Alumni Spotlight Series: Eric Bleim & George Collister

Friends since Kindergarten at Mulgrave, Eric Bleim and George Collister are applying their education and experience to the launch of a barbecue cleaning service this summer in Vancouver: Vancouver BBQ Boys. With Eric’s involvement on Queen’s University’s Varsity Rugby team, George’s participation with Queen’s Student Government Judicial Committee, and both being awarded the Dean’s List Award for academic success, it’s not at all surprising to see that this ambitious duo has found the capacity to take on such an entrepreneurial challenge. If you have a greasy barbecue, we suggest you keep reading!

Q&A

ERIC

& GEORGE Mulgrave School Class of 2012 | Interviewed by Michelle Noble | April 2015

It is great to be in touch with both of you again and hear how well you are doing at Queen’s University. What have been some of your biggest accomplishments to date at a post-secondary level?

GEORGE: I’ve been so fortunate to attend Queen’s and have had an amazing experience so far. One of my proudest achievements is being appointed chair of the school’s Judicial Committee. The Judicial Committee issues sanctions to students for breaches of the school’s Code of Conduct and fits in very well with my career goals.

ERIC: One of my greatest accomplishments was being awarded Most Valuable Player of Queen’s

second Varsity Rugby team. Since I started playing rugby in Grade 5 at Mulgrave, I have always dreamed of playing rugby at a university level. I am so fortunate to have had great coaches, Mr. Jones and Mr. Ronald-Jones, during my time at Mulgrave; they pushed me to achieve my goal of playing a university level varsity sport.

What are your plans for this summer?

GEORGE: We’re very excited for this summer.

I’ll be spending a lot of time studying for the LSAT test I am taking in June. I also plan on going camping a few times with friends at Cat Lake in Squamish, as we typically do every summer.

But the most exciting thing we’ll be doing this

summer is starting a barbeque cleaning business together.

ERIC: Aside from making barbeques sparkle, I will be working on finding an interesting, current, economic issue for my fourth-year seminar paper.You will also be able to find me in the gym and on the running track in preparation for next year’s rugby season.

What drove you, Eric and George, to start a barbecue cleaning and repairs service? How did you identify a need for this?

GEORGE: After multiple summers of service industry and office internships, we found we weren’t experiencing challenging or rewarding work. We wanted to apply our education in economics to the real world. We also have to give credit to Eric’s uncle Steve, a long-time role model for both of us, who has always embodied an entrepreneurial spirit. While playing a round of golf last summer, he pushed us to use our time at university to take some risks and see what we were capable of doing.

Have you always had an entrepreneurial spirit?

GEORGE: This interest in being entrepreneurs is relatively new, but I think we’ve had the skills necessary to succeed for some time. Like Dan Webb said so well in his Spotlight Series, “Sacrifice or regret.” This is something both of us have always recognised, whether in high level sports or academics; put in the work now or regret it later.

How do you plan on marketing your business?

ERIC: We will have a presence on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, where we will roll out promotional giveaways throughout the summer.

Word of mouth will also play a major role in securing new customers each week. And of course, the best way to help our business grow is to provide each customer with great service and a spotless barbecue.

“The most exciting thing we’ll be doing this summer is starting a barbeque cleaning business together.”

ERIC: Last summer we loved hosting BBQs with friends, and by September, ended up with very greasy barbecues. We realised that dirty barbeques are likely a common problem in Vancouver and after speaking to a number of families on the North Shore, we found there was a demand for this service.

Where can people go to learn more about your rates and services?

People can visit our website, www.vancouverbbqboys.com

We need to know… What’s your favourite thing to cook on the BBQ? GEORGE: So many favourites, it’s hard to pick one, but probably slow cooked pork shoulder. I love pulled pork with BBQ sauce topped with mayo-coleslaw on a pretzel bun.

ERIC: One of my favourite meals in the summer is a grilled New York strip steak with bright red grilled peppers.

What are your goals in starting this business?

ERIC: First and foremost, we want our business to be successful and hope it will help offset some of the cost of tuition and other school expenses. We also want to use this business to gain valuable work experience and skills that we continued on next page...

ABOVE PHOTO: Kevin Catliff, Eric Bleim, George Collister at Mulgrave graduation

LEFT: Vancouver BBQ Boys logo

RIGHT: Eric on the Queen’s Varsity Rugby Team

can use going forward.

GEORGE: We really want to challenge ourselves. Cleaning barbeques isn’t a technical or glamorous business, but it will give us a chance to see if we can market and run our own service. Bottom line: our goal is to clean as many barbeques as possible.

When you were at Mulgrave, did you ever imagine starting a business together?

ERIC: From a very young age, we always had somewhat of a pipe dream of running a business together, but never did we think that dream would come to fruition at this point in our lives.

We realise that this business venture is relatively small, but hopefully, it is one step closer to working together at the next level.

GEORGE: While at Mulgrave, we were both pushed to explore our potential; there were so many opportunities that allowed us to work outside of our comfort zone. Whether at continued on next page...

Outdoor School, Zoom, in Athletics or Student Action Council, we were required to take risks – and those skills will definitely come in handy from a business standpoint.

What are both of your long-term ambitions?

GEORGE: That’s difficult to say exactly. The immediate goal is to attend Law School after finishing my undergraduate degree. Beyond that, all I know is I would love to start my career in Vancouver. (Living through a few Ontario winters really builds an appreciation for the city, rain and all.)

What makes you two great business partners?

GEORGE: Eric and I have known each other since Kindergarten. We’re not afraid to say no or disagree with each other. Having the confidence to be honest with one another is very rare in a partnership. This, coupled with the fact that we don’t want to let the other down, means we’ll always work as hard as we can.

“While at Mulgrave, we were both pushed to explore our potential; ERIC: I think our friendship is the greatest reason why we there were so many make good business partners.

We enjoy spending time opportunities that together, which is important as allowed us to work we will be seeing a lot of each outside of our comfort other this summer.

Eric Bleim & George Collister zone.”

ERIC: I plan on pursuing a graduate degree in Economics after graduation and, like George has mentioned, I intend to be working in beautiful British Columbia in the foreseeable future.

April 2015