit for them and take it in because they wouldn’t be different facilities. a food processor
Unknown Speaker [22:00]
Why I went off a tangent that
David Ralph [22:03]
I can imagine kids to make glittery ones do you do both?
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [22:07]
Yeah, that’s I had a glittery one last year so we had a Christmas Christmas baubles It was called and the photo that I took was like a spray upon spray with a double glitter that you can put on. And so the seven suggestion actually said it’s great to put on the Christmas buffet table so you just pile them up like forever Russia would be and all these little balls on the plate and then you spray this silver or gold and little spray and then you put them on to the buffet table Christmas and TAD Yeah you did right. And there’s things like hundreds of thousands that you can mould them into the decal my birthday presents and you know just a bit more fun. Literally, the world’s your oyster really can do you can put it in and whatever you want. If you make it from scratch, not using a kit either you want and you can enrol them in what if you want to give it like a
David Ralph [22:57]
particular finish? And what about what about things like hen parties, but making them in different shapes so they’re not just just I’m not gonna say anything in case kids are listening, but I know Victoria, you’re know what I’m talking about. Would that be something that you go? No, actually I want my balls to remain pristine and sacred.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [23:23]
Oh, no, I mean everybody just what they want to do with them really, I mean, like, just going off on a tangent so that
I can go into ways on this. So one of them is that you asked earlier about do they need the ball so they can be put into like so you make the mixture up but then you put it into a container and you’d like squish it all down to it nice and flat. And then you could get some dark chocolate, heat that up in the microwave memory until it becomes a liquid and you can put that on and then put some notes into a pass the water and then crumble them onto the Top and pop freedom feasible that that sets and then when you take it out you can put them into squares. So that’s another different way of doing the same thing but you different
David Ralph [24:11]
containers with that word. Yeah,
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [24:12]
totally. Yeah, I mean like you wanted them square so this is just perfect for you, isn’t it? I think you need to test these out. I think I need to send you a min Mean Green kit and you need to test out this ice cube Ice Cube theory.
David Ralph [24:25]
Yeah, I’m going to be chasing the kids round with little green balls.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [24:29]
But the other thing I was going to say was so you said about important stuff up a lot of interest now from football teams, and and Olympic teams, but I’m going in and doing like team building. So it works. levels. So like you said, how
David Ralph [24:49]
do you do this? You know, I By this time, I should have played some motivational clip. This is more interesting to me. How do you do sort of team building with tiny little green balls.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [25:02]
So imagine and let me give you the example of Plymouth Argyle. So they are they playing the green kit, basic policy okay with us. And so what we’re going to do is set the team up into different groups so that they all have different recipes, different ingredients available. But with spirulina being green as one of the ingredients they need to put in it, and then they get to design what their team energy ball is. And at the end, there’s four different groups, they can all then try all of the four different balls and they can work out, okay, we prefer Ball B, or C, whatever. And, and that’s the one that we’re going to use as our team. And as usual, that’s the recipe that we’re going to use going forward to then Krishna is then going to be making them for their match days and for their training days. So that they can be if you imagine like it, even eating something that’s green. So you’ve you’ve designed this, this recipe as a team. So it’s been fun. nutritious, but then even a matter you’re even putting this green stuff into your body because you are, you know, Everything about you is team orientated. So yeah, it’s it’s something that it’s a concept we’re travelling at the minute and I’m really excited to to test further and see if there’s any listeners, they want to get involved and they can contact me but yes, it’s I think it’s a really interesting kind of spin up from the core product that I do.
David Ralph [26:29]
And if you’ve seen Plymouth alcohols results, I think they’re scared of balls. I don’t think they go anywhere near a ball.
Unknown Speaker [26:36]
Oh, absolutely. We’re doing quite well this season.
David Ralph [26:42]
I thought their name was Neil up all that that’s what their full name was. But let’s hear some words now then we’re going to come back to Victoria.
