SPEAKING OUT: SHAWN SOOLE’S PODCAST RAISES THE BAR
How to HIRE A FINANCIAL ADVISER
COST CRISIS: THE DILEMMA FACING INSURERS AND THOSE WHO RELY ON THEM ARE YOUR EMPLOYEES PRODUCTIVE?
Sage Lacerte, director of inclusion, Boann Social Impact
Nicole Smith, founder and CEO, Flytographer
Linda Biggs, co-founder and CEO, joni
Tessa McLoughlin, founder and CEO, KWENCH
How can AI boost your business? Why is Trump pushing Canada’s buttons? Where can we expect economic shifts? What does the new generation of workers really want? How do you build the growth mindset and grit to succeed?
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Dan Pontefract Keynote at Rising Economy 2024
FEATURES
16
One-man Brand
A top podcaster bar none, Shawn Soole leads the way as a hospitality consultant.
BY DAVID LENNAM
20 Peace of Mind … Really?
Crime and the weather are pricing some businesses out of the insurance market, but there are new and evolving ways to get covered.
BY SHANNON MONEO
26
Show Her the Money
Finding that elusive key to unlock funding for women entrepreneurs.
BY JILL VAN GYN-CAR
IN THE KNOW
Catch up with Duncan’s Fenstür Windows and Doors, quietly making Passive House history; the commissary closure at Victoria Public Market has food entrepreneurs seeking new venues; a new BDC study surveys Canada’s business landscape; diversifying trade amid the Trump tariff taunts; StatCan addresses our sense of financial security; UVic engineers an innovative doctorate; Douglas Reads.
40 INTEL
40 LEARN TO READ THE ROOM On mastering a social skill that could be a career game changer.
BY PAUL BRAMSON
42 DOING MORE, DOING BETTER WITH LESS Are your employees productive, or just busy?
BY CLEMENS RETTICH
44 LIFE + STYLE
Stylish sneakers are keepers for today’s professional; escape rooms that provide a team-building experience; lunching on legislation in B.C.’s Parliamentary Dining Room.
46 DID YOU KNOW
The price of parking downtown and around the country.
JOHN GREAVES
JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE
Welcome to the Money Issue
THE ONE THING WE KNOW for sure about money is that we would all like more of it, especially these last few years of rising costs, higher inflation and lower consumer spending. And with some big changes ahead among them a federal election and the threat of tariffs from the new administration across the border it’s easy to get caught up in the uncertainty of the moment, the so-called bad vibe economy.
So for a positive, realistic and constructive outlook on what’s really going on out there, we checked in with Bruce Williams, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, who in 2023 was named Executive of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Canada.
We asked him: “What are the economic challenges and opportunities for local businesses right now?” Here’s what he had to say.
“Challenges for business operators will include increasing tax rates on housing, industrial and commercial property. Ongoing government cost increases to business and industry will also be a burden,” he says. “Keeping staff especially at entry-level wages will be challenging due to our region’s cost of living. Many employers are not able to bring workers and families from other jurisdictions to settle here because of housing and food costs.”
The McNaughton Group ScotiaMcLeod® , a division of Scotia
“Let’s keep the silver lining well polished and prominent.”
Other challenges he identifies include ongoing supply chain vulnerabilities as well as labour disruptions. Add to that the reduced capacity post-secondary schools will have to train our future workforce due to restrictions on international students and the vital revenue they provide. However, some challenges also bring opportunity.
For instance, Williams says, “The tariff threat from the U.S. is prominent in many sectors, but it also presents an opportunity to strengthen border security to address the flow of illegal drugs into Canada. A recent Angus Reid poll says Americans are against the tariffs 2-1, and have particular concerns about fuel prices. This may moderate any action by the Trump administration.”
He notes that the current lower interest rates will stimulate building new housing and make it easier for businesses to reinvest in their operation and employees. He also sees opportunity in the growing market for innovation to mitigate the impact of climate issues, such as expanding food production on the Island to enhance food security. “The growth of the sustainable blue/oceanbased economy aligns with this,” he adds. “These are areas where government investment in infrastructure can help grow the economy for everyone.”
Finally, Williams reminds us to “keep the silver lining well polished and prominent despite the bombardment of bad news we see online.”
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IN THE KNOW
OPENING THE DOOR ON SUSTAINABILITY ITK
Vancouver Island’s Fenstür has quietly been making Passive House history.
The funny thing is that, 12 years after it opened up in Duncan, people are still surprised to learn that Fenstür Windows and Doors even exists. “If someone is looking for a Passive House window or a net-zero window or a really nice solid wood door, they find us, eventually,” says John Mercer, Fenstür’s “sales guy.”
JEFFREY
Duncan-based Fenstür Windows and Doors leads the continent with its energy-efficient products.
That might be about to change. Fenstür, you see, is North America’s first and likely still its only Passive House-certified maker of doors and windows. In November, it won an EcoStar Award in the category of “design and construction.” Now anyone interested in energy-efficient builds is taking notice.
Fenstür was established in 2013, but its history goes back much further. It’s a division of Wescon Cedar Products (also known as Wescon Doors), a family-owned business that has been operating in Duncan since it opened in 1985. “That’s one of our advantages,” Mercer says. “We get to take advantage of 40 years of innovation, technology and experience in the wood industry.”
It was one of Wescon’s engineers who pointed out the potential for energyefficient doors and windows.
Now Fenstür has grown from a basement startup to a 55,000-square-foot manufacturing facility that employs more than 40 skilled craftspeople and produces over 20,000 doors and windows a year. “No one else was doing it and we have the experience to do it,” Mercer says. “We built this from scratch. Nothing existed.”
Fenstür specializes in liftand-slide doors and tilt-andturn windows, mainly in solid wood with cork insulation, that are compliant with a wide range of certifications and up to Step 5 of the provincial building code. They are made on Vancouver Island from local tree species, and are designed both to be easy to maintain and to last for generations. Plus it takes a lot fewer fuel miles to ship these to customers across North America than the European products that would otherwise be their only alternative.
These doors and windows aren’t just functional and efficient. They are also beautiful. As Mercer says: “Wood is comfort. It’s lovely. It’s everything you want it to be.”
What’s Next for These Public Market Eateries?
Commissary helped launch their businesses; now its closure presents new challenges.
Coho Commissary in the Victoria Public Market helped Cafe Malabar, OOTA-YA and Oso Cookies & Donuts not just to launch their culinary businesses, but to thrive in a demanding and competitive industry.
But in late 2024, Coho unexpectedly closed its shared kitchen at the market, leaving those businesses searching for new commercial kitchen space or new venues altogether.
In a statement about the company’s decision to shutter their Victoria operation, Jennifer Chan, chief marketing officer at
Purebread Brands, which runs the Vancouver-based Coho Commissaries, wrote: “Ongoing challenges facing the restaurant/food and beverage industry” necessitated the shutdown.
“Like many others,” her statement continued, “we’ve felt the impacts of a slowing economy and tightened consumer spending.”
The unanticipated closure is just one more hurdle in what is proving to be a highly challenging time for the restaurant industry.
Invaluable Support
When chefs Kiran Kolathodan and Karma Tenpa began looking for a location to open
BY CAROLYN B. HELLER
Cafe Malabar, finding suitable space was a challenge. “We both worked in luxury hotels for the last 10 to 15 years, so our standards were pretty high,” Kolathodan says. They decided that using a shared kitchen would be more practical and cost-effective than opening a stand-alone restaurant.
That strategy paid off when this market stall featuring the foods of India’s Kerala region was named No. 5 on Air Canada’s Top 10 Best New Restaurants list of 2024.
Claudia Roman launched Oso Cookies & Donuts in the home she shares with her business partnerhusband Matthew Dupee, but
JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE
realized that to expand, they would need to work from a professional, licensed kitchen. Moving to Coho Commissary allowed them to sell their baked goods at the market before opening a retail space in The Bay Centre.
“A commissary allows young businesses to have access to commercial-grade equipment at a reduced cost,” Dupee explains.
OOTA-YA chef-owner Yudai (Teddy) Tateno notes that when he started his sushi business in early 2024, the market’s shared kitchen enabled him to receive invaluable support from his colleagues at Cafe Malabar and Oso. While his father has operated a sushi restaurant in Japan since 1991, OOTA-YA is Tateno’s first business venture.
“They taught me how to manage a business and gave me advice about Canadian preferences,” he says. “I can’t express how grateful I am for this.”
What’s Next?
Oso Cookies & Donuts has already found a new partner, This Week’s Lunch, which has a commercial kitchen where they will do their baking while continuing to operate their Bay Centre retail outlet. Tateno hopes to find space to reopen OOTA-YA within the next few months. Meanwhile, Kolathodan and Tenpa have set a more ambitious target: to launch a new Cafe Malabar by mid-February.
Despite the challenges, these entrepreneurs remain positive. “If you have a thriving business now,” Dupee concludes, “that’s really what matters, isn’t it?”
PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE
The Business Development Bank of Canada, which for 80 years has been this country’s bank for entrepreneurs, has highlighted four critical trends shaping the country’s future business landscape and has strategies to help entrepreneurs in a time of constant change.
1
Increasing costs will remain a concern. Three-quarters of businesses say rising costs have affected their business in recent years, and while the cost of some products has come down, the price of energy will remain high due to extreme weather, adverse geopolitical situations and a shortage of new investments.
