I SPENT MY

I SPENT MY

SUMMER

RUNNING AN

ILLEGAL

BUSINESS By Taylor Ball

Let me start by saying, no, I did not sell drugs. No, I didn’t start a crime ring. Nor did I dabble in prostitution. As far as illegal startups go, this business looked more like a goody-two-shoes who got caught stealing a tube of cheap lipstick than a hardened criminal. I’ll spare the suspense: I started an electric scooter tour company in Vancouver. I know, it feels like clickbait. Nonetheless, e-scooters are technically “not legal” under the Motor Vehicle

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TAYLOR BALL

Act as they don’t have the pedals needed to be considered an e-bike. So electric scooters (and electrics skateboards for that matter) are illegal by default. I come from a family of entrepreneurs. Both my parents are Queen’s Commerce alumni and have a deep, relentless desire to innovate. Inspired by the popularity of low-rise jeans in the early 2000s and one too many plumber butt sightings, my mom started an underwear

line with sassy sayings on the backs of thongs. It was appropriately titled, “SmartAss” and it became my go-to holiday gift for all my elementary school teachers. During university, my dad founded a t-shirt company, organized spring break vacations, and monetized the Ski Club to pay for his studies. Years later, he is the co-founder and Co-CEO of a FTSE 250 company. I never had any doubt that one day I would start my own business; however, I saw it as something in the far future. After returning home from a semester studying in Paris, I knew this was the summer to finally do it. Paris was overrun with electric scooters and as long as you could handle the crazy traffic, it was the best way to see the city. Whenever friends came to visit, I would immediately take them on an e-scooter tour. It was more interesting than a bus tour and faster than walking. Often when people go abroad, they fall in love and never come back. My story is not your typical Parisian romance, I fell in love with the idea of electric scooters and brought them home to meet the family. Inspired and supported by my parents, I decided to start my own electric scooter tour company in Vancouver - by-laws be damned! It may come as surprise, but I am, through and through, a goody-two-shoes. I am risk-averse. I don’t lie. I don’t even skip class - ever. Starting an illegal business went against every fibre in my body. But, my dad encouraged me. You know how some parents live vicariously through their kids’ sporting events? Well, my dad does it with business ventures. One day, my family was chatting about career aspirations over dinner. Dad, unprompted, said “I want you to be happy. I don’t care what you do as long as one of you starts a unicorn”. For anyone who doesn’t receive breakfast updates about the state of the economy, a unicorn is a privately held company worth a billion dollars. Ever the optimist, he adds “I figure with you three gals, I have a one-in-three chance.” I’m pretty sure he failed statistics.

In Commerce, in addition to statistics, we are taught how to theoretically market a product; actually doing that is a whole other story. The single most difficult part of the summer was acquiring customers. A close second was waking up each morning in fear of my imminent arrest. Each sale had to be won. On good days, I made a week’s worth of wages in just four hours. On slow days, I made nothing. I used social media marketing, got listed as an Airbnb experience, and did good old fashion, in-person sales. I pitched my business to every hotel concierge in downtown Vancouver and when that didn’t work, I set up shop in the downtown core and started pitching the idea to anyone who would listen. I can’t imagine a better crash course in sales, marketing and public relations. When I was asked about the legality of this endeavour, I learned to speak politics. There are marijuana dispensaries on almost every corner in Vancouver and yet, up until a few months ago, there was only one legal dispensary in all of British Columbia. The city is unable to keep up with changes in legislation and it’s the same with technology advancements. I figured, if they can get away with it, why can’t I? Moms everywhere are lecturing me about not jumping off of bridges. When you’re doing something that goes against the norm, everyone wants to offer advice. It was often given with good intentions, but it slowly ate away at my self-confidence. People would often project their own limiting beliefs onto me. I quickly learned to filter out these personal biases that were thinly veiled as feedback. I finished the summer with a heavy wallet and a weight off my shoulders. I did it! Yes, there is always room for improvement. But this, in its own right was an enormous success. I led groups from more than 10 different countries and achieved perfect 5-star reviews, all without being arrested! One of my last tours was with a family from French Polynesia and I led the tour in French. My time in Paris truly came full circle.