Hazi: [00:00:00] She gave me a deadline of when I need to propose. She's like, if I don't see a ring on my finger by this date, then we're done. I'm like, okay. You know what? It's realistic though. Honestly, when she told me I had a better reaction, I thought, but there's a deadline, so stay tuned for that.

J.R.: Hello everyone and welcome back to another delightful episode of One Thousand Gurus with me, your host, J.R. Yonocruz.

J.R.: So today's conversation brings back our returning influencer power couple Hazi and Vanessa. I was excited to ask them to come back to the show because both of their previous episodes were fantastic.

J.R.: Vanessa is such a warm and fun person, and Hazi is such a thoughtful and energetic communicator and having both of them on the show at the same time exceeded my own expectations.

J.R.: I didn't know that they were in Thailand actually until we jumped on the call. But it's so cool that we get to have this conversation despite being across the world from each other.

J.R.: We chat about what they've been up to since their last recordings, their experience [00:01:00] vacationing in Southeast Asia, possibly moving there long term, how to navigate their relationship being both business partners and romantic partners.

J.R.: Insights on how to build a career as an influencer or content creator, and their timelines for marriage. So without further ado, hope you enjoy listening to this episode with Vanessa and Hazi.

J.R.: Hello everyone and welcome back to One Thousand Gurus. Hazi and Vanessa, welcome back to the show. 

Vanessa: Yes, hello. Thank you so much. We're so excited to be here.

Hazi: Good to be back.

J.R.: Thanks guys for coming back. So yeah, where are you guys right now? You guys are not at home, right?

Hazi: No, we're not. We're actually Oh yeah, we're pretty far from home. So we're in Thailand at the moment in Bangkok, Thailand. Yeah. I've, we've been here for half a month, so it's been quite a journey here. 

J.R.: Dope. 

Vanessa: Yeah. 

J.R.: Have you guys been before? 

Vanessa: Now, this is actually my first time in [00:02:00] Asia and Bai's been to other countries, but this is both of our first times in Thailand.

Vanessa: So 

J.R.: Ooh. What are the plans? What are you guys trying to do these next couple weeks? 

Vanessa: Well, we've gotten a lot of time massages and eating a lot of food. I actually had my first street food not until yesterday, and it was like the best meal I've ever had. So, 

Hazi: yeah. 

J.R.: What was 

Hazi: it? I was kind of afraid of the, oh, sorry, 

J.R.: what was it?

J.R.: What did you guys eat? Or what have you been eating? 

Hazi: Oh, yeah, that was chicken pads high that she had for the street food. It was amazing, honestly, I 

Vanessa: the most touristy thing you can get. 

Hazi: Well, yeah. And 'cause the culture here around street food is just it's everywhere. Right? It's everywhere. And we're not used to seeing street food all the time.

Hazi: And like for us, like we think street food, like, oh, maybe it's not safe. Maybe this, maybe that won't be that good. No, it's definitely some of the best food we've had has [00:03:00] all been street food so far. So yeah, I'm really glad she got to finally try that. And then also plans for the future. We definitely, at least for Thailand we haven't gone to a temple yet.

Hazi: And then 'cause a lot of stuff happened when we got here or like a week in to being here together. The queen mother unfortunately passed, so then they had to close down a lot of temples and palace the Grand Palace as well, so that. And, you know, you have to wear black too and white. Like you have to wear muted colors.

Hazi: 'cause now the country's in mourning as well. So, it was just like semi culture shock for that to happen to us while we were here. We're like, wait, what? But thankfully thankfully we have friends here we made friends here and they told us like, oh, just make sure you do this, and that while you're here, while we're in mourning.

Hazi: I'm like, okay, great. I'm just glad I know because we would've never really known what to do or that it even happened really. Right. And then we see on the screens everywhere. But yeah, so that's been really fun. [00:04:00] But we're gonna go to Vietnam for for three more weeks in the next few days.

Hazi: So that's gonna be really, really fun. And we're gonna try to focus more nature because we've been in the city this whole time. And I love the city, don't get me wrong, but it is. It is a lot of traffic for us. 

J.R.: Yeah. 

Hazi: Yeah. A lot of cars. But they do have a train, but where we're staying, it's just not great access to the train.

J.R.: I see. Okay. So why Thailand and Vietnam? 

Hazi: Do you wanna answer or can I. 

Vanessa: I'll start it. Maybe you can finish it, but, okay. Yeah. Well, we've been heavily, or at least I've been heavily influenced by the internet and as we're coming into adulthood we're realizing how expensive everything is.

Vanessa: So we're trying to see like options about moving abroad just because it seems more attainable than living in the us. Like it's [00:05:00] so expensive. We just came to the realization if we didn't have our parents, we'd probably be like on the street or something. So we're trying to work in other countries and Oh my God.

J.R.: Oh, so, so you guys are scoping out the place for potentially moving there long term? 

Hazi: Exactly. 

J.R.: Oh, that's cool. 

Hazi: Yeah that's probably the biggest reason why we decided to come for so long as well. And like even running the numbers. We're actually saving money by being here and not being at home.

Hazi: Yeah. Just the amount that we spend over there and like, it's not like we party every day or anything. Not even close. Like I, I'd like to think we live pretty chill, like kind of held back from spending all the time. And then we just look at our finance. It's like, what the hell is going on?

Hazi: It's just, everything's so expensive. Like my insurance was going up my rent went up this year. And I'm sure, I mean, you can relate too. Everything has just been going up and we both have remote jobs, so now we're thinking and I'm also in we're both in online school as well, so we're thinking, Hey, we're both fully remote.

Hazi: Why don't we take this [00:06:00] opportunity to see if it's even possible? Right. Because like we see the internet, like we don't really know, but they're like, Hey, come check out Thailand. Come check out Vietnam, China, Japan. I'm like. Okay. Yeah, sure. Why not? Let's go check it out. Yeah. Yeah. And it's been a great eye-opening experience.

Hazi: I mean, we wanna do our best to also respect the culture and like, not kind of overstep as like tourists and like foreigners here. Because yeah, we, I'm still really grateful that we're in the position that we are because like any country, it still has their problems. And I'm not gonna say it's 10 million times better than what we have, but for our situation.

Hazi: It is better. I will say that I, so far so good. Like we, we are strongly considering moving to Thailand at this point. Yes. 

J.R.: Dang, that's cool. So a couple questions is, and maybe you guys don't really have anything settled yet, but what is the amount of time, do you imagine you might stay overseas in, let's [00:07:00] say Thailand or wherever you pick, and then two, how does that work with your, I was gonna ask like income or jobs, like how is that working out?

J.R.: You guys just have jobs that are, you are able to work in like Thailand hours or how does that work? 

Hazi: Yeah, so for me at least well we both work in like the social media field. She is an influencer and I manage other content creators as well. Okay. But my hours, oh yeah. My hours aren't like, rigid, like they're not.

Hazi: They're not nine to five. I work like, either just mornings and evenings for me. 'cause it's mostly like just having meetings, talking to people, sending out emails and I just let them know my availability. As long as it's not like middle afternoon Western time. That's fine. I could do mornings and evenings for you guys.

Hazi: Yeah. So it's been pretty flexible in that sense. And then luckily with my classes as well too, they're all evening format, so that's just mornings for me. I have heard of stories of people with nine to fives online. [00:08:00] Doing it and like just working the whole night. And they're saying it's still worth it because they're getting a much better life than they would in America apparently.

Hazi: But yeah. Vanessa, did you wanna add? 

Vanessa: Technically all of my income is passive because I am, like, I make content and then I set it out there and then wait for the check to come in. I don't, I'm not really, I'm not really restricted by time over here, which is really nice.