Adopt cost-saving technologies and reduce energy consumption, but note that it’s crucial to focus on improving business processes before investing in new technology.
2
Zoomers are the new consumers. All zoomers those born between 1997 and 2012 will be adults by 2030, and have distinct characteristics as consumers. For one thing, they are much more likely than older Canadians to pay extra for environmentally friendly products or services (71 per cent versus 54 per cent).
TOURISM SUCCESS
Accent Inns reaps awards for its caring philosophy.
BDC study looks at the trends and offers tips for Canadian entrepreneurs.
Offer competitive pricing without compromising quality; promote more local and environmentally friendly products; and adopt environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.
3
Labour shortages will continue. It’s already hard to find skilled candidates, but nearly 90 per cent of businesses think it will be just as difficult or even harder to find employees in the next five, even 10 years.
To attract and retain talent, offer competitive compensation, growth opportunities and a positive culture. Also: Use technology and automation to reduce the time existing employees spend on repetitive or low-value tasks.
4
Technology will continue its rapid change.
Whether technology is essential to your business or is disrupting it, the digital transformation won’t be slowing down at all, and businesses need to be prepared.
Adopt new technologies such as AI, cloud computing and cybersecurity to enhance productivity, improve customer service and provide a competitive edge.
Tourism is an important industry on Vancouver Island, so it’s exciting to see local businesses and individuals rewarded for the work they do in the field.
Victoria-based Accent Inns Inc. was named tourism employer of the year at the recent Canadian Tourism Awards, presented by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. These awards, which
recognize the people, places, organizations and events that go above and beyond to offer superior tourism experiences in Canada, recognized 12 organizations and seven individuals. Among them was Diane Selkirk, a frequent contributor to Douglas magazine, who was named travel media professional of the year.
Accent Inns, its president and CEO Mandy Farmer, and the company’s Leading with Love philosophy were also recently recognized for having one of Canada’s best corporate cultures by the Canada’s Most Admired Awards program. These awards, founded by Waterstone Human Capital to celebrate best practices in high-performance culture and leadership, also recognized local business StarFish Medical.
Access to the commissary kitchen helped chef Kiran Kolathodan launch the award-winning Cafe Malabar.
TRADING PLACES
Amid U.S. tariff threats, B.C. businesses encouraged ‘to uncover new opportunities.’
BY FIONA ANDERSON
With newly re-elected President Donald Trump threatening to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian exports, businesses that export to the U.S. may want to rethink their strategy. Export Development Canada is preparing to help companies do just that.
Whether Trump goes ahead with his threat, “the reality is we’re already seeing certain industries being hurt by tariffs,” says Christopher Theeparajah, a senior trade finance manager with EDC working with companies on Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia.
“So we are going to have to rally around certain companies and certain sectors to continue to uncover new opportunities, perhaps outside of the United States.”
While the U.S. is B.C.’s largest trading partner, the province relies less on the U.S. for its exports than Canada does as a whole. In 2023, more than 75 per cent of Canadian exports went to the U.S. compared to just over 50 per cent of B.C.’s exports. This province already exports significantly to Japan, South Korea, China and India.
The Indo-Pacific region is the area of focus right now, Theeparajah says.
“The countries in that region already make up the world’s largest growing economy. So to scale companies into markets like Indonesia, Korea, Japan, I think that’s where the opportunity is going to be moving forward.”
EDC hosts webinars and workshops for companies looking to expand. It also proactively reaches out to companies it thinks have export potential. It even hosts trade missions for companies to visit potential markets, where EDC will have people on the ground with expertise in the area. edc.ca
How Solid Are We
Financially, Really?
StatCan’s snapshot of Canadians’ financial security suggests challenges ahead.
Older Canadians are the most financially secure people in the country and the least. That’s according to Statistics Canada’s recently released “Survey of Financial Security,” its first since 2019, which provides a detailed snapshot of the financial health in residents of all 10 provinces in 2023, the most recent year for which numbers are available.
The survey found that Canadians aged 55 to 64 years who have both a principal residence and an employer-sponsored pension plan have the highest net worth in Canada, a median about $1.4 million higher than those who have neither.
Aging renters without pension plans had the lowest net worth of any group, a median of only $11,900.
Meanwhile, families where the highest income earner was under 35 years old experienced the largest increase in their real median net worth from 2019 to 2023, up 179 per cent. The biggest gainers
$11,900
Median net worth for aging renters without a pension plan
were young homeowners, who increased their net worth by $142,800 from 2019 to $457,100 in 2023.
The median net worth of younger families without a principal residence was only $44,000 in 2023, and of those with neither principal residence nor employersponsored pension plan it was $27,000.
With rising house prices shutting some families out of the housing market and employer pension plans becoming a thing of the past, some young families are building their wealth in other ways. Of those, 15 per cent had net worth greater than $150,000 in 2023, compared to five per cent in 2019, and held assets in:
• Real estate that was not their principal residence (median $350,000);
UVic explores new accreditation in engineering faculty.
Mid-career professionals in the fields of engineering and technology, looking for something to transform themselves into leaders and innovators, may soon have an exciting new opportunity.
The Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Victoria is exploring the creation of a new professional doctorate program — the Doctor of Engineering degree (DEng).
Unlike most PhD programs, the DEng is specifically tailored for those already in the workforce. It will combine rigorous academic coursework with real-world application, and is designed to benefit employers as well as candidates through the potential generation of valuable intellectual property.
UVic is also asking those working in engineering or high technology with a focus on management and R&D to offer their insights to help shape the program in a way that supports the needs of industry professionals.
What better book for the Money Issue of Douglas than one that bears that simple title?
Written by Irish economist David McWilliams, Money: A Story of Humanity traces the history of money from ancient Babylon along the Silk Road to China and eventually to Wall Street. Along the journey, McWilliams uncovers our relationship with money and how it “has shaped the very essence of what it means to be human.”
There is no better travel companion on this journey than McWilliams, who manages, somehow, to make economics entertaining and even humorous. The professor prides himself on making economic concepts simple without simplifying them. His motto: “What is complicated is rarely important and what is important is rarely complicated.”
McWilliams is a faculty member at Trinity Business School at Trinity College, Dublin. He is also a podcaster and the author of five books.
D OUGLAS READS
Shawn Soole has parlayed his standing as Victoria’s most influential bartender into a burgeoning empire of hospitality consultation.
Already an award-winning mixologist in 2006 when the then-26-year-old arrived on the Victoria scene from his native Australia, Soole lit up the craft-cocktail scene behind the bar at the likes of Little Jumbo, Olo, Cafe Mexico, Pagliacci’s and, most recently, at Clive’s Classic Lounge, where he was lounge manager. (Soole left in January to become GM and beverage director for Laowai in Vancouver, although he will continue his consulting work in Victoria.)
Bartending is his day job. Helping others become better bartenders is his jazz.
The nearly 400 episodes of his Post Shift Podcast are an insider’s take on the food and beverage industry, locally and globally, with interviews, business-forward insights and no shying away from difficult discussions. Soole pours out two a week and his chats placed in the top five for Outstanding Business Series at the Canadian Podcast Awards announced in January.
A sought-after speaker and author of three books on cocktail craft and culture, Soole is all about consistency, whether it’s raising industry standards or mixing the right drink.
“It’s not just making the same cocktail once,” he says. “It’s making the same cocktail 100 times a night and making it the same every single time.”
Douglas: What do you see as the biggest challenges to the hospitality industry today?
One-man Brand
BY DAVID LENNAM
Bartender and industry consultant Shawn Soole has one of the top business podcasts in Canada — and it’s all about improving the way others work.
Shawn Soole: Gen Zs are the next big demo that are going to be coming into your bars and most of them aren’t drinking [alcohol]. Another big change is that the pandemic changed a lot of their socializing skills. They came of age during the pandemic and then two to three years of isolation. They don’t want to go out to a club. Nine times out of 10, they want to grab a six-pack of beer and hang out with their friends.
Douglas: Is there a biggest mistake employers in the industry are making time and again?
Shawn Soole: They’re still looking at the industry as a turn and burn, like it’s acceptable to have high turnover. We should be leaving the industry better for the next generation. It shouldn’t be this-is-the-wayI-did-it-so-this-is-the-way-you’ve-got-to-do-it. Coming out of the pandemic, I put into play a lot of new training to keep my turnover super low. At Clive’s, my turnover was 14 per cent over four years. That’s nothing. The industry standard is 70 to 80.
Douglas: Would you change one overriding issue in the hospitality industry?
Shawn Soole: Keep your staff. People don’t fully understand how much it costs to flip a staff member. The average cost of one staff member leaving and being rehired is somewhere in the region of $2,500 or $3,000 to $5,000.
Douglas: How do you empower and incentivize staff to not leave?
Shawn Soole: My big thing is benefits and proper certification courses. They’re not expensive.
Douglas: Why are you so open discussing things like your social anxiety in your podcast?
Shawn Soole: I’m open about it because the industry needs to be more open about it. All the males in the industry need to be more open about it. All the males in the world should be more open about their feelings. We get told that we have to “man up.” I come from a very traditional household, my dad was ex-military, and so I started working when I was 13 years old. It was not bred into me.
Douglas: What if it’s just a tiny cocktail napkin?