Unknown Speaker [26:51]
Okay. The way through the challenge is to get still ask yourself what is the next right move? Not thinking about, Oh, I got all of this stuff. What is the next right move? And then from that space, make the next right move, and the next right move, and not to be overwhelmed by it. Because you know, your life is bigger than that one moment, you know, you’re not defined by what somebody says, is a failure for you. Because failure is just there to point you in a different direction.
David Ralph [27:23]
When I’m just google Plymouth alcohol, because I am a professional, and they’re sitting 13, they’re made to table so I think I need more energy into them. So when you when you get this idea, and do you then go around to all your friends as I’ve got this brilliant idea, because, once again, I see so many people had their ideas stamped on by the people closest to them, or did you keep it to your chest and secretly work on it until it was undeniable, but it was going to go somewhere?
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [27:56]
It’s a good question. Um, I think it really depends on your circle of friends and your network. Because you can probably you can probably you’re probably know who you can talk to about it that are going to be objective and realistic. Because there’s one thing people going, Oh, that’s rubbish idea. But then there’s another thing people going, really pushing and just think, Oh, yeah, no, go for it. That’s brilliant, and actually might not be the right thing to do. So I think you need people in your arsenal who are going to be really objective and not not Pooh Pooh the idea because even if they think it’s rubbish, they’ll probably point out some of the pitfalls, but in a really constructive way. And when I first started the I was part of a network called Women in mobile enterprise. And it was a monthly group in Derbyshire, and we used to meet up and we kind of go around the room like what’s happening, and generally I would, I would bring it up with Okay, these are some of the logos that I’ve made. What do you think and, you know, like, each month was like a different step on Something that had happened along my journey and, and they were kind of my sounding board along with lots of other people, of course. But yeah, I think they were one of the sounding boards I used. And I think he just got to find somebody that you really trust and play their opinion. And you know, the other people that you don’t necessarily tell it to for a while, because you just know that they’re not going to give you the right answers.
David Ralph [29:20]
Do you know when I started Join Up Dots literally, every single person said to me, You shouldn’t do it. Really? Yeah. Every single person and now I’ve listened to myself, I think they were right. I shouldn’t I shouldn’t be. I should have stopped it. Bitcoin ever became an obsession to me and came into other people’s lives and ruin their commutes, and all the other stuff that I do on a daily basis. I really didn’t get that much praise or support at all, really, until about three years in about halfway year. When people started saying to me, are we always knew you were going to do something obvious, you know, but up to that point, it was some some of my greatest friends or they were my greatest friends still haven’t listened to a single episode in six years.
Unknown Speaker [30:11]
Wow. Yeah.
David Ralph [30:13]
What are they missing as well, but they would have found out about the green balls.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [30:18]
What made you push through that and and do it besides everybody telling you that that you probably
David Ralph [30:23]
couldn’t do anything else. I basically severed all ties to my past. And I knew that I had to make it work. You know, this whole thing about having a plan B, I didn’t I had a plan A and that was it. And I just had to find a way through. And now I don’t like plan B’s. I just think wiggle your plan a somewhat either way through on that first route, but you’re heading and I think it’s going to be a lot easier. It’s difficult, you know, you know what it’s like you’ve got a lovely business. You’re enjoying it, it’s going well, but there’s dark nights of the soul when you’re just sitting With box off the box, green balls around your feet banking, what the hell have I done? Because that’s what businesses is like.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [31:11]
Yeah, it doesn’t happen very often for Yeah, I mean, sometimes you do kind of think I’ve had bitten off more than I can chew. I think that’s just not too low. It’s just that, you know, like at the beginning, you mentioned about impostor syndrome. And yeah, I mean, that that definitely creeps in from time to time. I think it’s just working out, like having a dashboard of how you deal with things like if, if the light comes on in your car to tell you that the oils when in low, you’re sorted out, so I think it’s just working out. Okay, so imposter syndrome is popping up, and what am I going to do about it? How am I going to dress it and everybody has the different strategies and stuff, but I think, what do you what do you do about imposter syndrome?