Vanessa: But I'm hoping I feel like the easiest visa to come over here is is to either take classes here or even teach English over here. So we were looking into that as well. And I feel like that'd be really fun to like kind of immerse ourselves into the culture and the people here because like we're, we've been such tourists and hopefully when we move here, we can be more assimilated to the people.

Hazi: Yeah, we [00:09:00] just feel bad when we don't know the language that much. I mean, everyone's,

Vanessa: I know. I feel terrible. 

Hazi: Yeah. I feel terrible. I'm like, okay, I should have put more time because I think it would be a much better experience, just not even for them, but like also for us, like for everyone if we just knew the language too.

Hazi: So yeah we definitely want to take classes. If we do decide on Thailand or either if we do Vietnam, Thailand, China, whichever country we end up wanting to move to we're definitely gonna take time to learn more about the culture and the language. 

J.R.: So how is the visa situation? So I'm not sure if you guys have settled on a, like a ti like a few months or a year, whatever, but what is that situation like?

J.R.: Is there a time limit until, let's say you teach or become a student or something like that? Or what is the logistics? 

Hazi: Yeah. So it depends how long, at least for the education Visa. It depends how long you get. So if you sign up with the school and they're, they have eight month to 14 month programs so that you can be here for pretty much minimum.

Hazi: The lowest they have for the education Visa that I've seen is six months. So you can at least stay here for [00:10:00] six months. But then they have this interesting rule that you need to leave the country every three months though. So I don't know what that's really about, but you can just leave for 24 hours or a week.

Hazi: It's oh, just take a quick vacation somewhere nearby. And there's a lot of countries nearby, a lot of great countries. And then with work visas again, it just depends on like how long you plan on working. Like you can get a year long contract. Most of the teaching positions I've seen are about a year long.

Hazi: You can renew it, you can go with someone else however you like. But it seems to me that most visas work around six months to a year. There's a lot of information and then even people we ask, sometimes they give us different information for the same things. And the rules constantly change, which is something that we're a little worried about too, because they have a digital nomad visa, which means Hey, if you can prove you work from home and make a stable income, like you can live here too.

Hazi: That's five years and they just made recent changes where you, now, you can't have a Thai [00:11:00] bank account if you have that. And then now you can't get insurance, medical insurance if you have it.

Hazi: So we're like, oh that's in that's weird. I don't know. That's an interesting decision. So in Thailand, especially in recent years, has been kinda slightly infamous for that, for foreigners trying to live here. Like they just constantly change rules. So that's something we need to keep in mind about.

Hazi: And just, we just need to pay more attention to the news, but that's why we're thinking on the shorter visas like education or our teaching visa or worker visa. But then we're gonna go ahead and learn more about Vietnam too and any other countries that we have. 'cause I mean, so far I think what made this experience just 10 times better is like us doing it together.

Hazi: Because I was here by myself for a week and it was great when I was busy because I was attending like gaming and anime convention. But after that convention was over, I had a few days to myself and I'm just like, dang, it's kinda lonely here. Yeah. And it was tough 'cause I'm in this brand new country.

Hazi: I don't, I [00:12:00] barely knew anyone. I had, I met one mutual friend and that was about it. But at the end of the day, like the language is different, the culture is different. My surroundings are completely new. But once Vanessa came in, literally the trip for me at least got 10 times better because now like any confusion or any like negative experience, I might have, at least I'm sharing it with her and we're figuring it out together.

Hazi: And it just makes the whole trip, like just more, well, a, more exciting, and b, just like easier to digest with another person that you really trust.

J.R.: Makes sense. It's much, much more enjoyable to be lost with someone else rather than lost alone right?

Hazi: Correct. Yes. Correct.

Vanessa: I couldn't imagine coming to a foreign country all by myself. I know that people solo travel a lot, but I don't think I could do it. 

J.R.: The people who do that, like you kind of have to be built for that life, you know, or mentally prepared and be like, okay I've worked up to it with like smaller trips, solo trips, and then you [00:13:00] kind of work up to bigger ones.

J.R.: Mm-hmm. But if you just try to jump into it, I'm sure it's very difficult. Right. 

Vanessa: Have you ever done that? 

J.R.: Solo trips, no, but I've gone with like partners or like groups of friends before. Yeah. So luckily even Philippines, like I had family there, but, and studying abroad, I studied abroad in South Korea, so I was like with cohorts of people. But I think I do aspire to do like solo trips eventually, but we'll see.

J.R.: The last thing I wanted to ask is are there any updates or big things that you've been up to since our last recording in June?

Hazi: Yes. So at least for me I've started working with just a lot more content creators, so that's been extremely fun for me.

Hazi: And then with I started my master's program and that's been way better that I could have possibly imagined because, I mean it's newer. Like remote learning is very new, like in the past five years, right? So it was my first fully remote learning experience and it's been way better than I could have [00:14:00] imagined.

Hazi: So that's something I'm extremely happy about. And I guess the third thing would be like realizing, hey, we can make a life somewhere else or like anywhere we want really. So, thankfully we're very fortunate to be in this position where we can make these kinds of decisions and especially together. I do think that we're both very lucky to be in this position to plan our lives with a lot more freedom. 

Vanessa: Well, I'm really excited because I'm adventuring into the acting comedy scene and I'm like working on a little like semi comedy docuseries with, a couple of really amazing creatives. So I'm really excited about that. I don't know how it's gonna go because I have no experience in acting whatsoever. I took drama in seventh grade, but other than that, 

J.R.: same 

Vanessa: thing. Seventh drama, same thing, docuseries, 

J.R.: you know? 

Vanessa: Yeah. But I'm really, [00:15:00] really excited about that.

Vanessa: And I think it's really gonna help me with my own personal content, just having kind of people in the same space. 'cause that's something I struggle with is like working on my own creative projects because I don't really know anyone else in the indu. Like I know people in the industry, but it's all online and I'm not like, necessarily close.

Vanessa: So it's nice having Hazi because he's also on the industry, so but he's a manager, so. He gives me the other perspective of things, but just other creatives I'm not too close with. So it's nice working with people who are so passionate about comedy especially.

Vanessa: I think it's like a five part YouTube series about this girl who comes to LA and is trying to fix the entire world, so 

J.R.: Sounds reasonable. 

Vanessa: Yeah. [00:16:00] Right. And she refers to the 48 Laws of Power Book series. And she takes her own perspective on it and applies it to helping people around her. It's really it's really cool. Yeah, I'm excited. I hope, I feel like we'll execute it pretty well considering the people that are work I'm gonna be working with. But yeah, I'm really excited. It's gonna be its own YouTube channel, but you can, it'll be connected to my Instagram, my YouTube at lovenessuh. It's so funny 'cause I think the series will be coming out in January. 

Hazi: Oh wow. 

J.R.: Perfect 

Vanessa: timing. Perfect 

Hazi: timing. Yeah. 

Vanessa: Yeah. No, so 

Hazi: serious. 

Vanessa: Yeah, we're gonna be recording in December and then it'll drop I think mid to late January, so.

J.R.: I'll link whatever you guys send me and your social, so I'm sure if they're following you, they'll Oh, thank you'll, they'll see the updates. Well that's exciting. Anything else before we jump into topics? Any other exciting updates?

Vanessa: [00:17:00] We're in Bangkok. Yeah, 

Hazi: we're 

J.R.: in Bang. I know. 

Vanessa: That's it. I know. It's like the biggest thing right now. 

Hazi: The most traveling we've ever really done has been happening the past six months. I was the most traveling I've ever done in my life, I'd say. Yeah, because I went to New York twice in the span of a month or like a month and a half, and then we went to Mexico and then we went to.

