The Unsure Entrepreneur

Lubaina Rakla
Episode 49

The Unsure Entrepreneur Podcast

SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Liva Foods, Date sugar, Entrepreneurship, Gestational diabetes, Organic dates, Food service, Wholesale, Retail distribution, Dragon's Den, Supply chain, Business growth, Healthy sweetener, Personal passion, Startup lessons, Food innovation

SPEAKERS
Roger Pierce, Lubaina Rakla

Lubaina Rakla 00:00
I had decided I was not going to take the deal. I'm not going to give 33 away of my business. I didn't really need the money. It would be a nice to have money at that time, but I wanted to actually reset the business after I went on.

Speaker 1 00:12
You're listening to the Unsure Entrepreneur Podcast with Roger Pierce. Whether you're scribbling business ideas on a napkin or wrestling with the should I shouldn't I question, get ready to explore the realities, the risks, and the rewards of entrepreneurship as we share the stories, scars, and successes of small business owners.

Roger Pierce 00:33
Hey, welcome back to the Unsure Entrepreneur Podcast. I'm Roger Pierce. Today I'm speaking with Lubaina Rakla, founder of Liva Foods, Canadian food company built around organic date sugar, date powder, and date syrup. We're going to learn more about that in just a minute. Now, Liva's products are made from 100% organic dates without fillers, additives, preservatives, or artificial ingredients. The company positions its products as a better way to sweeten food while using simple whole food ingredients. Now Lubaina's story is really unique because it began during her third pregnancy when she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Now that experience changed how she thought about sugar, food, and health, and eventually led her to to create Liva Foods. She has since built the company into a growing, domineering food brand, earned awards, landed retail distribution, and in 2023 appeared on the hit TV show *Dragons’ Den* An experience that helped her rethink parts of the business and opened new doors. We'll talk about that in just a few minutes as well. I loved her story so much that I interviewed her for my new book, *The Unsure Entrepreneur* where she generously shared her fascinating startup experiences. In that conversation, she talked about the lessons she took from *The Dragon's Den* including the importance of thinking beyond retail shelves and exploring ingredient and food service opportunities. But this episode is not just about day trigger; it's about what happens when a personal problem becomes a business idea. It's about building something without having all the answers. Many of us don't, and it's about why passion may not guarantee success, but without it, setbacks can break you. Welcome to the podcast, Lubaina.

Lubaina Rakla 02:16
Thank you, Roger.

Roger Pierce 02:17
So great to see you again.

Lubaina Rakla 02:19
Yes, it's really nice to see you too, and I'm excited.

Roger Pierce 02:22
You've got such a fascinating story, and I can't wait to share it with everybody. But I got one thing from your website. I want you to explain to me. We'll talk about date sugar in Muslim culture. It's called the multivitamin from God. Why is that?

Lubaina Rakla 02:35
I always thought it was a multivitamin from God. As being a Muslim, we break our fast with it, and I was like, "Why dates? Like you could break your fast with water or nuts or seeds. And when you dig into it, it like I said on Dragon's Den, it's the foods of the god. It is full of nutrient. It has the right amount of fiber to balance your blood sugar as you break the fast, it gives you instant energy, and it has several vitamins and minerals. It like resets your body, and it actually suppresses hunger, so you don't overeat either.

Roger Pierce 03:15
It is really a miracle. I wrote it down here-a miracle food because it's got low glycemic,

Lubaina Rakla 03:22
glycemic index. Yes,

Roger Pierce 03:24
it uses everything that's healthy. It's got one ingredient. It's got tons of vitamins and nutrients, like it's a miracle food, isn't it?

Lubaina Rakla 03:32
And it's gut healing. It's good for your skin, as other sweeteners are actually aging you now. Being a woman going through menopause, that is like my number one priority, and it really helps you feel better after you eat anything made with dates or date sugar or date syrup.

Roger Pierce 03:53
I can attest to that. I bought some. I bought some of your product and the powder, and I've been using it in coffee and and and things like that because I tend to use too much sugar. It's a miracle replacement. Tastes delicious, and it doesn't have that negative impact that sugar does. The the crash. It's something a lot of people probably wouldn't know about, but you're out there educating, and now they're trying it, and it's in a lot of stores. I'm going to get to that in just a minute too. Now that we know a little bit about dates and date sugar, we'll of course be talking more about that throughout the episode. I want to go back to your origin story, if you don't mind, the personal problem that became a business. You know, your company Liva didn't begin as a spreadsheet or a business plan necessarily, though I know you wrote one after you thought of the idea, but I started with something personal. As I mentioned in the intro, during your third pregnancy, you were diagnosed with gestational diabetes. My wife had that too, and you were trying to manage your blood sugar, but you have a self-professed sweet tooth, and you didn't want to give up, you know, all the all the sweetness entirely, or rely on on processed alternative. So that search eventually led you to date sugar. Is that correct?

