Douglas magazine April/May 2016

48

Bamberton’s next chapter?

Steelhead strives to bring LNG to the island

56

the real cost of shopliftingUHow G L to D O business protect your 2016

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Contents

Apr/May 2016

departments 6 From the Editor 9 In the Know

Construction is on the rise in Victoria, Change.org evolves, and a UVic grad takes us undersea with interactive live dives

15 People in Business

The who, what and where of the business scene

18 Take Three

Power up your productivity

22

22 THE BIG IDEA

A Nanaimo firm designs remotely operated vehicles that go where no human or machine has gone before

Robots in the Real World

By andrew findlay

Nanaimo firm Inuktun is turning sci-fi ideas into reality.

66 Last Page

Bikes mean business in the Capital Region

Features

48 LNG:

Bamberton’s Next Chapter?

Can Steelhead LNG’s proposal overcome a global LNG glut, eco concerns and Bamberton’s so-called business curse?

25 10 to Watch Winners

By Keith Norbury

56 Shoplifting: You Don’t Have to Be a Victim

Douglas celebrates the Island’s top new companies with our 7th Annual 10 to Watch Awards.

Douglas talks to concerned merchants struggling to find solutions to a chronic problem.

By Kerry Slavens, Athena Mckenzie and Adrienne Dyer

By Carolyn Heiman

4 Douglas

by Athena McKenizie

INTEL

[Business Intelligence]

61

Entrepreneur

The reverse trade mission that drew investors from six cities by Peter Elkins

62 Sales and Marketing Why a change in attitude means stronger sales

by Mike wicks

64 Digital Life

Getting ROI from your social media efforts by david alexander

Follow us

“I am proud to serve my clients and community by incorporating public safety into our local heritage structures, while honouring their historic and aesthetic appeal.�

Patricia Mallon, AScT Senior Structural Technologist, Victoria Office

Ogden Point Breakwater Railings Greater Victoria Harbour Authority Victoria City Hall Seismic Upgrade City of Victoria Margaret Jenkins, South Park, and Willows Elementary School Seismic Upgrades Greater Victoria School District No. 61

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Jeffrey Bosdet/Douglas Magazine

From the Editor

The right stuff to succeed at entrepreneurship (it’s not what you’d think)

In the business media, we often put a lot of focus on those genius entrepreneurs who seem to take their companies from zero to 200 without even breaking a sweat. “Tons of talent, real genius,” the media proclaims. Everyone is excited by the idea of discovering the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk.

But is genius (or talent, at the very least) the strongest active ingredient in determining who will succeed and who won’t? American psychologist and TED alumni Dr. Angela Duckworth, a woman with an undisputed genius ranking, has spent seven years studying that very question at Duckworth Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. She found that the singlemost important trait of high-achieving individuals is actually grit. And that’s the central theme of her new book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.

So what exactly is grit? According to Duckworth, grit is the ability to sustain interest in and effort toward long-term goals. Grit, she says, is also strongly tied to self-control — that ability to voluntarily manage emotional and attention impulses and behaviour when faced with temptations or diversions (“Look, a squirrel!”). It’s focus, tenacity, stick-to-it-ness.

Thinking of successful people I know, I’d have to say this sums up a number of them very well. Most of them, when engaged in their projects or businesses, are like dogs with bones — unstoppable. And while our judges — Dr. ANGELA DUCKWORTH for Douglas magazine’s 7th annual 10 to Watch Awards may not have read Duckworth’s book, it’s no surprise that when they picked the winners, they didn’t just look for entrepreneurs with the most passion or the biggest idea; they also looked for those who had the perseverance to carry it through. In a word, grit.

Interestingly, Duckworth’s studies show that raw talent may hamper success. “That was surprising,” she notes, “because rationally speaking, if you’re good at things, one would think that you would invest more time in them. You’re basically getting more return on your investment per hour than someone who’s struggling. We’ve found that’s not necessarily true.”

Instead, it appears many talented people reach their threshold of success easily and then they settle, whereas those who know they aren’t naturally talented work harder to achieve their goals and may, in fact, surpass their more gifted counterparts.

My takeaway is that a success threshold — or ceiling — is mostly psychological. Those who achieve the highest levels of success have learned to bust through the artificial barriers in their minds. It’s that kind of grit that fuels the Olympics, where sometimes the underdog who trains hardest moves past the naturally talented reigning champion in a burst of speed no one expected.

So question the limits of what you think is possible or reasonable. Go with grit.

“Woody Allen once quipped that 80 percent of success in life is just showing up. Well, it looks like grit is one thing that determines who shows up.”

— Kerry Slavens kslavens@pageonepublishing.ca

6 Douglas

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Publishers Lise Gyorkos, Georgina Camilleri

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Editor-in-chief Kerry Slavens

Creative & Technical Manager Jeffrey Bosdet

Production Manager Jennifer Kühtz

Editorial Designer Jo-Ann Loro

Associate Editor Athena McKenzie Editorial Assistant Anneke Feuermann contributing Designer Janice Hildybrant

Contributing Writers David Alexander, Adrienne Dyer, Andrew Findlay, Peter Elkins, Carolyn Heiman, Keith Norbury, Mike Wicks

PROOFREADER Vivian Sinclair

Contributing Photographers Jeffrey Bosdet, Simon DesRochers, Dirk Heydemann, Joshua Lawrence

One to watch….

Hotel Zed expands to Kelowna!

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Contributing Agencies Thinkstock pp. 48, 56, 59, 62

Advertising Representatives Vicki Clark, Lory Couroux, Cynthia Hanischuk, Michelle Okawara

general inquiries info@douglasmagazine.com

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Letters to the editor letters@douglasmagazine.com

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Printed in Canada, by Transcontinental Printing Ideas and opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of Page One Publishing Inc. or its affiliates; no official endorsement should be inferred. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for the contents of any advertisement and any and all representations or warranties made in such advertising are those of the advertiser and not the publisher. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, in all or part, in any form — printed or electronic — without the express written permission of the publisher.

The publisher cannot be held responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and photographs.

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[In the Know ]

“The attraction of climbing is finding that balance between power and finesse — this fine line is what makes it such a challenging and demanding sport, both mentally and physically. The ability to find this delicate balance transfers directly into the ‘real world.’ It builds confidence in decision making and in developing business and personal relationships.”

jeffrey bosdet/Douglas Magazine

— Climber Alexandra Black

 CragX staff member Alexandra Black at the new climbing centre in downtown Victoria.

Opened in late November, the facility was designed to recreate the sense of vastness experienced when one is climbing outdoors.

Douglas 9

jeffrey bosdet/Douglas Magazine

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Cranes in action at the Belleville ferry terminal, enabling long-awaited improvements, starting with repairs to the wharves used by the MV Coho ferry. The $17.4-million project is being cost-shared by the Province, the Black Ball Ferry Line (MV Coho) and Clipper Navigation.

A sign of progress Construction in Victoria is booming — and the cranes dotting the city’s downtown serve as visual confirmation.

Along with major upgrades to the Coho and Clipper ferry terminals, there are close to 1,000 condos and rental units currently under construction.

Of the 21 active commercial and condo construction projects underway in Victoria, notable projects include: 960 Yates Street 17-storey condo with ground floor commercial space.

Construction value $25,000,000 819 Yates Street New residential building with 209 rental units and main floor commercial. Construction value $25,000,000

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For the first half of 2015, Victoria employment was 10.9 per cent higher for the same period in 2014. Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA) members report difficulty finding the skilled labour to keep up with demand.

the evolution of change.org YYJ

T

he Victoria satellite office of San Francisco-based Change.org has experienced an impressive trajectory since opening in 2014, more than tripling in size — with plans to continue hiring in 2016. While Change.org is the world’s largest online petition platform and has staff around the world, the Victoria office is the first and only global expansion of its product team, which launched with six engineers.

“We still have all those engineers, but we’ve grown and now have 20 staff, including one office manger, and are looking to hire a few more engineers in the short term,” says Chris Campbell, principal engineer.

The growth of the team has required an upgrade of office space. Temporarily housed on the third floor of a building at Broad and Yates, the company is renovating the second floor of the same building.

“For those who’ve been around long enough to remember, it was A&B Sound’s upstairs space,” Campbell says. “There will be plenty of room for us to continue to grow.”

Campbell credits the success of the Victoria branch to both the thriving tech resources in the city and the Silicon Valley-cred of Change.org.

“There is a great talent pool of engineers here in Victoria, but we’re also having some success due to coming in with a fairly recognizable brand name,” he says. “When we’re recruiting, a lot of people have already heard of Change.org and it piques their interest.”

DIAMOND EYECAR E

Canadian-based Change.org campaigns include banning plastic bags in Victoria and prohibiting the online sale of household pets.

▼

Consumers Share Positive and Negative Equally, Study Shows There’s good news and bad news when it comes to how consumers act when they use a brand.

When a negative experience occurs, irate consumers may tell their friends and family and potentially even rant on social media.

However, new research from an Ipsos Loyalty survey in January 2015 reveals consumers are equally as likely to promote positive experiences.

The survey covered seven sectors and assessed more than 10,000 “critical

incidents” — defined as moments of truth in the customer experience that can make or break a relationship.

Overall, it found that 52% of consumers who had a bad experience told friends, family, or colleagues about it. Yet surprisingly, more consumers (56%) shared good experiences with others.

The study also found consumers who had both bad and good experiences shared them on a social media platform: 12% and 10%, respectively.

24%

of consumers who had a negative experience with a brand stopped using the brand or used it less

17%

of consumers who had a positive experience with a brand started using the brand more

Source: Ipsos

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From Twitter to Instagram, social media is constantly evolving, and what proved to be great advice three years ago might be terrible advice today, says Paul Holmes, co-founder of Social Media Camp (SMC), an annual conference slated for May 5 to 7 at Victoria Conference Centre.

But SMC isn’t just about the latest social media tools and strategies — it also focuses on the societal implications of social media. In keeping with that, one of this year’s SMC headliners is Jesse Brown, founder of the crowd-funded podcast and news site Canadaland.

Brown is the journalist whose October 2014 investigative reports in the Toronto Star focused on women claiming to have experienced workplace sexual harassment and physical abuse by former CBC host Jian Ghomeshi.

In his SMC presentation, Brown will focus on the challenging shifts ahead in technology and media, and offer advice on surviving in a rapidly changing workforce.

SMC will also feature Mitch Joel, dubbed the rock star of digital marketing, on the future of brands, and Instagram expert Sue B. Zimmerman on how to cross-promote on social media and how to use Instagram as the base for social media strategies.

Anticipating a record attendance of more than 800 people, Holmes says SMC is also a great way to showcase local firms to international influencers, as what these companies are doing will “blow people’s socks off.”

 Jesse Brown, the Toronto-based journalist who, alongside the Toronto Star, broke the Jian Ghomeshi story.

Considered a major influencer in the changing industry of media and storytelling, his crowd-funded podcast, Canadaland, focuses on media criticism, as well as news, politics and investigative reporting.

Interactive Live Dives

A New way to connect with the oceans The business adage, “If you swim with the sharks, you might get eaten,” has never dulled the passion of Maeva Gauthier and Mike Irvine, co-founders and executive directors of Fish Eye Project, an organization that connects communities to the world’s oceans via interactive live dives.

“There’s the danger and the excitement that anything could happen,” says Irvine, who made history in April 2015 by successfully defending his thesis from 15 feet under the Salish Sea to a live audience of academic supervisors in B.C. and Alberta.

Wearing full-face intercom masks and using small, compact high-definition handycams, Fish Eye Project divers explore unique marine ecosystems, simultaneously communicating with and being watched by live theatre

audiences across the globe. It’s similar to an underwater Skype call, in that audience members are able to engage with the divers as they discover various aquatic environments, such as the salmon run in Campbell River or sea lions in Barkley Sound.

“We believe in edu-tainment,” says Irvine. “We want to entertain, but we want to subtly educate you at the same time. Our goal is to increase ocean literacy, so your understanding about your connection with the ocean, as well as the

by Anneke Feuermann

ocean’s connection with you, is significant, even if you are in a land-locked community.”

The team’s success has led them to their upcoming event on World Oceans Day on June 8, a live interactive underwater experience in IMAX theatres.

But they’re not stopping there. With advancements in marine technology, Fish Eye Project is aiming to link up with other professional divers around the world, eventually delivering live dives in multiple languages from top international dive sites.

