We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Raphael Jones. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Raphael below.

Alright, Raphael thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry

Virality! People are placing going viral over producing great content. If you look at where we are at in this day and age, we get a lot of information from social media. Social media has it’s own set of rules dictating what is shown to followers an non-followers alike. It is always a rush to have breaking news, but that is not what keeps you relevant long term. You end up chasing the next moment that may never come because many people out there like to put people, places, and things in “boxes.” Case in point, many people have their favorite Youtuber, actor/actress, radio personality etc.; but if they were to do something out of “character” to get a viral moment they risk alienating their consumer base. Not knocking those who do go viral but, then what after? What is your business plan for the future? What is your meat & potatoes? What keeps people coming back to see you? For us it is our honesty and willing to talk with people who are in all aspects of the cannabis industry. We have watched a lot of brands chase viral moments on social media and end up burning out or getting their pages taken down due to violating Terms of Service. At Hi Neighbor we are taking our time building our brand and making sure we are a trusted source of information. In the past this allowed us to do some really cool interviews along with giving us an opportunity to work with business people in the cannabis community and other businesses not involved with cannabis.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

This journey started years ago when I realized getting natural medicine for my wife April was going to be an insurmountable task back in 2018. Illinois was just getting into green rush, so we thought we could have a decent selection and the protection of the law as a lot of employers at the time still frowned upon cannabis. We went to the newly rebranded Beyond/Hello (former Green Solution) in Sauget IL to pick up some stuff from the medical side and was still astounded by the amount we had to pay for her medicine. We walked away with a small amount and paid way too much. So after we left with our tails between our legs, I asked April if I i could set a side $500 and to start our little grow. So I of course went to Youtube university and studied tons of videos and forums to make sure I had a solid understanding of how to grow. After the first amazing harvest, We decided to continue because the quality and selection was better as we could look for certain qualities we liked. As we continued to grow we noticed on the Illinois side it was super hush hush about growing. In 2022 we decided to change that and start talking about our experiences growing and trying to meet more people in the cannabis community. As a husband and wife team we like to look at it from both sides of the coin. From the consumer side we wanted to talk about our experiences buying products, their effectiveness, and value. From the growing stand point we love to see more home gardens, craft grows, and standard large scale cultivators as each has their own place in the community. We have met many amazing people over the years and got chances to interview them as well. Currently Hi Neighbor is in the process of growing. We made it a point to not chase the hype or sensationalism of people trying to go viral. We take the approach of a giant neighborhood. We are welcoming of everyone that is about pushing the positive in the cannabis community. Recently we were one of the sponsors of the Midwest Grower’s Symposium, where we raffled off a 5×10 AC Infinity tent. Our goal was to give a grower a chance to get a massive $400 tent for cheap. We achieved that goal and was able to network with clients, vendors, and other sponsors of the event. Being able to meet so many new and old followers of us on Youtube/Twitch/Instagram was a amazing. We answered so many questions about the local politics, laws, and just growing.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Our following on social media is pretty small as this path started as a hobby that we wanted to do in our free time to stay current with laws, growing tech, products, and industry standards. When we started the Hi Neighbor page on Instagram we didn’t expect to take off really fast because we were not in the business of selling “flower” or hosting events. We started following some of the local dispensaries and then looked at who liked their posted content along with looking at the comments. Yes there is a lot of animosity between craft/legacy growers and the “legal” market. We use “legal” in quotes because through research and talking to people we learned that the process of getting a legal dispensary comes with a lot of political wrangling. The legal market made it a crucial process of picking up legacy growers and using them to grow their products because they struggled to put out quality products. After following some of the people we found on posts we found more and more local events we could attend. We rushed and made our first set of shirts to wear at a cannabis expo in St. Charles MO. We walked in the building and started networking. Being a start up we were overlooked left and right but you cannot stop at no from one person, move on to the next one. We have a small yet consistent following.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Being honest. Plain and simple. If we don’t have time, don’t lie and say you have the time. It is the one commodity we never have enough of and can never get back. You will lose clients, friends, and money costing someone their time. We do our best to fit people in with busy schedules. We have our own schedules to balance along with family life, meeting with clients, recording videos, taking photos, going to events, and still having time to put it all together. It can be overwhelming at times but having a place to keep all of that organized is crucial to success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.HiNeighbor.org
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/618_hi_neighbor
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@hineighbor618
• Other: HiNeighbor.org/shopping-district
  https://hineighbor.creator-spring.com/

Image Credits

Hi Neighbor