Shawn Soole: [Laughs.] Your idea should always fit on a bar napkin.
Douglas: When did you decide to expand into all these other services?
Shawn Soole: I live by the rule “a rising tide lifts all boats” so, Victoria especially, it’s important for me to have young bartenders and venues come up with it. That has always led into: What else can I do? I went back to school in 2018 [for HR and accounting]. All of a sudden, I can offer how to lay out your business properly, how to lay out job descriptions. I don’t have a stop button. It’s always, “What’s next?”
Douglas: Are you providing a necessary service?
Shawn Soole: I think the industry as a whole, post-pandemic, is still struggling quite a lot. So for me if I can give any insights or services or sit-down mentorship, there’s always going to be things in the industry that need to be fixed.
Douglas: Why have discussions about mental health become so central in your podcast?
Shawn Soole: We have a lot of substance misuse in the industry. It’s prevalent, it’s there, it’s accessible. It’s easy to deal with issues if you have a drink at the end of the night. It can easily cascade. I’ve lost a couple of friends in the industry to suicide. I want to be more open about it because I want them to be more open about it. I’d prefer to get a phone call at two o’clock in the morning because you’re on a horrible down than to hear about you passing away the next morning.
Douglas: What would you like to see changed that’s hampering the industry in Victoria?
Shawn Soole: The revitalization of downtown is something that needs to happen. I’m hearing a lot from people who have venues downtown and venues out in Langford and Langford’s killing it right now. People want to leave [work] downtown and go home and don’t want to come back downtown.
Douglas: Your consulting service, Soole Hospitality Concepts, provides design, operations strategy and branding, literally one stop for everything, right?
Shawn Soole: I always like to say if you come to me with an idea on a napkin we can go from a napkin idea all the way through to six to 12 months of operations and everything in between.
Douglas: You started out consulting and training people from other bars for free, didn’t you?
Shawn Soole: Yes, I did. I often still do. I’ve done something like 14 different consults since Little Jumbo all across the world. I did three bars in Singapore in 2019. I think you’ve got to try to monetize your passion. I still struggle with that sort of thing when it comes to mentorship and advice giving. My wife tells me I need to charge everybody, but I still tend to feel the industry needs a helping hand.
Douglas: Any free advice to someone wanting to open a bar in Victoria?
Shawn Soole: You need to have passion, but you’ve got to have that business as an equal portion in your brain. If you’re so heavily business-minded your product won’t feel authentic and if you’re super passionate you can sometimes miss the forest for the trees. In Victoria, just be very mindful of rent, make sure your lease is really good.
Douglas: Just how important is the lease?
Shawn Soole: The biggest factor is your lease. Your lease should be six per cent of your top-line revenue. You can control your labour. You can control your costs of liquor or food, but the lease can be make or break.
Douglas: What’s the bar scene like in Victoria now?
Shawn Soole: The cocktail scene is the most vibrant it has ever been since
I try to keep positive when it comes to failure. I still have certain regrets that I’ve failed at, but I look at every failure as having opened up a door to something else.
Solomon [Siegel] and I sort of kicked it off in 2008. I’ve got really good people who started with me as barbacks [bartender’s assistants] now running their own venues. [The scene] is very collaborative. There’s no cliques, there’s no niches.
Douglas: What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the bar industry?
Shawn Soole: There’s a big age gap right now. A lot of people in their late 20s, mid30s left the industry during the pandemic. There’s a big gap with the next generation that’s coming up through the ranks. It’s not a bad thing.
Douglas: You’ve talked about how one is often one problem away from failure in the industry is failure necessary for success?
Shawn Soole: I try to keep positive when it comes to failure. I still have certain regrets that I’ve failed at, but I look at every failure as having opened up a door to something else. For instance, X happens so I could actually go and open up three venues in Singapore.
Douglas: What would you like people to know about Shawn Soole?
Shawn Soole: I’m a six-foot-five, 300-pound, bearded Australian guy. I can come off intimidating by pure size. When I’m thinking, my face is very blunt. The people that get to know you are the ones that matter, so having other people’s opinions and trying to have that in your head I still struggle with that. The imposter syndrome is real.
Douglas: You’re pretty much a local celebrity. Do customers ever ask for selfies?
Shawn Soole: I get that sometimes. It’s still weird and surreal when that happens. I find it odd, but people will ask for an autograph.
Peace of Mind …
BY SHANNON MONEO | PHOTO COMPILATION BY JEFFREY BOSDET
… Really?
Insurance should provide security, but a costly wave of crime, vandalism and catastrophic weather events has forced businesses to find creative ways to get the coverage they need.
Phil Nicholls has operated his 2:18 Run store in Victoria for over 30 years. Two decades ago, crime was more of the “old-school break and enters,” he says. But in two separate 2024 incidents, savvy crooks made off with thousands of dollars of merchandise. After a 2021 crash where a woman drove her vehicle into his store window, his insurer pulled its coverage. Add the smash-and-grabs, and it became difficult for him to secure insurance at all or exceptionally expensive to do so.
“One [insurer] fired me, essentially,” he says. “When you get these constant hits, insurers won’t insure you.”
Following his second 2024 B&E, Nicholls started to look for solutions beyond insurance. He found it in Riot Glass, a manufacturer of bullet- and smashproof glass. In September, an Ontario-based Riot Glass crew installed two new storefront window panels, about 50 square feet total, at a cost of about $125 per square foot. “This will stop a 9-mm bullet,” Nicholls says of the clear glass. “If you throw something at it, it bounces back at you.”
Nicholls also managed to get a new insurer and the company, unsurprisingly, thinks the Riot Glass is a great idea. He says other businesses are considering the product. “I didn’t want bars on windows. I’m not ready for that look.”
Nicholls isn’t alone in his bar fight. Even though the commercial insurance industry
offers a wide variety of products, business owners are increasingly finding themselves either undercovered or even not covered, due to cost. As crime, weather events and rising costs further affect the bottom line, local businesses like Nicholls’s are finding workarounds. And insurance businesses themselves are having to adjust to a changing business climate.
Premium Hikes a Worry
Across B.C., 44 per cent of small businesses are concerned about crime, says Michelle Auger, a senior policy analyst with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). Yet, only 15 per cent of businesses always make insurance claims following a crime incident, with those in professional services (six per cent) and hospitality (11 per cent) being the least likely to do so. The main reasons for not reporting include worry over potential increases in insurance premiums (82 per cent), how much time the process takes (40 per cent) and the complexity of claim requirements (29 per cent).
Insurance costs have become the top concern for 68 per cent of those business respondents, up from a historical 49-per-cent average. Tax and regulatory regimes and wages are No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. “Insurance has always been a cost pressure, in the top three, but to be number one is new,” Auger says.
44%
PERCENTAGE OF SMALL BUSINESSES
ACROSS
B.C. THAT ARE CONCERNED ABOUT CRIME.
Phil Nicholls, whose insurer “essentially fired me” after separate break-ins, now at least partly relies on 50 square feet of bullet- and smash-proof glass.
A significant drawback is that when businesses pay heavy insurance costs, it limits reinvestment in the company. The lack of available funds means that spending is restricted on items such as staff, training or equipment and technology upgrades.
While a CFIB survey found that 84 per cent of businesses had not filed an insurance claim in the last 12 months, half of Canadian business owners experienced an increase of 10 per cent or more in at least one of their insurance premiums over the same period.
Ken Featherby is well aware of crime’s effects on business. Featherby is a commercial property manager and owner of NAI Commercial in Victoria, which includes the Douglas Shopping Centre among its properties. With over 25 years of Victoria experience, he’s witnessed the steep rise of insurance rates, based not only on risks but on the continued acceleration of property values. The structure of commercial leases plays a role in tenant insurance. Two rents are built into tenant leases. There’s the base rent, which is the landlord’s income and then the triple net costs, which cover items such as the mortgage, property tax, management fee and insurance.
Ongoing incidents at the Douglas Shopping Centre illustrate how crime and vandalism are being embedded into commercial leases. At least five or six times per year, windows are smashed at the mall, Featherby says. The damage isn’t for theft, but for kicks. “They’ll throw a skateboard through the window,” he says. The management company pays the cost of repairs and those costs are passed, via
triple net, to the tenant.
In the seven years since the nearby former Tally Ho Motel was converted to supportive housing, insurance costs have jumped by about $150,000. Because the deductible cost is so high, claims are often not made, Featherby says. Instead, tenants are having to pay an additional $2 or $3 per square foot just for security. One of the Douglas Shopping Centre businesses paid an extra $25,000 for security in one year.
Insurance has not been the magic bullet.
But there are ways, such as Nicholls’s Riot Glass installation, to address insurance costs. Auger’s advice is to seek expert advice. The CFIB reports that 80 per cent of businesses rely on a broker for assistance. “It’s a complicated industry,” she says.
Varied Insurance Needs
While there are roughly 200 companies providing insurance in Canada, with each one offering hundreds of options, Auger says that 71 per cent of Canadian small businesses are covered by three companies. Yet, small businesses cannot be treated as a whole, Auger says. A restaurant, small office or transport company all have much-varied needs. Despite the variety of enterprises, three types of insurance are most often purchased by businesses: general liability; property and auto; or crime.