David Ralph [31:48]
I don’t have any imposter syndrome. I don’t. Honestly, I don’t I don’t remember ever having any personally, but I couldn’t. pull this off. Because I did transition I used to show off in front of people I used to stand up during training courses and classes and stuff. And I always used to have this show up side to me. So I knew that I could translate it, wherever people wanted to listen to it was a different thing. But I just thought to myself, if I do enough episodes, you know, something’s going to happen. It’s the consistency. And now six years down the line, you know, could it be going better? Yes. But at least somebody could be going better because you you dream bigger, you know, get to a point where you actually go, I’ve achieved all my dreams. Yeah. And then a little bit later if it actually I bought my dream is going to be better than this. I think I think I need to do something else. And then you look around anything. Oh, yeah. I’m not really sure what I want to do, actually, you know, and I find that has been a sort of a bit of an anchor more than my own personal belief when I set my head on something I achieve, I just go for it. Yeah, but there’s certain times when I don’t know what I want to go for, and that that’s a bit of an issue.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [33:10]
Yeah, but I think sometimes it’s it’s like that. Getting back to the drawing board, isn’t it and just D campaign and working out were
a bit like that lady was saying in the quote, just, you know, get getting back to the drawing board and working out what, what’s the next step?
David Ralph [33:24]
like the way you say that lady, that lady that was that was who?
Unknown Speaker [33:32]
I was gonna say, gosh, thank you so much.
David Ralph [33:37]
Two things. I realise you haven’t listened to any of my shows. And second, and secondly, she’s doing
Unknown Speaker [33:45]
she’s doing what
David Ralph [33:47]
she’s doing and she hasn’t had an energy bow in her life. You see what you can do when you haven’t got one of those. Now, where can we take base because I am now infused about energy balls. I see it as a gesture of love, which I didn’t see at the beginning. And I know that nowadays we you know, I get calls from my kids from Moonpig and bloody eight Moonpig because there’s no effort involved they’ve just gone on to a website and I picked a few buttons and it turns out now this says to me effort could we could we change it so somebody actually does something and then sends it off when it last once we open the envelopes Could I make some things and then send it to my mom in the post and it will still be fresh when when she gets it?
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [34:34]
Yeah, because the shelf life for actually about three months really okay. And on a normal kit because if you imagine it’s, it’s, you know, not seeds, peanut flour and this coconut oil in there. So, actually the, the main barrier to having a longer shelf life is the packaging because I’m really eco conscious and and the packaging actually degrades quicker than the than the ingredients. shelf half of the ingredients. If you imagine when you go and buy not in a shop that could be like a year or two years, chop off.
David Ralph [35:11]
Everything in my life has independent life. I don’t have anything but I ever think I should throw out. My wife looks at it and one second after the last day, she saying, right, we got to throw that out. It was best before yesterday and I go just taste it. And if it’s disgusting, you know it’s off. And I she says to me, you would eat poo on a plate. This is basically and I I do apologise if anyone’s having their breakfast when they’re listening to this. But I just think that cell by dates don’t mean a thing. Anything can last forever. If it goes into your freezer, bring it out 12 years later and cook it up and you’ll be fine.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [35:51]
Well, that’s an interesting theory. But there’s obviously a difference between best before and us by because if you had something like a yoghurt and you went back 12 years later, well Anything to be honest. But I mean, there’s certain things you can be careful. You’ve got to be careful with certain things that you still okay. I talked
David Ralph [36:09]
to talking about disgusting foods have you done? I imagine you have with your experimentation? Have you done stuff that you’ve got? Oh my god, that was? Yeah, even though you know it’s healthy Do you think to yourself, actually because a lot of people are quite happy to eat horrible stuff if I think it’s really good for them, you know, we have medicine, and we have medicine and the worst is the more we convince ourselves that is doing good for us. So have you got any that is kind of quite unpleasant, but you think actually, these people will will like this.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [36:45]
And I think sometimes they can. So in the kind of designing of the recipes, they can obviously like loads of failures, because you have to make them about 20 times before it’s right. And I think sometimes it’s the consistent See between the dry products and their web products like maple syrup and stuff you know sometimes it can be too wet or too dry and it can be yeah it can get a bit gross but I think Yeah, they’re obviously but once we put out for the crystal has
the rubbish recipes we have to try it we have to try a lot of have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince.