Lubaina Rakla 05:04
After suffering from several infections and candida, I went to a naturopath doctor, and they put me on a grain-free, sugar-free diet. And that's when I discovered, and I was having other alternative sugars like stevia, ethrital, agave, and it was still spiking up my sugar and causing gut issues. And I don't know if I told you, I read this book called How Not to Die, and in that book, it stated how dates are the healthiest sweetener. That's like the road to discovery, and eventually figuring that out and finding something, and started using that as a sugar alternative. This is like 13 years now. Like my blood sugar is balanced, my skin got better, my gut got better. The addiction of having something every day also diminishes because your body doesn't have to crave everything every day. It could be every third day, or it could be on a weekend. And when you eat it, you feel so energized and good. That was like the biggest discovery, and I wanted to share this with the world. And that's why everything I believed happened so fast. And the right team came to me. Everything aligned, and we, you know, launched pretty fast.

Roger Pierce 06:21
You were you were breakneck speed, and I think we'll touch upon that in a second. So it really came from a personal need, and then a personal discovery, and those are some of the best reasons to get into your own business. You know, when you think this is something that's benefiting me, hey, maybe other people can benefit too. Can you expand on that process and say, okay, I wonder how many other people could use this, and how did you go about exploring that?

Lubaina Rakla 06:45
Around the time when I was looking for help, it's like no one knew anything. It's like, oh, I don't know. I just eat less of it, or I've just cut it off completely, and that didn't resonate with me. I was like, no, like you need something sweet. You can't just not have anything sweet. There's a palate here. It craves all kind of things. So my like mission was to really discover something that you can enjoy and it's good for you. And really, that I think was like the drive. And and when I was able to figure that out and really discover that the excitement and what my body felt, and how I like change my looks from it. I wanted to share, and I, I at that point, I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna put it out there. Maybe I'll be online, even if I help like 20 women every day or 20 people every day. That's my mission. Like I didn't think I would get into Loblaws and Sobies like the year that I launched, and that was really the help from the universe in the beginning.

Roger Pierce 07:46
You talked about that in the book too. Help from the universe. You're very grateful to the universe. That's great. That's important.

Lubaina Rakla 07:52
It is. That's like really how I live.

Roger Pierce 07:55
You wanted to get it out there. You started to do your research, and what did you find you found that there wasn't much competition or awareness of dates?

Lubaina Rakla 08:05
Well, I know there was nothing in Canada, and when I initially started looking for a factory that could help me create this sugar, there was something out there which was gone under the oven. Most of the nutrients were depleted; they were like thicker grind, so it was not always like dissolvable or not easy to use. So I did find a factory at that time in California that really worked with me, and and everything there was like slow drying. So like solar dried, dried for two days, so it retains most of the nutrients, and then grind it into a fine powder that I was looking for. So they really worked with me and helped me create my grind. And I just, you know, said okay, you know. And at that time, they didn't care about using in retail. They were more giving it to like granola bars or cereals or something like in that form. But nothing in the retail was really acknowledged. I was like, "Why not? Like, we bake all the time. Why do we have to sacrifice and wait till like a company comes up with something healthy, but then it doesn't have everything that's healthy? That was the drive, and I just wanted to literally just share it with at the world. I was like, "There's something out there that you can really benefit from a couple things there.

Roger Pierce 09:21
I want to drill down on. I saw that too. You you say on your website it is one of the first date solar drying facilities. Can you tell us what that

Lubaina Rakla 09:33
is? Yeah. So when I initially found this factory, they were one of the only ones that I knew of that was solar drying their dates, and then I actually found another factory that I worked with till last year. They were sun drying the dates, and their dates were even more delicious. And I was so upset when that company had to close down because then I had to pivot again and find. Go back to the factory. I mean, I have a few places because as I grew, I needed like more supplies or more sourcing. But I do wish one day I could open up a factory and have sun-dried dates and grind it into a powder to keep it more nature intense, like you're getting the sunlight and the heat from like the sun, you know, like how amazing and that. And then there is a difference in taste. I did notice a huge difference.