“The hybrid system of diving gear, video equipment and easy-to-use webcasting is completely mobile and accessible, which means we could take this anywhere — Hawaii, Turks and Caicos, even Finland,” Irvine says.

“But we want to do it really well here first.”

Mike Irvine, suited up with a full-face intercom mask in order to communicate with his live audience, gets ready to dive into the ocean off the coast of Victoria.

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new neighbourhoods are on our horizon.

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Douglas 13

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▲ GAIN, Vancouver Island Premier Dealer Group, has expanded its offering of premium automotive brands with the launch of its new Alfa Romeo and FIAT dealership at 740 Roderick Street in Victoria. Existing GAIN showrooms in Victoria and Nanaimo include Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Porsche, smart, Sprinter, Subaru, and Volkswagen.

Fisherman’s Wharf, Lower Causeway and Ship Point, Wharf Street and Johnson Street and Mermaid Wharf, increasing its eco-rating certification since the 2012 audit. It received an overall score of 88.7% for initiatives, including fuel dock infrastructure and waste management, that reduce environmental impacts.

Silk Road, Victoria’s home of organic teas and body care products and accessories, is expanding in late spring to Vancouver’s trendy Kits district to a 3000 sq.ft. building at 2066 West 4th. Owner Daniela Cubelic says the new locale will feature a modern, urban, Asian-influenced look designed to feel like a calm sanctuary and oasis from the bustle of city living. It will offer the same product mix as the flagship Chinatown store, plus new products, an array of tea tastings and wellness workshops.

Camosun College has opened a 7,432-squaremetre Centre for Trades Education and Innovation at its Interurban Campus with facilities for marine and metal trades training.

COCO Cafe in Nanaimo has received the Community Impact Award from the 13th Annual Small Business BC Awards, which recognize outstanding achievements

by B.C. entrepreneurs. The cafe, a project of Cedar Opportunities Co-operative, is a social enterprise that provides employment, training and socialization opportunities for people with developmental disabilities in their community.

The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority has achieved a four-anchor rating from Clean Marine BC for its marinas at

Page One Publishing, the publisher of Douglas, YAM and Salt magazines, has been awarded contracts from the B.C. Association of Clinical Counsellors and the Victoria Foundation for the publication of Vital Signs, Pulse and Insights magazines.

Abeego Designs is one of five Canadian businesses selected to receive a portion of $500,000 from a new funding initiative called SheEO, which combines crowdfunding and business mentoring from leading entrepreneurs to help women-led businesses.

Abeego’s founder, Toni Desrosiers, who started the company in 2008, plans to use the financing to launch a new product.

Abeego’s current product line of beeswax food wraps — made from hemp and certified organic cotton infused with pure beeswax, certified organic jojoba oil, and pine tree resin — is sold worldwide.

Innovation | Design | Business | Style | People

On the Move

Mark Smith is chief experience officer at Query Technologies Corp., a Victoriabased company specializing in software product and solution development to support the business process and enhance customer experience. He was previously director of business development and strategic partnerships at Monk Office.

Peter Lockie has launched Inverleith Consulting, a consulting practice assisting organizations to achieve strategic and operational goals. Lockie is former interim president of Camosun College and past chair of the United Way of Greater Victoria.

Honoured Lynda and Murray Farmer have received the Governors’ Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce. They will be honoured at the Chamber's Business Awards on April 21. Murray is past chair of the Canadian and Vancouver Island Construction Associations. In addition, he and Lynda have worked to raise funds for post-secondary learning, each having held key board positions during pivotal times in the history of the University of Victoria and Camosun College. They were also co-chairs of a community-based campaign that funded the establishment of the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre.

C-Suite News

Terry Calveley has joined Holmes Realty, bringing over 20 years’ experience in client service, negotiations and contract management to the real estate firm. Calveley is also president of the Oak Bay Sea Rescue Society.

Carol Bellringer, FCPA, FCA, and Gayle Gorrill, FCPA, FCA, have been honoured with the Chartered Professional Accountants of B.C. fellowship (FCPA) designation. The FCPA is awarded to CPAs for exceptional services to the profession or whose careers or community achievements have earned them distinction and brought honour to the profession. Bellringer is B.C.’s auditor general. Gorrill is VP of finance and operations for the University of Victoria and is regarded as a leader in university administration.

Tom Plumb is the new president of Kinetic Construction.

Plumb succeeds Bill Gyles, Kinetic’s founder and longtime president and CEO. Plumb joined Kinetic in 1999 and served as Courtenay branch manager for 10 years. He is a graduate of BCIT’s Building Technology program, and is a Gold Seal project manager with a Red Seal in carpentry. He has spent six

months training and learning from Gyles in order to prepare for his new role.

Andy Spurling is the new president of Proline Management, a property management firm with offices in Victoria, West Shore and Nanaimo.

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On the Board The inaugural directors of the newly formed YYJ Prosperity Project, launched to unite the region in a new model of economic collaboration, are Jayne Bradbury, Fort Properties; Bill Bergen; William Bergen Consulting Inc.; Jill Doucette, Synergy Enterprises; Pedro G. Márquez, Royal Roads University; Christina Clarke, executive director, Songhees Nation; Craig Norris, business consultant, Community Marine Concepts; Paul Nursey, Tourism Victoria; Bob Skene; and Ken Taylor, owner of six South Island McDonald’s restaurants.

Patrick Kelly, business consultant and member of the Leq’á:mel First Nation, is the Victoria Foundation’s new board chair. He succeeds Rasool Rayani, who remains as as past chair. Deirdre Roberts replaces Chuck Burkett as president of the Foundation’s Honorary Governors. Continuing board members are Kyman Chan, James Darke, Karen DeMeo, Mia Maki, Mary Mouat, Ian Wong and Grace Wong Sneddon.

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r. Kim Juniper, chief scientist at Victoria is a mixology of business We’ve got your back and leisure the University of Victoria’s Ocean If you’re worried about what’s involved There are more reasons to host Networks Canada, knows how it feels in putting together a conference, don’t conferences in Victoria. It’s beautiful here — to be like Steve. He brought to Victoria be. You’ll have support every step of but you already know that. Sure, as residents, the 4th International Conference on the way. Our local host program is we take it for granted because we live here, Chemosynthesis-Based Ecosystems. coordinated by Business Events Victoria, a but imagine how your It was a very successful conference, and collaboration of Tourism colleagues will see it.

Victoria’s location made it easy to gather Victoria and the Victoria Victoria is an Landing at what is likely an international group.

Conference Centre. The incubator for an one of the world’s easiest “Victoria was an ideal midway very best conference entrepreneurial airports to navigate and point between European and Asian professionals in the city arriving in a city that is culture of innovators, will be available to you. research groups that also permitted not only stunning to look easy participation by North American doers and dreamers. We’ll even help you at, but also supports a researchers,” says Dr. Juniper. with your promotional lifestyle that’s the perfect balance of leisure And as a meeting destination, Victoria’s material and create some post-conference and forward thinking. small-city size naturally stimulates a deeper vacation ideas that will boost attendance Victoria is an incubator for an dimension of networking. People connect to record levels. entrepreneurial culture here in a way bigger cities But there’s another reason you can feel of innovators, doers and can’t accommodate. At the good about bringing your meeting to Victoria’s smalldreamers, where some of same time, Victoria has Victoria. Conferences are a tremendous city size naturally world’s most advanced everything those larger boost to our local economy. From the research facilities and stimulates a centres have when it comes businesses and organizations that provide to hospitality, facilities and conference support to the people working deeper dimension academic talent are achieving excellence across services. for them, when you host an event here, of networking. many dynamic industries, As Dr. Juniper points the whole city thanks you. including marine sciences. out, the walking-distance proximity of the And because we recognize the “Victoria, through UVic, the Victoria Conference Centre (VCC) to hotels importance of your support, we’ll give you Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and restaurants means there’s no need to one per cent of the hotel room revenue.* arrange local transportation or midday meals Ocean Networks Canada and the The best part? Everyone in your field — everything is convenient and top-notch.

Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility, will know your name, and you don’t even Dr. Juniper also says the attendees were have to go out of town. has a strong international profile in deepvery impressed with the audio-visual Bring your next conference to Victoria sea research and technology that made it support provided by the VCC. and be a leader — just like Dr. Juniper. attractive to attendees,” says Dr. Juniper.

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Douglas 19

Proline Management Ltd. quality property management services for all types of real estate

“We’re transforming the property management industry, setting a higher standard for business, and providing a service that exceeds expectations.”

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roline Management delivers much more than simple property management: from their civic outreach, to their employees, to their clients, they foster and manage communities.

“We’re a people business,” says founder Eric Spurling. “For us, it’s not simply about managing details and bottom lines — there’s a human element to everything we do.”

This people-first approach has much to do with Proline’s proud status as a family-run business. As Eric steps down as president and his son Andy takes on that role, Proline will continue to work on transforming the property management industry through its dedication to honesty, integrity and transparency.

“We’re trying to set a higher standard,” Andy says. “And provide a service that exceeds expectations. We put a lot of effort into anticipating our clients needs and improving the way we deliver our client services. It’s a process of consistent evolution.”

Whether you’re a strata council member or own your own residential rental property, Proline Management can take the stress out of protecting your investment. Along with 31 years of experience in the business, the company offers a strong leadership team, which provides professional backgrounds in management, finance, accounting and law — something other property management firms just don’t have.

“To be a strata council member is not an easy task,” Andy says. “A major component that differentiates us from other property managers is the way we approach learning and education. We provide many additional services to help our clients, including expert speakers, coaching and seminars. We’re about information and transparency. Our clients appreciate and benefit from the extra guidance they receive from us.”

By working closely with strata councils and property owners, Proline ensures a property is managed well financially and is well maintained physically. Their quality of service has seen them grow to a current portfolio of well over 9,000 residential units, plus a curated portfolio of commercial properties.

“What we have done and what we continue to do is client driven,” Eric says. “Our best ambassador is the strata council member or property owner who says, ‘You should call Proline because we’re really happy with them and everything they’ve done for us.’”

www.prolinemanagement.com

– Andy Spurling, President

Andy Spurling Eric Spurling

Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit Canada’s only Year-Round Motorsport Facility

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iscover the ultimate playground for supercar enthusiasts: the Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit. Whether you’re mastering corners on the 19-turn Tilkedesigned circuit, challenging yourself on the dynamic driving area’s skid pad, or taking the resort’s SUV through the rain-forest inspired off-road course, you’ll feel like you’re at Disneyland for grown-ups.

“It really is a country club for people who love cars,” says Peter Trzewik, chief executive officer of the Vancouver Island Motorsport Resort.“Now you can enjoy more than the look and beauty of your performance car.

This is meant to give you a playground — within your comfort and skills, of course.

Just because you have a fast car, doesn’t mean you want to be Mario Andretti and no one will force you to be.”

Located just west of Duncan, this sophisticated Island attraction features an impressive clubhouse with panoramic views.

As you watch the action on the circuit, you can enjoy locally inspired cuisine from Chef Andrea Hudson of Duncan’s award-winning Hudson’s on First. Located south of the resort is the club’s partner hotel, the luxurious Mediterraneaninspired Villa Eyrie Resort — which not only allows quick access to the circuit, but to all of the Island’s extraordinary activities.

“The world-class amenities of the Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit led to its use for the unveiling of the 2017 Audi R8 by Audi Canada and this April we’re hosting media, dealers and potential buyers from across the country, with 38 cars being shipped to the Island,”Trzewik says.“ This is the first event hosted here and it really shows the incredible potential, and the significance for local industry, of this facility.”

Among its multi-tiered membership options, the club does offer a Corporate Membership. As the owner of an Island company, you could invite your management staff for team building or even host exclusive events for clients.

The clubhouse has capabilities for small, intimate meetings or larger functions of up to 300 people. The club also offers Founding and Individual memberships.

“Along with local car enthusiasts, the Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit will attract members from Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, across Canada, and even Asia,” Trzewik says.“Given Vancouver Island’s mild climate, there is the unique potential for year-round operations at our circuit — the first and only motorsport club in Canada.”

“Our motorsport club is the first of its kind. Much like the first golf clubs, you won’t come to compete — it’s a club to enjoy a passion, which in this case is cars.”

— Peter Trzewik, chief executive officer

www.islandmotorsportcircuit.com

the big idea BY Andrew Findlay photos by Dirk Heydemann

Robots in the Real World I t’s like something from a sci-fi film. Picture tiny robots equipped with cameras and other remote sensing apparatuses navigating with magnetic tracks through a pipe the diameter of a soccer ball and gathering vital data.