David Ralph [37:24]
What about Jaffa cakes and walkers crisps put together they’re nice. They’re both lovely.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [37:32]
I think that’s that’s probably the salt and chocolate combination. You can’t go wrong with that.
David Ralph [37:36]
Howie What about Cody? Everyone loves a Carrey What about that I carry ball?
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [37:41]
Yeah, so in January we had a turmeric and caca and he balls that have a curry tasteless. Oh, you
David Ralph [37:47]
disappointed me. I’m coming out with these ones that I’m watching you to go. Oh my god. That’s genius. David be on the board of directors. We want you to This is what I was aiming for.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [38:03]
Chief tasting officer. Yeah. Are you interested?
David Ralph [38:06]
No, I don’t want to taste the things. I just want to say. I would just want to sit there and say, yeah, Mama and peanut butter with some Oreos, squeeze it together, see what it tastes like?
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [38:18]
Yeah, I mean, I mean, let’s do it. Let’s put a date in the diary and you can design some.
David Ralph [38:22]
I say you’re lying to me. I say that email will never come back. I will go into a spam folder. Somehow a Victoria prince will just be a distant memory. Yes, exactly. And if my own family say that, then I’ve got little chance with yourself really well. Let’s listen to some words of somebody that we all know. And we know Ray’s first name and his last name is not just going to be some guy who said some words. This is Steve Jobs.
Unknown Speaker [38:58]
Of course. It was impossible. To connect the dots looking forward when I was in college, but it was very, very clear looking backwards 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leaves you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference. Now we change them from dots, two balls, there’s the those words mean even more to you.
Unknown Speaker [39:39]
Ya know, it’s it’s, it never gets old. It’s
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [39:44]
it’s really thought provoking. And I think when you when you hear it, it’s like no matter where you are in your life, and you can you can apply it to your private life as well like what’s going on at home and everything that Yeah, connecting the dots makes, makes big difference. Whatever you’re doing too. And looking
David Ralph [40:01]
back. Did Can you see the path was seamless? Can you see where things naturally occurred due to the action you were taking?
Unknown Speaker [40:12]
Um,
Unknown Speaker [40:13]
I think I’ve had a bit of a roller coaster to be honest.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [40:18]
I mean, you can connect the dots on a roller coaster. Yeah, you can say I say it’s not been like a straight line. But it’s been a little bit wobbly
David Ralph [40:26]
in a fun way, but everybody’s is that that? Well, it’s a wobbly world, you know, which is why I said that there’s no point in having a plan B. Because more often than not, your plan A will cross itself somehow. So what’s the point in creating a new path? You’re going to go over the same path anyway, because it just sort of goes round and round in circles. I I spent about two years I feel looking back on it just going around circles thinking. I don’t know the answer. I don’t know what to do next. And I just kept on doing it.
Unknown Speaker [40:59]
And how did you break this up?
David Ralph [41:01]
Something occurred to me. And it was it was strange when you leave the business and you go off on holiday. And then people start talking to you about certain things. That interest suddenly is a red flag. And when you’re so engrossed in your own business, you can’t see the positives that you’ve got, because you’re so busy doing it. And so I went to, where did I go somewhere hot? And these people were talking to me about my business. And I was saying, Yeah, I do this. And I do that. And they were going, Yeah, wow, How’d you do that? Because our businesses face and our business is vast. And I thought, Oh, I might be onto something here. But I couldn’t see it. Even though it was all around me because it was what I was doing. I didn’t see the value in it. So I just sort of kept on going around in circles for two years. is very much like that. Yes. As a podcaster. I like to use 130 words when you use for you see To feel so that’s why I will ramble on on the same thing. But you’re absolutely right. It’s like you can’t see the wood for the trees bang done perfect. Right so that I can see what I can see is where we’ve been heading up to, which is the park called the Sermon on the mic when I’m going to send you back in time to have a one on one with your younger self. And if you could go back in time and speak to the young Victoria, what age would you choose them? What advice would you like to give her? Well, we’re going to find out because I’m going to play the music and when it beats you up, this is the Sermon on the mic
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [42:59]
Victoria Hello Victoria, I’m travelling back in time to talk to you about how you can get through everything that is worrying you everything that’s presented as a problem in your path. And I have in my hand, a framed picture that says, fearless woman, everything you need is inside of you. So all you need to do is to remember that whenever anything gets problematic, or something is standing in the way and yeah, it’s just really important that that’s one of the mantras that you carry with you throughout life because that will always get you through
David Ralph [43:42]
right advice short and sweet. So Victoria what’s the number one best way that our audience can connect with you?