Roger Pierce 10:29
And just so people are aware, there's there's date sugar, like a powder.

Lubaina Rakla 10:34
Date powder and date sugar are the same thing.

Roger Pierce 10:36
Oh, date powder and date sugar the same thing. And then there's syrup and paste. Am I missing one?

Lubaina Rakla 10:42
I do have a lot of fun things in the pipeline. I have I have a chocolate that's launching very soon, and I have a Nutella-based bread, which is better than Nutella, and it's like five ingredients. So yes, whenever the right investor comes to me, I will be ready to launch those things.

Roger Pierce 11:02
If you're listing investors, get in touch. Nutella, that's great. Yeah, my kids would eat that up for sure if you roll that one out.

Lubaina Rakla 11:10
So delicious, and it's so good for you.

Roger Pierce 11:12
Back to your origin story. You followed your gut. You wanted to get the word out there. You you launched the brand very quickly, and you got into Sobeys within just a couple weeks, but then some harder lessons started to arrive. I remember you telling me costing, margins, operations, manufacturing, retail distribution. That's a lot to do for any new entrepreneur, and there's a lot of reality that starts to sink in, right? So, a few questions for you around that that whole process because you launched so quickly, I'm curious what gave you the confidence to move so fast.

Lubaina Rakla 11:44
Honestly, it wasn't a plan to move that fast. It just worked out like that. I don't know if I had the one of the best brokers or my product or my story was good. I don't know what it was. Every time we pitched our product, they were like, "Oh, yep, you're in. It was almost a dream for the first two years till COVID hit. Then all the lessons started, and I had to pivot and change a lot. And I still feel like every year brings a new learning. And I've realized that there's no end goal, and the journey is everything. So I have just resigned to that. I'm like, it's like being a mom, right? Like, there's no end goal. Every age brings their fun and their challenges. So this is how I have learned this businesses. Like now, sales are amazing, but now the war is affecting my supply. My container has been stuck since January, and now I'm freaking out because if retail doesn't have the product on shell after three months daily, daily they delist you. So yeah, now sales are there, food service is growing, but now I have a supply chain issue. I've just like surrendered to like okay now before I was like, okay, after COVID, sales was like the number one target. Now I'm like, okay, I've cut down marketing because I have to like sustain my supply till I get a good flow going again.

Roger Pierce 13:14
That's all something people can't get. Yeah, that's heartbreaking because of the because of the war in Iran. Your ships are stuck.

Lubaina Rakla 13:22
Yeah.

Roger Pierce 13:23
Jeez, entrepreneurs, eh? We go through struggles. We don't know what's coming around the bend. Who would have thought, right?

Lubaina Rakla 13:28
Exactly. Yes.

Roger Pierce 13:30
That's heartbreaking to hear. I'm sure. Hopefully, it's going to get resolved soon because it's not oil. You're shipping dates. They should let that through.

Lubaina Rakla 13:37
But my factory's in Dubai, and you, and that's where all the problems are right now. And because a lot the Strait of Hormuz is like blocked, I have to ship my stuff to Saudi, and then the route is longer. There's a backlog. The prices of shipping cost has gone up like eight times. It's something that you just have you don't plan for.

Roger Pierce 14:01
How can you plan for that? I mean, who would have thought?

Lubaina Rakla 14:04
But you know what? God always has a plan for me, and somehow it all-it's all going to work out.

Roger Pierce 14:11
You got to keep the faith.

Lubaina Rakla 14:12
Yes.

Roger Pierce 14:13
Right.

Lubaina Rakla 14:14
Yes, I could write a book on all the problems that come up.

Roger Pierce 14:17
It's so true, but I like your attitude because it's-it's optimistic, and and you're you're confident that the the things are going to work out and you you're a problem solver that goes a long way in entrepreneurship doesn't it

Lubaina Rakla 14:29
yeah a lot of negotiation has to happen a lot of negotiation with like your suppliers on payment plan because now you're not able to pay on time because you were out of stock for three months, so the cost of like the whole business is affected. Now I have to negotiate with the retailers. Hey, you know there's a war. Please don't delist me. You know, like brand, and I need to like sustain my place. I work too hard. It's a lot of communication. A lot of. Negotiation that I have to go through on daily basis.