The national director of consumer and industry relations for the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) understands the many demands placed on a business owner, who may be acting as company janitor, driver and boss. But given the risks to businesses, from employee theft to fire, they should not forgo coverage. “If a business doesn’t
have coverage, what are the financial implications?” Rob de Pruis asks. A flooded store could end the business. A malicious lawsuit could ruin a reputation.
A 2024 TD Insurance survey of Canadian businesses found that almost one in five small business owners believe their biggest challenge is an interruption in their business, yet almost 40 per cent of them don’t have business insurance. Of those, nearly 40 per cent said they didn’t think they needed it and 30 per cent believed it’s not worth buying because they have zero employees. Some wanted business interruption coverage, but the cost, at around $2,000 per year for a one-person business, was too much for solo owners.
De Pruis recommends that owners work with one of the hundreds of insurance representatives in B.C.
Brokers represent many insurance companies while agents usually work for a specific company. Products can be tailor-made, but wading into the insurance pool can get very confusing very quickly, de Pruis adds. Costs vary according to the plans, and can range from a lowly $50 per month for a single owner/operator enterprise up to thousands per month for a tech-reliant law firm. Business owners should make time to do market research and really understand what’s in their policy.
De Pruis recommends that, when buying insurance, a business should insure for risks specific to their business. For instance:
• A storefront enterprise has public liability risk and needs protection from third-party liability claims, such as a customer falling or even the
JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE
threat of sexual harassment charges.
• Commercial property insurance pays for damage or loss at a business premises, as well as loss of inventory or property.
• Errors and omissions insurance protects against claims due to a mistake or negligence made by a business or its employees.
• If there’s a mortgage on the business premises, insurance is mandatory.
• Commercial auto insurance covers mishaps in business vehicles.
Home-based businesses present different needs, de Pruis says. In some cases, home insurance can have added coverage for the business. And there are commercial policies for homes, such as a landlord who rents space in their premises, i.e. holiday rental or time share.
Then there are specialty areas. Cyber insurance, which has proliferated in the last decade, addresses the increasing risk of cyber attacks and hacked accounts. Smaller companies can be targeted due to the perception they have less robust systems and vulnerable employees.
And like many areas of our lives, artificial intelligence’s tentacles may entwine a business. The IBC’s 2024 Cyber Security Survey reports that 65 per cent of business owners are concerned that AI will make it more difficult to defend against cyber risks, yet only 18 per cent have insurance against an attack.
Another specialty product is business interruption insurance, which covers revenue loss due to causes such as fire, flood or cyber attacks. There’s even pandemic coverage, which also addresses loss of revenue. Throw in coverage for key persons, importers, terrorism, pollution, intellectual property and crime, and the range of policies and costs can be vast.
Catastrophic Weather Issues
It’s not only crime that’s affecting insurance rates. Weather-related events made 2024 the worst year in Canadian history for catastrophic losses, says Luke Mills, a commercial insurance broker with Acera Insurance (formerly Megson FitzPatrick).
The Calgary hailstorm, Jasper wildfire and flooding in Quebec and Ontario combined to total over $8 billion in losses. “There are no climate-change skeptics in the insurance industry,” says Mills.
In B.C., businesses operate under the ominous trifecta of fire, earthquake and flood risk. For earthquake coverage, the deductible amount has risen substantially in B.C. Unfortunately, the province doesn’t provide government support for coverage, unlike other earthquake-prone jurisdictions, such as Japan, Chile and New Zealand, Mills says. He also notes that
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substandard government flood mapping is leading to insurance companies creating their own flood maps to set rates.
It’s not just climate change heating up losses. Where buildings are situated and how they are built become significant factors. “And construction inflation is really driving insurance costs,” Mills says. The cost to replace damaged premises rose about 15 per cent throughout 2024, meaning that insurers have to put aside more money to cover ongoing increases. “But insurance companies are innovating and getting better data to insure property against risk, making properties more resilient.” One example is upgraded bylaws around seismic construction.
Amid the bleak landscape, one way a business could reduce its high insurance cost is to ask if its insurance company offers free advice on how to mitigate risks. “It’s not an expense to clients, it’s an expense to insurance companies,” Mills says. A “loss-control assessment” could recommend actions such as keeping cooking equipment clean, ensuring fire extinguishers are not past their due dates, eliminating tripping hazards or removing graffiti. Businesses should also request discounts if improvements have been made, such as adding security cameras or cybersecurity training.
“But crime prevention is a tough one,” he adds.
Natural Disasters Hit Home
Terry Dodsworth has 30 years of experience, advising businesses about their insurance. The last 22 have been with AON Canada, where he is managing director of commercial broking. As a national insurance broker, AON staff get down to fundamentals with clients, addressing assets and coverage for various risks.
Last year’s numerous natural disasters hit home for many clients. “Smaller Victoria businesses would see it [premium jumps]. It was a double hit reinsurers’ exposure and geographic exposure,” Dodsworth says.
It would be normal to assume that insurers are under heavy financial pressure during a costly cycle, which occurred from about 2020 to early 2024, but Mills says that insurance companies themselves buy insurance the reinsurance. Invested monies yield profit for the reinsurers, who operate in a globally integrated market. The money cushion prevents insurers from levying very high premiums on clients, yet doesn’t completely soften the blow.
About five years ago, the landscape was more challenging, Dodsworth says.
Rates and deductibles had substantially jumped. “Insurers were very picky about the risks they were taking. Businesses
couldn’t get insurance for what they wanted,” he says. Since late 2022, with more available capital in the market, the situation has improved, albeit for clients who aren’t seeing a lot of activity.
Dodsworth has three tips for businesses about to buy or renew their policies.
• Begin researching options at least one month before your policy is about to expire.
• Have at hand very solid information about your business, such as a statement of assets, what the business does, production rates and revenue.
• If your business has had prior claims, what was learned? What has been done to address the cause of the claim?
As Mills says, “Insurance is reactive. It comes into play when something bad happens. People buy it, hoping they never have to use it. Some business owners have a high risk tolerance. Some are OK with high deductibles.”
When facing so many undermined and uncontrollable events, insurance is one item where determined control, at a cost, can be ensured.
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240-2950 Douglas Street, Victoria, B.C. 250-383-4100 carternotary.com
Sage Lacerte, director of inclusion, Boann Social Impact
Nicole Smith, founder and CEO, Flytographer
Linda Biggs, co-founder and CEO, joni
SHOW HER THE MONEY
BY JILL VAN GYN-CARR | PHOTO BY JEFFREY BOSDET
Funding is still a challenge for many women — and that’s a problem for everyone. There’s an easy solution. But will anyone act on it?
Back in the 1970s, my mother was unable to get a credit card without my father’s approval despite the fact that she was a tenured professor at the University of Victoria. Today, half a century later, against every demonstration of equal competence and business acumen when measured against their male counterparts, women are still at a significant disadvantage when it comes to securing funds for their businesses.
Fundamentally, and academically, we know that women are capable of running stable and high-growth businesses. Rare it would be for someone to publicly dispute that (unless you’re that guy screaming into his microphone to his 200 listeners). However, research shows that women have a significantly harder time securing capital than men. A Harvard Business Review study dove deep into this issue, finding that investors of any gender are more likely to invest in a woman’s business if she already has a male investor and they are significantly less likely to invest if her sole source of funding comes from other women. When people see that a woman-led business has a male investor, they attribute that investment to competence. On the flip side, when people see that she has a female investor, they attribute that capital raise to her gender. As such, potential follow-on investors are likely to view the woman as less competent if she has a leading female investor.
In this respect, women still need a man to sign for their credit card.
Tessa McLoughlin, founder and CEO, KWENCH
Winning Versus Not Losing
Tessa McLoughlin, founder and CEO of KWENCH, is eager to grow her thriving business, which is one of the most vibrant and well-attended co-working clubs in the city. But she has had an uphill battle in her fundraising endeavours. “I wanted to have an all-female cap table and that definitely made the already-challenging task of finding investors harder. Women investors took significantly longer to commit, and they typically came in under the minimum ask. Of course, there can be many reasons for this, and some are systemic,” says McLoughlin.
These biases are not limited to men. They extend to people of all backgrounds. At the end of the day, according to the research, having a strong male lead as an investor makes it easier for people to come to the table and for them to take decisive actions.
when considering both the founder and the quality of the investment.
“I often have to front-load my pitch so that investors don’t get distracted by their concern over risk [and] so they can really focus on the vision that I am painting,” says Nicole Smith, founder and CEO of Flytographer. “So, from the
start, I talk about how we are going to mitigate risk so I can get to the part that everyone wants to hear: How are we going to grow?” Smith is definitely on the right track here as the Scientific American study further revealed that those who were asked “preventative questions” and responded with “preventative answers”
Women’s Business in Canada
BOARD OF DIRECTOR SEATS
The reality is that most of the female founders I’m surrounded by don’t need more education or mentorship — they really just need funding.”
Linda Biggs, co-founder and CEO of joni
This finding only scratches the surface of the challenges that female business owners face. For one thing, it isn’t just who is already at the table, but who is running the company. Approximately 20 per cent of businesses in Canada are women-owned, but their businesses receive only around two per cent of available investing dollars. That could be due to a variety of factors, but with numbers like that it is evident that at least some of them are due to entrenched gender perceptions and biases.