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [43:51]
Well, various, my marketing is touch points marketing coda UK so they can find me on there and contact me via already. It’s the links associate All into email. I have a downloadable PDF on there, which is a marketing blueprint. If there’s anybody with startup business who wants to download that it’s free. And my entity balls is energy ball recipes calm and so they can contact me on any of the links there. And yeah, I think that’s that’s everything yeah,
Unknown Speaker [44:19]
that’s about it.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [44:21]
Start with the website and finding the best link for the person who’s wanting to get too much
David Ralph [44:25]
great stuff and we will have all the links on the show notes. So I’m going to go and I’m going to make some free energy ball recipes. Okay, what’s your, what’s your favourite one because I’ve scrolled up and down here, and we’ve got the patchy chocolate ones. I don’t eat chocolate. So that’s out the coffee and walnut ones. I had to eat walnuts a lot once gave me terrible wind so I can’t have that. Okay. It’s not good for me and it wasn’t good for my family. Now the apricot and coconut ones I sound like I’m leaning towards carrot cake energy bites because I’m quite powerful. This is a good one.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [45:04]
It’s been our best seller carrot cakes are Well, the thing is when people use it I just like, even if you don’t tell them it’s carrot cake. Maybe not. You’re just say Are you okay with knots? Yeah, young feminists, and then try it and Is it nice? And it’s, I mean, because there’s no sugar. There’s no like dairies or somebody’s vegan or they want to protect me from the diet. There’s, there’s no other allergens apart from nuts, and it just tastes like you’re eating carrot cake, but it’s a healthy version
David Ralph [45:34]
of fat, and it’s got ingredients, I’ve looked up and I thought, oh, I’ve got that most of it because that’s the trouble with recipes. You look at it, and it says, you know, you need the same another an African squib or something and you
Unknown Speaker [45:46]
have a hell do I get back?
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [45:50]
So what are you missing? You said you’ve got everything, everything.
David Ralph [45:55]
I thought well, so I’ll use honey. That’d be Work the Romans I could use walkers quests, I’ve moved those around. Yeah, I could I could make that I could make that. Yeah, that’s what we should do. And listeners, if you’re inspired out there to do the same vein, you know, do it take a photo of it and send it through to Join Up Dots on our forum onto Victoria. And wherever competition wherever competition to see who does the best one. But Victoria, thank you so much for spending time with us today. Join Up Dots Please come back again when you got more dots to join up because I do believe that joining up the dots and connecting our past is the best way to build our futures Victoria Thank you so much.
Energy Balls Founder Victoria Prince [46:39]
Thanks, David.
David Ralph [46:42]
Yes, thank you to Victoria prints and energy bars, not energy bars when we’re talking about energy balls, energy ball recipes.com go over there. There’s loads of lovely stuff, and insane sense of the apostle of love. Hopefully the audio was okay. We had terrible kind of background noise. I’ve tried to clean it up as much as possible. Hopefully, you enjoyed the conversation and you’re feeling, feeling energised. That’s what it’s all about. Until next time, thank you so much as always for being here with Join Up Dots. And we will see you again soon. See ya.
Intro [47:18]
When we’re young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling. Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here’s your host live from the back of his garden in the UK, David Ralph