Except this is reality for Inuktun Services, corporate innovators who are designing remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and robotic systems that go where no human — and no machine — has gone before. Think search-and-rescue operations, surveying pipelines for damage, and inspecting the radioactive innards of nuclear power plants.

They’ve also accessed restricted spaces deep within hydro dams and scanned the hulls of ships for weaknesses.

In fact, Inuktun, a Nanaimo-based company with operations in Europe and China, has carved out a technological niche that is far more exciting than you could ever guess from the firm’s bland two-storey headquarters in north Nanaimo. Nothing on the exterior hints at the technological wizardry within.

Lifesaving Technology

The Inuktun story started in 1989 as a retirement project for co-founders Terry Knight and Al Robinson, when the pair of innovators designed and manufactured an underwater swimming vehicle known as the ROV Seamor. It was, in essence, an expensive toy for private boat owners, a gizmo “for chasing crabs and fish,” says Inuktun president and CEO Colin Dobell.

Though the ROV Seamor proved to be more whimsical than market ready (“That market turned out to be very limited,” Dobell says, “but the system had other applications in marine survey and nuclear inspection”), it was the technological nugget that convinced the owners they had the keys to a potential gold mine.

However, it took time and patience to tap this vein, and Inuktun struggled early in its efforts to commercialize its robotic 22 Douglas

technology. Dobell joined the company in 1996 as a software engineer to write programs to control the robots and acquire data from on-board sensors. It was a dream job for a gadget nerd with a penchant for problem solving, but it still took some dreaming to imagine where Inuktun could go. It then had a staff of six, including the two founders, both now retired.

Today, Inuktun is an Island groundbreaker, employing nearly 60 people, among them highly

skilled engineers, technicians and software developers. Inuktun services a customer base that spans the globe and includes heavyweights like Ontario Hydro, GE Nuclear Energy and other firms requiring specialized robotic technology.

Recently, engineers working for Hitachi and Toshiba turned to Inuktun for a key component.

They needed special tracks that would enable custom ROVs equipped with cameras and radiation-detection sensors to travel at 30

Robots developed by Nanaimo firm Inuktun have ventured into the Fukushima reactor, sifted through World Trade Center rubble for survivors, and amphibiously performed inspections of ship Hulls.

feet a minute and inspect the humanly inaccessible interior of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor. The reactor was severely damaged by the massive March 2011 tsunami that rocked Japan’s east coast. Previously, Inuktun ROVs have sifted through dangerous rubble and debris for survivors after 9/11 in New York, Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and the collapse of Utah’s Crandall Canyon mine.

Under the Radar

▲ Dan Adams of Inuktun inspects the Versatrax 100, Inuktun’s miniature and portable crawler system that is capable of inspecting pipes and ducts as small as 10 centimetres in diameter.

Despite the company’s success and its association with highprofile corporations and rescue operations, Inuktun flies under the radar in the Canadian technology sector. Dobell believes this is due in part to the nature of their customers, many of them in the energy, military or other sectors with high-security protocols. These customers are not in the habit of talking publicly about how Inuktun technology is deployed in their operations.

“We often don’t hear about the results or much about how our technology is used after the fact,” Dobell says. Furthermore, Canada only represents 10 to 15 per cent of Inuktun’s market, which only adds to the company’s surprisingly low profile on the domestic front and also points to an area of potential sales growth.

Dobell admits Inuktun's Island location, geographically remote from primary customers in the oil-and-gas and nuclear sectors, poses challenges and adds to the cost of sales and marketing. But he says the Island's quality of life and cost of living is hard to beat, and Nanaimo is where the company’s people ("the backbone of everything we do") are located.

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Remote sales offices, like the one opened recently by Inuktun in Hangzhou, China, help overcome marketing challenges.

Global Significance

Being nimble and astute is key to the firm’s success, both on the marketing and R&D sides of the operation. The company attends several trade shows a year and makes targeted customer-specific visits to demo its technology. Inuktun has twice tapped funding from the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program and takes advantage of the federal Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax

Inuktun maintains its standard of quality with in-house systems assembly, integration and testing at its Nanaimo facility, employing 60 plus professionals in highly skilled jobs.

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Incentive Program. Mostly, however, Inuktun is funded through traditional lending channels and shareholder profits (Dobell, his father and one of the original founders are the only shareholders.)

From modest beginnings, Inuktun now competes head-to-head with big players in the ROV space like German-based IBAK, Austria’s iPEK and GE Measurement and Control, a subsidiary of the giant GE. Its product line varies considerably in price. A smaller magnetic crawler system that can nearly fit in the palm of a hand sells for as low as $30,000, whereas the long-range crawler, the Versatrax 300, hits the market at a lofty $300,000.

And though the company has been at it for more than 25 years, it continues to find new applications and customers for its ROV technology. Constant innovation and adaptation to address industry needs is its bread and butter.

“Years ago, customers were happy to simply see inside of pipes and other infrastructure," Dobell says. "Now they demand things like laser profiles, thickness and cracking measurements, cleaning and even welding.”

That’s why, for example, Inuktun is developing magnetic crawlers for ship hulls, and adding tools like rotating brushes or water-jet heads for remote cleaning operations. Inuktun engineers and technicians are also working on integrating other inspection technologies to allow remote systems to gather more information about the state of pipeline infrastructure, such as locating and measuring cracks and thinning and corrosion in pipes.

Given the proliferation of pipeline proposals, from the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain to TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline project, and the consequent public and regulatory focus on pipeline safety, Inuktun’s business focus appears aimed in the right direction.

“It’s never boring,” Dobell says. “Even after 20 years I still learn something new almost every day. I get to work with a truly creative and sometimes crazy group of engineers and technicians, and a range of clients in some very challenging industries and applications.” ■

Meet this year’s Douglas 10 to watch winners 

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Passion is a given for companies in the all-consuming and heady startup phase of business — and this year’s 10 to Watch winners possess this quality many times over.

But our panel of judges wanted more than the requisite passion. They wanted gutsy innovation and the proven ability to think differently.

And they found it in this year’s winners, including a tech startup who sees social media in a completely new

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way, a “gonzo” catering company that is elevating the humble oyster’s standing on the local culinary scene and an eco courier set on reducing its carbon footprint.

The stories of these and our seven other 10 to Watch winners are sure to inspire, whether you are new to business or have decades of experience.

Because there’s nothing like watching an idea ignite.

10 to watch Judging Panel Facilitator CATHY WHITEHEAD McINTYRE Principal consultant, Strategic Initiatives | DeiRdre Campbell President and chief development officer, The Tartan Group DR. REBECCA GRANT Associate professor, University of Victoria, Peter B. Gustavson School of Business | JOHN JURICIC Owner, Harbour Digital Media DANIELA CUBELIC Owner, Silk Road Tea | MIKE THOMPSON Associate professor, management consulting, Royal Roads University

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10 TO WATCH 2016 TITLE SPONSOR

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“When the Malaysian airliner was shot down over the Ukraine and they weren’t sure where it hit, we knew because of where the posts were happening.

We’re seeing it right now with Russians in Syria.”

Q&A with Karl Swannie and Michael anderson

Jeffrey Bosdet/Douglas Magazine

Imagine this as your startup debut: A NATO summit is happening in Wales at the castle hotel owned by Sir Terence Matthews whose firm, Wesley Clover, has invested in your company. Heads of state will gather — and you’ve been asked to provide the digital security fence for the summit.

“Nothing like diving in,” laughs Karl Swannie, CEO, from Echosec’s Fort St. headquarters. Yup, that’s the building with a Bell 430 helicopter from Ocean’s Thirteen on the first floor and gondolas from Whistler set up as meeting rooms.

Echosec is making global waves with its location-based social media search platform, which can search and map all publicly available social media posts around the world, by topic, date and location. Users, from security/military to police and media, can see where posts originate from, right down to a street address.

Searchable info runs the gamut from “What are popular photos posted in Victoria?” (Answer: Baked goods) to “Have Russian soldiers crossed into the Ukraine? (Answer: Yes, Echosec watched it happen on their platform).

“Every soldier who digs a hole wants to take a picture and post it,” says Swannie who started with a big idea and, thanks to Owen Matthews of Wesley Clover and the Alacrity Foundation, met a team of UVic students searching for an outlet for their bigdata expertise. Today, the two-year-old company’s clients include Motorola and the U.S. Defense Department.

Want to know who’s posting what on your street? Or the fallout from an ISIS attack? Or the buzz around a product launch? Echosec takes you beyond the nightly news straight to the people posting. It’s an eye opener.

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What scared you most when you first started?

Michael When we found all the Russian soldiers in the Ukraine [when President Putin said they weren’t there]. And I said to our team, “You guys, Russia is big and scary. Should we be doing this?”

Michael Anderson, Jason Jubinville, Nick Turner and Karl Swannie

Karl Then when it went viral and all of a sudden we saw our analytics go from zero to a 1,000 in a couple hours so we kind of freaked out. what was your biggest challenge?

Karl Besides making sure we met all of the privacy protocols ... being Island-based, we actually have to make

software that will bridge the Strait of Juan de Fuca. So our vision here had to be bigger because we have to build it with the vision of getting it off the Island and getting the world to take notice.

ADVICE For other startups?

Michael Work for a year in a 10x10 room with your team [laughs]. You get to know each other very well and know what you are capable of.

Douglas 29

“…in Victoria, across thethe country, andand around the world.” “…in Victoria, across country, around the world.”

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“All of my ingredients are fresh, not processed, and wherever possible, locally produced using sustainable practices.

This is what makes Toque innovative.”

Q&A

with nicholas Waters What would you say to other entrepreneurs starting out?

Don’t bow to outside pressure to move away from your core philosophy. One thing I feel strongly about, whether you’re in the food business or not, is that your philosophy goes a long way in establishing your niche, and people will recognize that.

Joshua Lawrence

For Chef Nicholas Waters, foraging and farm-to-table are much more than recent food trends.

“This is how I learned to cook,” says Waters, co-owner of Toque Catering. “It might be new to the industry, but for me it’s 20 years old.

Every place I ever worked at, this was how we approached food, so it’s funny to see that it’s trendy now.”

Waters’ path to Toque includes an impressive list of must-dine B.C. restaurants. He worked for six years under Chef Christophe Letard at The Aerie Resort before moving to the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino. Time at the Queen Charlotte Lodge reinforced his passion for “fresh, natural and local ingredients.” In 2009 he joined Feys and Hobbs Catered Arts as the executive sous chef.

But owning his own business has always been at the back of his mind. “Working at Feys and Hobbs is when I fell in love with catering,” he says. “When they closed that side of the company, the idea of Toque Catering was born.”

Naming the venture involved some humour — and serendipity.

“I wear a toque year-round, summer, winter, doesn’t matter,” Waters says. “When we were deciding on a name, we joked that it should be Toque. When we Googled it, toque actually means chef’s hat in French, so we decided it had to be that.”

With Toque, Waters aims to fill an untapped niche in Victoria’s catering market by offering completely customizable menus. The company has made a name for itself with its fun food stations, creative canapés and upscale comfort food, such as mac and cheese with crab served in martini glasses. While the company currently operates out of a shared commercial kitchen, Waters has big dreams for the future.

“My wife [Crystal]and I would like to buy a farm and build a commercial kitchen there,” he says. “Then we can truly be farm-to-table.”

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What are you most proud of?

The biggest challenge I’ve had is putting together the team.

Everybody in our kitchen has to get along with everybody else; otherwise it doesn’t work. We’re a tight group.

To be able to give back to the community. For every guest at an event, we provide a meal to someone in need through Meal Share. To date, we have donated 18,373 meals to people in need.

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“In just a year, we’ve gone from two guys meeting over coffee with an idea to partnering with five major universities, signing up 1,500 beta testers and raising $500,000 in private equity financing...”

Q&A

Charles Lavigne and Kevin OKE

Jeffrey Bosdet/Douglas Magazine

The study of anatomy by veterinary students has typically involved more-or-less accurate 2D anatomy drawings and inlab dissections. But it’s getting a lot more exciting, efficient and engaging thanks to LlamaZoo Interactive, a Victoria startup whose edtech solution is taking veterinary students into the digital realm.

LlamaZoo’s EasyAnatomy platform uses medical information from CT scans and MRIs to create detailed digital 3D models of animal anatomy. The platform marries interactive 3D with gamification and teaching methods based on cognitive neuroscience.

Students become more engaged and universities can reduce the significant costs of running anatomy labs.

Via a pilot project, LlamaZoo has partnered with five universities in Canada, the U.S. and the E.U. and has 1,500 beta users worldwide.

A big sign of confidence in a new technology is a company’s ability to raise investment (LlamaZoo received $500,000 in private equity financing this year) and to win awards. The company was VIATEC’s Startup of the Year 2015 and a Futurepreneur award winner. Now, they’ve won a 10 to Watch Award.

Founders Charles Lavigne and Kevin Oke aren’t just focused on sales — these veteran video game developers, both from entrepreneurial families, want to create sustainable, meaningful solutions that make a real difference, something that proved elusive for them in the fast-moving gaming sector.

So when Oke’s girlfriend, a veterinarian, brought up the need for a 3D-anatomy app, the lights went on and LlamaZoo was launched.

Today, Lavigne and Oke are focused on canine anatomy. Tomorrow, says Oke, it might be horses, farms animals, rabbits, birds, lizards...

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What’s the best business advice you have received?

Kevin The VIATEC accelerator [program] made us do customer discovery. You make all these cold calls — and when you get to the point where potential customers are all telling you the same challenges, you know what you need to solve. It’s easy to think you can just build the software, but you have to listen to customers to get it right. They’ll tell you their problems and also lead you down all kinds of good paths.

What advice would you give to other businesses just starting out?

Charles Test your hunches, don’t

Kevin Oke (left) and Charles Lavigne

spend months building something then hope it does well. Hope is not a business model.

Kevin Execution is everything.

Your idea doesn’t need to be perfect, just get it out there, go through a cycle of experimenting with small projects, such as a landing page or an ad campaign. Just do something to test it.

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The Wandering Mollusk Type of business Boutique oyster catering company Year founded 2015 Owners/principalS Jess Taylor and Sean Roberts Employees 1

when is an oyster not just an oyster?

When it’s procurred, lovingly cared for on its way from farm to palate, then expertly shucked and delectably served up with entertaining aplomb by the bivalve connoisseurs of The Wandering Mollusk Oyster Catering Co. For starters, owners Jess Taylor and Sean Roberts are beyond passionate about oysters and creating an oyster culture in Victoria. These prodigal Island boys, who honed their oyster knowledge while working at the famous Rodney’s Oyster House in Vancouver, wax poetic about the freshness, texture and merroir (the maritime equivalent of terroir) of their oysters, procurred from Island farms, notably Nanaimo’s Evening Cove.

"Respect the oyster, that’s exactly what we do," says Roberts. While the superb quality and freshness of The Wandering Mollusk's oysters are key reasons for their success, the other reason is the entertainment factor they bring to catered events, from weddings to business launches.

“We’re part of the whole experience,” says Roberts.

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Jess Sean has a friend who runs one of Toronto’s top catering companies. His advice was to say yes whenever you can when you are starting out. So if people asked him if he could make 400 ostrich burgers, he would say sure! He had no idea how he was going to do it, but saying yes opened up opportunity.

Sean To be authentic. To be true to ourselves and have a

business model that’s not only sustainable for our future but also helps the farmers and creates an oyster culture here. what scared you about starting OUT?

Jess All I knew before Sean Roberts (left) and Jess Taylor we launched the business to understand the accounting, came from working in the marketing and all those an oyster restaurant where things about running a I just had to play my part. business. But I knew at the end With our business, I had to of the day that what we were create my part. There’s such a offering was good. difference when you’re trying

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Jeffrey Bosdet/Douglas Magazine

Fans can even count on The Wandering Mollusk for pop-up events — or Wandering Mollusk Takeovers — announced on social media networks. And this year, as this oyster-shucking success story moves to Stage Two of their grand plan, they’ve come up with the idea of a portable shucking trailer complete with shucking station and barbecue, allowing them freedom to take their business to festivals and locales beyond Victoria.

On the way, they plan to keep busting myths about oysters, including the idea that you can’t eat oysters in months that don’t have the letter “R.” But they won’t dispel the myth that oysters are aphrodisiacs. After all, you just can’t buy that kind of business buzz.

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“We want people to have a great experience, so our approach at an event is to be a fun part of what’s going on.

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Type of business Online marketplace for homeowners to find contractors for home renovation projects Year founded 2013 | Owners/principals Lisa Tinney and Russell Fairburn | Employees 1

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“Easy Job Quote gives homeowners a powerful voice in the marketplace — and it gives good contractors a way to find work and a chance to shine.”

Q&A with lisa tinney and russell fairburn what advice would you give to other startups?

Jeffrey Bosdet/Douglas Magazine

have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of hiring the right contractors for home renovation projects. In her former career as a small-business banking consultant, Tinney also learned how difficult it can be for busy contractors to market their companies without spending a fortune in advertising.

Those experiences led the couple to create a business designed to fill the needs of a dual market: homeowners needing contractors, and contractors needing to market their services.

Drawing on Fairburn’s background in information technology, the couple created Easy Job Quote, which brings homeowners and contractors together in a fair bidding process conducted in an online marketplace.

How does it work? “We send our in-house contractor to the client’s home to discuss the project, providing photos, measurements and plans, if necessary — everything needed for contractors to bid on the project,” says Tinney. They then post the job and open up the bidding process to contractors who have been pre-screened with background checks.

After each job is complete, homeowners can rate the contractors and post reviews in the online forum to assist other homeowners to make good selections.

The blind bidding system allows younger and newer contractors to compete equally with the “big fish” and encourages companies to create bids they’re happy with rather than racing for the lowest bid. It’s a win-win.

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EASY JOB Quote As homeowners, Lisa Tinney and Russell Fairburn

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Russell Don’t be afraid to try things. If they don’t work out, move on quickly. Let the market tell you what’s working.

Lisa Be flexible and patient.

It takes time to discover the best course of action and to build your market.

Russell Fairburn and Lisa Tinney

What was your biggest challenge?

Lisa Along with the startup challenges faced by any new business, our biggest hurdle was to make a brand-new concept clear, especially given that we have a split market of both homeowners

and contractors. We spent our first year getting the word out about our new business, and the second year getting our concept understood. Now our focus is on getting our service top of mind in the marketplace.

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Type of business Self-publishing company | Year founded 2015 Owner/principal Tim Lindsay | Employees 6

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“Authors are, in a sense, like entrepreneurs. They have a project and big hopes plus all the details of executing on those hopes. And really, they need help from a team of other creative people.”

Q&A with Tim Lindsay What was your biggest startup Challenge?

The balance between developing and improving services with executing day-to-day things that need to be done.

Also, with our position, where we offer better royalties and lower printing costs, most people still look at what they are paying up front. So you have to educate them about benefits.

WHAT WAS THE SCARIEST PART OF STARTing UP?

I’m not sure it was scary, but I had to make big decisions about scale. I could have remained self-employed working from home, had very enjoyable work and done quite well. It was a conscious decision to get an office and build a company. There are trade offs, of course.

simon desrochers

and more and more of them are choosing self-publishing. But as many of them discover, self-publishing with some mainstream firms can be a tough gig, leaving authors feeling nameless and overcharged after paying markup on printing and giving up a portion of revenues for sales and distribution.

To the rescue is TellWell, a Victoria-based company whose founder, Tim Lindsay, has worked with enough authors to know they need a great team behind them plus a structure that gives them 100-per-cent net royalties and no markup on print costs. That, says Lindsay, means TellWell can be objective when giving authors advice on how to print, distribute and sell books.

Lindsay, who spent nine years in media and publishing before launching TellWell, says “Our model is simple. We charge money for publishing-related services, such as editing and design and helping authors sell their books.”

TellWell makes money on services, not book sales. “It’s the authors who take the biggest risks by investing in their books, so they should get the biggest reward,” he says, noting authors cover their publishing costs faster with TellWell because they earn higher royalties.

“We’re transparent about the team working on each book,” he adds. “At TellWell, you know who your editor is, or your designer. You’ve got a strong, passionate team behind you who loves publishing.” And, judging from the office foosball table, it’s a team who likes to have fun when they are not finessing manuscripts.

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tellwell from ceos to CHEFS, many people have stories to tell —

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best Business advice you received?

You need to have passion for the business or you’ll get exhausted too quickly. If you start a business just to make money as opposed to doing something you believe in and enjoy, it’s going to be less sustainable.

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Resthouse Sleep Solutions

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Type of business Sleep specialists offering natural bedding and products | Year founded 2014 Owners/principals Chris Manley and Dawn Howlett | Employees 4

Solutions are a dynamically energetic team. Believing the traditional bedding industry was too focused on a one-size-fits-all approach — and was failing consumers wanting organic options — Chris Manley and Dawn Howlett started a boutique business, online and bricks-andmortar, to help people optimize their sleep.

“Most of our products are customizable,” Howlett says. “People can adapt and adjust their pillows, duvets and, most importantly, their mattresses to fit their unique needs. Couples can even have their respective sides designed just for them.”

A challenge has been addressing customer perception of what constitutes organic bedding. Many people don't realize the traditional market sells a lot of petroleum-based mattresses, which may off-gas.

And while some products are labelled natural or organic, that may only refer to a constituent part, not the item as a whole.

“We were thrilled when we started distributing Savvy Rest, whose products are wholly organic,” Manley says. “It’s also empowering for the consumer because they can see inside and tweak the layers.”

Good sleep is not all about the mattress. An organic body pillow is Resthouse’s flagship product. This sleep aid gives extra support and has been shown to reduce tossing and turning throughout the night. Howlett believes “hugging” a body pillow also releases calming endorphins.

“When we started to hear back from our customers how much they loved their beds and body pillows,” she says, “that was all the encouragement we needed to keep going.”

“People struggle to get a good night’s sleep for different reasons … We knew there was this big need out there.”

Q&A Chris Manley and Dawn Howlett What was the best advice you received when you were starting out?

DAWN To make sure to launch our e-commerce at the same time as opening up the bricks-andmortar store. Not to worry about it being perfect, just to get it up.

[The website] has been everything.

Everybody can access it, and it’s the first place people look. Even if someone is going to order in the store, they look online first.

What advice would you give to someone starting a business?

CHRIS One thing any budding entrepreneur should do is find

Dawn Howlett and Chris Manley

mentors and a business coach — one who you can be open and transparent with. We meet with our business coach, Clemens Rettich, every month, and when we were going into new territory, we would talk to him and he would help us find our bearings. There are a million things you have to do when you open a business, and you can get lost with any of those tasks.

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Jeffrey Bosdet/Douglas Magazine

For all their focus on sleep, the owners of Resthouse Sleep

Innovation.

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“We focus on the basics of human health through maintaining the quality of drinking water, our soil for growing food, our air for breathing and our natural environment for species habitat.”

Q&A with Matt Perkins and John Starchuk What was the best business advice you received?

Matt Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Instead, diversify your services and your clients. In the beginning, we focused heavily on one project and it didn't go through, which was a big setback. what was your biggest startup challenge?

Joshua Lawrence

THE BEST ENTREPRENEURS don’t just come up with great ideas, they serve needs. That’s exactly what two local startup owners did in 2015 when they launched a triple-bottom-line company specializing in handling the kind of waste few other people can or will deal with — hazardous waste.

“We discovered that when it comes to waste/recycling management systems, small- to medium-sized companies like big-box stores weren’t being serviced properly,” says Matt Perkins, who co-founded JOMA Environmental in 2015 with partner John Starchuk.

After conducting market research, Perkins and Starchuk carefully honed their services to waste management, contaminated-site remediation, emergency-spill response, hazardous-waste disposal and ecological reclamation.

They found increasingly strict environmental regulations had created market needs their company was uniquely qualified to fill, such as oil tank removal, fuel spills in marinas and the logistics of waste management in remote coastal communities.

“We try to fill a niche, not take work away from existing companies,” Starchuk says. “Instead, we’ll often share trucks, equipment and labour with other companies, providing services like landscaping after an oil tank removal. This increases efficiency for our business and allows us to offer a complete service for our clients.

“We create a full-service package tailored to the needs of each client. It’s a good growth market for us.”

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Type of business Hazardous-waste management and ecological restoration | Year founded 2015 Owners/principals Matt Perkins and John Starchuk | Employees 0

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Matt Perkins (left) and John Starchuk

Matt Learning how to raise funds and operate a business is a huge learning curve. We received a small business grant through VanCity. One of the requirements was to get a Small Business BC consultant to approve our business plan. He was invaluable in helping us create our marketing plan.

John Establishing a work/life balance. Starting a business involves a roller coaster of emotion, along with associated stress and anxiety. It all comes down to establishing systems to help you keep track of all the details and make decisions.

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We are

when’s an oyster not just an oyster?

When it’s procurred, lovingly cared on its way from farm to palate, then expertly shucked and delectably served up with entertaining aplomb by the bivalve conoisseurs of The Wandering Mollusk Catering Co. For starters, owners Jess Taylor and Sean Roberts are beyond passionate about oysters and creating an oyster culture in Victoria.

These prodigal Island boys, who honed their oyster knowledge while working at the famous Rodney’s Oyster House in Vancouver, wax poetic about the freshness, texture and merroir (the martime equivalent of terroir) of their oysters, procurred from Island farms, notably Nanaimo’s Evening Cove.

"Respect the oyster, that’s exactly what we do," says Roberts. While the superb quality and freshness of The Wandering Mollusk's

Opening or expanding a business in Victoria?

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“Being able to say I helped reduce carbon emissions and raise awareness of climate change with my company is a great feeling.”

Q&A

with Ivan Zelko What was your biggest challenge at the beginning?

Being new to the city and breaking into the market in Victoria, which can be cliquey. I tried to go to different mix and mingle groups. I thought if people got to know me it would really help me spread the word. I would say that 80 per cent of my clients are ones I personally went to and introduced myself to.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Make sure you write a really good business plan. That way you cover all the basics. You know your possible downfalls, some of the risks,

simon desrochers

The mantra “Be the change you wish to see in the world” is at the heart of entrepreneur Ivan Zelko’s new business. The owner of E-Quick Eco Courier used his passion for the environment and started a delivery company to promote sustainability and environmental awareness.

“I thought there was definitely a market here because people in Victoria are very eco-conscious,” Zelko says. “Who knows, along the way, we may inspire the competition to become more green. That’s part of being the driver for change.”

The company strives to be eco-minded in every aspect of the business. Its uniforms are made from recycled plastic bottles. Both uniforms and the electric cars are washed with non-toxic natural cleaners. To reduce paper use, customers are encouraged to use their online system for submitting and tracking orders. And through a partnership with Tree Canada, they plant one tree for every 100 kilometres they drive.

Synergistic partnerships include working with Apple Box to deliver meals and groceries and with the Wetcleaner. “As much as we can, we try to partner with like-minded companies that are sustainable and eco-friendly,” Zelko says.

While the company is currently using two Nissan Leaf electric cars, Zelko’s short-term plan is to expand his fleet and add an electric truck.

“My long-term, five-year big dream is to franchise and see E-Quick across the country,” Zelko says. “That way we can utilize one of the major airlines and have our outlets handle the local end. It could be Canada-wide eco-friendly. I really think the potential is there.”

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where you can succeed, what your opportunities are and things like that. Include everything from market research to financial information.

If you start a business without a business plan, you are just going to stumble along the way.

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“I create events that engage people in different ways.

Some people are visual puzzle solvers, others prefer the social interaction, and others are much more introverted, so there is something for everyone.”

Q&A

with Chris Rudram What’s the best advice you received when you were starting out?

Talk a lot and listen a lot. That was the advice. It doesn’t matter how good your idea is, until you speak to someone and express that idea, it’s nothing. When you show it to someone and they bring in their ideas, you create something bigger and better than that first idea. Active, deep collaboration is brilliant.

What are you most proud of?

One thing is Murder by Midnight, my recent collaboration that pulled together elements of dinner theatre, performance and game theory.

simon desrochers

While the name Enigmatic Events conjures the mysterious and unfathomable, this Victoria company's service is relatively straightforward: helping businesses create better teams.

“I provide gameful ways of doing meetings, enabling meetings with a purpose,” says Enigmatic founder Chris Rudram. “I’m interested in how you can use these games for real results … By giving people an interesting experience, you create memories and ties that last.”

Along with his inherent love of games and mysteries, Rudram's work is inspired by writers and thought leaders David Rock and Jane McGonigal. When he develops an event, such as a murder mystery or interactive quiz, he draws from game theory on how the brain reacts to work and stress, and current thinking on how play can reduce stress and treat mental-health issues.

“People are starting to understand that there is an alternative to the standard meeting, especially when you’re starting a new project,” he says. “This is another tool you can use to get responsive engagement from your team. You can get more collaboration through the use of games.”

These games also put failure in a safe environment, and Rudram believes teams can take valuable lessons away from failing together — obviously it’s better for a business if it's not in the real world.

“There’s also a need to put failure in a safe place because when you’ve got a new team and the development process is going to take a year, if that team fails, that could be the failure of a company,” Rudram says. “If you put them in one of our sessions and can see the team isn’t able to work together, you’ve got a better chance of success in the long run.”

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What has been the biggest challenge?

Explaining what I do and how I can provide value to companies — that this is more than entertainment.

Creating fun events is one aspect, but gameful thinking can be used during project work to create faster and deeper collaborations.

M A G A Z I N E’S

TO WATCH

Thank you M A G A Z I N E’S

Now in its seventh year, Douglas magazine’s 10 to Watch Awards foster business growth by increasing awareness of new businesses who exemplify innovation and TOlocal WATCH an entrepreneurial spirit. This could not be done without the support of our sponsors.

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by Keith Norbury

48 Douglas

Steelhead’s island timeline July 2014 Steelhead LNG and the Huuay-aht First Nations announce an opportunity development agreement for an LNG project on Huu-ay-aht-owned land at Sarita Bay near the south end of Alberni Inlet.

Nov 2014

Proposed 52.8 km overland pipeline from Sumas, B.C. to Cherry Point, Wash., with a 75.2 km subsea pipeline from Cherry Point to Bamberton. (This project doesn’t include a separate proposed pipeline to transport the gas to the proposed Sarita Bay LNG facility.)

Can the Steelhead LNG proposal to build a floating liquefaction plant on Saanich Inlet overcome a global LNG glut, enviro concerns, conflict within the Malahat Nation, the proposed partner in the project, and the so-called curse of Bamberton, the site of many quashed business opportunities over the past decades? Douglas looks at the odds.

P

roponents of Steelhead LNG’s floating liquefied natural gas proposal for the Bamberton waterfront on Saanich Inlet already had enough on their minds while pondering their final investment decision: A stumbling Chinese economy.

A world glut of natural gas. Plummeting oil prices robbing natural gas of a competitive advantage. Australian competitors moving ahead. A Louisiana LNG facility about to enter the fray. And, closer to home, objections from environmentalists, the nearby Tsartlip First Nation and Shawnigan residents.

Then, on February 10, the Malahat First Nation announced it had fired one of Steelhead LNG’s most eloquent advocates, a man widely credited (or blamed) with brokering Steelhead’s deal with the Malahat to build an LNG facility on the foreshore of the nation’s recently acquired Bamberton lands, about 35 kilometres north of Victoria. Steelhead and the Malahat First Nation (MFN) quickly issued statements assuring all concerned that the turfing of Malahat Investment Corporation CEO Lawrence Lewis — as well as two other executives and three trustees — would have no bearing on the LNG project.

“MFN stands behind the project and recent changes are undertaken to ensure the project moves forward for the betterment of the MFN people,” said an email

from Richard Margetts, one of two lawyers assigned by the Malahat Nation to review the governance and finances of the nation and its investment corporation.

Steelhead, meanwhile, regards the restructuring as “an internal matter” and looks forward to working with recently elected Chief Caroline Harry and her council.

Still, given all that’s been happening, a disinterested observer might be excused for wondering if the curse of Bamberton is about to assign another grand development scheme to the historical trash heap.

Bamberton’s History From 1912 to 1980, Bamberton was home to a cement plant founded by Robert Pim Butchart of Butchart Gardens fame. Bamberton’s column of smoke was a familiar sight from many vantage points on the Saanich Peninsula. In the ‘50s and ‘60s, the plant thrived, according to the Bamberton Historical Society website. It employed hundreds, many who lived with their families in a village on the site. But on many occasions, the plant struggled, as when it shut down during the First World War and the Great Depression.

Since the plant’s final closure, various grand ideas have been floated for the 1,800-acre property. In 1988, New Jersey-based industrialist Jay Wooding proposed a ferrochromium smelter on the site. A public hearing at the time drew 600 mostly hostile critics to the

The Huu-ay-aht People’s Assembly votes to approve the lease of Huu-ay-aht treaty settlement lands for Steelhead’s proposed Sarita Bay project and “the carrying out of comprehensive environmental, traditional-use and technical studies in advance of a final investment decision expected in 2018.”

Feb 2015 Steelhead and the Huu-ayaht First Nations announce a contract with WorleyParsons, “which could be worth an excess of $30 million,” for environmental, engineering, geotechnical and regulatory services at the proposed Sarita Bay project site.

May 2015 Steelhead announces creation of a multi-year “Generations Fund” to provide education, training and community programs for the Huu-ay-aht First Nations.

Aug 2015 Steelhead says it has completed a mutual benefits agreement and long-term lease with the Malahat First Nations for a proposed floating LNG project at Bamberton.

Sept 2015 Steelhead announces a preconstruction agreement with pipeline developer Williams for the Sumas-to-Cherry Point and Cherry Point-to-Malahat pipeline.

Sept 2015 Steelhead announces the signing of a deal with Höegh LNG, for Höegh LNG and Bechtel to perform the pre-front end engineering and design work for the proposed Malahat project.

Oct 2015 Steelhead announces the National Energy Board approval of the company’s application for five LNG export licences of up to 30 million tonnes a year from its two proposed projects.

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Brentwood School gymnasium. Wooding was run out of town, only to pitch his idea in 1989 to Nanaimo, where he received an even more acrimonious welcome. He tried Port Hardy, but the third effort wasn’t a charm either.

In 1991, South Island Development Corporation, funded by union pension funds, proposed a 4,900-home utopia of bike paths, tertiary sewage treatment and home-based businesses on the Bamberton hillsides. At the time, then-Malahat Chief Randy Daniels said the $900-million proposal impinged on the Malahat Nation’s land claims to the property, which included sacred Malahat Mountain, according to a Vancouver Sun article written by the author of this article.

South Island could never get its project off the ground. Nor could Bamberton Properties after proposing a scaled-back development of 3,200 homes. But Chief Daniels’ 1991 comments proved prescient when nearly 25 years later, in July 2015, the Malahat Nation bought the Bamberton site from Bamberton Properties LLP. The price tag, Lewis said in an interview before he was fired, was between $30 million and $40 million.

On the face of it, the most recent grand plan for Bamberton looks like the most grandiose of all. Or loopiest. Take your pick. It involves building a natural gas pipeline from the B.C. border at Sumas, running it about 53 kilometres to Cherry Point in Washington State, where it would connect with a 75-kilometre undersea pipeline snaking along the bottom of the Salish Seas, past the Swartz Bay ferry terminal, through Satellite Channel and down the throat of Saanich Inlet (see map p.49).

There it would supply gas to a gargantuan floating liquefaction plant. Then another pipeline would carry gas to an even larger landbased liquefaction facility — estimated cost $30 billion — on Sarita Bay near the mouth of Barkley Sound.

That’s kinda, sorta, the plan right now, though Steelhead CEO Nigel Kuzemko said the Sarita plant might still be built first. “We’re still in early days and we’re looking at all options still. Nothing’s off the table,” he said during an interview that predated the Malahat Investment Corporation shakeup.

Kuzemko doesn’t expect Steelhead, which is backed by Calgary-based private equity firm Azimuth Capital Management, to make its final investment decision until 2017 at earliest.

Should everything fall in place, Steelhead would begin exporting LNG by 2021 or 2022.

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Depending on whom one asks, the proposed LNG facility would either be the greatest boon to the Malahat First Nation and the people of Saanich Inlet ever — or herald the destruction of the Inlet as it is known and cherished.

Among those strenuously objecting is Adam Olsen, B.C. Green Party deputy leader and member of the Tsartlip First Nation on the opposite side of the Inlet from the Malahat.

Olsen’s beefs include that other First Nations on the Inlet weren’t consulted before Malahat signed the deal. He also questions the wisdom of natural gas development when there’s a global glut, and when world leaders committed in Paris last year to dramatically reducing fossil fuel consumption.

“So look, no matter whether or not the natural gas market changes and all of those global forces shift miraculously into the benefit of developing a liquefied natural gas economy here over the next decade, Saanich Inlet is still the wrong spot for an LNG facility,” Olsen says.

Growing up near the Inlet’s shoreline, he would accompany his fishing-guide father on trips that took him within 50 metres of the Bamberton wharf. At 40, he's barely old enough to remember the last gasps of smoke from the old cement plant.

Former Malahat Investment Corporation CEO Lawrence Lewis has a similar background, coming from a line of fishermen from the We Wai Kai Nation on Quadra Island. As a young man he crewed on seine boats from the west coast of Vancouver Island to Alaska.

Like Olsen, Lewis has young children and is

concerned about the world they’ll inherit.

“I’ve had the benefit of working on this project for close to two years now,” Lewis said while still CEO of the Malahat Investment Corporation. “So I understand the science, I understand the engineering, I understand the economics. And what I can say with absolute certainty is when reasonable people sit down and walk through the project, I have yet to experience a single soul who has come and said this is not a good idea.”

Lewis also noted there was no way Bamberton could have consulted with other First Nations before the Steelhead deal was signed because the negotiations were taking place at the same time the Malahat was negotiating the deal to buy the Bamberton lands. “The negotiation of the acquisition of the site had to happen in secrecy,” Lewis says.

Had word of the LNG potential leaked to the seller, “the price of the property could have easily doubled,” he adds.

A Boon or a Losing Proposition?

Guy Dauncey, a futurist and author now based at Yellow Point near Nanaimo, doesn’t see any merit to the Steelhead LNG proposal. Twentyfive years ago, he was an environmental consultant for South Island Development Corporation on its proposal, of which he was something of a booster.

“Clearly the proponents [Steelhead] believe there’s a business case because they’re investing money,” says Dauncey. “They may have bought into [B.C. premier] Christy Clark’s rhetoric and believe the government is so strongly behind [LNG] that all the approvals will be plain sailing.”

Just a few years ago, Clark and her Liberal government were banking on an LNG windfall to sweep up B.C. in a wave of prosperity, adding billions in revenues and creating 100,000 jobs. Clark has toned downed those projections, while also lashing out at LNG naysayers who have raised concerns about the environmental impacts.

The Liberals’ most recent throne speech in February conceded that slumping gas prices “will have an impact on your government’s initial timelines.” But it went on to say, “Success is not for quitters.” And, the speech added, “We must begin to export [natural gas] or the 13,000 people who depend on this industry today will be out of work.”

Rich Coleman, minister responsible for LNG, wasn’t available for an interview. However, he released a statement to Douglas that said, in part, “B.C. is in this for the long-term. We are negotiating project development agreements with proponents, working with First Nations to further strengthen environmental stewardship,

Douglas 51

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and partnering with trades associations to increase skills training. Thousands of jobs are being created and our first commitment is to have British Columbians ready for them.”

Strategic Partners A common feature of pretty much every LNG proposal in B.C. is that it has a First Nations partner. These are moves calculated to gain projects with what has become known as social licence. Yet invariably support from First Nations for these projects is far from universal. Consider the case of the LNG plant that Malaysian energy giant Petronas wishes to build on Lelu Island near Prince Rupert. While members of the Lax Kw’alaams First Nation have reportedly turned down a billion-dollar offer from Petronas and have been actively protesting the project, other First Nations leaders in the region have said they remain open to the project so long as it passes environmental muster.

Support for Steelhead’s project among First Nations has also been questionable. The Tsartlip First Nation, for example, posted a notice on its website denouncing Steelhead’s “aggressive approach” in announcing the project “prior to any discussions with the Tsartlip community.” Tsartlip Chief Don Tom has said that any such project requires Tsartlip approval, according to news reports. However,

he didn’t respond to requests for further comment from Douglas.

Malahat Chief Caroline Harry, elected in November, has also expressed concerns about the LNG project, according to news reports following the election. Contacted by Douglas, she declined comment, referring the matter to Renee Racette, who took over from Lewis as the Nation’s CEO in January. (Lewis had stepped down as CEO of the Nation to focus full-time on his duties as CEO of the Malahat Investment Corporation, an arm’s-length, Nation-owned entity “that exists for the beneficial interests of the Nation,” he says.)

Caroline Harry succeeded interim Chief Tommy Harry, who took over after the previous chief, David Michael Harry, resigned over allegations, not tested in court, involving a contaminated-soil dump near Shawnigan Lake.

(Yes, all three Harrys are part of an extended family.) A week after the resignation, Steelhead and Malahat announced their deal, timing that also rankles Adam Olsen.

“I’m not sure what motivated it or what expedited it, but for them to make an announcement such as this with a project of this kind and not have a solid leadership in place in Malahat speaks volumes to me,” Olsen says.

There is also First Nations dissent over Steelhead’s Sarita Bay project, proposed for

land owned by the Huu-ay-aht First Nation.

At a national assembly last year, about 200 members voted (around 60 per cent) in favour of conducting an environmental review of the project. Seventy-one people voted against going even that far.

Asked what supporters of the project would have to do to win over the naysayers, elected Chief Robert Dennis Sr. says, “Well, I think it’s more what we have to do so we don’t lose the yes vote.”

One “big advantage” of the LNG project is that it would cause less disturbance to the land than a forestry operation, says Dennis, who was elected chief councillor in June but previously served in the post from 1995 to 2011. The Steelhead project also presents a “very high” potential for employment of Huu-ay-aht members and would be part of a mutual benefits agreement the nations would sign should they reach a deal with Steelhead, Dennis adds.

The 315-member Malahat Nation already has such an agreement with Steelhead that includes $25,000 a month the company is now paying for a life-skills development program, Lewis reveals. The program has put 13 people to work, although five of those jobs are with another joint-venture company “because the opportunities with Steelhead right now are

“They’re a game anger.”

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all forward future looking,” Lewis says. “So we’re using this opportunity to create jobs and employment today.”

The Bamberton facility, which will produce six million tonnes of LNG annually, will provide up to 200 “high-paying long-term positions” once operational, according to an August 2015 Steelhead news release. The company hasn’t arrived at an estimate for the Sarita site, but it is licensed to handle four times the volume of Bamberton.

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If there’s a business case for Steelhead, Darryl Anderson, Victoria transportation analyst and managing partner of Wave Point Consulting, hasn’t seen it. But since proponents aren't making an investment decision right away, he is willing to give them some benefit of doubt.

“But in the short run, it’s a challenge,” says Anderson, who undertook a project on LNG bunkering for a port authority three years ago and has also studied LNG shipping traffic.

He says one challenge is Sarita Bay’s remote location, about 75 kilometres from Port Alberni.

“They’re really energy intensive facilities. Now they may use natural gas and other things.

But you have to still bring your pipeline, your electrical, your water, your sewer to a relatively remote location.”

At its Bamberton location, Steelhead also has “really hard capital costs,” not to mention the expense of the pipeline,” he says. But the biggest problem for Anderson is that Steelhead doesn’t appear to own any assets at upland production or at the consumption end. That’s unlike Petronas, which owns and is developing its own wells in northeastern B.C. but also has an equity partner to buy the gas.

If Steelhead is just an asset owner of would-be marine terminals, which are in the midstream, it is “particularly vulnerable,” Anderson says, “because that market has not proven to be successful for anybody.”

Even if Steelhead’s model is for a long-term play, it isn’t clear to Anderson how the company would generate value for customers when it doesn’t “appear to be large enough to control the supply chain and drive down economies and guarantee the customer a security of supply."

Steelhead CEO Kuzemko says that because its project requires bank financing, the company is looking for “long-term contracts with credit-worthy off-takers.” Those would be “back to back” with similar contracts with gas suppliers. So far, the company hasn’t signed any such contracts but is working with potential customers to understand their requirements, he says.

“Their requirements are just the same as any other business — they want stable, long-term, reliable LNG supply at a competitive price,” Kuzemko says. “That’s what we believe we can

deliver from Canada.”

Saul Klein, dean of the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria, says potential B.C. LNG producers might gain advantages from the cheaper loonie, “but it is not clear that other countries, such as Australia or Qatar, do not have similar advantages,” he said.

However, his LNG skepticism has little to do with the present glut and low energy prices, which are cyclical. While he doesn’t expect the world to wean itself from fossil fuels for many years, he says concerns over climate change will likely cause a shift from dirty sources such as coal to cleaner fuels, “which will obviously be good for LNG.” Dauncey, though, expects that the green shift will also doom LNG. “It’s like investing in a huge horse-powered infrastructure in the year 1890,” Dauncey says of LNG. Even Kuzemko doesn’t dispute that the world is heading toward an energy future without fossil fuels, including LNG. “I really hope that in 60 years we don’t need LNG projects anymore,” he says. With the right technological developments, coal should phase out over the next decade, followed by oil, then natural gas, he adds.

Ken Green, senior director of natural resource studies at the Fraser Institute, says if he ran a company looking to enter the

LNG market today, he’d seriously recalculate because of the prospect of China’s economic bubble bursting. “If that happens, then the expected giant sales market for liquid natural gas might be slower to appear ...”

He also acknowledges that the head start of Australia and competition from Russia pose problems for B.C. Then there's competition from other proposed LNG facilities in B.C., but Kuzemko notes many LNG facilities are in remote locations and lack much of a local workforce.

That’s why Steelhead is building a floating facility. It doesn’t need a lot of land or require dredging, and the facility can be built in a shipyard, which in this case would be in Asia.

However, as Adam Olsen points out, only one floating LNG facility has been built and it isn’t even finished yet. That’s Shell’s Prelude project, expected to go into operation in 2017 off the coast of Western Australia. Petronas also has a couple of floating LNG projects under construction.

Kuzemko, though, is confident that the technology is proven and ready for Saanich Inlet, saying it combines the proven liquefaction technology of onshore facilities with proven technology for storing LNG on ocean carriers. It’s a concept, he says, “that has been rigorously developed and assessed for more than a decade.”

But will it work on Saanich Inlet? Dauncey suspects that Steelhead has seriously underestimated the physical challenges of the inlet, noting that it’s more than 200 metres deep in places. “And it’s full of anoxic sludge at the bottom, which if it’s ever disturbed would send off a wave of oxygen-free material and do massive damage to the marine life of the inlet.”

Kuzemko says he is confident engineers will be able to deal with the depth and sludge.

Undersea pipelines have been built all over the world, he says. In fact, he is hopeful the project will be judged on its merits and the many benefits it brings to the region, B.C. and Canada.

Beyond the Bamberton Curse That still doesn’t take into account that the plan is to build it at Bamberton, where other grand schemes have died, as Dauncey recalls all too well.

“The funny thing is that when I was working on the Bamberton project, there was a lot of protest on the Saanich Peninsula side. And I remember being at one meeting where someone said, ‘Look, if I get my binoculars, I can see that ugly thing,’” Dauncey recalls with laughter.

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Douglas 55

Shoplifting sucks billions of dollars every year from the Canadian retail industry and causes stress and fear amongst retailers and their employees.

Douglas talks to concerned Victoria merchants who are struggling to find solutions to a chronic problem.

by Carolyn Heiman

Shoplifting

you don’t have to be a

S

ome downtown Victoria merchants say a “very bold and persistent psychotic kleptomaniac,” who has been regularly shoplifting over the past year, is costing them thousands of dollars in losses. Handbags, athletic wear and cosmetics have all been deftly removed from shops without payment.

Frustration would best describe how many store owners and managers feel about the situation, especially when they believe they’ve seen the woman shamelessly parade stolen goods on her person days after they’ve been lifted from the store. Others say they have seen some of the goods being sold at 56 Douglas

local swap-and-shop markets.

Freni Waidelich, store manager for Heart and Sole Shoes, does not hold back when expressing her exasperation and concern about the situation: “She has been bullying [Fort Street boutiques mostly] for over a year ... and, although known to police, she doesn’t care and wears the item that day or the next and blatantly flaunts herself up and down Fort Street.”

In Search of Solutions The situation is frustrating to merchants and their staff, but it’s also a concern to

police, according to Constable Dan O’Connor, Victoria Police Department’s downtown community resource officer. He notes that police appreciate the concerns of store owners but they need exacting information that would support laying charges. For instance, the police cannot act on hunches. You must actually see the suspect conceal the item, be able to identify the item, be able to identify the suspect and describe how the entire theft took place. For information about the legality of detaining shoplifters and tips to ensure you are a good witness, merchants should contact their local police department.

The top three items most likely to be stolen from retailers are alcohol, ladies’ apparel and cosmetics and fragrances.

— Canadian Retail Security Survey 2012

WORK ON YOUR BUSINESS

— NOT ON YOUR BOOKS

victim It’s important that police get reports about incidents at the time they happen and with strong documentation behind it, says O’Connor. It’s not good enough to hear a month later that “she’s wearing the [stolen] pants right now.” Her wearing the pants right now, with no serial number attached to the pants won’t be enough evidence to support charges that could hold up in court.

O’Connor says he’s working closely with the merchants to help find strategies to prevent the shoplifting and pull together sound documentation that could pave the

way to charges. He notes that police are also offering merchants advice on how to handle situations involving threatening behaviour by shoplifters.

That’s key for the Fort Street merchants who also fear their persistent shoplifter has an unstable personality with a violent tendency, acting paranoid if clerks follow her around. Frontline staff worry that if they confront the woman she’ll become aggressive, and there are reports that she has threatened at least one clerk.

“Often, it is just us girls in the store and it is up to us to manage it,” says

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Waidelich. “You have to put yourself in this horrible position. It feels like we are being bullied by this person.”

In the case of threatening behaviour, says O’Connor, it’s essential for those on the frontlines to call police for assistance and to never engage with potentially dangerous people on their own.

A Persistent and costly Problem While not all shoplifters are a danger to shop owners or their employees, their actions can be devastating for the health of the business.

According to Stephen O’Keefe, an independent consultant who conducts surveys for the Retail Council of Canada, the most recent statistics indicate that shoplifting costs the Canadian retail industry $2.05 billion in profit losses (or “shrink,” as the industry refers to it).

O’Keefe says there’s no evidence that shoplifting is on the rise, but there is more awareness and sharing of information. In the case of organized crime, he says, “retailers are getting better about connecting the dots.

Police are getting better about connecting the dots and we hear more about them. When people read about this, they think organized retail crime has gone up. It hasn’t. But we are better at detecting it.”

Nor have the reasons people steal changed much; O’Keefe puts it down to three things: need, greed, and opportunity.

Retailers don’t have much opportunity to affect the first two factors, where things like poverty, addiction, peer pressure and social issues drive the perpetrator, says O’Keefe.

But they can definitely take action around diminishing the opportunities for shoplifters to steal from their stores.

As an example, he talks about a client who has a horticultural business that over the years grew from selling just plants to selling garden tools. Later, the owner added a corner boutique to the business model, with gardening-themed crafts and accessories. It was then that the store started experiencing very high losses.

O’Keefe scoped the merchandising space.

“I realized it was set up to appeal to the honest person,” he says. That made it an easy environment for a shoplifter to act without detection. So O’Keefe recommended moving the cash area into a circular space in the centre of the store, which permitted staff to have easy views of all parts of the merchandising area. Losses diminished immediately.

Community Concern Teri Hustins, owner of Oscar & Libby’s, is a Victoria retailer with more than 25 years of experience under her belt. During that time she has been on the pointy end of a variety 58 Douglas

of frauds, thefts and even a very disconcerting armed robbery.

Hustins is a big believer in training staff properly to anticipate and prevent shoplifting.

“A major deterrent is just greeting someone,” she adds, explaining that something as simple as acknowledgment can deter someone’s intent on stealing.

“I also tell staff to use their instincts,” says Hustins. Unusual vocabulary, loud talking or other peculiar behaviour can often signal that someone is on the prowl to steal. “The number one deterrent is attentive staff.”

Hustins also establishes a code word for staff to use when they need their colleagues on the floor to help observe individuals in the store.

How and what she merchandises is also a factor. She declined, for example, to stock some “groovy paring knives,” believing that her staff might not be comfortable with them in the store. Smaller items get placed near the cash counter.

That said, it didn’t deter someone from randomly stealing five packages of gourmet popcorn over the Christmas holidays. Why would someone risk getting caught for something of such a small value? “I have no idea,” says Hustins. “Maybe it was the thrill, or just something they wanted … But if you add up the dollar value of all the things stolen, it

Top 8 Tips to Reduce Shoplifting

➊

Provide good customer service; shoplifters avoid stores with friendly and attentive employees. Verbally greet and make direct eye contact with each customer entering the store.

➋

Monitor customers and especially those who spend more time watching staff than looking at merchandise or appear to be just wandering around, appear to be nervous or may attempt to conceal items inside bulky clothing.

Use video cameras and mirrors to monitor all areas of the business. Post signs stating video cameras are in use.

➍

Do not wait to offer assistance until a customer asks for help.

Maintain controlled access to changing rooms.

➎

Ensure aisles, signs and displays do not interfere with visibility.

➌

➏

➐

Be aware of diversions by an accomplice.

➑

Have a security audit/risk assessment completed to identify any areas of concerns and implement improvements.

Source: Victoria Police Department

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does not add up to being chump change.”

Hustins would agree with O’Keefe that shoplifting isn’t a bigger issue than years ago. “But we now have more ways of finding out about it and communicating with our business neighbours about potential shoplifters.”

That communication is proving to be an important tool for merchants, and Hustins has organized merchants in the Fort Street area into an informal “block watch” where members share strategies to combat shoplifting and send alerts when they believe a shoplifter is actively working in the area.

“We’ve received good advice from the [police] liaison officer,” says Hustins. “As business owners we feel so powerless. And our staff feel nervous. It’s been helpful to get some guidance on how to keep our businesses safe and our staff safe.”

“Fort Street is very well organized as a precinct,” says Suzanne Bradbury, acting president of the Downtown Victoria Business Association. She credits Hustins’ organizational capacity for this, adding that businesses can help reduce shoplifting by actively participating in these informal precincts.

Speaking of the situation with the shoplifter on Fort Street, Bradbury adds, “It is an unfortunate situation and always frustrating for businesses, particularly when it is a chronic situation ... Shoplifting is a drain on talented people trying to move their business forward.”

A shoplifter’s activity essentially takes money right out of the business, says Hustins, which she calls “frustrating.” But the cost to business goes beyond that. “This is money we could use to pay a part-timer so that we can find time to be creative around growing our businesses.”

And there are bigger implications as well.

As Waidelich points out, shoplifters like the women operating downtown are “costing the whole community thousands of dollars in taxpayers’ money in policing efforts.”

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Being Aware There are many steps retailers can take to help curtail the actions of shoplifters. The Retail Council of Canada has a 32-page booklet to help retailers assess their security and which notes that shoplifters come from all social classes and groups.

“You may have a middle-aged man stealing an entire shelf of shampoo, a group of teenagers stealing for a thrill or a mentally ill elderly person stealing anything she can ... If you focus only on the tough-looking subjects, you’ll miss the ones who have learned to fit in. Give your customers equal attention — and you won’t blind yourself to threats.” ■

INTEL

[business intelligence ]

61 Entrepreneur Testing the Waters, Attracting Investment

62 Sales and marketing The Power of a Positive Attitude

64 Digital Life Taking Social Media Seriously

Brad Williams, co-founder of Cooler Heads Safety, talks to delegates on the first night of A Capital Mission. Cooler Heads developed the Flame Shield Model FX1 to provide head and face protection for those caught in flash fires, a dangerous reality in the oil and gas industry.

entrepreneur by peter Elkins

Testing the Waters, Attracting Investment Our columnist debriefs on A Capital Mission, the recent reverse trade mission that drew investors to Victoria from six U.S. and Canadian cities. Did we prove we’ve got the right stuff?

T

his February, the City of Victoria co-hosted a reverse trade mission, which they dubbed A Capital Mission in a nod to doing business in our province’s capital. The mission capitalized on last fall’s successful Victoria-to-San-Francisco trade mission.

For three days, from February 17 to 19, I immersed myself in A Capital Mission and observed how the delegates perceived our city and its opportunities. I also observed how this junket was a great example of how local organizations with a stake in boosting the city’s business profile can work together to showcase our companies, from startups to tourism venues, artisan food and beverage industries and real estate. Collaborators included the City, UVic, VIATEC, Tourism Victoria, Downtown Victoria Business Association, Urban Development Institute and Capital Investment Network.

The event, which I think I can safely say exceeded everyone’s expectations, attracted 30 visitors from San Francisco and five other U.S. and Canadian cities. Beyond any investment

local startups attracted, the mission also provided an opportunity to win over more champions for Victoria — and cultivating champions is extremely important as we continue to evolve our Island entrepreneurial ecosystem.

What clearly came through was that while Victoria is certainly a lifestyle and natural-beauty capital, it’s also a place of untapped business opportunity. It was reassuring to hear one investor say, “This mission turned me into a Victoria advocate and believer in the local startup scene — it clearly has the potential to remain a key driver of future economic growth.”

Making the Pitch A Capital Mission started off with a Pitch & Mix showcase of local entrepreneurs selling their business ideas to a crowd of more than 100 people.

Opportunities ran the gamut, from a circus school to a university-spinoff biometric software company.

Royal Roads grad Annalea Krebs, founder of EthicalDeal, which had $1 million in sales in its first year, attracted the most investor attention for her Douglas 61

latest offering, SocialNature, an online social product sampling community. In essence, people sign up with SocialNature to sample greener choices like organic deodorants or vegan mascara for free. In return, SocialNature asks them to share comments with the online community and invite friends, fans and followers to try products.

The next day, we took our visitors on a walking tour of downtown that included stops to talk with folks like Tim Teh of Kano/Apps, Shea Phillips of Peter Gustavson’s Space Station and Owen Matthews of Wesley Clover and The Alacrity Foundation to learn about several “second floor” companies they support and who call downtown home.

Angels and Fresh Concepts in Investing That night, the City hosted an event at Northern Quarter, which gave everyone a chance to ask questions about the companies they saw during the day and about the opportunities in our community. I ended up sitting beside Gary Yurkovich, chairman and founder of Espresso Capital, an investment firm founded by tech executives who provide Canada’s tech ecosystem with innovative funding alternatives.

Gary, like others, is seriously looking at Victoria as a place to invest, so events like this are a perfect way to introduce Victoria’s new economy to new investors.

The next morning we met inside the Royal BC Museum First Peoples Galleries for a breakfast presentation from Seattlebased investor Josh Maher on his new book Startup Wealth: How the Best Angel Investors

Sales and Marketing by Mike Wicks

The Power of a Positive Attitude For good or bad, attitude is contagious. Upbeat salespeople close more sales — period. So do the salespeople representing your company have the right attitude?

I

Make Money in Startups. Josh, a passionate supporter of the Seattle startup scene and founder of the Seattle Angels, introduced us to event-based financing, something that has been implemented successfully through the Bend Venture Conference and Josh’s not-forprofit Seattle Angel Conference.

As Josh explained event-based financing, I think the light bulb went on for everyone in the room. The concept is essentially to bring together a large group of interested angel investors and ask them to invest collaboratively in a managed fund. They must also attend 12 weeks of learning sessions on how event-based financing works, including how to pick winners, perform due diligence and, for the novices, to learn from seasoned investors.

Events are then held where those looking for investment pitch to these angels. Each event results in a local company being selected to receive $200K, a big boost to any startup. The events also offer training and exposure to other startups.

This type of financing is an obvious next step to get people interested in local investing, and Josh is currently working with our local Capital

Definitely Worth Repeating This being Capital Mission’s version 1.0, the visit was a success and will provide an excellent return on investment in three areas: attracting outside investment to local businesses, inspiring deeper trust and collaboration with local organizations involved in growing our economy, and attracting people to relocate to our community with the resources and the mindset to make significant contributions to our social fabric, our entrepreneurial ecosystem and, ultimately, our local living economy.

The City of Victoria says it is committed to hosting the Capital Mission again next year, so if you know a values-based business person who would like to come here to learn about Victoria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and investment opportunities, send them our way.

Peter Elkins is co-founder of the Capital Investment Network, Kick Victoria and Business As Unusual.

He is passionate about driving Vancouver Island’s entrepreneurial economy.

6 Easy WAYS Focus on Your body language Act like the selfconfident person you want to be. Watch your posture, make eye contact and smile when talking to others.

to boost Your confidence Your confidence is a signal to sales clients that you feel positive about what you are selling.

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Keep Learning Seek out courses and ways to grow your strengths — it's the surest route to growth and success in life.

Accept your weaknesses Don’t fall into the comparison trap Don’t compare yourself to others — try self-to-self comparison and focus on your own growth and results.

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3 Trust Your Judgement Stop worrying so much about what others think.

’ve spent much of my career as a successful salesperson, always in the top three in my company, often number one. I’d like to say it was all sophisticated sales techniques, but what it really came down to was my ability to consistently maintain a positive attitude. This seemingly small thing created an environment that made selling easier.

Buyers felt comfortable taking my advice about what and how much to purchase, and it helped me develop devoted customers who bought more from me than from my competitors.

I’m sure you’ve sent your salespeople on courses to learn about prospecting, presentation skills, closing and other techniques to improve their sales figures.

But all the technique in the world won’t help a salesperson with a poor attitude. Imagine a member of your sales team meeting a buyer

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Investment Network to bring event-based financing to our city.

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Nobody is perfect — and constantly striving for absolute perfection can stand in the way of success.

Spend time with supportive people Just as negativity can bring you down, spending time within a positive, uplifting environment will be a boost.

and looking as if he’d rather be anywhere than with the buyer. Picture slumped shoulders, an air of resignation hanging over them. How do you think the prospect feels? They’re certainly not thinking, “Great, here comes Jane. She always cheers me up. I wonder what she has for me today?”

Good Vibrations If we emanate bad vibes, then bad vibes are what we’ll get back from prospects and customers. If we’re full of positivity, people will feed off that energy and be positive too.

And buyers who feel good buy more. This may seem obvious, but I come across salespeople all the time who exude negativity. It’s not that they’re miserable, although some are, but that they lack confidence

in themselves and perhaps their product, and it shows. If it was a physical thing, and sometimes it is, it would manifest itself in a weak handshake and sweaty armpits.

Do Lucky Streaks exist?

You’ll often hear salespeople talking about lucky streaks, but are these runs of success about luck or attitude? I’d argue the latter.

Ask yourself, “Do I see sales coming in batches from individual salespeople? Do they have a run of good days followed by a run of bad ones?” This is a common pattern and has far more to do with attitude than with the quality of a prospecting list, or anything else.

This is the power of positive energy at work.

I don’t want to get terribly scientific, but the theory of noetics centres on the idea that beliefs, thoughts and intentions are capable of affecting the physical world. I’m not making this up; this field of science is fascinating and indicates that the power of thought may be a whole lot stronger than we imagine.

I have no doubt sales success is linked to whether salespeople feel positive or negative during the complete sales process, and even beyond it into day-to-day life. This may be as much the result of body language as it is positive energy being transferred via thought; no matter, something occurs. It can be measured in the revenue your sales team brings in.

How to Increase Sales Success Helping your sales reps become more positive and confident is the biggest thing you can do to immediately increase sales revenue. There are several things you and your sales team can do today to pump up your positivity quotient. This may sound hokey, but I assure you I’ve had this work with cynical 40-year sales veterans. Give it a try.

First thing in the morning, ask yourself, “How do I feel today? Is this a 9-out-of10-day, when I feel totally confident and up for whatever life throws at me? Or is the weight of the world on my shoulders and my attitude hovering around a three?” If it’s the latter, remind yourself, “Today is a fresh start and whether I’m successful or not is completely dependent on how I approach the day.”

On days when you score low, remind yourself that the power to have a good day or a bad one is completely in your hands. As Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” Then rescore yourself — hopefully, you will have been able to raise yourself up to a pretty decent seven or more.

If you can’t budge your attitude, adjust your workload if possible. If your score is very low, it may not be the best day to try to close that important deal, or to try and sell to a difficult prospect. It might be more productive to

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reconnect with favourite customers and get a little upbeat energy from them!

Every day for a month, grade yourself on a 1-to-10 scale, with 1 being “I just want to go back to bed” and 10 being “Today I’m unstoppable!” If the number is a little low, talk yourself up a few notches if you can. Note both figures in your daybook.

At the end of each day, note the number of sales you’ve made and their value (or any other success indicators that work for you) on a spreadsheet.

Then, at the end of the month, mark down your attitude rating (from your daybook) above each day’s sales in your spreadsheet. It’s important to not combine the figures until the end of the month.

Finally, once your month’s chart is complete, look at the relationship between sales figures on days where your attitude rating is six or higher to those when it is five or under.

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Extending Positive Thinking When you go into sales situations with high energy and enthusiasm, and a positive attitude, you are far more likely to not only make a sale, but to begin to create a long-term and highperforming customer.

Mike Wicks is an award-winning author, blogger, ghostwriter and publisher. He is co-president of Blue Beetle Books.

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digital Life by David Alexander

you putting into social media? This audit should be a regular part of your business — monitoring your online activity and successes allows you to see when you are hitting your goals.

Taking Social Media Seriously Social media has become a crucial part of any business.

So what’s it really worth to you?

T

he average North American spends two hours a day on social media channels, from Instagram to Twitter to Facebook, according to a recent article in Adweek. And if you are in business, you probably know by now that social media is where your customers are, and how you build loyalty and good will and increase your brand presence. But surprisingly, many businesses still don’t take social media seriously and the reason could be that they still don't know how to gauge the return on investment (ROI).

So how do you figure out what works or doesn't work for your business?

Plan It Out The Internet is a massive place (shocking, I know), so it’s important to have a social media plan that syncs nicely with your overall business goals. Importantly, instead of trying to reach everyone everywhere, plan measurable goals and target specific platforms.  Step 1 Audit what you have currently going on. Which channels are you using and with what results? What time are

 Step 2 Create measurable goals — you’ll need tangible actions to evaluate, such as: • generating new leads • creating new followers •c ommunicating with existing customers • inspiring actions from your followers, such as signing up for a newsletter, liking or retweeting content or purchasing merchandise or services (the last is the Holy Grail for most businesses).  Step 3 Create a content plan. Content is easy to share, harder to create, but

8 Social media stats you need to know

Source: www.freshgigs.ca

20.5% of all Internet users were expected to have a Twitter account by the end of 2015.

Snapchat is growing at a rate of 56% a year, making it the fastest-growing messaging app.

Instagram is now more popular than Twitter in terms of active users (300 million vs. 284 million)

One out of every three professionals on the planet is on LinkedIn.

Adding 120,000 users daily.

Active-user-base grew by 120% in the last 6 months of 2014 (vs. 2% for Facebook)

Neglecting Google Plus?

It was predicted to grow by 33% in 2015.

Served more video than YouTube in 2014 (12.3 billion video views vs. 11.3 billion) for the first time.

There are 500 tweets per minute containing a YouTube link.

A membership that builds relationships and creates new alliances.

At the Union Club of British Columbia, socialize with friends and associates, meet new people, and attend events that include gourmet dining, weekly men and women nights, live music, and fine wine and spirit tastings.

Tiffany Armstrong, Sales & Marketing Manager

Alexander Amos, Sous Chef

Alex Fischer-Jean, Front Office Manager

Heather Power, Food & Beverage Manager

And, yes, it has its privileges.

There’s a travel benefit, too, with our Affiliate Club Network of 450 clubs around the world.

Jeffrey Brothers, Executive Chef

805 Gordon Street, Victoria 250-384-1151 www.unionclub.com

PREMIER AMENITIES | MEETINGS & CONFERENCES | 22 GUEST ROOMS & SUITES | FITNESS ROOM

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info@unionclub.com

the content you create can be gold if it's compelling enough for others to want to share it. So don't leave this to chance — formalize that process: build a calendar and mark off when you’ll create content, how you’ll distribute it and which goals it will meet.  Step 4 This is the most important step: evaluate your ROI! This is where that crucial return on investment comes in — we’ll get to that in a moment (see below).  Step 5 Tweak like crazy. If your goals aren’t being met, if the ROI is lousy, change tactics and try again.

Calculating Social Media ROI Here's how to put step 4 — evaluating your social media ROI — into action. And it’s easier than ever with today's sophisticated analytics.

Google and Hootsuite are good starting points, or Buffer if you want to get deep into shares, likes or follows.

Assign a monetary value to your social media goals. Some of these values will come from sales results (e.g., average earnings from social media customers), some will come from intuition and, if you really get stuck, there are standard valuations online for social media activities.

Be cautious, however, as these valuations do fluctuate and no one is going to know your business like you do. For example, if your goal is to increase Facebook likes and you have, on average, $50 in sales for every 25 new likes, then each follower is worth about $2. It’s useful as part of this exercise to consider costs you would be paying without social media; for example, online ads that would otherwise drive traffic. Out of this, you should have a rough monetary value assigned to each goal.

With this data in hand, you can calculate the ROI. Take your time (or staff time) and multiply the number of hours you’ve committed to social media over the period you are evaluating.

Add in the cost of all the social media tools and services you use plus any advertising you’ve done to build your social media following or drive traffic.

Now you know your investment. Compare this investment to the combined dollar values you’ve assigned to your social media goals.

Voila, you have a pretty accurate idea of your social media return on investment.

Now, a word of caution: it's easy to start pouring resources into the social media realm — and it’s big enough to absorb whatever you give it. The takeaway from this column is to start looking at social media as you would any other function of your business. While calculating the ROI on social media can be a bit taxing to your math skills, it will ensure you know that what you are putting in is paying off. ■ David Alexander is head of Archives, Access and Digital at the Royal BC Museum and has a keen interest in technology trends that affect our businesses and lives.

Social Media Camp 2016

May 5-7, 2016 Victoria Conference Centre Social Media Camp brings together the brightest social media minds in North America for 3 days of social media exploration, sharing & teaching with a large dash of networking.

For Information and tickets visit:

socialmediacamp.ca Douglas 65

#BIKETORIA

Last Page

Wheels of Enterprise

by Athena Mckenzie

Victoria’s city council has an ambitious plan to make our city rival Copenhagen — the international benchmark — as a bike-friendly city, and it includes the design and construction of a “minimum grid” of eight protected bike lanes by 2018.

The City and a team of international city-building experts are identifying cycling corridors and creating concept designs for Victoria’s updated bicycle network. The goal is to put nearly all of Victoria’s 82,000 residents within 400 metres of a route.

These experts include Portland’s former Bicycle Program Manager Gil Penalosa of 8 80 Cities, Mia Birk of Alta Planning, and Copenhagen’s former Bicycle Program Manager, Andreas Røhl of Gehl Architects.

Proposed corridors include:  Cook Street F airfield Road and Humboldt Street  Fort Street  Government Street H arbour Road and Wharf Street H aultain Street, Kings Road and Bay Street  Pandora Avenue  Shelbourne Street and Begbie Street The updated Bicycle Master Plan for the City will be presented to the council in April.

Pedal Power

This year’s Bike to Work Week is May 30 to June 5. biketowork.ca/victoria

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There are 26 bike and bike repair shops in the Greater Victoria area.

Jeffrey bosdet/Douglas Magazine

Over its 21 years, the annual Greater Victoria Bike to Work Week has been responsible for getting 13,500 individuals out of their cars to try cycling, with many continuing to ride after the week has passed. In 2015, the 9,127 participants — including a record 1,346 new riders — cycled 439, 620 kilometres, which meant they offset an equivalent 95,310 kilos of carbon emissions.

A luxury sedan in a class of its own.

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*Starting from price based on the 2017 Audi A7 Sedan and includes an MSRP of $43,200 and freight& PDI ($2,095). Doc ($395), finance admin ($495), taxes, security deposit, licence, insurance, registration, environmental levies ($100), tire levy ($20) and similar taxes levied on the manufacturer (if charged by the Retailer), and PPSA (up to $39.26) if applicable are extra. [1] Feature is not a substitute for attentive driving. See Owner’s Manual for further details and important arting from price based on the 2017 Audi A7 Sedan and includes an MSRP of $43,200 and freight& PDI ($2,095). Doc ($395), finance admin ($495), taxes, security deposit, licence, insurance, registration, environmental levies ($100), tire limitations. Please call Audi Autohaus for more information. Model shown above for illustration purposes only. “Audi”, “A4”, “Vorsprung durch Technik”, and the four rings emblem are registered trademarks of AUDI AG. DL49914427 #31246. y ($20) and similar taxes levied on the manufacturer (if charged by the Retailer), and PPSA (up to $39.26) if applicable are extra. [1] Feature is not a substitute for attentive driving. See Owner’s Manual for further details and important mitations. Please call Audi Autohaus for more information. Model shown above for illustration purposes only. “Audi”, “A4”, “Vorsprung durch Technik”, and the four rings emblem are registered trademarks of AUDI AG. DL49914427 #31246.

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