Further research by Scientific American revealed it is the “quality of interaction” that is driving the disproportionality. Men are more likely to be viewed as conquerors of commerce (think: renowned giants of the tech industry) while women are seen as running small or medium-size lifestyle businesses with little recognition. As such, men tend to be asked questions about how they are going to win; women are more likely to be asked how they are going to avoid losing. These stereotypes, however unconscious they may be, frame investor interactions and create biased approaches
CHAIRPERSONS, PRESIDENTS, VICE-PRESIDENTS AND EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENTS
MIDDLE-MANAGEMENT POSITIONS HELD BY WOMEN
AVERAGE PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN SENIOR MANAGEMENT POSITIONS
received significantly smaller cheques, approximately $563,000 on average, than those who shifted quickly and responded with “promotion-focused answers” and raised on average in excess of $7 million.
Education Is Just a Start
There are any number of programs that aim to close this gap, but when looked at broadly they tend to fall short and pull focus away from the fundamental problem.
Accelerators and mentorship programs that function through the lens of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) initiatives can be gruelling, time consuming and often come with “in-kind” prizes with limited cash funding that make grand prizes seem more impactful than they actually are.
Linda Biggs, co-founder and CEO of joni, has been in raise mode for a while, trying to get her line of inclusive and sustainable menstrual period care funded for growth. Not only is she running a woman-led business, but she is in a category of products that have typically been relegated to discreet discussions amongst women in the bathroom. As a female founder, Biggs has completed over five accelerators in the past 12 months, and she has some thoughts on why the system is “Most accelerators focus mentorship in order to
many times requiring six-plus hours a week attending training, talks or some kind of mentorship session,” she says. “The reality is that most of the female founders I’m surrounded by don’t need more education or mentorship, they really just need funding.”
Sage Lacerte, director of inclusion for Boann Social Impact fund, which manages over $145 million, is often on the other side of the table, but has similar challenges in operating in the male-dominated world of investing and fund management. “My experience as an investor and as someone who is visibly Indigenous, a woman and a younger person there is an immediate narrative that I am inexperienced and could use mentorship or that I need advice,” says Lacerte. “It happens in almost every single room.”
Significant Hurdles
Mentorship, DEI initiatives and accelerators are useful in moderation, but should not be leveraged as the solution to the huge gap in funding for women. Every female entrepreneur out there knows that women are vastly underfunded. We’ve all seen the data and sighed heavily for the 300th time
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St. Margaret's School (SMS) opens its doors to meet the unique educational needs of girls.
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We need to see more women investing in other women, as we are often building companies that address shared pain points and innovations that might not be evident to men.”
Tessa McLoughlin, founder and CEO of KWENCH
Circa 1910: St. Margaret’s Students in Front of the Empress Hotel
Elevate Your Spirits.
need more women to invest in women.”
The concept, on its face, feels like not only a viable solution but an empowering one: “If they won’t invest in us, we’ll invest in ourselves.” And notionally, it isn’t wrong.
“We need to see more women investing in other women, as we are often building companies that address shared pain points and innovations that might not be evident to men,” says Kwench’s McLoughlin. And she’s right. Deeply held biases not only prevent women from taking a warmed seat at the table, they also cause the investment community to miss out on potentially innovative and disruptive companies. Female investors could benefit from these overlooked opportunities in womenled companies through their common perspectives.
Talking about investing has not been a part of the traditional women’s network and not something they have been invited to participate in.”
Stephanie Andrew, the national director and co-founder of Women’s Equity Lab
That said, there are some significant hurdles to get through before that can become possible.
Firstly, women hold vastly less capital than men. Globally, women hold 30 per cent of all wealth controlled by individuals and families, with men, as individuals, holding on average 30 per cent more net wealth than women, according to the 2024 Quebec study by the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique.
Further, women exhibit a notable difference in their level of confidence when it comes to making investments. According to the U.S.-based Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, only 34 per cent of women, compared to 50 per cent of men, feel confident in making investing decisions. And only eight per cent of women demonstrate high investment knowledge, compared to 21 per cent of men surveyed.
Compounding all of these statistics is the finding that 91 per cent of women in a 2017 Fidelity Investment Canada survey think men make better investors. Ouch.
That is not to say there is not an incredibly strong movement of womenled investment funds and angels that look beyond these biases and invest with
acumen that rivals traditional funds, but there are simply not enough to address the shortfall in investment in women-led businesses.
Stephanie Andrew, the national director, managing partner and co-founder of Women’s Equity Lab, which manages a growing portfolio of over 400 female investors, confirms that women are not investing enough to fill the funding gap in women-led businesses. Not yet, anyway. “One of the primary challenges women face is that they have historically not been a part of the conversation when it comes to investing,” she says. “Talking about investing has not been a part of the traditional women’s network and not something they have been invited to participate in.”
Connections and Divides
A Wharton School of Business study on gender-driven investment noted that “similarity breeds connection,” what is known as the homophily principle. Since the majority of investors are men, they are more eager to form connections with male entrepreneurs and investors, forming networks that women have difficulty accessing.
When taking into account the small pool of funds that women comparatively control overall, the newness of women simply having access to and control over their own assets (roughly 50 years) and the odds that seemingly never seem to stop stacking up, it feels challenging to put the weight of this problem squarely on the shoulders of women alone.
Women are known to create better returns than their male counterparts by about 40 points or 0.4 per cent and produce less reduced returns per year as a direct result of their more cautious investing practices. But despite that, a Harvard Business Review study that looked at more than 2,000 venture-backed firms in the U.S. found that female-led firms whose funding came exclusively from women were significantly less likely to obtain subsequent rounds of funding.
And yet women are expected to prioritize funding women-led businesses that, for all intents and purposes, the wider investment community devalues if a woman is the lead investor.
The fact is there are still very few female investors with the means, capacity, resources and access to fully invest in other female-led ventures. Female investors tend to be concentrated in funds that focus on early-stage, higher-risk investments and control much smaller sums of capital.
The data, time and time again, clearly and consistently show that women-led businesses perform just as well as, if not better than, those of their male
counterparts. Yet the is such a huge gap researchers to study deficits. This then leads scarcity of investment businesses, creating biases that may prevent hold 95 per cent of capital, but also women women.
We don’t need more advice, we need men to crash down doors for us.”
Jane Desrochers, local angel investor
“It’s frustrating that the scarcity of funding for women-led businesses is trying to be solved with more scarcity models having women compete against each other for a small pool of money. We need to move past that,” says Biggs.
It’s the Money, Honey
The bottom line here is the belief system has to change.
Generally, we think of investors as shrewd, calculated and data driven, but evidence shows they are often impulsive and emotional, factors that invite the kind of biases that prevent women from breaking through in a meaningful way.
The solution here is twofold in the eyes of women on both sides of the table: First, the change comes with radical decision-making practices and push past these biases. Desrochers, a local angel “We don’t need more advice, to crash down doors for us.” men need to enter hold the pen as cheques to make room for practices to take up need to shift toward profitability that come women. Women require and power-holding that includes a warmed
The second solution straightforward. In of Jenny Slate’s character Saperstein from the Recreation: “MONEY
Instead of more mentorship, advice more think pieces matter women need
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MNP
Leading growth and collaboration.
At MNP’s newly expanded Victoria office, collaboration isn’t just a concept — it’s a practice embedded into every client interaction. By uniting their accounting, digital and advisory teams under one roof, MNP is redefining how Vancouver Island businesses, governments and communities tackle challenges and seize opportunities with a seamless, full-services approach.
MNP’s Victoria office is home to nine local partners and over 50 additional team members, including Emma Miller, a Partner in the firm’s Real Estate and Construction practice, and Kent Brown, a Partner specializing in Valuations. Together, they exemplify the expertise and collaboration that sets MNP apart. “Having the expertise we do, across disciplines in one place allows us to respond faster and more strategically,” says Emma. “When a client calls, they’re tapping into a collective of specialized knowledge.”
This collaborative approach recently helped a business owner navigate the sale of half their company. Emma worked closely with Kent and MNP’s tax team to provide a
comprehensive valuation, streamline negotiations and optimize tax savings.
“The client was blown away by the seamlessness of the process,” Emma recalls.
“They loved knowing that everything they needed was handled in-house.”
“We’re not just here to provide services — we’re here to build relationships that drive real impact. Our success is tied to the success of the businesses and people we work with.”
— Partner Emma Miller
Emma’s contributions extend beyond client work. Recently elected to the Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA) Board of Directors, she is shaping conversations around key industry issues such as labour shortages, fluctuating material costs and evolving regulations. “Our deep connection to the industry means we just don’t react to challenges, we anticipate them,” she explains.
For Kent, valuations are the cornerstone of strategic decision-making. “A valuation is more than a number — it’s a roadmap,” he says. “It helps business owners understand where they stand and what’s possible, whether they’re planning for retirement, a sale or growth.”
As the Victoria office grows, so does MNP’s commitment to the local community. “Our clients appreciate working with people who understand the regional business environment firsthand,” Kent shares, “We’re proud to call the Island home.”
With its integrated expertise, deep local ties and forwardthinking approach, MNP Victoria is more than a service provider — it’s a trusted partner helping Vancouver Island businesses along with governments and non-profit organizations thrive. As part of one of Canada’s largest national accounting, tax, and consulting firms, MNP offers tailored solutions that empower clients to achieve their full potential in an ever-changing landscape.