Roger Pierce 15:03
That's a good segue because I want to mention, I want to brag about all the stores you're in. Oh my God, you started off with Sobey's. Yes. Partial list. You're in Loblaw's, Longos, Longos

Lubaina Rakla 15:14
Metro,

Roger Pierce 15:15
Bulk Barn, Metro. We mentioned Whole Foods.

Lubaina Rakla 15:18
Yes.

Roger Pierce 15:19
Lee's Market.

Lubaina Rakla 15:20
Yes.

Roger Pierce 15:21
Safeway.

Lubaina Rakla 15:23
Safeway. We're not on all of them.

Roger Pierce 15:25
Okay. Amazon, of course.

Lubaina Rakla 15:27
Of course.

Roger Pierce 15:28
Everyone's going to be on Amazon. That's amazing. So many. This

Lubaina Rakla 15:31
this launched on Walmart.ca.

Roger Pierce 15:33
Oh, on Walmart.ca. Okay, you you can get it there too. That's fantastic.

Lubaina Rakla 15:37
Yeah, and we're doing pretty well there. And if all goes well, we'll try to get into the stores this year, and the goal is to get to Costco. So, if they're listening…

Roger Pierce 15:47
We have a Costco membership as well. Yeah. Okay. All right. That's great. You're selling. I'm jumping ahead here a bit, but you're selling retail. Are you also selling wholesale? Is it selling as ingredients as well?

Lubaina Rakla 16:00
Yes. After Dragons’ Den, Arlene Dickinson really gave us a great idea of how we are an ingredient and why are we not focusing on that. I took that really to heart, and when I started my ingredient, right now we've surpassed retail.

Roger Pierce 16:16
Say that again.

Lubaina Rakla 16:18
So now food service, which is the wholesale business has surpassed retail.

Roger Pierce 16:22
Wow! Thank you, Arlene Dickerton. Yeah,

Lubaina Rakla 16:25
yeah. Like honestly, like probably the best experience. And I mean, I just got lucky that I was chosen to air, and I was chosen to get a deal online. That really helped, of course, because out of like 100 episodes, only like 20 really air. I got really lucky. That really helped me. And also, of course, you guys only see 10 minutes of the pitch. I mean, we were there an hour and a half. And there's a lot of good lessons that you learn from such great people.

Roger Pierce 16:55
Let's jump to that. It was 2023 where you got on the show, and that is a big, exciting, and scary moment. I can imagine. I got a few questions for you around that. What was it like walking onto that huge stage with all those dragons there? What was it like for you?

Lubaina Rakla 17:12
Oh my god. Okay, so the anticipation was, of course, really, really intense till the time that we walked in. But that's what I have to say, like they make you feel so warm right away with big smiles. I don't know if it's the energy there; it just calmed my nerves, and I was blown away by. If you make a mistake, they're like, "Don't worry, Labana, say it again. They really help you through that episode. You feel like you're talking to people that you already know,

Roger Pierce 17:42
they seem like they want to help entrepreneurs, and you found that they they do.

Lubaina Rakla 17:46
Yes, I mean if you're going to be a little bit of a smart aleck, like you know maybe, hey man, we want to learn from you guys.

Roger Pierce 17:55
What did you hope was going to happen with the pitch?

Lubaina Rakla 17:58
Actually, my partner Leslie Chester at that time was more confident than I was. To be honest, I'm like, I'm just gonna go pitch. Maybe the world will know about my product. I don't care if anyone gets gives me a deal. But of course, her coming from this industry and really being confident, she's like, nope, we're gonna get a lot of deals and we're gonna decide what to take, so it was a little bit of a balance. We got one deal, and we took that one. And you know, I like the way he delivered why he made the deal with us, and I really appreciate that because there is a big problem. The sugar industry is still a long way. I'm just like a little business trying to make some noise, but you know, eventually, and I hope in 20 years this becomes mainstream, and people are healing with their sweetener instead of like you know killing themselves.

Roger Pierce 18:50
That's a very noble mission. Stick to it. So back to the den. What happened? Tell us. I know there was a deal with Wes Hall. Is that right?