Hazi: I mean, now we're in Thailand. Like it's, it's, yeah, it, I don't know how we really got in this position, but that's been probably the biggest eye-opener. I think when we started traveling more, we realized, Hey, I wonder where else we could really take this. And it's kind of like a momentum thing because we're traveling.

Hazi: Traveling. It's like, all right, let's just keep going. Right? So I think that's just the biggest thing that's been happening for us recently.

J.R.: All right. Are you guys ready to jump in first topic? My opening question is, I put in quotes working in the same industry and growing together and planning our lives together.

J.R.: So could you guys elaborate on, I know you guys have already kind of [00:18:00] teased that out, but anything you guys wanna elaborate on that? 

Vanessa: Yeah, I would say so I started my content creation like I think two and a half years ago or so, and it was completely just for fun. But once I saw like the numbers kind of rolling in, in terms of followers or even the payouts I started realizing like how serious.

Vanessa: I could take it. And along the way, I feel like it was really hard to manage by myself because like I mentioned before, I don't, I didn't know anyone in the industry. And so the fact that my partner was able to get into the same industry with me, it's just been so much more, I don't know, like easier in a sense to, to think things through, make decisions.

Vanessa: And just because I have another perspective who understands the industry, not only as like a creator, [00:19:00] but as someone who knows other creators and manages them and makes decisions for them. So it's been really nice. And there was a point where Hazi was my manager. But I actually recently signed with new management. I would say it was to grow because they are kind of bigger in the industry. So, sorry babe. 

Hazi: No, I encourage do it. Yeah, 

Vanessa: no, yeah, he definitely encouraged me because he believes that they'll take me to the next level and so far it's been great. But it was really nice to have Hazi there, especially in building like a foundation for me.

Hazi: She touched on a lot. I'd say the only real thing I need, I would like to add on is. That working together has actually helped not only helped both of our careers, but like it helps our relationship a lot as well because we started tackling issues like we normally would never even think of, like even just basic communication issues.

Hazi: That would tell her, oh yeah, like [00:20:00] this brand wants X, Y, Z, or they want this kind of video. And then I just wouldn't say that correctly enough or like accurate enough for her. So she just told me like, Hey, next time can you like try to tell me this way? And it helped a lot with our problem solving and our.

Hazi: Relationship. Relationship. Like not just our business relationship. And it just made me understand and realize that, wow, like we can actually make this work even better than I thought. Because if we can work together well when it comes to like finances and business, then hey, that improves our communication, our experience for our relationship as well.

Hazi: So it's because it wasn't sunshine and rainbows, there were definitely misunderstandings. There were some things that we had to kind of navigate together. And it was tough, but at the end of the day it ended up making our relationship just better and more effective in communication and and trusting each other too.

Hazi: Because for me it's just wow, if we can trust each other when it comes to [00:21:00] like our finances and business then yeah that, that's definitely gonna seep into our relationship. And I now just as a whole person, as a whole partner, like not just a relationship romantic partner, but as a business partner and that made me realize oh, as a life partner, this is already going so, so great.

Hazi: So I think us working together definitely improved how we navigate our relationship. 

J.R.: I'm curious, sometimes people when they are in this situation where it's a professional and let's say a romantic sort of, or friendships, right? And it seems like that's very challenging to separate the professional from the personal.

J.R.: I know it's working for you guys and that's great. Maybe for some people they just can't separate that and they shouldn't work together. But do you guys have any thoughts on that? 

Vanessa: That's so funny. So when Hazi was my manager, my family actually told me that was like the worst idea ever.

Vanessa: You're so stupid. [00:22:00] And I, it's understandable because when you mix emotions, especially with finances or like big career decisions it's easy to get lost and to let those emotions like override your situation. But I would say our, we're not special, but I do think Hazi is like an anomaly.

Vanessa: Like he's very patient, he's very like emotionally intelligent as I, I do credit a lot to him studying psychology. So he like knows how to maneuver in a relationship pretty well. I would say. I don't recommend it to everyone. I think it takes a certain personality to work with your partner. In a relationship and also in a professional business relationship.

Vanessa: I don't think it's for everyone. Coming from someone that is very, I was very toxic. I was in a very [00:23:00] toxic relationship and I can see how easy it is to feed into the drama of it when you're not emotionally stable. So I think it depends on the stage of emotional intelligence you are and how comfortable you are with yourself. I think it does take a certain type of personality to work with your partner for sure.

Vanessa: I wouldn't even say I'm that good at it, so. 

J.R.: Yeah. So it helps, it helps to have someone who kind of knows their way around that and can navigate it to like assist, right? 

Vanessa: Yeah. 

J.R.: Are there any specific instances that stories that maybe you guys had to work through that could help? I don't know, elaborate this point for some people, 'cause maybe some people are in a similar situation and it is very challenging.

J.R.: But I dunno if you guys had an instance where you can elaborate on that. 

Vanessa: Something that really helped [00:24:00] us. It's a good thing. It's a good thing. Okay. Before we, before we even decided to work, we 

Hazi: Yeah. 

Vanessa: Worked together. We made a contract and that just comes with any business thing.

Vanessa: I feel like a contract should always just be put in place. Even like when Holly and I get married, we've talked about no matter what, like we're gonna have a prenup because it, as much as we love each other, like we still wanna protect ourselves in anything. 'cause we don't know what the future's gonna hold.

Vanessa: So I think a contract, stating absolutely every scenario has really helped us. So when we've come to issues throughout this business slash romantic relationship, like we can just refer back to that. We didn't really have to use it, but just stating it out loud for everyone in the room to hear it, was it kind of like puts our relationship in sets it in stone.

Vanessa: Like these are the rules and anyone stepping out. I mean, there wasn't, there's not, there weren't like [00:25:00] terrible repercussions in there. But for instance, we did have a cheating clause in there. Like if someone cheated, then X, y, and Z would happen. And I think as much as it shouldn't be on there in a business thing, it was it worked for us. So.

Hazi: It's just taking to account you know, I mean, not saying treat your relationship, your romantic relationship as a business, but it's if you're entering business with a romantic partner, you need to also, or you should also account for the romantic aspect of things, because then it gets muddy if you try to keep them like truly separate.

Hazi: As human beings, we need to also be like a little bit honest with ourselves. Can I really keep this a hundred percent separate? No, I don't think I can. So let's tackle this in a different way rather than keeping them like completely separate and like she's using the contract example. Like we're combining both our romance and our business life in this contract as well.

Hazi: And in that sense it just helps us navigate the space a lot better and with more trust and with more honesty as well. [00:26:00] Because yeah, again, like I, I would never think like that anything would ever happen, but it's just like in a business relationship, like when you're entering a business relationship with even a stranger, some other person, you still write Hey, let's put this clause in in case you know, fraud happens.

Hazi: But that's just normal in a contract because you know even though you want to trust this person, you never know what happens in life. So we just entered that like I guess our business relationship with that same mindset as well. And that helped us tremendously because after that contract, I wanna say I felt like way, not, I don't wanna say safer, but more at ease with entering the whole like romance and business intertwining.

J.R.: I like that a lot because it kind of sounds like, let's say in just a relationship. Instead of saying, oh, let's just wing it. It's more okay, let's be intentional about what things could happen, what could derail us? And here's us discussing beforehand about if those things do happen, it's like insurance, right?

J.R.: But more of an alignment on your relationship and your business relationship. And I [00:27:00] feel like that's very smart to approach it like that. 'cause you're like, yeah, of course, like love and feelings is all important, but just this, a little bit of safety of aligning on what could happen could, like what Hazi said, alleviate those concerns. All those worries. 'cause at least you're like, okay, well we talked about it so at least we're, we have the feeling of insurance or coverage. Right?

J.R.: So I wanted to ask about. You mentioned, and I put this in quotes, viewing problems, not necessarily as problems for each other. I wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but could you clarify? 

Hazi: Yes. So something I always love to talk about when I do talk about our relationship with Vanessa is what helped, what has helped us the most has been whenever there's some sort of issue. It's not well, that's your problem, or, Hey, that's just my problem.

Hazi: Like understandably, sometimes it is solely mine and solely hers like that, but. At this point, we are a team in our lives. Like we are, our lives are very much intertwined. Like we, especially living in another [00:28:00] country, like we pretty much live together, just me and her. So anything that's going on with me, like it's gonna go on to her because if something's affecting my mood, if something's affecting my behavior, it's gonna affect her as well.

Hazi: So let's tackle these issues together rather than just as sole individuals, at least let's express to each other. Hey, this is what's on my mind today. Hey, this is actually what's bothering today and it has nothing to do with her, but I'll still express it to her. So then that way we're tackling this issue together because when we enter a, at least from my point of view when we enter a relationship, especially a very closely connected relationship, like a romantic one.

Hazi: I believe it's in everyone's best interest to start working as a team against every problem now. Because if you work like against each other, especially if you think there's something wrong, if I think there's something wrong with Vanessa right now, and I'm like, Ooh, but that's like her problem.

Hazi: This is all on her. No, I'm in her life now, like almost, pretty much every day. There [00:29:00] has, there's always an aspect of me in there too. I'm not gonna butt in, but I'll just say Hey is there anything you'd like me to do? Like how can I be of assistance for you? Rather than ah, she got that's all her, you know?

Hazi: It's, I don't think I, I do believe we have. A lot of independence. Don't, we can't have independence. But when it comes to majority of our problems, I say let's tackle it as a team and not try to just win one over each other too. Oh, well I'm right and you're wrong.

Hazi: It's just well, that's your problem and you need to figure that out. I'm not gonna help you. It's okay, whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's work together here and see this problem is affecting both of us. So let's work together here to try to overcome this issue. And that has helped our relationship tremendously.

Vanessa: I was just gonna say yeah, no, this is all very new to me. Even though we've been in a relationship for two and a half years, like this is the first time where I've had a relationship with someone where, look what he said [00:30:00] my problems are also his. And it's just so comforting and it doesn't it makes it easier in a sense. Like I know I have someone there, but just knowing that I'll always have someone on my side is it's so amazing. 

J.R.: I have two questions now on that topic is one, how much do you share? And I think that's a very broad question, right? Like, how much do you share with your partner at that point?

J.R.: But then two is at what point is it we are a team as opposed to relationships have different stages, right? There's you're dating, you just meet, or you're more serious now you're both on the long-term path and or pre-engagement, engagement, merit, et cetera. So yeah, first question is like how much do you share and how much is too much?

J.R.: And then two is at what point do you cross a threshold of, okay, your problems are my problems.

Vanessa: Do you want I think our relationship, oh gosh. We are, for me, I think we're a little too, not too much, but we are [00:31:00] very dependent on each other. So I don't know if we're like the best example when it comes to this.

Vanessa: 'cause I feel like I share almost every single thing about me. And sometimes I do feel like I'm oversharing, but that's just how our relationship is. I, I don't know. I feel like it really just depends on the people and the relationship and they, and what they decide is good for them or not. Because I would say we share absolutely everything. So I dunno if that's good or bad.

Hazi: Yeah. I'd say yeah, we pretty much share everything we can share and it's not like it started out like this either. Like it did take time. So when it comes to the threshold, it, I think the main reason why we just share so much is because we pretty much share our lives together at this point.

Hazi: And especially if there's something troubling me or troubling her, it just for both of us, we're already very aware in our relationship that I know she's gonna hear me out no matter what it is. [00:32:00] So there's already trust built into it, so that's why it's easier to talk about pretty much everything. 

J.R.: The other question which was like, at what point do you cross the boundary of, okay, now all your problems are my problems? I know this is maybe an more of an opinion and maybe, it's personal to each person. But what do you guys think about that? 

Hazi: From my perspective, it's when you fully realize, okay, is this truly the person that I want as my life partner? And if the answer is yes, and that's when the threshold should be crossed. So, because when it comes to life partner and like just. You know, you're with this, you're gonna, you're planning to be with this person pretty much every single day of your life from now on. And you should be now aware that not everyone is perfect.

Hazi: You yourself. You're not perfect. There's gonna be times where you're super down or issues that you probably wish someone else could have helped you with. And now you do have that other person. But you need to be aware that no relationship is perfect, no matter [00:33:00] how nice and perfect your romance might be at that point.

Hazi: There will be ups and downs and like some downs will be more harsher than others, right? And it's understanding that in order to avoid something catastrophic or tragic, you need to constantly be there for each other and remind each other in some way, shape, or form of Hey, I'm here for you when you're down, Hey, I'm here for you.

Hazi: When you're feeling this way, Hey even though there's nothing horrible going on, let's talk about, you know, something and in order to prevent like these intense, harsh feelings about ourselves and about each other, right? Like there, we actually just had a conversation recently where it's like, she said what do you not like about a relationship?

Hazi: And I just said, nah, whenever you're mad at me. And she's like, oh, okay. I just won't express when I'm mad at you. I'm like, okay, no, no, no. Don't do that either, because then you're. Repress that feeling and then it'll explode later. Right. And same for me, to her there's no even though like I can be really you know, I could be annoying your relationship too and that's normal.[00:34:00] 

Hazi: And, but I'm not gonna say, oh, okay, I'll hold back every single day and make sure oh, I, I gotta make sure I'm not acting a fool every day. Not necessarily, it's just like you reminding each other oh, maybe just a little bit less of this. I'm like, okay, great. Not changing your entire personality for it is a pretty good way to put it.

Vanessa: I do think my problems or his problems and his problems are mine, but I think the problems that we deal with ourselves are the ones that are more about like our own insecurity because as much as he tells me I'm this amazing, perfect person, and as much as I tell him the same we're gonna have our own issues when it comes to especially in this time of life where we're like growing in our careers and stuff.

Vanessa: We both get really insecure about how well we're doing or where we're going. And it really is up to our own selves, but we're just there to kind of make it [00:35:00] easier, I would say. 

J.R.: So to take a step back, is there a difference between your current partner and a life partner?

J.R.: And that might be a semantic thing, but I guess what I'm trying to ask is how do you know when you've selected like a lifelong partner, for example? I think that's an interesting question. If it makes sense.

J.R.: Does, does, does that question make sense or should I rephrase it?

Vanessa: It does, 

Hazi: I think so. It's like, how do you know this is the right person? Right, essentially, 

J.R.: because Yeah, because your answer was okay, when you know it's the right person, then it's your problems. My problems. Right. Oh, okay. But now my question is, well, how do you get to that point? How do you make the decision of, okay, this is my long-term committed life partner. 

Hazi: I see. Yeah. This is, that's a great question. I, well, I'd say I, maybe I could change the last one to like when you would like this person to be your life partner. Right. Because not everyone knows for sure like early in their lives.

Hazi: But [00:36:00] I think, for me, I somewhat keep a mental list of things like, oh, okay. Is she good with my family check, is she like, loving to me check, you know, am I good to her check? But it's more, it's a feeling, but also it's a combination of the feeling and like a realistic list.

Hazi: At least for us, we've kind of tested the waters of living together too, and like seeing what that's like, and like kind of seeing, I guess, the worst versions of ourselves and are you truly there for me when I'm down? And we've spent enough time together where we've seen, I mean, I, not technically, I don't wanna say I've seen it all, but it feels like I have, and it feels like even at both of our absolute worst I would've definitely preferred to share the struggle with her and to have her support me through all these hard times.

Hazi: And even for me, realistically, as much as I love helping everyone I can there comes a certain point where okay, I can't be there for everyone, so I need to be selective, who my partner is that I'd like to be there for and helping her and supporting her. [00:37:00] Every time she's low, like I don't feel any ounce of, oh gosh, I wish I wasn't doing this right now.

Hazi: That made me realize because I haven't had that feeling I mean, besides my family, right? So it's just like in my head, if I already view her as family and as someone I could see myself like going through struggles with.

Hazi: That's a life partner for me. Like regardless of like our stage in life, because we're in our twenties stage in life is all over the place, right? Like I, I, because I see people getting married, I see people barely starting their career. I see people going back to school, right? So even regardless of the stage we are in life, like she, she just made me realize like it's someone I would like to share it with 'cause of everything we've already been through.

Hazi: And that just the comfortability of it all and the ambition, like the life planning of it all it also, it just realistically makes sense in my head to be with someone that gets along with my family and also we're in the same industry. We had the same interests. Not entirely, she [00:38:00] likes other things. I like other things too. But we both respect them. It's hard to put like, this was the moment because we had to build this moment for years in order for me to fully realize, you know what, let's go to another side of the world together for a month and a half. You know, that's not that wasn't like a super easy decision to do, but it felt easy because of everything we built along the way.

Vanessa: Yeah. I feel like as much as it feels right with each other and we do love each other. I think it's definitely a choice. Like we're actively choosing each other every day. I think that's the difference between just someone you're dating and someone being your life partner is like constantly choosing them.

J.R.: Another two part question. One is, I know this is subjective of course, but what do you think are really good checklist items for the general. Public people to maybe have when looking for or [00:39:00] making the decision of if this is a good like life partner or if this person I'm dating, are they good for the long term?

J.R.: And of course, again, just to say it, everyone's list is subjective, but what do you think are some tried and true? Like really the truths of, okay these are actually what I think, or what you two think are important.

Hazi: I would say you would have to know yourself to a certain extent in order to know who is a good partner for you. Yeah, it's extremely subjective and because it's so subjective, that's why you need to know yourself.

Hazi: So like it's identifying like what your core values are in life. If your core values like maybe religion or family as well it's gonna be a multitude of things, but let's say it's religion and family and the person you date, they can be, you know, the most beautiful person you ever met, great personality and everything.

Hazi: But if you don't align on the core value of religion and maybe like your family don't get along or they don't get along with your family with, it's never gonna work.

Hazi: I believe everyone has a capacity to be kind. Everyone has a capacity to be respectful, to be beautiful, to be great in a relationship, [00:40:00] but not everyone has a capacity to align on your core values. We're all raised so differently and you know, 20 years and like 30 years of your core values, and you can't just suddenly switch for that person and it feels right for them either.

Hazi: I would say that's not fair to both people. 'Cause one is compromising who they are and like what they value for the other person. And I think that takes away from the entire relationship in general. 

J.R.: I remember my next question, which was thoughts on the honeymoon phase. And so I've talked about this with other guests as well and I think everyone has a different conception of it. Right. And on a previous episode I talked with someone about it where it's I think this is a stereotype, but I think younger people who don't have a lot of experience with love will think that when the honeymoon phase is over and the cocaine wears off because it's all just hormones, right?

J.R.: People, the toxic. The toxic way to look at it is, okay, I don't love this person anymore. This relationship is done right? But obviously anyone who's been [00:41:00] in a long-term relationship knows that those feelings come and go, but it's the decision to choose like what you guys are saying before, which is important.

J.R.: And then the next part of that is like honeymoon phase can vary drastically between couples. I once heard about a study that said the honeymoon phase is around two years, give or take for each person. But once you pass that threshold, now this is my own philosophy, which is, that's when it's game on for me.

J.R.: Because anyone can be in a relationship when you have cocaine brain and you just love this person because of no reason. But once it's gone, now it's like, okay, game on now. This is where the real relationship begins. Hope that's not a leading question, but what are your general thoughts on like the honeymoon phase?

J.R.: Because you're a couple, so

Vanessa: I like that a lot. 

Hazi: Yeah 

Vanessa: that's so funny. I feel like so this is both of our, like first long-term relationships and we I think I've experienced this. I don't know if you have, but I think it was right around like the two year marker, like a year and a half mark where that honeymoon [00:42:00] phase was kind of dwindling.

Vanessa: And I was so confused. Like it, I was just, it felt like such an out of body experience. I'm like, wait, do I even wanna be with him anymore? What is going on? Why aren't we doing this? Why is it, why doesn't it feel like X, Y, and Z? And, I think that's where you start to look inward and then that's when the act of choosing of the person like turns on.

Vanessa: And yeah, I totally agree. That's where our relationship, I feel like really started was at that two year mark because you kind of have to create those feelings from your own self and choose that person. So that's really interesting you said that because I'm like, wait, that's exactly how I felt.

J.R.: Okay. Yeah, I can relate to that. 

Vanessa: Okay. Phew. 

Hazi: I remember when I first being like annoyed of her sometimes, you know, that's just, sorry. But I always say honestly, this is just gonna pass. It's not like she's gonna annoy me every single day for this. And then I talk about, I'm like, Hey, could you just not say [00:43:00] that?

Hazi: Or something, you know, it's, it's, I'd say the honeymoon phase and why it happens. It's because people are so afraid to be vulnerable, which I mean, granted that's fine. It's okay to be afraid to be vulnerable. With us, I'd say it's a little different because we started, really living our lives together. For me, the honey moon phase ended like a while ago.

Hazi: But I don't wanna say that in a mean way because in a sense, like it never ends for me. But no, I understand we both are not the most perfect people in the world. And and that's normal and that's fine. It's understanding like. These imperfections that make us human and experiencing these imperfections with her. That's why I wanna keep moving forward because the honeymoon phase actually ended for me. Maybe that's another threshold. It's oh, the honeymoon phase is over and I want to continue this relationship like.

Hazi: But like in the beginning it was like unrealistic expectations of being flawless and perfect. Like she has her life together. Everything about her is perfect. Everyone loves her. [00:44:00] She loves everyone. But then once that was kind of dwindling down, like the more we got to know each other and I fully saw her as a human being rather than this perfect being.

Hazi: That's where I'm like. Oh, yeah, the honeymoon phase is a real thing. But I wanna keep the ball rolling. Yeah. And, but it wasn't something that I sat there and then thought, okay, it's over now. Time to shift. No it was something that just happened naturally over time. And I think, honestly, this sounds so weird, but once the honeymoon phase ended, it was just so much more fun for me.

Hazi: I was just way more comfortable because I don't have to put on this oh, I'm a perfect person for you all the time. It's kind of an act and because, oh, you accept me for me, oh wait, that's kind of crazy. That's pretty cool.

Hazi: And yeah I'd say honeymoon phase just because it's over, it doesn't mean it ruins the relationship. In fact, I think it enhances the [00:45:00] relationship.

J.R.: It's when the glasses come off of the honeymoon phase, then it's like now we can accept each other as we really are.

J.R.: My next question is roles. Do you guys have roles that you play in this relationship?

J.R.: And then would you advise sort of how to navigate that for other people? Take it as you will. It's a general question.

Vanessa: I am heavily influenced by TikTok, so. Sometimes I really like to feed into heteronormative relationship standard gender roles.

Vanessa: It, yeah, ki it it makes me feel a bit more comfortable and leaning into our own gender roles. And sometimes it's kind of unfair, but I like the fact that I can feel like protected and then I'll like nurture him at home.

Vanessa: I hate that word, but personally for our relationship, I really like how that works. It's not for everybody, but for our relationship, I would say it works.

Hazi: I'd [00:46:00] say I, I think it goes back to the core values thing because it's like understanding like how much of these roles are important to you? And like for both of us I remember we had a conversation about this I think a year into our relationship or a year and a half. But we were actually talking about like our roles in our relationship and what do we value?

Hazi: Oh, I would like you to do X, Y, z, like in the normal relationship, but honestly if you do A, B, C, that's fine too. Right? We actually talked about it in detail, what we would like from our roles. It wasn't just expected. We actually set the expectations for each other, and I think that helped us a ton.

Hazi: And I do think like different roles for different people will function just as great. I think the most important thing, set the expectations for the roles in your relationship.

Hazi: I think that helps the transition into being more serious, be a lot smoother. Because if I just was kind of expecting her to do A, B, C, and then she wasn't doing A, B, C, and then I would get upset like that, that would put a damper in our relationship [00:47:00] and then I would repress it.

Hazi: Like, why is she not doing it? Does it mean she doesn't love me? You know what I mean? So just setting those expectations just helps tremendously in any way. 

Vanessa: What I'm getting from this is, yeah, it's not so much about the rules themselves, it's just stating what you need and your partner following through for you.

Vanessa: I think that's that is what makes a relationship work. 

J.R.: So it's basically, and I think this is common for any healthy relationship, is communicating expectations, right? Because everyone's selection of roles between partners, there's a little word. Yeah. Everyone's selection of roles or responsibilities or whatever between two people can vary drastically.

J.R.: We can make assumptions on like heteronormative roles of guys will take out the trash and girls will cook, or whatever, right? Whatever the roles are. But I think like what your guys are saying, as long as you communicate what the expectations are on both sides, that's really the key.

J.R.: My next question is. I put in quotes, it's, can you elaborate on the idea of [00:48:00] both comfortable and ambitious in our relationship? Maybe it's kind of inherent, but would you guys like to elaborate on that? 

Hazi: People, when you get in a really loving relationship especially, and that's great, like you're in love and that's great. But I do see ambition kind of die down sometimes because you've already, you found the love of your life and everything's great, sunshine and rainbows.

Hazi: And that happened to us actually. So when we started like spending way more time together, we both talked about this. Both of our ambition died down. Like she was posting less. I was like not, you know, reaching out as much or working as hard. I wasn't in school yet too. So we were both like really comfortable and like barely working.

Hazi: Oh man, like I already fell in love my life, everything's fine. That mindset, while it's nice at, in the time because we're in our like kind of lovey-dovey stage.

Hazi: Eventually it builds resentment towards each other too. Because then it's oh, I became so comfortable because of you. I didn't get to get the career I wanted and work as hard as I should have. And what I've seen is people [00:49:00] blame the other person, blame the partner. Because technically Yeah, it's their fault for making you feel so comfortable, right? Because you're in love.

Hazi: But it's like being realistic with that sentiment. Okay I love you, but we should both like also work on our own careers. And that's where we started to talk about more about our independence. 'cause it got to a point, we were kind of a little, you know, codependent on each other, like extremely.

Hazi: So in this case, we started talking about okay. We know that when we're together 24 7, we have a hard time being ambitious.

Hazi: We have a hard time wanting to build our careers, so why don't we do this? And then we created a plan in order to like actually dedicate time to our careers and like building ourselves. The way we phrase it Hey, if we, if we grind now, we, you know, we're ambitious right now. We can be as comfortable as we want when we're older, you know?

Hazi: We can have a balance of both. It's not like we're grinding away every single day, 24 7. And it's just like communicating that though. Because if we never talked about it, we both would've been like, kind of maybe resenting our relationship in the back of our [00:50:00] heads as time went on.

Vanessa: There was a point where we ended up like creating a schedule so that there was time designated away from each other and time together. Just so we could get certain things done and grow our careers and ourselves as people because yeah, when you're in a relationship 24 7 and it kind of like messes with your brain a little bit. 

J.R.: Was there a catalyst or a turning point or something that happened that flipped the switch of okay, we need to reignite our ambition and make something happen?

J.R.: Because I think a lot of people can understandably fall into that trap of what you're saying of getting comfortable. So was there something that happened? And then the second part is what advice would you give to encourage ambition on both ends? 

Vanessa: I think we were just spending so much time together and not working on ourselves together. Like he said, we were just in our unemployment era and just hanging out every day. I hate to use the word, but like [00:51:00] couch potatoes on. Yeah. And, but it was like pure, what is the word? 

Hazi: Yeah. I think there pure comfort in our relationship and while comfort is comforting and it's nice. Yeah, too much of it can be bad. And I think for me what kind of flipped the switch was like realizing hmm, not as much money as coming in as I'm used to.

Vanessa: Oh yeah, 

Hazi: yeah. And also the 

J.R.: wallet. 

Hazi: Yeah. Yeah. Actually, and I'm noticing like, oh, I'm losing a li a little more muscle mat, or have less muscle mat than usual. You know, it was noticing like physical differences and you know, mo financial differences like that was like, okay, what's going on? And. I started talking, I could have kept that to myself because like I, I would be very insecure about that.

Hazi: And I honestly, I was insecure about that at the time. But then I was just honest with her okay, honestly, like I don't like the way like, oh my life is going right now. How can we improve this? Yeah. And that's something that at least has shown me that I've grown. 'cause normally, like I would never be honest about my insecurity and I'd just be like, dang, I just gotta end this relationship 'cause that's the only [00:52:00] way I can improve.

Hazi: Right. But at just being honest with her, we made a plan like, oh, that was great. What a great feeling that was. But yeah, I definitely noticing the financial and physical differences for me was kind of the switch.

J.R.: Alright, I wanna shift gears a little bit. And now you mentioned traveling and being recognized and how it has affected you both. Would you like to elaborate on that idea? 

Hazi: I think that's the biggest thing. It's something we've talked about too at least mostly for her. Not necessarily for kind of, for me too. 'cause I'm kind of involved on her content creation, like in her videos.

Hazi: It's cool to see her recognize. I'm like, whoa, this is crazy. She gets recognized like she got recognized here at Thailand. I'm like, what? Oh my god, this is crazy. But it's also realizing like. Oh, you kind of have to be on your best appearance or like your best behavior 24 7.

Hazi: It's literally happened to us where we were like kind of arguing, you know, it wasn't like a real fight, but like we were kind of both upset walking in a mall. And then randomly [00:53:00] someone's like, are you love Nassa? And we're like, damn. And then we're like, possibly. Yeah. And it made me realize wow, I wonder.

Hazi: 'cause you know, she's not an A-list celebrity or anything like that too, but it's just like, wow. Imagine their lives, like they have no sense of privacy. And like that to us and you know, she's nowhere near that level. Right. No offense baby, but like, I look, but it's just still.

Hazi: I mean, I would like love to hear her version of it too, but for, just from my perspective, it's just like, dang, yeah, you really just don't have an opportunity to like kind of be upset with me in public or be let loose a little bit with your emotions, right? And not extremely, but you know, just a little bit to like decompress.

Hazi: You have to wait until you're at home because you never know what you're watching. Right? 

Vanessa: Yeah. It's taught me to keep our problems at home. But I would say my experience with getting recognized has been really nice and really encouraging because I've [00:54:00] had some of my fans just come up to me and then tell me how much I've, like, how much of an effect I've had on their life.

Vanessa: And I am like not, it's just crazy to me because my content is just like funny and quick and like slice of life type of content. Like it's very just like my life. And so it's really, really comforting and amazing to meet people where they have this parasocial relationship with me.

Vanessa: And just knowing I have that effect has really helped me in my content too. 'Cause I think I mentioned the last time on we talked that I was really struggling with content and I still struggle. I think as like a TikToker, making content like every single day is really, really hard.

Vanessa: Just in terms of being creative. Like I have to think of a new idea every 24 hours. And so just hearing how much I've affected them is so [00:55:00] amazing. I have the best fans. Like they're so amazing and they're funny too, so that's cool.

J.R.: I don't know if I mentioned this when we were talking on your episode, Vanessa, but that'll happen sometimes with blessing and I, when we're out in the public and people will ask us for photos and 

Vanessa: Oh, so cool. 

J.R.: And sometimes, yeah, and sometimes when I'm by myself and I'm very like, I don't usually like talking to people in public, but then I've had a few instances where I'm like, at the end of the interaction I'm like, damn, I seem like a jerk or something.

J.R.: 'cause I'm just so like, yeah, oh, okay, sure. Whatever. So now I'm like, when someone comes up to me like, Hey, are you, and I'm like, oh yeah, like I have to put on this sort of, and so for me it's as an introvert, it's kind of draining that I know how to be on certain times.

J.R.: But I mean, it's a, it's like a humbling privilege to be able to be recognized and oh, I really like your content. Oh, thank you so much. I appreciate it. And then all this other stuff.

J.R.: I wish I was more like always on and it's I know we're in a public space, but I don't know for you guys, but like, whenever we go out and I hear Tagalog being spoken, I'm like, there's like a [00:56:00] 50 50 chance someone's gonna recognize for a eye.

J.R.: And so I almost have this weird visceral response hearing Tagalog in public. Oh. Like, gosh, shit, someone, and I'm not, I'm not ready to like talk to anyone right now. I'm just like, yeah, I'm just trying to live my life. And you know what? Hang out with my girlfriend. Yeah. But so I totally feel it.

Vanessa: Oh my gosh, I totally get that. Like you have to be on 24 7 just in case. 

J.R.: Just in case. Just in case. Yeah. You don't wanna you don't wanna be a jerk and break the facade of like Yeah, exactly. Because you know, they have a conception of you obviously, but it's you don't wanna be mean, and that sounds like, oh yeah, I met her in person.

J.R.: She's such a jerk. You know? 

Hazi: I like that you like how you said it is definitely a privilege to have this experience and it is amazing regardless. It's just you know, sometimes those small moments where like us are like, bad timing crap. Yeah. But it is sweet. It is still overall, we've never had a negative experience with it.

Hazi: Yeah. So, and I'm sure you could relate to that. It's always positive, but it's just yeah. Some situations you're like, [00:57:00] oh.

J.R.: So I'll pivot a little bit, but we've been talking a lot about relationships and one of my last few questions was like what are the, what are some strong indicators of a successful relationship?

J.R.: I don't wanna repeat too much 'cause you guys have said a lot of good things about communication, the honeymoon phase and like the whole approaching it as a business has helped your relationship. And then now you're working as a couple and then in the public sphere. But is there anything that you think we left out about strong indicators of a successful relationship?

J.R.: I think after a certain amount of time, like just the willingness to be open with each other is probably the most key thing because again, you can communicate, you can be the most effective communicator about everything. If you're not willing to open up about, you know, certain things, especially things you're insecure about, is the biggest thing, something I've learned.

Hazi: Insecurity tends to be like one of the biggest silent killers of all relationships. And it can take different shapes, different forms, like it doesn't come off as insecurity, but it is stemming from in security. So a lot of people don't share their [00:58:00] insecurities, so then they like kind of repress it. They start overthinking it.

Hazi: They think like the partner doesn't like them for their insecurities too, and that can just not be the case at all. So definitely the willingness to be open. And not even honest to the other person, but being honest with yourself. Because so many instances, especially in my life, like I was not honest with myself, like I was not realistic with myself.

Hazi: Then I would let like these insecurities kind of overtake me and they're blame myself for absolutely everything possible. For everyone's insecurities, if you can be open and honest with the other person, and if they're accepting of it as well. That's a super strong indicator of a future at least long term success relationship. 

J.R.: Alright. I have one last question and this is might be a little bit of pivot. I wanna ask because maybe some people might be thinking like, okay, you guys are working remotely, you guys are both in the influencer industry.

J.R.: The general question is, how does one make a career out of being an influencer or being in the industry? And [00:59:00] I mean, not necessarily looking for like numbers or anything specific mm-hmm. But more just like, how does one build a career where you can support yourself so that where you're at now, where you guys can work overseas and have enough of an income that's comfortable for you guys to live there.

J.R.: Any general thoughts on how to make that work? 

Vanessa: I mean, I think the industry like constantly changes, but I would say in the state we are right now, like I know people with less numbers than me who are making way more than me. Like it, I don't ever think it's necessarily about the views or the amount of followers you have.

Vanessa: Something I've noticed is just creating your own world in your content and marketing that to companies. So I have this girlfriend who works for like a fashion company. They just like resell like vintage pieces and stuff.

Vanessa: And in order to get the company some marketing, they were reaching out to influencers. And they were getting paid like [01:00:00] five to 10 K per video to influencers that had like less than 10 K on TikTok. Which is so crazy but it's because those creators are number one consistent. And number two have content that's like digestible for brands themselves, I would say I kind of struggle with that marketing myself to brands, because I'm a comedic creator. So I don't get numbers like a financial creator would. Like 'cause they can work with Robinhood or Weil and they're gonna. They know money, so they're gonna get paid way more.

Vanessa: Or lifestyle creators, they get paid a lot because they can market like everyday things like makeup or even like hand wipes or disinfecting things. Like they can market anything. And so personally as like a comedic creator, it's kind of hard and you have to be really creative to market yourself to companies that want to use you to sell.

Vanessa: It's funny, I think my [01:01:00] best ad I've ever made was for a sex toy brand. And it's because they gave me so much freedom to create. And so I think just reaching out to brands that align with your type of content. You can make so much money on that. And I would say the creator space is not stable at all.

Vanessa: Like there are months that are so insane and months that I get like nothing coming in. So it's really what you make of it, especially because you're a content creator. You make your schedule. I would just say what I said last time, consistency and now curating your brand so that companies know exactly what they're gonna get if they use you to sell.

Hazi: I'd say it's also understanding, it feels like the market is oversaturated with content creators, so that's why a lot of people kind of don't want to do it. But I'm telling you right now, it is not oversaturated.

Hazi: Definitely more saturated than it's ever been, but [01:02:00] it's just like any new thing. Like when internet first came out, like at first it was like, oh, there's so many YouTubers like in 20 17, 20 18. There's just so many. You can't make a create, no, you can, there's, I know creators or I've seen creators with you know, 10 K, 20 K subscribers making a decent living off of it. And it's very doable.

Hazi: Just because you see so many people doing it does not, in fact, it should mean the opposite. It should mean that you can also do it. If you are maybe not made for the camera, maybe work with someone that is in any way that you think you're good.

Hazi: So for me, I'm good with talking to people. I'm good at negotiating. I worked in sales, I worked in marketing. So I'm like, okay I'll be managers for these people. And it's worked out beautifully for me because I know my skills, I understand my skills. But for other people, they can be editors, they can be videographers.

Hazi: There's just so many avenues that you could take. You have your web designer. There's other avenues you can take in the content creating space.

Hazi: If you're interested, do it. But if you're not interested, don't do it. Because how Vanessa [01:03:00] said. It's so up and down. It's unpredictable. Some months you'll make a lot of money. Other months you won't.

Hazi: So don't quit your day job. If it's going well, keep it going until it's super duper consistent. That's the big thing. I've seen people quit their jobs over content creation and then it takes a turn and then now they're out of a job and out of content creation.

Hazi: Just because you made like a lot of money in two months does not mean you'll make the same amount of money the rest of the year. 

J.R.: Okay. I think one last more of a mechanics question, but how do you approach if you are, let's say you like content and you wanna do it like as an influencer and create content and collab with brands, and that's how I'm assuming most of how people make money, right? How would you advise people approach that?

J.R.: Like you said, if you're in like the finance space, obviously there's more opportunities there or some sort of industry where you can leverage those businesses that have more money to pay compared to whatever else. Do you have any advice on the mechanics of how to generate income as a content creator?

Vanessa: I feel like my [01:04:00] managers gave great advice to me. And I would say in the beginning especially, you should experiment and see what is working because sometimes when you kind of, when you pick a niche and then you try to stick with it, you're boxed in to just like that one thing and that can kind of get, I feel like that can get old.

Vanessa: And I think in this space you have to learn how to adapt to not necessarily what's trending, but what will work? And this is something I'm still learning too, is like how to curate my own content so that it is digestible for brands. But I would say just experimenting. 'cause I was following like a formula for a little bit and then after a while it started getting old.

Vanessa: So then I had to find like a new way to be as successful as I was before. So I think it's hard 'cause it's constantly changing, but I [01:05:00] think yeah just experimenting works the best. Yeah. 

Hazi: I'd say if you wanna like target specific niche and like work with brands directly and like your sole goal is not to like necessarily create concept for yourself and for your audience, but like for a brand, for the brand's audience, you just kind of, there's so many people that are already doing that.

Hazi: Because UGC, it's for the brand, it's not necessarily like for your brand, it's for their brand. So if you wanna make money like fast and or faster than normally you make as a just typical content creator, it's just acknowledging okay, which brand do you wanna work with?

Hazi: Okay. Look at their videos and look at what the person they're using to make these videos, what they're doing. How's their editing style, how do they talk, how do they present the product? And you can kind of like. Semi copy that or and put your own twist on it as well. So that's probably the fastest way you could do it.

Hazi: And, but also be realistic. Are you good on the camera? Can you speak well? And if you're not, how can you learn? How can you like, just be better? You practice, you record almost every [01:06:00] single day. I'd say every single day. 'Cause just, it's gonna, it's gonna pay off once you're able to like really pull off like a good speaking voice and presenting products.

Hazi: And because it takes practice, it's not easy just like picking up a camera and presenting oh, look at this matcha brand. Oh, look how nice it looks. And you have to have like good editing skills. Or maybe you don't need editing skills. Maybe you have a very specific style that works for your advertising.

Hazi: Or works for advertising companies, right? Like Vanessa said, you're gonna need a lot of experimentation before anything takes off. Find a style that works for you, but that can evolve.

Vanessa: That led me to thought. I saw this thing that there's a difference between content creators and influencers.

Vanessa: I would say like a content creator is there because solely for the purpose of making entertaining content. And then there's influencers that are like this entity for brands to work with. And I would say being an influencer is awesome because I mean, you're gonna make a lot of money, but I would consider my own self more of the content creation because I want to build [01:07:00] my personality online.

Vanessa: I love the money part, but I would say the priority is the content itself rather than being an entity for brands to use. 

Hazi: Go into other avenues, like don't just do TikTok, don't just do YouTube.

Hazi: Do all of it if you can. And also if you have experience like writing, if you're a good writer, write an ebook to go along with whatever niche you're in.

Hazi: There's so many avenues. Like what else can you create on top of what you're already creating? And capitalize on that too. That's really the most direct way to make more money off of whatever you're doing already . 

J.R.: Cool. I like that. Lots of solid advice. And like what Vanessa said, it's like the intentionality of what you're trying to do, figuring that out.

J.R.: Any last thoughts that you feel like we haven't covered that you wanna throw out there for the audience?

Hazi: Relationships are hard and no matter how perfect a relationship might seem on camera or on Instagram or whatever, you know, there's always issues that they had to work on to bring these kinds of I guess perfect moments in a [01:08:00] relationship.

Hazi: I would say for people to remember that no relationship is perfect. You are not perfect. I am not perfect. So let's work on these imperfections together. Right. And hopefully we can make a harmonious relationship off of that. 

Vanessa: Exactly. 

J.R.: Yes. Copy paste. Alright I guess this is a impromptu last question, but what's in the future for Hazi and Vanessa? Anything they should look forward to? I know you mentioned that docuseries, but anything else that you guys are up to that you wanna share? 

Hazi: Well, we are thinking of maybe fully moving to Southeast Asia or East Asia.

Hazi: We'll see. We'll see. Your life takes us, but yeah, hope, hope. That's kind of why we're hope. Yeah. That really hope out.

J.R.: Is that a call to action that if your followers are in the area to hit you guys up? 

Hazi: Oh, yeah. De yeah. That'd be fun. Yeah. That'd be super duper fun. We'll see where we end up and we'll kind of make it known. Hey we're in this, we're this country now. But that's probably the biggest thing. But I'm really excited to be in school and, but [01:09:00] I won't be done for another five years. But I'm still excited. Yeah. Excited for that. Yeah. 

Vanessa: Maybe we're gonna get married. 

Hazi: Oh yeah. Yeah. Go. 

Vanessa: Welcome. 

J.R.: Do you guys have, do you guys have a I dunno if this is proprietary, but do you guys have a timeline of when you guys are thinking?

Vanessa: Oh, there, there's a timeline. 

Hazi: Hundred percent is the timeline. Yeah. Funny story. 

Vanessa: Asking.

Hazi: She gave me a deadline of when I need to propose. 

Hazi: She's like, if I don't see a ring on my finger by this date, I don't wanna spoil the date. Right. Yeah, yeah. But by this date then we're done. I'm like, okay. You know what? It's realistic though. Like I. Yeah, it's fair. It's fair. I don't think it was unrealistic. Honestly, when she told me I had a better reaction like that, I'm like, oh, okay. Yeah, sure. Like that's good. It just showed how comfortable and trusting I am in this relationship already. But there's a deadline, so stay tuned for that. I think coming soon, everyone. [01:10:00] 

J.R.: Sweet. Cool. Awesome. All right, then last, last thing, gratitude. We always end with gratitude.

J.R.: Hazi, Vanessa. What are you guys grateful for? 

Vanessa: I'm grateful for today and this podcast, I was actually really anxious about doing it today. I just always am, but it always ends up being such an amazing time, so I'm very thankful for the conversation today. It was really fun. 

Hazi: Honestly. Yeah even though like I love talking and especially like in a podcast setting, it's so fun.

Hazi: I still get a little nervous and anxious before it. Like I still, yeah. So honestly, you're doing an amazing job. I love the ending. I know. This is so cool. I love ending with gratitude because there's so much in life to be thankful for. Like, yeah, life is really crazy. It's so much, so many things are going on right now, but hey, at least we're still alive.

Hazi: We're, we still have each other and we can still do this podcast, so that's great. I just love sharing any experiences that can help others as well. So thank you for setting this up. Really appreciate it. 

J.R.: Thank you. I really appreciate that guys. Thank you so much. Alright, [01:11:00] so before we stop the recording, I'll do my final sign off to the audience.

J.R.: So thank you guys for being here. I really appreciate it. Be sure to like, follow, subscribe, follow Vanessa and Hazi and their socials as well. Leave us love in the comments. Leave us five stars and whatever platform you're listening to, all that good jazz. And reminder to be kind to other people, especially yourself.

J.R.: And remember that you can always learn something from someone if you take the time to listen. So thank you guys for being here. 

Hazi: Thank you. Woo.