Visit MNP’s new location: Suite 100–655 Tyee Road, Victoria 250-388-6554 | mnp.ca
L-R: Kent Brown, Sanci Solbakken, Luke Biles, Simon Daley, Emma Miller, Steve Wellburn, Adam Taylor, Bill Reid
WIRK CONSULTING
Experienced partner. Trusted advisor. Real results.
Wirk Consulting is a local management consulting firm that partners with clients to pursue their most exciting opportunities and address their most pressing challenges. They work with clients to map a clear path forward — designing the future, aligning their teams to a shared purpose, committing to key priorities and implementing with focus.
Wirk Consulting’s expertise spans Strategy Formulation and Implementation, Executive Coaching, Stakeholder and Community Engagement, Succession Planning and Facilitation.
Ashka Wirk is the Founder and Principal of Wirk Consulting, bringing a unique blend of consulting, coaching and facilitation expertise to help clients improve their performance. She is a Certified Management Consultant, experienced facilitator and Certified Executive Coach. Ashka is also a seasoned private sector leader. She began her career as head of business development with an Okanagan-
based biotechnology firm, then led the healthcare association management subsidiary of Vancouver-based StemCell Technologies, the largest biotechnology company in Canada — first as an Executive Director of several notfor-profit international healthcare association clients, then as CEO of the firm.
As a management consultant for the last ten years, Ashka has provided consulting support to numerous ministries and agencies in the B.C. public sector; to not-for profits; and to small- and medium-sized businesses.
Ashka is supported by the growing Wirk Consulting Team who are committed to delivering on the firm’s promise to serve as an experienced partner and trusted advisor — ensuring clients achieve real results.
“Alexa Tremblay and Maggie McKenna bring contagious energy, keen intelligence, and thoughtful perspectives — I’m fortunate to have them on board,” says Wirk.
As a proud Victoria-based business, Wirk Consulting is committed to supporting the local community.
“My family has deep roots and a long history in Victoria; it’s something we’re proud to continue with our firm,” says Wirk, pointing to her recent election to the Board of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, mentorship of local University of Victoria business students and newcomers to the community and the portfolio of local businesses, not-for-profits and provincial ministry clients the firm has supported.
“Victoria has a vibrant local business ecosystem filled with purpose-driven leaders, companies and organizations making a real difference,” says Wirk. “Wirk Consulting is privileged to play a role in their unfolding stories.”
L to R: Alexa Tremblay, Ashka Wirk, Maggie McKenna
SEAFIRST INSURANCE
People taking care of people.
For the past 40 years, SeaFirst Insurance’s focus has been the client experience. By listening to their clients’ needs, they have learned that clients initially view purchasing insurance as a chore — a box to check for a financial institution or a contractual obligation. This is why SeaFirst has centred their client service philosophy around turning what often feels like a daunting task into a positive, even empowering, experience.
SeaFirst is committed to every client who walks through their doors, calls, emails or reaches out via social media. The company’s “concierge service model” ensures that each interaction begins with acknowledgment, appreciation and a genuine effort to understand the client’s unique needs. Whether it’s a homeowner seeking coverage, a business owner needing help with a contract or anyone navigating complex insurance requirements, SeaFirst’s team is ready to provide tailored solutions with clarity and care.
One of their standout strengths is their dedication to making insurance meaningful for
their clients. SeaFirst believes every client has the right to know how their coverage benefits them. Beyond meeting third-party obligations, they focus on helping clients understand their policies and the protections they offer. This approach ensures that each client’s assets and liabilities — both personal and business — are comprehensively safeguarded.
SeaFirst’s culture of care extends beyond their offices and into the community. With over 100 employees across Greater Victoria and the Gulf Islands, the company is deeply embedded in the regions they serve. Their team members contribute as volunteers, board members and mentors, supporting youth organizations, arts and cultural events, nonprofits and volunteer firefighters. This community-first mindset underscores their belief that insurance is about more than policies — it’s about people.
“We Got You” is SeaFirst’s commitment to understanding and responding to clients’ needs and following through with solutions. SeaFirst’s knowledgeable teams across each of its six locations on lower Vancouver Island take pride
in providing best-in-class service from the initial inquiry to claims handling, all ensuring a seamless and supportive experience at every step. With SeaFirst, you can feel confident that “We Got You” truly means you’re in good hands.
PATH
Building places people love
PCRE Group along with subsidiary GableCraft Homes are debuting a new name and comprehensive rebrand as PATH, which unifies two names — and builds on a proud history.
“At PATH, we create communities that are more than places to live; they’re places people love,” says Jason Zaytsoff, President & CEO. “Our commitment to homeowners, residents and tenants is what drives us forward every day.”
PATH builds on 20-plus years of experience in residential, purpose-built rental, light industrial and retail developments in B.C., Alberta and Washington State. Current projects are highlighted by Royal Bay, a 240-acre masterplanned seaside community in Colwood.
WESTCOM
Simplifying IT for local businesses
Since 2018, Westcom Business Solutions has been the go-to IT partner for Vancouver Island businesses. Led by CEO David Webb, Westcom offers top-tier managed IT services, helpdesk support (both in person and remote), cybersecurity, network management and major IT projects. With a client-focused approach, cutting-edge solutions and a strong commitment to the local community, Westcom ensures businesses thrive with reliable, cost-effective IT. Their “simple stack” approach makes IT hassle free, empowering companies to focus on growth. Book a free consultation to learn how Westcom can optimize your IT.
The award-winning PATH team
DUSANJ+WIRK
Partners in your success
Dusanj & Wirk’s experienced team of accountants is dedicated to client success and the well-being of the community. The firm provides accounting and tax services to private businesses, non-profits and individuals, while actively supporting local charities and non-profit organizations. Their services include tax planning and compliance, advisory, assurance and bookkeeping. With three offices in Greater Victoria, the team works closely with clients to understand and fulfill their unique needs, fostering business success and contributing to the growth of the community.
Ounsted & Company Chartered Professional Accountants is pleased to welcome Ryan Kelly, CPA, CA, as a Senior Manager. With over 14 years of public accounting experience, Ryan has worked with a wide range of clients, from large public companies to ownermanaged businesses, helping them achieve their financial and business goals. A Victoria native, Ryan returned to the city to raise his family and give back to the community through roles such as Treasurer of the Castaway Wanderers Rugby Football Club. Ryan looks forward to supporting Ounsted & Company’s clients with their tax, financial and business planning needs.
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BY FIONA ANDERSON
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WORKING WITH A FINANCIAL ADVISER.
When you are working hard to get your business up and running and keep it that way some things get left behind. Don’t let one of those things be your finances. If you have some money, whether it be funds saved for future reinvestment in the company or just some cash you’ve been able to take out of the company, it’s important to make it work for you.
One option is managing your own money through a self-directed account. If you are going to do that, make sure you do your homework on the companies you want to invest in, says Pamela McDonald, director of communications and education with the British Columbia Securities Commission. And don’t necessarily listen to social media. There can be some great information on social media, but also lots of misinformation, she says.
Managing your own money minimizes fees you’ll need to pay. But it takes time to do it well time many business owners just don’t have.
If you don’t have the time, then you may want to work with a financial adviser, a.k.a. a registered investment adviser. Here’s how.
THERE CAN BE SOME GREAT INFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA, BUT ALSO LOTS OF MISINFORMATION.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT ADVISER
UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU NEED
First, understand the difference between a financial planner and a financial adviser. According to Investopedia: “A financial planner is a professional who helps individuals and organizations create a strategy to meet long-term financial goals. Financial advisers fit into a broader category that can include brokers, money managers, insurance agents or bankers.” Do your research and understand which is the best fit for you before trusting one with your money.
It’s also wise to have some idea of your goals and how much risk you’re willing to tolerate before you start.
FINDING AN ADVISER
Financial advisers can be found through banks, financial-services firms and individuals hanging out their own shingles. There are lots of advisers to choose from. So how do you go about finding the right one? Recommendations from people you know are a good starting point, but just remember that the right person for you may not be the same person who is right for your friends or colleagues.
“If you’re going to work with an investment adviser, it’s important that the adviser you’re working with understands you, understands the goals that you have and understands the risk tolerance that you have,” McDonald says. One of the most important things you should do is to check whether the adviser is registered and what they are registered to sell, McDonald says. Some advisers might be registered to sell only mutual funds, while others might be able to sell mutual funds, stocks and bonds. You can do this at aretheyregistered.ca, a website that lists not only whether an adviser is registered and what they can sell, but also whether they have ever been disciplined by the securities commission or other regulators.
Once you’ve got a few ideas, meet with those advisers and ask questions. Make sure they understand what you are comfortable investing in and that they answer your questions clearly in a way you can understand. If someone can’t answer them in that manner, that adviser may not be a good fit for you.
UNDERSTANDING THE FEES
You need to pay for good advice, McDonald says. “But you need to understand what it is that you’re paying, and how that impacts your overall investment return.”
For example, mutual funds will pay fees to the fund’s manager, who determines what should be in the fund. There are also likely fees to purchase a product, whether it is a mutual fund or a stock or bond. You need to know what these fees are so you know what your share of the return is, McDonald says. “At the end of the day, a six-per-cent return might be three per cent by the time these fees are paid,” she says.