Lubaina Rakla 18:58
Yes. So when we went, I think the pitch was amazing. They loved the branding. They loved the at that time my costing. I had fixed it up. So, but what really I think, I guess the dragons was my startup cost because I had invested a lot of money in the business, and you know what I admit, like you're a young entrepreneur, you're gonna take risk and do everything. But I personally don't regret anything that I've put in. But to the world, it's all about the numbers in the end, and I think that was one of the reasons why a lot of the dragons didn't invest in us, or were, and Wes Hall saw beyond that, and he's like, "Okay, this is a problem that we could solve together. And I think that's why he made the deal with us. Did

Roger Pierce 19:51
it change things for you substantially? I mean, obviously the money and and the connections, but what was life like after the dent for you?

Lubaina Rakla 19:59
Okay, so after. Then, like we did, have conversations with West Hall, but you know what? Like a month after the deal, I had decided I was not going to take the deal. I'm not going to give 33% away of my business. I didn't really need the money. It would be a nice to have money at that time, but I wanted to actually reset the business after I went on. So I just wanted to focus on that. Eventually, everything fizzled out, anyways, with the West Hall's team, which I think it does with a lot of them. But I don't have any regrets, and what the marketing that came from it, I don't know the advice that came of it. I'm so grateful, and I I'm happy with just that.

Roger Pierce 20:38
You raise a good point. Sometimes the bigger value is the exposure, the publicity, pressure testing the business, hearing advice from entrepreneurs like Arlene and everyone there. There's lots of benefits beyond the money, isn't there?

Lubaina Rakla 20:50
Yeah, I could have been maybe a little bit faster in a lot of other things. I mean, of course, money always helps, but I would rather learn from it and reset. And I think that was the best time invested in the last two years.

Roger Pierce 21:04
And people can see your appearance on your website, Livafoods.com. We'll put that in the show notes.

Lubaina Rakla 21:10
Thank you.

Roger Pierce 21:12
Shout out to Arlene Dickinson. We've worked together before. She's a past client of mine.

Speaker 2 21:16
Oh,

Roger Pierce 21:17
and yeah, she's she's fantastic, and I always admire her work on the show.

Lubaina Rakla 21:22
She's special, definitely.

Roger Pierce 21:24
And so, just repeat what advice she gave you there, because you told me at the beginning, and it's so important. I think we should repeat it.

Lubaina Rakla 21:30
She told me I'm an ingredient brand, and why am I not focusing on the wholesale? It would help my business create like more capital, because when you are a retail brand, you have so much cost involved. You have to pay the retailer, you have to pay marketing, you have to pay the distributor, and when you're doing wholesale, literally, like you're just selling the product. And most of my clients pay for shipping, so it's a lot more profitable. It's lucrative. It's bigger POs, and honestly, I I maybe thought of that, but I right after that something clicked in me, and I'm like, I am gonna go all in with this, and it's the best decision we've made.

Roger Pierce 22:12
And so, give me an example of a wholesale client if you can, or category example. Is it like like a Bulk Barn, or is that retail?

Lubaina Rakla 22:19
Okay, so one of my big clients that I'm so proud of is Holos. It is a oatmeal brand. They have really come on. My bulk barn business has like doubled. We have a lot of like cereal brands. We have dressings. We have ketchups. Like just so many little things that have been like of interest.

Roger Pierce 22:43
Did you say ketchup?

Lubaina Rakla 22:44
There are hidden sugars everywhere.

Roger Pierce 22:47
Yeah, it's everywhere. I keep telling my kids, cut down on the ketchup.

Lubaina Rakla 22:51
And honestly, if you have the right recipe, you can't even tell that it's not sugar. So it's a lot of awareness that needed. I think doing trade shows with my food service salesperson, who is Cheryl Appleton, and she's the head of Women and Foods, and she is part of Levi, and I'm so grateful for that. And she has really brought up the food service for us, and just doing trade shows and giving people ideas. Hey, you know what? You can swap from this to this because a lot of time it does the idea doesn't come.

Roger Pierce 23:25
So, if I heard you correctly from Marlene's advice, hey, you should be a wholesale focused business. That is now your biggest revenue stream.

Lubaina Rakla 23:33
It's surpassed a retail now,

Roger Pierce 23:35
but you're still doing both, obviously.

Lubaina Rakla 23:37
I do retail because I still want to help moms and people who want to switch in their kitchens, right? I want to create so many products that are like everyday use that people can grab and grow with like two, three ingredients. So that's the overall goal in the next five years. But just make life easy for people to eat healthy.

Roger Pierce 23:57
Make life easier for people to eat healthy. I love it. Go into our next segment talking about your passion. In the book, you gave a great quote. I wrote it down here. If you don't have passion for your business, you will lose the ability to overcome setbacks. So true, isn't it? Let's drill down a little bit on that theme of passion because this is where your story, you know, frankly, becomes bigger than food. If you were only doing it for the money, you told me during the book interview, the setbacks would be too much.

Lubaina Rakla 24:28
Oh yeah, I would have closed down in two years. Yeah,

Roger Pierce 24:30
because it's got to be more than just about the money. But when the business is connected to a deeper purpose like yours, you can survive the difficult parts like you're going through right now with the supply chain issues, my God! And you said in the book too. Really, why did I start this? It's to help people.

Lubaina Rakla 24:48
Yes, I have to remind myself that every third day.

Roger Pierce 24:52
Just pick up the book, and there it is.

Lubaina Rakla 24:56
Exactly, the book is
there always to remind you.

Speaker 3 24:57
So

Roger Pierce 24:58
let's let's talk about that. What does Pat? Should mean to you if you could share it with the audience.

Lubaina Rakla 25:02
I believe that we're all here to do some work, even if it's a mom. That's some kind of work, and I think one of my job is to create awareness on sugar that is healing and healthy for you, because it has been such a huge problem where you go to a doctor. They like cut off sugar, but how? How do you cut off sugar when everything has sugar in it? That is like a mock-up is like hurting your gut or causing more problems. I really believe that I've figured out like a problem for the sugar world, and it's just a matter of time where everyone can you know taste it and switch it and make it a lifestyle. I always think of it this way: like when white bread was everywhere, and then we found out, hey, there is multigrain that is available easily, and now it's like white bread is like just for like you know tea parties, right? Like it's just to look good and have it once in a while, but on a daily basis, I don't think a lot of people eat white bread anymore. So it's like that awareness had to happen, and eventually, you know, it's gonna even get more aware, and people are gonna start making things at home, and and I think the world will get there with AI. With a lot of time on our hands, we're gonna start enjoying making our food and eating better, and know about what we're putting in our bodies.

Roger Pierce 26:28
So many things to unpack there. You've got a passion for it. You're solving a real definable problem: too much sugar. People with diabetes. Beyond that, it's just too much sugar in the world. Sugar is everywhere, and you're providing this this fantastic healthy alternative, and you're also educating the marketplace at the same time on on the benefits of date sugar.

Lubaina Rakla 26:47
I mean, we are our body. Like, if we don't have the energy to like focus, we can't do any work.

Roger Pierce 26:52
Absolutely, I think a lot of entrepreneurs neglect their health. We get stressed out. We eat poorly, and oh, I'm guilty of that. We don't we don't prioritize exercise. Oh, I got to get to the office. It's not good because if we're not functioning at our best, we're not going to be good entrepreneurs, are we?

Lubaina Rakla 27:08
Yeah, exactly. And I went through that too after COVID. Like I neglected my health because of personal problems. Both my parents went through cancer. My brother had some issues, and I was going to the hospitals every day, this and that, and there was a dip in my health, and then I had to bring it back on. So I think we all go through that, but at least there's a solution waiting. Like it's not like we're gonna be there forever, you know. We

Roger Pierce 27:33
gotta look after our health and enjoy the journey and the experience of it all, as you said. Let me ask you this too: What's been the hardest part of being an entrepreneur for you?

Lubaina Rakla 27:43
Ah, it's very lonely because people don't get your ideas, and only you get it in the beginning. I know, like it takes a while for people to catch on. It's like almost selling yourself, and which is really hard to do. Look at me! Look what I've created! You know, you really have to get over that ego. Also, for me, it's the biggest learning is passion is so strong that sometimes I have to bring myself down to like the world still works on numbers, and we have to keep that going. Like you can't just be so Lala either. Lala keeps you going, but you gotta use your logic and your magic together.

Roger Pierce 28:26
Logic and your magic, your logic and your magic. So you said

Lubaina Rakla 28:30
yes. So it can't be just all magic, and it can't be just all logic. It has to be like very like aligned.

Roger Pierce 28:37
That's great advice. What would you say to someone who has a business idea, but they're unsure if they're cut out for this life as an entrepreneur.

Lubaina Rakla 28:45
You gotta ride alone. You have to have a lot of like alone time to really know who you are and what you can handle, and just be patient. There's no overnight success. It's just a journey, and I think you will have a lot of successes. But then it doesn't mean that it's gonna stay up there. That's why I have decided to just enjoy the day and the journey. And if the end goal happens, it happens. But I try my best.

Roger Pierce 29:20
Enjoy the journey. No such thing as an overnight success. What's that quote? It took me 20 years to become an overnight success.

Lubaina Rakla 29:26
Yes, exactly.

Roger Pierce 29:28
For me, I think it's longer. I don't know if I'm successful yet or

Lubaina Rakla 29:31
not. If you enjoy every Wednesday daily and every and and help solve their problems daily, like it's all about that, I think, and you know, you become a different person. Like, I think I was a totally different person eight years ago when I started Liva, as I am now, and I love the new person I am because I'm more patient, I'm more logical, and magic. Like I said, I was too much magic. It's made me the person I think I should have been, and I'm still learning. And hopefully, let's see what life has to offer. Like I don't know what's going to happen.

Roger Pierce 30:05
That's a very interesting point. Do you think you're becoming the best version of yourself because you're an entrepreneur?

Lubaina Rakla 30:11
I think it's a journey with yourself on what you can handle and what you can't.

Roger Pierce 30:16
That's amazing. It's an opportunity to what I call self-actualize to be your best.

Lubaina Rakla 30:21
Yes, 100%

Roger Pierce 30:23
That's great. Well, you're doing so great. Imagine how awesome you'll be in another eight years.

Lubaina Rakla 30:27
Yeah, I cannot wait. One

Roger Pierce 30:29
last question: What's ahead for Liva Foods? What do you want want Liva Foods to become?

Lubaina Rakla 30:34
I want Liva Foods to become more, of course, mainstream, and I do want to launch a few products that is going to be a lifestyle product that kids can enjoy, like that Nutella, because it has MTC oil in it, it has date sugar in it, it has like high quality cacao in it. Like really, that's my passion. Is like I remember in like the '90s, Nutella on bread was the perfect breakfast, but I have the Nutella. That's going to be the perfect breakfast.

Roger Pierce 31:03
Okay, I think we saw a Nutella up there in the Artemis spaceship, didn't we? It was it was a floating around.

Speaker 4 31:11
Yes,

Roger Pierce 31:11
that could be you next.

Lubaina Rakla 31:14
Exactly, that this is going to help you and heal you. Get it

Roger Pierce 31:17
out in time for the next flight, space flight. Well, Lubaina, what I appreciate about your story is that you know it starts with a personal problem and developed into this amazing business, and now it's growing by leaps and bounds. And you've got passion, you've got dedication, you're educating people, you're making the world healthier. You are a successful entrepreneur in every meaning of that word. So, congratulations!

Lubaina Rakla 31:39
Thank you. That was so nice.

Roger Pierce 31:41
So I wanted to ask you, where do people find you? What's the best way to connect if they want to reach out?

Lubaina Rakla 31:48
If you're looking for me online, we are of course on Amazon, Walmart.ca. Because I just launched, I would love some support there. Well.ca, Healthy Planet, and then honestly, we are pretty nationwide, so any big grocery stores, healthy food stores like Nature's Emporium, Fiesta Farm. You can check my website for, of course, the actual locations. But yeah, we are growing, and Bulk Barn, of course, if you want to just try a little first. And my date syrup is actually really a very versatile product, and try that as well on your pancakes, coffee.

Roger Pierce 32:28
It's delicious, and you can find it all at LivaFoods.com.

Lubaina Rakla 32:32
Yeah, LivaFoods.com too, of course, and a lot of retail stores.

Roger Pierce 32:35
That's fantastic. I'll put the link in the show notes so everyone can access it. That's great. Well, thank you again for being here.

Lubaina Rakla 32:41
Thank you, Roger. It was great talking to you.

Roger Pierce 32:44
And for everyone listening, if you're thinking about starting a business but unsure, be sure to visit unsureentrepreneur.com for more founder stories, resources, and episodes, of course, of the Unsure Entrepreneur podcast. You can also pick up a copy of the book Lubaina's in it. theunsureentrepreneur.com. Thanks everyone for spending time with me. If you're feeling unsure, you're in the right place. Bye for now.

Speaker 1 33:09
That's it for this episode of the Unsure Entrepreneur Podcast. Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss other candid conversations with small business owners and be sure to check us out at unsureentrepreneur.com.