Today, we have the pleasure of interviewing Sally Perdigones Hendricks, founder of Coco Nutrify, H Vitality Cosmetics, and Jewelry By Sally.
Please tell us something about yourself.
I am the eldest in my family, born and raised in Talalora, Western Samar, a small town in the Eastern Visayas Region of the Philippines. I moved to the US almost 16 yrs ago when I married my husband, Jim Hendricks. Ever since I was a child, I always dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur. I found myself very passionate about it. It makes me happy and, even though I work very hard, I enjoy the challenges and retain my passion!
Back in my childhood, I grew up in a poor family. We hardly made ends meet. We were a tenant on one of the coconut farms in my hometown. My siblings and I grew up on the coconut farm; it was our primary source of living. It was tough because we could only harvest coconuts every 3 months, and if there was a bad typhoon, the harvest time and volume were affected. I saw the hardships that my parents experienced. So it was my goal to find a way to help them.
How did you get into entrepreneurship? Please tell us about your journey.
It started when I was 7 years old. My grandfather made me a little mobile cart, and my parents gave me 1,000 Philippine Pesos (about $20) as start-up capital. I learned to manage my own little store at a young age, and the profits of this little store helped our family in a small way.
When I was in college, I opened a “Sari-Sari” Store (Neighborhood Mini-mart). At that time, I was living by myself in the city of Manila, away from my family in the province. This store helped defray my school and living expenses during my college years.
After college, I took a full-time job in the medical field. But I noticed that the coconut oil found in stores in the US was not top quality. Being raised on a coconut farm, I had a unique knowledge of coconut oil processing. So I founded the Coco Nutrify brand to provide the best quality extra virgin coconut oil and healthy snacks made of organic coconut chips.
Please tell us about your companies – Coco Nutrify, H Vitality Cosmetics, and Jewelry By Sally.
Coco Nutrify
Our triple centrifuged coconut oil is made using a better process than other brands. We make the freshest, most nutritious coconut oil – and users can tell the difference immediately. It is noticeably smoother with a milder flavor and aroma. We also have healthy snacks made of organic coconut chips and cacao chips. Our organic healthy snacks are little nutrition packs. They’re 100% natural, high in beneficial fats, minerals, and dietary fiber, and keep you healthy. Their crispy content and tropical taste make them excellent choices for snacking. Coco Nutrify Guilt-Free Snack – A healthy & tasty alternative to traditional chips!
In addition to the Coco Nutrify brand, I also developed H Vitality Cosmetics and Jewelry By Sally.
H Vitality Cosmetics
I did a lot of research into safe, effective skincare, and the result is an incredible, unique all-natural skincare brand that clarifies the skin, reduces the pores, hydrates, and brightens the skin using natural ingredients and groundbreaking hydrogen technology to provide these results quickly and feed the skin.
Jewelry By Sally – We design and provide fine jewelry that won’t fade or tarnish, with eyepopping popular styles that won’t break the bank. My goal has been to provide fine jewelry that is affordable by the masses, but it looks like it is more expensive and can be worn regularly without tarnishing or fading. My Jewelry By Sally pieces fit that bill.
Which social media channels work best for promoting your work?
We use Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and we have websites.
What are the strategies that helped you become successful in your journey?
Start small and succeed in a narrow endeavor and geographical area before you expand to a larger scope.
Learn from your failures. Everyone fails. The most successful people have failed many times. Don’t repeat mistakes. On a related note, it’s much cheaper to learn from other’s failures, but also much harder to see those failures because the pain of your own is greater, so you can easily feel it.
Copy from, and improve upon, good ideas that you see from competitors, and even those in unrelated fields. This relates to all areas but definitely to marketing efforts.
Stick to your areas of competence and outsource work in areas in which you lack competence, especially early in your business life. As your business matures and you have mastered (and written processes for) early areas of competence, you can learn and take in-house some of the functions that you have outsourced.
What do you think is important in life, and how can one measure the level of success?
Perseverance, faith, and never stop growing.
Having a purpose and passion are the fundamental components of living a fulfilling life. Without purpose, you won’t have the motivation to achieve great things. And when you’re passionate about something, you’re going to work hard to achieve it. My greatest dream is to be able to give back to the community. I know how it feels to have nothing, and I want to give back and make a difference in other people’s lives.
Happiness and contentment are the true essences of SUCCESS!
What keeps you going when things get tough?
Faith, perseverance, and my goal to help a lot of people.
Any message for our readers.
Follow your dream, and never lose hope. If you encounter any roadblocks, don’t give up but instead go around them and stay focused on attaining your dreams.
How can people connect with you?
You can connect with us through our social media accounts – Facebook pages “H Vitality Cosmetics” and “Coco Nutrify,” or you can visit our websites: hvitality.com and coconutrify.com. You can also drop an email to hvitality4me@gmail.com.
Thank you so much for giving us your precious time. We wish you all the best for your journey ahead.