WORKING WITH AN ADVISER
Finding someone you trust is important. But don’t abdicate everything to them, McDonald advises. Take control. Ask questions. And don’t be afraid to fire your adviser if they aren’t working out for you. Before you do, though, review your contract to understand the exit process and any fees payable. Organize your paperwork and make a plan for your investments. Then, whether you write, email or call them, leave your emotions at the door and keep communication brief and firm.
FOR MORE INFO
The B.C. Securities Commission’s InvestRight is a website that has plenty of useful advice about investing, including what to look for in an adviser and what questions to ask. investright.org
Paul Bramson Companies and one of North America’s most celebrated keynote speakers and elite trainers. He is recognized as a thought leader in the areas of communication, leadership and sales, and has more than 25 years of experience inspiring all levels of professionals and teams.
Learn to Read the Room
How mastering this skill could be a game changer for your career.
Whether attending a networking/marketing event, leading a team meeting or simply engaging in casual conversation, the ability to read the room is indispensable it’s a superpower. This skill separates those who can deftly navigate social situations and adeptly pivot from those who struggle to create impactful interactions.
At its core, reading the room is the art of detecting subtle social cues, emotional undercurrents and the unspoken dynamics that exist in every gathering or interaction. Many do not possess this skill or recognize the importance of having it and using it appropriately.
The ability to read a room is further complicated by virtual interactions, which are much more challenging for picking up nuances and subtleties since you see less. Interpersonal communication has many barriers in a virtual environment, but they are not insurmountable. The ability to recognize and understand body language, facial expressions and the subtlety of human interaction is a muscle that must be consistently exercised and honed.
Why It Matters
The ability to read a room comes from social awareness, an important element of emotional intelligence. Mastering this skill is a gamechanger in helping individuals navigate complex situations, pivot appropriately, build stronger relationships and show up authentically in any situation.
Social awareness in the workplace allows you to sense underlying group dynamics, power structures and interpersonal subtleties between colleagues. Being able to read the room accurately supports knowing when to speak up, hold back or address potential tensions before situations escalate.
As a leader, learning how to read the room will better equip you to understand your team members’ needs, motivations and concerns and enable you to adapt your management style to any situation. This ability also prepares you for the bigger stages where the stakes are higher like presentations and meetings with management and senior team leaders. In any room, observing the dynamics and understanding the cues, both overt and subtle, is integral to effective communication and managing any and all interpersonal or group dynamics.
On a personal level, being socially aware
enhances your ability to connect with others genuinely. You’ll be able to pick up on subtle emotional cues, empathize with different perspectives and respond in a way that fosters understanding and strengthens relationships.
Additionally, those who can read the room demonstrate a heightened level of selfawareness and the ability to regulate their own emotions while simultaneously understanding and responding to the feelings of others. This emotional agility is key to effective communication, conflict resolution and overall social success.
Missing the Cues
Lifestyle trends and an overreliance on technology have dulled the ability to read a room, making it increasingly challenging to navigate real-life social situations seamlessly. The convenience of texting, emailing and messaging through screens has diminished the ability to read body language, facial expressions and other non-verbal cues. As a result, individuals are not exercising this skill as frequently as before and may find themselves ill-equipped to interpret the subtleties of inperson interaction.
Moreover, the rise of social media has distorted perceptions of reality. Online personas often present carefully curated versions of life, masking the complex emotions and dynamics beneath the surface. Prolonged exposure to these idealized representations can desensitize individuals to everyday life’s authentic expressions and social cues.
Additionally, social media creates a narrow microcosm of the real world as individuals in social networks surround themselves with likeminded individuals, creating echo chambers or “bubbles.” In this limited space, individuals may lack exposure to diverse perspectives and social contexts, so their ability to read and navigate unfamiliar situations becomes impaired, further limiting the development of well-rounded social awareness skills.
Amidst contemporary living, marked by multitasking, perpetual distractions and a prioritization of personal endeavours, there’s a risk of inadvertently reducing our ability for keen and deliberate observation. Without mindful presence and attentive awareness, one might overlook the subtleties of social dynamics,
Push yourself out of your comfort zone by seeking out
thus missing pivotal cues that shape their actions and reactions.
Improving Your Reading Skills
Mastering the art of reading the room requires a continuous effort to sharpen emotional intelligence. A good first step is to commit to active listening and mindful observation during social interactions.
Instead of mentally preparing a response while others speak, focus intently on their words, tone, body language and the emotional subtext beneath the surface. Ask clarifying and exploratory questions to better understand nuances or subtleties as well as ensure understanding. Practising and maintaining this present awareness allows you to see and start to inherently pick up on crucial social cues and pivot where needed.
Additionally, push yourself out of your comfort zone by seeking out diverse experiences that expose you to new perspectives and social dynamics. Interacting with individuals from different backgrounds, cultures or industries challenges your ability to observe and see unfamiliar social cues. This will deepen and expand your awareness range.
Practise self-reflection and solicit candid feedback from trusted sources on your social strengths and areas for growth to guide your personal growth and help identify blind spots in your social awareness.
Commit to ongoing education through workshops, books or online courses that delve into emotional intelligence, communication skills and understanding human behaviour. This knowledge will provide a deeper appreciation for the complexities of social dynamics and equip you with strategies for navigating them effectively.
In a time when human connections are becoming more disjointed, possessing the knack for reading the room emerges as a transformative asset, both in personal and professional realms. This skill not only enables us to forge meaningful connections but also empowers us to flourish and make a lasting impression on those around us.
Clemens Rettich is an organizational consultant with Beaton Rettich Waters. Once and always a musician and an educator, he has spent over 30 years practising the art of management. Rettich also shares his passion for leadership and organizational behaviour with his students at the Peter. B. Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria.
Doing More, Doing Better with Less
Are your employees being productive — or are they just busy?
In early 2023, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon announced a “return-to-office” mandate: full attendance five days a week. Half of the employees refused. Solomon forcefully reiterated his position with limited success for many months. More recently, Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy told workers they must get to the office five days a week starting in January. Many employees, valuing the flexibility and autonomy of remote work, experience these calls as a regression, as arbitrary leadership based more on “belief” (Jassy) than facts.
That debate isn’t just about where work happens; it’s a symptom of our failure to define productivity. It is a triumph of authority over datainformed insight. Failing to define and agree on what productivity is, we fail to achieve it.
Productivity isn’t about where you work or the volume you produce. True productivity is about doing more, and doing better, with less. The ongoing debate over return-to-office policies is a window into how our failure to understand productivity has very real impacts on our organizations, our people and our standing in our communities and the marketplace.
The Productivity Ratio: Beyond the Simplistic Too often, productivity is mistaken for output. Productivity is reduced to “units per hour of work.” This is not productivity; this is a simplistic efficiency metric that fails to calculate real costs or real value.
At the national level, productivity is frequently measured as GDP per hour worked another blunt tool that fails to account for outputs like innovation or worker well-being. At the firm level, metrics like revenue per employee, while useful, also disregard factors such as costs and investments, quality and sustainable value creation. For businesses, especially smaller ones, improving productivity shouldn’t be just about pushing harder or producing more; it’s about smarter investment, thoughtful work design and a holistic understanding of how we create value for customers.
Productivity is a ratio. It describes the relationship between inputs and outputs. It describes our ability to do more and better, with less. All things being equal, if the same task with the same output can be done in less time, you are being productive. If the same task is done in the same amount of time, but the quality is higher and the failures fewer, you are being productive.
Building a Culture of Productivity
Improving productivity, particularly for smaller businesses, starts with understanding what real productivity means and using data rather than opinions to inform decisions. Productivity is a system-level outcome; it’s influenced by company culture, leadership and operational excellence. It doesn’t live in the abstract; it must be aligned with our strategic understanding of how we create value for customers, profitably.
The remarkable book The Good Jobs Strategy by MIT’s Zeynep Ton illustrates this powerfully. It suggests that fair compensation, stability and empowering employees are crucial for and in turn require operational excellence. Companies like Costco and Trader Joe’s are deeply committed to this approach, investing in their people and operational excellence to realize true productivity.
Productivity is a virtuous circle: Effective operational processes and a culture of transparency support the engagement of employees in high levels of discretionary effort. The result is higher-quality work and delighted customers. This drives better sales and better margins, which can in turn fuel improved employee compensation and lower turnover, driving further excellence.
Practical Strategies for Small Businesses
1. Use data to inform and measure what matters: Most leaders struggle to define how they measure productivity, even when they invoke it as a reason to demand a return to office. We need to
Improving productivity, particularly for smaller businesses, starts with understanding what real productivity means and using data rather than opinions to inform decisions.
A Bullseye for Team Building
get past this and use data beyond simple output metrics (far too often driving and measuring “busyness,” not productivity) to incorporate customer satisfaction, employee engagement and quality into our productivity measures. Understand how value is created and where opportunities for improvement exist.
2. Invest in your people: The term “human resources” is a problem. Resources exist to be consumed. Humans are assets to invest in. Workforce development is not a cost; it’s a vital investment. Well-trained and well-compensated employees are proven to be more productive.
3. Adopt a systems perspective: Productivity isn’t about optimizing isolated tasks or isolated factors like where employees are working from. It’s about understanding how all parts of your business interact. Use data to identify bottlenecks, simplify and standardize processes, and ensure employees feel connected to the value your organization creates for its customers.
Productivity is about doing more and better with less; higher quality with less waste. To be productive in increasingly volatile and complex environments, we need to be in continual dialogue with our people and on a continual drive towards operational excellence. One is not possible without the other, and neither is possible without a clearer and shared understanding of what “productivity” truly means in our organizations.
STYLISH SNEAKERS
The trendiest footwear combines comfort with work-appropriate fashion.
Over the past couple of decades, business attire has become more and more casual and comfortable in all but the most traditional of industries, especially since the pandemic, when we all got used to WFH in our stretchy pants and cozy hoodies.
And pretty much the first thing we tossed out of the closet is any shoe that made our feet, knees or back ache.
Enter the casual business sneaker, for both men and women. It’s been around since the 2010s when brands like Adidas and Nike saw an opportunity for designs that were comfy yet appropriate for the office. Creative professionals were the first to embrace them, but now everyone and anyone is wearing sneakers, even with suits and dresses, to the office or to a meeting.
Even so, there are some sneakers that are office appropriate — and some that aren’t. Here are three things to look for in a work sneaker:
Style: Choose a slim, trim silhouette, nothing too chunky or blingy, especially if you’re wearing a suit. Avoid slip-on sneakers, actual running shoes and anything dirty, battered or torn.
Material: For the most office-appropriate sneaks, opt for leather or suede rather than canvas.
Colour: Stick to neutrals such as black, brown, white or grey, or darker colours like navy blue, burgundy or dark green. The sneaker is an easy way to add personality to your look, while still maintaining your professional persona. Besides, it lets you walk into any room with confidence — and comfort.
Cole Haan GrandPro Topspin
Inspired by classic court shoes, this sleek leather sneaker has a comfortable, lightweight, flexible construction with a supportive footbed and padded heel. Plus it comes in a huge range of colours with elegantly contrasting trim. Best for: Pairing with a suit.
New Balance 574
SNEAKERS THAT CAN GO ANYWHERE 5
The ultimate normcore classic is a suede-and-mesh sneaker that not only looks good with everything from jeans to dresses to suits, but is also truly comfortable and supportive, even for people with wide feet. Best for: Any time you need to stand your ground.
Nike Killshot 2
This preppy icon has made a comeback from its 1970s heyday, when it was Nike’s original tennis shoe. That classic mix of suede, leather and distinctive gum sole is surprisingly versatile, and brings retro cool and poppy colour to business-casual fashion. Best for: Everyday wear.
Hoka Clifton 9
These two trim lifestyle sneakers, with their distinctive three stripes and huge range of colours, are as popular with fashion folks as they are with workers in the tech and finance sectors. They go everywhere, with anything for almost any occasion. Best for: Expressing your personality.
It seems that everyone is wearing Hokas these days, and no wonder. These mesh-knit sneakers are so light, supportive and cushiony they even have the American Podiatric Medical Association Seal of Acceptance. Best for: Anyone who has to stand or walk all day.
Adidas Samba OG or Adidas Gazelle
ESCAPE TOGETHER
Looking for a new team-building exercise?
Just follow the clues.
The team that plays together stays together, especially when that team is trapped in a darkened room trying to untangle obscure clues as the clock ticks down.
If somehow you’ve never been locked in one, an escape room is a challenging game in which a group of two to 10 players must find clues, solve puzzles, untangle riddles and fulfil tasks within a limited time to get out of a room that is often designed according to a theme such as a haunted manor house, Egyptian pyramid or magician’s lair.
To do so requires collaboration, co-operation and problemsolving skills, which is why escape rooms have become a popular team-building activity. They can also help your team create new bonds, reduce stress, grow skills and improve attitudes — or at the very least create excellent anecdotes to share later on.
HERE ARE THREE ESCAPE ROOMS TO CHECK OUT IN VICTORIA:
Horror Escape
523 Broughton Street
Features three rooms (House of Occult, After Dark and Motel 66) and 45 minutes to escape. horrorescape.com
Quest Reality Games
1211 Wharf Street
Four rooms: Victoria Noir: Case of the Curious Collector, Sorcerer’s Lair, Secrets of the Great Pyramid and Rosewood Manor; one hour to play. questrealitygames.com
Victoria Escape Games
920 Hillside Avenue
One escape room, Raiders of the Lost Tomb, version 2.0. One hour to play. victoriaescapegames.com
LUNCH AT THE LEG
For those times you need to impress.
Every once in a while you want to be that person, the one who knows the inside scoop, the hidden secrets, the (taps nose) best deal in town. And when that’s you, and you have a guest you want to impress, there’s one place above all others to head for lunch: the Parliamentary Dining Room at the B.C. legislature.
It’s old-fashioned and clubby, much the same as it’s been for the last century or so, and chances are you’ll be rubbing elbows with the movers and shakers in the provincial government. You’ll need a security pass and reservations are highly recommended.
You won’t find cutting-edge cuisine here, but you will find great deals (most mains are under $20) on classic dishes deftly executed by executive chef Nathan Waters and his team, from local, seasonal ingredients when possible. Think pan-seared sockeye salmon with herb risotto, chicken Cobb salad or rigatoni with ratatouille, along with a selection of alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks.
While you’re there, keep your ears open for any juicy tidbits and you’ll definitely be that person in the know.
The Parliamentary Dining Room is open for breakfast and lunch Mondays to Fridays.
leg.bc.ca/visit/parliamentary-dining-room
PARK YOUR COMPLAINTS
How much do we really pay for parking downtown?
We love to kvetch about parking downtown. It’s such a concern that the Downtown Victoria Business Association has flagged the chatter as an issue that affects the ability of businesses to attract customers. But is parking in this city really so bad?
We compared Victoria to other cities across the country and discovered a complicated mish-mash of parking times, rates, rules and restrictions that make parking more challenging (or less; sometimes it’s hard to know). Some cities have much more limited numbers of street parking spaces and even fewer during rush hours, special events and heavy snowfall. Others have their own peculiarities: Vancouverites, for instance, have to pay for parking until 10 p.m. in most parts of downtown; Montreal makes 11 streets completely car-free in summer; and while Calgary has relatively inexpensive street parking, its parkades charge monthly rates so costly that the city is considered North America’s most expensive in which to park.
But it all starts with an hourly rate. Here is a snapshot of what it will cost you to park by the hour in eight cities across Canada. Note that prices are subject to change.
Sources: City of Victoria, Parkopedia, City of Edmonton, City of Winnipeg, Green Spot, Spot Hero, City of Ottawa, Agence de mobilité durable de Montréal, City of Halifax
HOURLY PARKING RATES BY CITY
VICTORIA
On-street: $2 to $4 Parkades: $2.50 to $3.50
VANCOUVER
On-street: $1 to $11 Parkades and lots: $3 to $25
EDMONTON
On-street: $1.50 to $4.50 Parkades: $5
WINNIPEG
On-street: $1.75 to $2.75 Parkades: $4
TORONTO On-street: $1.50 to $6.50 Parkades: $2 to $19
OTTAWA On-street: $1 to $4.50 Parkades: $3 to $6
MONTREAL
On-street: $2.25 to $4.25 Parkades and lots: $1.75 to $6
HALIFAX
On-street: $2 to $3.75 Parkades: $3 to $5
A DOWNTOWN VICTORIA PARKING PRIMER
There are 6,900 paid parking spaces in downtown Victoria: 1,900 in the City of Victoria’s parkades, 1,900 on-street and 3,100 in Robbins Parking’s parkades and lots.
day and all day on holidays.
HALIFAX MONTREAL
At an average of $3.50 an hour, Victoria’s parking costs are lower than those in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Halifax.
On-street parking ranges from $2 to $4 per hour depending on the location and time of day. Onstreet parking is free from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. every
On-Street Parking: Downtown rates run between $1 per hour to as much as $7 per hour with many parking spots having maximum stays of up to three hours according to Parkopedia.
All five City parkades have a rate of $2.50 an hour, but have one-hour free spaces to allow for quick shopping experiences and short appointments. City parkades are also free from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily, and all day on Sundays and holidays. The rate at Robbins parkades is typically $3 to $3.50 an hour.
Parking Lots: Parking lots range from $3 an hour to $25 an hour in downtown Vancouver according to Parkopedia. Some lots don’t have daily maximums.
The City’s Find Parkade Spaces website shows real-time availability in its parkades, and signs will
soon be posted outside each parkade indicating the available spaces in each. Robbins parkades also have a space locator on their website.
The City of Victoria’s ParkVictoria app is the easiest way to pay for parking. It also allows you to “top up” your parking session if your errand takes longer than expected or get a refund if there is any unused time on the “meter” when you are ready to head home.
Source: City of Victoria
LET NATURAL WONDER DRIVE BUSINESS PROGRESS
Host your next meeting where natural spaces spark meaningful connections.
What if you could find a meeting place that truly changed perspectives and unleashed creativity? Only 15 minutes from downtown Victoria, Langford offers over 300 hotel rooms, intimate venues for smaller groups, luxury ballrooms for 750 and over 20 meeting and conference spaces. What really sets Langford apart is the thousands of acres of outdoor meeting spaces which offer creative options for natural and inspirational team building activities. Business is changing, so should your approach to meetings and conferences. There’s nothing usual about us.
PLAN YOUR MEETING TODAY
Our team is available to assist with your upcoming meeting, conference, or event:
