Douglas magazine October/November 2015

Leadership Lessons from an avalanche survivor

Oct/nov 2015

Wearable Tech

the New Work Wardrobe?

No Travel Insurance Is it worth the risk?

Recognizing Bullying

in the Workplace

6

issues

That keep local business owners awake at night

Urban farming

New canucks

On a rooftop near you

Lei Hou, owner of Willie’s Cafe and Bakery

The Real Story About Immigrant Investment on the Island

small Business issue PM41295544

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Contents Oct/Nov 2015

Features

30 Bullying in the Workplace

Bullying destroys lives, trashes morale and costs businesses big money. What should you do about it?

By Tim Collins

36 The New Canucks

How business immigrants are keeping money flowing into the Island economy and rescuing businesses that might otherwise die out. by Shannon moneo

Special in this Issue Annual Special Resource Guide

Meetings

+

RetReats 2 0 1 5 va n C o u v e r i s l a n d M e e t i n g P l a n n e r

pull me out

Time to Take it Out of the Office

Multi-Generational Meetings and Events

the ABCs of Adding Value

build stronger work bonds

Yes, You Can Please everYone

How venues deliver benefits

Meetings+ retreats

This go-to guide features trends you need to know, how to plan multigenerational meetings, a venue directory and more.

43 Economic

Development The 9th Annual State of the Island Economic Summit will feature transformative and thought-provoking speakers and the launch of a pivotal report on Vancouver Island’s economy.

48 Six Issues That Keep

Business Owners Awake At Night

Douglas looks at small business insomnia and smart ways you can get some shut-eye. by mike wicks

22

Lessons from the Wild

Avalanche survivor Ken Wylie teaches business people about trusting their instincts in order to survive in the wild, in business and in life. By andrew Findlay

departments 6 From the Editor 10 In the Know

INTEL

[Business Intelligence]

Innovation off the grid, TEDx, a Dragon’s take on leadership and the business of play

54 Entrepreneurship

18

56

People in Business

The who, what and where of the business scene

20 Take Three Flex your

Entrepreneur matchmaking

by Peter Elkins

digital life

Will wearable tech become the new work wardrobe? by david Alexander

small business smarts

58 MONEY

26 THE BIG IDEA

BY Steve Bokor and Ian David Clark

Urban farming on a rooftop near you By shannon moneo

62 Last Page Gone fishin’

The riskiest way to travel

60

sales & Marketing

The right pricing strategy by mike wicks

by kerry slavens

Follow us

4 Douglas

“Planning communities requires a passion for making everyday lives better. That means building communities that are inspiring and resilient.�

Mark Crisp Senior Urban Designer, Community Development

University Village Local Area Plan Municipality of North Cowichan Zoning Bylaw Update Village of Cumberland Ogden Point Master Plan Greater Victoria Harbour Authority

Design with community in mind stantec.com | (250) 388-9161

Jeffrey Bosdet/Douglas Magazine

From the Editor

A City Beyond Cynicism

Since the Mayor’s Task Force on Economic Development and Prosperity released its draft action plan, Making Victoria: Unleashing Potential, on September 11, I’ve talked to a lot of people about it. I’ve encountered both optimism and cynicism. Optimism because this is a plan that seems to speak the language of entrepreneurs, not bureaucrats; cynicism because we’ve watched many task forces come and go over the years — and a lot of ideas have been left on the table to rot.

I’m going to bypass cynicism and give this draft plan a tentative thumbs up for a number of reasons. First, I like its premise: “The job of the City and its partners is to establish the conditions for implementing sustainable economic development. In order to accomplish this, we cannot shy away from disrupting the status quo, challenging old habits and assumptions, and promoting a new set of values in order to help Victoria’s economic ecosystem thrive.”

Second, I buy into its focus on rapid prototyping, real-time customer feedback and measurable action — because I do believe that what gets measured gets done.

Third, I’m tired of the cynicism that has infected civic politics. Someone once described cynicism as a premature disappointment in the future. Standing back with our arms folded, throwing clever quips while remaining removed from the process, won’t help us to do the heavy lifting that needs to be done to make Victoria an entrepreneurial centre of excellence.

One of the things I like best about Making Victoria: Unleashing Potential is the idea of setting up a business hub at City Hall. It’s important that this hub be more than a physical space; it needs to be developed with a can-do attitude and a deep understanding of how businesses see the world and their real needs.

A number of people I’ve talked to suggest hiving off this business hub to a location outside of City Hall and creating a living lab of innovation. It’s an interesting idea if a way can be found to do this without running up the hub’s budget on bricks and mortar.

But even more important than the location is creating an entrepreneurial mindset. In his book, The Rise of the Creative Class: Revisited, Richard Florida refers to a study by personality psychologists Sam Gosling and Jason Rentfrow and others. The study counters the idea that Silicon Valley’s success can be replicated simply by adding talent, research universities and access to venture capital and shaking it all together. While acknowledging a need for these ingredients, the study’s authors found that success depends on attracting people who have a mix of high levels of openness, extraversion and conscientiousness — entrepreneurs with energy and endurance and the ability to make things happen.

“So take heed mayors and business leaders,” Florida writes. “It will take a lot more than establishing tech transfer programs at research universities, upping the amount of local venture capital or creating new incubators to encourage entrepreneurship.

Deep down it’s about attracting the right kinds of people and boosting a location’s entrepreneurial mindset.”

I sense the Mayor’s Task Force on Economic Development and Prosperity gets this, and I sense Mayor Lisa Helps gets it. So let’s put cynicism aside for the time being and give Making Victoria: Unleashing Potential a chance to succeed.

— Kerry Slavens kslavens@pageonepublishing.ca

Someone once described cynicism as a premature disappointment in the future.

6 Douglas

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www.douglasmagazine.com Volume 9 Number 6

Publishers Lise Gyorkos, Georgina Camilleri

Editor-in-chief Kerry Slavens

Creative & Technical Manager Jeffrey Bosdet

Production Manager Jennifer Kühtz

Editorial Designer Jo-Ann Loro

Associate Editor Athena McKenzie

contributing Designer Janice Hildybrant

Contributing Writers David Alexander, Steve Bokor, Ian David Clark, Tim Collins, Peter Elkins, Andrew Findlay, Shannon Moneo, Mike Wicks

Contributing Photographers Jeffrey Bosdet, Jo-Ann Loro

Contributing Agencies Thinkstock p. 30, 41, 56, 59-61; Insert p. 4, 6, 10

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Cover Lei Hou, owner of Willie’s Cafe and Bakery Photo by Jeffrey Bosdet

Published by Page one Publishing 580 Ardersier Road, Victoria, BC V8Z 1C7 T 250-595-7243 E info@pageonepublishing.ca www.pageonepublishing.ca

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

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[In the Know ]

retail goes off the grid After years of travel and “chasing surf,” Paul Long and Nick Van Buren knew they didn’t want a traditional retail store.

“When you’re out there, you see all these different takes on retail and business,” Long says.

“When we came back we knew we wanted to start something unique.”

Finding the perfect home for their custom surfboard and Canadian-made surf clothing business proved more challenging than anticipated — until they found a vacant, unserviced lot on Discovery Street.

“Anián is Canada’s first 100-per-cent solar powered, offthe-grid retail store,” Long says.

“The whole thing took a month to build. Ninety per cent of the material used was reclaimed, with much of the wood coming from an old blimp hangar in Comox.”

While the Anián store initially ran on the three small solar panels over the workshop, a crowd-funding campaign helped the duo raise money to invest in the impressive solar panels that can now be seen atop the small retail shop. They generate enough power to run the entire business. First Light Technologies worked with Anián on a power analysis and setting up the panels.

“Daily, people see it from the road and stop and come to talk to us,” Long says. “It’s inspiring people and peaking interest in solar again.”

Long describes Anián as being as much about the lifestyle as it is about the products. The space is used as a venue for music, art shows and community events.

“At the end of the day, we started this because it was an adventure for us — it was something new, it was creative, it was a way for us to extend the lifestyle of surfing, travel and exploring.”

10 Douglas

Jeffrey Bosdet/Douglas Magazine

BY ATHENA MCKENZIE

Paul Long (left) and Nick Van Buren at their store, Anián. The name comes from the fabled Strait of Anián, part of the legendary Northwest Passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

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Small Business Daring to Grow

Business in Action ▼ DoubleTree by Hilton has opened the brand’s first property on Vancouver Island with the new DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites Victoria.

Previously the Executive House Hotel, this 181room downtown hotel opens following a multimillion dollar propertywide renovation, including a complete redesign of the lobby, public space and guest rooms.

Every October, B.C. shines the spotlight on Small Business and the sector’s significant impact on our communities and economy.

S

mall businesses make up close to 98 per cent of enterprises in Canada and the figures are similar for B.C., where SMEs contribute around 26 per cent of the province’s GDP. To acknowledge this important economic sector, October is Small Business Month in B.C. The third week of October also marks BDC Small Business Week, the annual national celebration of entrepreneurship that the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has been organizing for the past 36 years. As part of this year’s theme — Knock down barriers. Dare to grow. — the BDC will host

MNP has outgrown its Nanaimo office and will be moving its 70 Nanaimo employees up the street to the newly named MNP Place as soon as renovations are complete. Since 2009 MNP’s revenue across Vancouver Island has increased by 80 per cent and its Island-wide team has grown from 80 to 154.

an interactive Twitter chat (#SBW2015) on October 23 with a panel of experts. The chat is geared to helping small business owners learn how to shift the focus towards growth and meet the challenges involved.

Victoria events include networking and educational seminars hosted by the Victoria Chamber of Commerce, including Networking for Success and Financial Management for Small Business on October 20, and Effective Negotiating on October 21.

On October 23, the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce will host their annual Business Showcase, as well as two seminars,

Ann-Louise Jewellers opened a new location at Hillside Shopping Centre this September, adding to its other Victoria locations at The Bay Centre and Mayfair Shopping Centre.

Viking Air has signed a deal with RN-Aircraft, a subsidiary of the Russian petroleum company Rosneft.

The agreement is to manufacture 10 Viking Twin Otter Series 400 aircraft destined for the Krasnoyarsk region, where the aircraft will be used for regional commuting, corporate shuttle and cargo operations. departures travel, Victoria’s longest standing independent travel agency, has been purchased by Cathy Scott, owner of Niche Travel, a boutique travel agency. Departures, located in Oak Bay, has been owned and operated for 30 years by Ronnie Lee.

12 Douglas

jo-Ann Loro/Douglas Magazine

ITnorth has once again won Cloud Partner 2015 for Canada by the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners.

Making Victoria Mayor’s Task Force on Economic Development and Prosperity is Ready to Unleash Victoria’s Potential From the Bastion Square Parkade rooftop overlooking Victoria, the Mayor’s Task Force on Economic Development and Prosperity announced its draft economic action plan, Making Victoria: Unleashing Potential, on September 11.

For Mayor Lisa Helps, chair of the task force, the report is driven by a big call to action. “It’s not a strategy — it’s a plan,” says Helps. What differentiates it from the approach taken in the past, she adds, is that this plan contains defined objectives, concrete actions, and identified leads and metrics to advance and measure progress.

The draft plan pinpoints six “primary engines” to drive Victoria’s businesses, generate jobs, raise household incomes and increase well-being over the next four years.

These engines are: Advanced Education and

In 2014, 31,700 Canadians became selfemployed AND hired employees.

— Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)

Market Analysis for Small Business and Maximize Your Digital Presence.

As part of Small Business Month, Small Business BC will open nominations for their Small Business BC Awards and launch their MyBizDay tour, with a stop in Nanaimo on October 21 at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre.

This free full-day event connects small business owners to information and support through a mix of education, exhibits, networking and interactive panel sessions on subjects such as digital marketing, market research strategies and overcoming business challenges.

Research & Development; Ocean and Marine sector; Experiential Tourism; Government; Technology; and Entrepreneurship, Start-Ups and Social Enterprise.

Helps says these six engines, if “well greased,” will create sustainable prosperity.

“They will also stimulate growth in retail, arts and culture and other sectors that contribute to the quality of life, well-being and happiness in Victoria ...” she adds.

The draft plan proposes that a business hub be established at City Hall to streamline and de-mystify business and development processes there, make it easier to do business in Victoria, reduce red tape and connect entrepreneurs with resources.

The hub, envisioned as a separate business unit, will be funded by an annual contribution of a minimum of $250,000 set aside by the City. According to the report, the hub can be “launched imminently and deliver value within the next six to 12 months.”

The draft plan will be presented to City Council for consideration on October 22 following a period of pubic input.

“The business hub is a critical part of the plan. It’s an actual place in City Hall you can actually point to, a one-stop shop.” — Lisa Helps

Highlights from Making Victoria: Unleashing Potential The following are just a few of the objectives proposed: Create a downtown campus for postsecondary institutions.

Become known as Canada’s “Clean City” and a global knowledge hub for the ocean and marine sector.

Have customs preclearance in place in all regional facilities.

Make Ship Point a world-class outdoor performance space in partnership with the provincial government and the private sector.

Work to make Victoria known globally as a thriving hub of innovation.

A new kind of charitable event Compelled by the limitations of the existing model, Aidan Henry of Brink Events is looking to revolutionize charity galas.

Henry’s new House of Distinction series — run with a notable advisory committee that includes Mel Cooper of the Telus Victoria Community Board, Sybil Verch of Raymond James and Lise Gyorkos of Page One Publishing — will see exclusive invitation-only events hosted at multimillion dollar homes and penthouses.

“With the traditional model, a large portion of the revenue is often eaten up by costs, so the charity works for months to only make a relatively small amount,” Henry says. “With these events, 70 per cent of the overall revenue should go back to the charity. My goal is for the charity to make at least $40,000 after costs.”

The first event benefits the Victoria Cool Aid Society and takes place on October 24. Henry sees the series running three local events per year, with a launch in Vancouver this spring. He also has his sights on Toronto and Los Angeles.

“There are a lot of beautiful homes in every major city,” he says. “Why can’t we use this model to offer this experience and help charities raise a lot more money?” houseofdistinction.ca

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Ideas Creating Change TEDx Victoria has always been a powerful venue for “ideas worth sharing.” But year five of TEDx Victoria goes beyond the ideation stage to look at the results. Fittingly, this year’s theme is called Impact.

“One of the things that starts to occur with events like [TEDx] is that people start to wonder what the point is of having these talks and these ideas on the stage,” says Dylan Wilks, creative director of TEDxVictoria 5.

“People want to know, ’What’s next?

Is anything coming of this?’ With our theme of Impact, we’re trying to focus on the impact of ideas. A lot of the talks [this year] are from people who have already put their ideas into practice or are in the process of doing so, and you can see those tangible results of how they are using these ideas to make the world a better place.”

One featured speaker is Victoria entrepreneur Scott Dewis, CEO of Race Rocks 3D, whose talk will look at the bright future of learning technologies.

“My company really focuses on making learning entertaining,” says

speakers at this year’s TedX Victoria include:

Dewis, “and our mission is to align learning with the way people live, work and play.”

Learning, he feels, should be accessible in the same way that people access entertainment or video games, and it should be just as engaging.

“Something like TEDx,” he says, “really aligns with what my business is doing. You’re learning something and being entertained at the same time.”

Beyond the talks, Wilks says, the the opportunity for TEDx attendees to connect is a real selling point of the event.

“The most amazing thing about TEDx is that it brings together those diverse groups that otherwise don’t necessarily overlap.”

Mark your calendar



TEDxVictoria 5 takes place at the McPherson Playhouse on November 21.

To foster networking, City Hall will be set up as a secondary venue filled with interactive art displays.

Organizers say the day will finish with a “surprise performance” at Centennial Square. tedxvictoria.com

Global Finance Shivani Siroya, founder and CEO of InVenture, shares the progress enabled by InSight, her easy-to-use mobile application, which uses cellphones to deliver real-time credit to individuals who lack access to formal financial services. Currently in use in India, her idea has expanded beyond micro-loans and has started to help urban lower- and middle-class entrepreneurs in the informal sector access other projects, such as affordable housing.

Quantum Physics: Underrepresented groups in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Shohini Ghose, associate professor of Physics and Computer Science, who recently founded the Laurier Centre for Women in Science (WinS), speaks passionately about gender issues in science and questions why only two women have ever won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

From Impact to Action Melissa Ann Daniels is the only member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation to study environmental law and to represent her Nation in its litigation against Canada, Alberta and the tar sands industry. Daniels looks at the effects and impacts of the tar sands and speaks to solutions like decolonization and the revitalization of the Dene Legal Principles.

AmplifyHER — Creative Worldbuilding: Transmedia Nicole Sorochan, the transmedia director at Ten One Film, gives insights into cross-platform world building and story telling through her recent projects, such as Amplify HER. This documentary explores women in electronic music and the new emerging feminine through film, a 6-chapter animated motion comic and a graphic novel series.

Start Your Engines Vancouver Island Motorsport Resort is on schedule to become Canada’s premier, year-round motorsport facility.

S

upercar owners and motor enthusiasts will soon be able to fully experience the power and force of high-performance driving on a private members’ track in the Cowichan Valley. The Vancouver Island Motorsport Resort (VIMR) is being developed by the GAIN Dealer Group of Vancouver Island.

“This will be a motor enthusiast’s dream,” says Peter Trzewik, CEO of GAIN. “It will be a major attraction to Vancouver Island. There is truly no other place like it in Canada.”

Opening in spring 2016, the resort will offer enthusiasts up to 350 driving days per year in 14 Douglas

which to enjoy the full potential of their performance cars.

Designed by internationally renowned Germany-based design firm Tilke GmbH & Co., the VIMR circuit will provide novices with opportunities to gain proficiency, while challenging accomplished drivers, says Trzewik.

Phase One is comprised of 19 corners and elevation changes of over 25 metres. When Phase Two is completed, a total of 4.21 kilometres of track will be available. Speeds of up to 200 km/h will be reached on the high-

Rendering of Vancouver Island Motorsport Resort

“Driving this track will always be exhilarating. Many people who own a great car don’t have the opportunity to experience what that car can really feel like.

We want you to come away from a drive being excited.”

— Peter Trzewik, CEO of GAIN

speed sectors of the circuit in the first phase.

An exclusive 14,500-square-foot clubhouse will offer a complete range of services to its members.

This is the first private Canadian project for Tilke, recognized as the

world leader in racetrack and test facility design.

The company, headed by engineer and former auto racer Hermann Tilke, has built almost all of the new Formula One (F1) circuits since 1999.

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Two innovative Victoria businesses will be adding to the options for active socializing.

Crag X Climbing Centre moves into its new Pandora Street facility this October, and the recently announced Axis Trampoline Park looks to launch its 20,000-sq.-ft. indoor trampoline park in Esquimalt later this year or in early 2016.

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Chartered Professional  Crag X climbing centre “There are lots of people in Victoria who make physical activity and adventure a part of their lives,” says Crag X co-owner Kenneth Cronin.

“Since climbing is such a social activity, Crag X has become a bit of a hub for active people … we’ve already heard from a lot of people that they plan on coming back to climbing once we are in the new space.”

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Al’s Business Tip for success “One way to keep on top of your finances and limit surprises is to commit to a regular schedule of reviewing financial reports, making monthly comparisons, and forecasting your sales.”

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 Axis Trampoline park Alex Campbell, one of three partners behind Axis, agrees Victoria is the perfect market for these types of recreational businesses.

He describes Axis as a massive warehouse filled with interconnected trampolines. There will be large bounding play areas, dodge ball areas, areas with foam pits for people to practise aerial maneuvers, such as flips and spins, and areas with basketball hoops for people to try dunk maneuvers.

“We really want to bring something to the Island that people will be proud of,” Campbell says, “and make people excited to keep coming back.”

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Igniting Leadership Wednesday, October 14 1:30 to 3:30 David Foster Foundation Theatre, Oak Bay Beach Hotel Jim Treliving, the Canadian entrepreneur known for his role on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, will talk about “Igniting Leadership” on October 14 when he visits Victoria in support of Leadership Victoria’s Community Leadership Development Program and the creation of a Social Innovation Leadership program.

“I think the reason for wanting Jim here is that throughout his business career he has really grounded himself with valuesbased decision making,” says Leadership Victoria’s Executive Director Susan Low. “It comes through on Dragons’ Den and in his book, Decisions, and because of his strong Canadian values of community and giving back.”

A former Mountie, Treliving built his career and empire by making decisions about work with his heart, about money with his head and about people with his gut. He is the co-owner of Boston Pizza International, Mr. Lube and a number real estate and sports franchising interests.

A VIP reception with Jim and Sandi Treliving (limited tickets) will be held after the event, from 3:30 to 5:30.



For tickets > leadershipvictoria.ca 16 Douglas

Fireproofing Your Business Tuesday, October 13, 5:30 to 8:15 PM Victoria Golf Club If anyone knows the ins and outs of family business, it’s David C. Bentall, author of Leaving a Legacy, a book that explores the complex world of familyowned businesses.

Much of Bentall’s career was immersed The bentall Family empire broke in his family’s business, apart in the 1980s, The Bentall Group, and forcing powerful as CEO of Dominion life and business Construction. He is lessons which bentalL details in currently the founding his book. chair of UBC’s Business Families Centre and founder of the executive and life coaching firm Next Step Advisors.

In his talk “Fireproofing Your Business: What the Bentall Family Did Wrong and What the Nordstrom Family Did Right,” Bentall will explore how family businesses can resolve conflict, collaborate and plan for succession.  Visit cafecanada.ca/chapters/vancouverisland events

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Small Business Facts & Figures Most Important Elements to Business Success Employees

65%

Product(s)/service(s)

57%

Customer loyalty

53%

Hard work

52%

Passion for what I do Family support Marketing/Promotion Innovation Defined business plan(s) Other

27% 11% 9% 9% 4% 2%

Source: “Small Business Views on the Canadian Workforce,” Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 2015

172,342 Victoria International Airport reported record passenger numbers in August — traditionally the year’s busiest month — achieving an all-time high.

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Douglas 17

Innovation | Design | Business | Style | People

entrepreneur news

Abstract Developments’ founder and president Mike Miller has brought on two partners, Sam Ganong, VP of development, and Kyle Ryan, VP of construction. Under Miller’s leadership for more than 16 years, Abstract has become known for its forward-thinking approach, design and construction of homes. The same approach is being used as Abstract grows its multi-family development division with the help of Ganong and Ryan. This fall, the company launched a sales gallery located at Oak Bay Avenue and Foul Bay, featuring all Abstract’s past and future projects..

Coralie McLean, has launched Coralie McLean Marketing.

McLean has a wide range of experience working in television news, luxury car sales, marketing and tech.

She previously worked for Flytographer and CTV Vancouver Island.

Mieke van Delft will be taking the reins as manager of The WetCleaner Non-toxic DryCleaner’s Cook Street location as owners Dave and Cindy Hatt prepare to begin the company’s expansion into the U.S., with Phoenix as the first American location.

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Left to right: Kyle Ryan, Mike Miller, Sam Ganong

On the move Gillie Easdon, formerly of Every Step Counts, has been hired

by Frontrunners in the new role of special projects and events manager. Easdon will work on events and community initiatives and running clinics.

Dr. William R. Holmes has been appointed dean of the Faculty of Management at Royal Roads University.

Holmes joins Royal Roads from the

Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, where he has held positions since 2010, first as dean, Faculty of Business, and more recently as vice-provost.

Mark Loria is the new executive director of the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre. Loria, who had been the centre’s development director since April, was previously VP, development with Calgary’s Glenbow Museum.

Appointed James Byrne has been named regional managing partner, Vancouver Island, for the accounting and consulting firm MNP. Based in Nanaimo, Byrne has been with MNP since 2005, most recently as the firm’s regional leader for forestry and forest products. Byrne takes over from Garth Busch who has led the Island region for the past six years and is retiring after more than 40 years in public practice.

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Douglas 19

Take three

Top 3

Industries that attract entrepreneurs

14.1% 13.4% 13.1%

Accommodation & Food services



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A Guide to Getting Customers According to the authors of Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth, most new businesses don’t fail at building a product, most fail when they can’t gain traction. Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares interviewed more than 40 founders and studied successful companies to pull out the repeatable strategies and tactics used to attract customers. Now you can add this inside info to your business toolkit.

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Screen Time

Microsoft Surface Pro 3, microsoftstore.com, starts at $949 Dubbed the “laptop killer” by reviewers, this tablet basically allows you to do everything you would do on your computer, from accounting spreadsheets in Excel (it comes with a Windows 10 OS) to video conference calls, as well as letting you mark up presentations or sign documents with its Surface Pen.

Call the Shots Platronics Savi 3-in-1 Headset, staples.ca, starts at $375

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Say What?

Use Mention to track and respond in real time to what users are saying about your product. Features allow you to monitor social networks, news sites, forums, blogs and web pages. en.mention.com

Douglas 21

After surviving a massive avalanche that killed seven people, Ken Wylie began to ask deep questions about leadership, Type A toughness and trusting his own instincts. Today, he’s bringing lessons from the wild to the corporate mindset.

“It takes a lot of courage for a leader to recognize that they are not in control of everything, and to sometimes allow the process to determine the direction.�

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In conversation with Ken Wylie ■ BY Andrew findlay ■ photo by jeffrey bosdet

Lessons from the

wild K

en Wylie has literally been to the abyss and back. On a cold January day in 2003, as an assistant mountain guide, Wylie watched his boss, the legendary Swiss-born guide Ruedi Beglinger, ascend a steep face on Tumbledown Mountain in the Selkirk Range north of Revelstoke.

Beglinger led one group of ski mountaineering clients; Wylie followed not far behind with the second group.

Yet his instinct told him something wasn’t right.

The slope was steep and pocked with rock outcrops that conduct cold and weaken the snowpack. Too many skiers loaded the slope, exposing the entire group to the risk of avalanche. And there was that lingering weak layer in the snow dating back to November that twisted Wylie’s gut into nervous knots. But rather than listen to his inner voice, Wylie dutifully followed Beglinger, who he saw as strong willed and often autocratic.

Minutes later hell broke loose. A skier in the first group triggered a slide and the mountain moved.

Wylie’s survival instincts kicked in as he ejected from his ski bindings and swam to stay atop the moving snow, watching as some of the clients below him were swallowed in a wall of white. When the movement stopped he was buried to the waist and facing downhill.

Then suddenly a second wave of snow hit and there was blackness. Thirty minutes passed before a rescuer picked up the signal of Wylie’s avalanche transceiver and he was dug free from a metres-deep snowy tomb, remarkably still conscious. But seven other skiers weren’t so lucky. Among the fatalities was legendary snowboarder Craig Kelly, who at the time was an aspiring guide.

Wylie survived, physically unharmed but emotionally scarred. In the years that followed, he was racked with survivor’s guilt and tormented by a sense of responsibility for the loss of life. He obsessed over his fateful decision to follow Beglinger up that mountain

against his better judgement. His marriage unravelled and his career foundered.

Eventually, Wylie decided to face his demons head on and spent two years writing Buried, the book published in 2014, that tells his side of the story and the long road to emotional healing. The book is an unflinching, candid confessional, both an act of atonement and catharsis. But it’s also an indictment that doesn’t pull punches in its negative assessment of Beglinger’s role in the accident. (His former boss has dismissed the book as inaccurate.) Furthermore, it takes on a guiding culture ruled by stoicism and Type-A toughness and little sympathy for emotional vulnerability.

Today Wylie, who recently relocated to Mill Bay from Calgary, is a fit 50 year old and has emerged from the darkness determined to use his skills as a guide to not only share with clients the beauty and thrill of the mountains, but also help people and organizations address personal and institutional challenges through his company Mountains for Growth.

What was your life like between the time of the avalanche and the writing of your book?

At first I thought I could mark this event like a cairn on the path of life, honour it and move on. I was wrong.

Instead, I loaded a backpack full of anger, resentment, guilt and fear of what people thought of me and I carried it around for seven years ... I literally got to the point where my body was failing. I had fibromyalgia, my back was giving out. I fell to the floor and the words came out, “OK, I will write.”

You also started your own company, Mountains for Growth.

What makes it more than just a mountain guiding company?

Adventure can be a powerful tool for personal growth and expansion because who we are shows up in challenging environments and situations. Mountains

Ken Wylie wrote Buried (Rocky Mountain Books, 2014) in the aftermath of a deadly Selkirk Range avalanche. In this personal and raw account, he explores what happened that day in 2003, the role he played and how the experience altered forever his views on leadership and intuition.

Douglas 23

for Growth differs from a typical “mountain guided” experience in that we have the conversation about what is actually happening in the social arena. This takes courage.

I’m often asked why this is so important. My answer is: “So that we are different than our gear. Our equipment goes on the journey, just like us. If we fail to reflect on what happens out there, we forego growth and, like our [equipment], we only wear out.

The mountain world has taught me that when it’s blowing sideways snow, there’s nothing you can do about it — you have to accept it — [and it’s taught me] about having the courage to speak up in the face of hierarchy and also about truth. There’s an Indian fable about five blind men who encounter an elephant. One touches the leg and says it’s like a pillar; another holds the tail and says it’s a rope; a third touches the trunk and calls it a tree branch, and so on. The point is that all parts are true and through this layered picture, a more compete truth emerges.

What can a CEO or team learn from an experience with you?

I’m interested in working with businesses and organizations that have the courage to build strong, high-functioning teams. This requires the chutzpah to have a hard look at who we are

as people. Some of us think that we can work as consummate professionals, and that who we really are can stay locked at home in a box.

But self-knowledge is the key to making good decisions in risk and business environments.

We have to know and befriend our dragons, so that we work with awareness and manage the risk of the human factor. A CEO or team would learn a lot on a Mountains for Growth program, and there can be many deeply individual lessons and breakthroughs as a group. The big one that a lot of groups get is how dangerous the misapplication of hierarchy can be in leadership yet how often it is used.

What insights about leadership did you learn that you hope to share with others?

When I met with Ruedi [Beglinger] shortly after the tragedy, I wanted to share my version of events. He put his hand up and said, “I’ll tell you what happened.” Nobody responds well to fear. We’re all embroiled at some point in our lives in hierarchies. Leaders who sit atop rigid hierarchies have a very limited field of view, but when they allow other people into the process, they broaden their field of view and make better decisions.

It takes a lot of courage for a leader to recognize that they are not in control of everything and to sometimes allow the process

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to determine the direction. Google is a great example. Once a week [Google] employees are permitted to work on projects that they think are cool, and look what happens — Google Docs emerged from this.

Many people have little experience with high-risk mountain sports. What lessons can others draw from your experience in this environment?

In any risk environment, self-awareness is the most important skill. How you perform your hard skills is dependent on how you perform the soft, interpersonal skills.

There were many times following the tragedy when I questioned my motivations for pursuing risk sports. As a young man, I was very ego driven, keen to get my name in guidebooks and listed on first ascents. Writing the book enabled me to uncover the layers of beauty in the mountains, the connection with a partner, the unbelievable positions and locations you can access and the ability to work in concert with nature and solve problems that you encounter.

As a mountaineer, I’ve learned that anything I carry in my backpack must either sustain or protect me in some way. If it does neither of these then it gets switched for something that does. What we carry in life, and in business, must be of use to us. My message is carry things that serve you and the greater good. ■

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the big idea BY shannon moneo photos by jeffrey bosdet

Urban

On a commercial rooftop in downtown Victoria, Chris Hildreth spent the summer growing produce in space that would otherwise go unused.

26 Douglas

Farming

On a Rooftop Near You

Chris Hildreth has been literally planting the seeds for a new business — an urban rooftop farm — for the past two years . Douglas caught up with Hildreth and his business mentor Kimball Ketsa as they near the end of their business pilot and begin to prepare for new growth.

A

lmost every day since June, Chris Hildreth has been planting and harvesting his 500-squarefoot roof garden atop a one-storey building in the Fort Street Common District. He diligently measures soil pH, temperatures, rainfall, water use and production yields as well as the key indicators of business growth. He knows that costs came in below projections and that production was 10 times higher than anticipated. It’s all part of a pilot project Hildreth launched in the spring to determine exactly how much he could produce per square foot of rooftop space and to figure out if his commercial rooftop food production business, Topsoil, is really a viable idea.

Topsoil began one day in 2013 when Hildreth, a University of Victoria business, environmental studies and sociology grad was sitting in class and looked out a window at barren rooftops. Within a couple days, his idea for commercial rooftop agriculture took root. In February 2014, he entered the University of Victoria’s PlanIt business competition, winning $1,500 in the social venture category. The budding idea grew into a full-fledged business plan, which Hildreth re-entered in PlanIt’s galaxy of ideas in April 2015, this time winning first place and $6,000. That sum, in effect, became Hildreth’s seed money for Topsoil, along with a loan from his family.

Laying the Groundwork Commercial rooftop gardens, and even rooftop greenhouses, have been around for several years, thriving in Montreal and catching on in Toronto but they’re rare in the rest of Canada. Chicago, New York City and Boston have embraced the concept and Holland is a hot spot.

In Vancouver, a business with rooftop greenhouses, where lettuce was produced in vertically-stacked, hydroponics trays, went bankrupt in 2014. After being in operation for just over a year, there was a $4 million debt. From Hildreth’s perspective, if a business is going to put millions into a rooftop agriculture business, the financial, marketing and business plans must be airtight.

The sentiment is shared by Kimball Ketsa, a business instructor at UVic and a certified management accountant, who taught Hildreth in fall 2014. That year, Douglas 27

Hildreth approached Ketsa with his idea, and since then Ketsa has been guiding the green entrepreneur.

“A lot of businesses have an idea but don’t have a long-term plan,” Ketsa says. They start with a concept they think is great, and sometimes it’s grander than feasible. Starting small and doing the research are crucial.

In January, the pair rolled up their sleeves and got serious about their first challenge: finding a building owner who would make their roof available. After contacting a number of landlords, Hildreth secured, rent-free, the Fort Properties space on 1001 Blanshard Street.

Fort Properties’ co-owner Suzanne Bradbury, says her company gladly participated because it supports the community-minded, environmentally beneficial principles behind Topsoil. Vacant space is being used to produce healthy food, she adds. As well, the groundbreaking nature of Topsoil appeals to her. “Chris is starting a new industry,” she says, “and it could be a signature industry for Victoria, one more piece of our economic engine.”

 With a light carbon footprint, Hildreth delivers his produce on foot.

Proving the Concept After securing the space, logistics had to be addressed. “This is where the process engine started in regards to how do we get a garden up on a roof,” Ketsa notes. “What were the obstacles from a building, engineering, insurance and structural perspective?”

The need to liaise with a myriad of agencies slowed the pilot’s take off. Architects, engineers, City of Victoria officials and WorkSafeBC were some of the parties who had to be contacted. A commercial rooftop garden was uncharted territory for all involved.

“Because this is such a new industry there is no manual that I could follow to satisfy all of the requirements,” Hildreth says. And because Topsoil would be depositing almost 2,000 pounds of soil on the roof, Hildreth had to get an engineer to certify the structural integrity of the roof.

“Risk management is very real in today’s business world,” Ketsa says.

As well, the budget for the pilot project was kept small. Fiamo Italian Kitchen got the produce for free during the pilot, so there was no revenue. Hildreth did all the work and collected no salary. And there was much planning about what had to be purchased.

“To really understand the mechanics behind gardening, rooftop gardening

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28 Douglas

challenges, costs that may be incurred that were not expected — this was the driver for a pilot project rather than jumping in and hoping for the best,” Ketsa says.

One nice-to-have challenge was that too much produce was grown, says Hildreth who also delivered the produce, on foot, to Fiamo.

From June to October, Hildreth grew tomatoes, peppers, kale, arugula and other salad greens, and basil and other herbs, in a deer and weedfree environment.

“Chris gets random calls from [Fiamo] diners who tell him the kale tasted amazing,” Ketsa says.

Beyond high-quality produce grown without pesticides, foot delivery eliminates CO2 emissions, packaging is reduced and consumers know exactly where their mouthfuls of flavour originate. As well, rooftop gardens absorb rainwater (which eliminates runoff), purify the air and help to control the temperature inside the building by absorbing heat.

“If we’re going to live in cities, we have to make a more sustainable food system. My passion is to create a tangible solution,” says Hildreth, a Vancouver native who has a decade of restaurant industry experience.

As the pilot project finishes, the growing equipment and raised beds will be disassembled for winter. Hildreth is now seeking four to five restaurant customers, who by spring 2016 will buy Topsoil’s products, which he plans to customize and rotate depending on demand.

And he needs to secure 10,000 to 15,000 square feet of rooftop space, close to the restaurants.

Acting as CEO, Hildreth plans to hire a production manager (the “farmer”), a financial manager and a marketing/branding manager.

“In five years I would like to have two acres of rooftop space and be producing at least 100,000 pounds of produce each year for the city of Victoria,” Hildreth adds. “I want Topsoil to be a tangible and realistic alternative to our current industrial food system.”

Hildreth has also been planning a pitch to Dragons’ Den and, further along, he may offer franchises. There might even be other rooftop products such as honey-producing beehives.

Sustainable Growth Ketsa cautions that quick growth should not be the goal because it doesn’t always equate to instant success. “There will be bumps on the way but to reach success one should really ensure that growth is heavily controlled,” he says. “Understand your operations, capture your real costs, not costs that are assumed, manage your risk factors, market, and ensure you have a quality product that people not only want but need.”

This is serious business. “We’re not a bunch of hippies up here,” Hildreth says with a laugh. ■

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Bullying

30 Douglas

Former employees of online retailer Amazon were quoted in a recent New York Times story as saying that they regularly see workers crying at their desks.

Other former employees said they were criticized for not putting in long hours, even if they were seriously ill. This is just the latest workplace said to be infected by bullying. So what is bullying, how does it impact your business and what should you be doing about it?

by Tim Collins

in the workplace

by Tim collins

M

ary* works within a large organization in the justice system and recently won a position as a trainer for the organization. The bullying started almost immediately after she stepped into her new position.

“There was a clique there who was obviously not pleased to see me get the position,” says Mary. “One person in particular wouldn’t talk to me, answer questions or provide me with any assistance when I asked for it. When I spoke to my supervisor [in a staff meeting] about requiring some support, the person who had been doing these things spoke up and started belittling me in front of everyone.

My supervisor just sat there and allowed it to happen ... but then he was part of that same clique.”

Mary later spoke to her supervisor but “he just pretty much laughed it off.”

“This isn’t the first time this has happened,” Mary adds. “It’s a pattern. The last person in my position, who they also didn’t want there, used to leave work in tears and nothing was ever done. She’s no longer a part of the organization.” * Names changed to protect the identities of the victims.

Mary notes that people are afraid to confront this group as they fear that they will themselves become targets and that it may come back to affect them professionally.

She remains on the job and is documenting events as they unfold. When asked if there might be something she could do to become an accepted part of what she’s described as a “clique,” her response is immediate. “I wouldn’t want to be a part of their group ...

I don’t want to be like them.”

A workplace epidemic Mary is one of thousands of employees who report being bullied in the workplace in Canada each year. While the level of awareness that surrounds the phenomenon of bullying has increased dramatically over the past decade, for most of us, however, it’s a problem that’s still considered to be primarily linked to the schoolyard where pink T-shirt days and other initiatives have been introduced to combat the age-old behaviour.

But it’s not just a schoolyard problem, according to Shawn Mitton, the regional prevention manager for WorkSafeBC. “We’re

seeing a growing list of health risks in the workplace — and bullying and harassment is a big part of that problem,” he says.

WorkSafeBC is a provincial department charged with administering the provisions of the Workers Compensation Act. That Act defines bullying and harassment as “any inappropriate conduct or comment by a person towards a worker that the person knew or reasonably ought to have known would cause that worker to be humiliated or intimidated.”

The legislation involving bullying was strengthened in November of 2013 in response to increasing concerns about the injuries resulting from the behaviour (primarily mental disorders like stress and depression resulting in a loss of work days).

Since that time, WorkSafeBC has received over 5,349 inquiries and complaints regarding workplace bullying and harassment. While many of these calls were for information and were resolved without investigation, 303 were referred to prevention officers to follow up at the employer location. Another 1,165 on-line reports were referred to specialized prevention officers for follow up.

Douglas 31

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Mitton says that, under the legislation, employers have a duty to incorporate into their staff training a definition of bullying and what to do if an employee is bullied. He says WorkSafeBC will assist in establishing that training component if they are requested to do so.

“It’s our job to follow up with the employer to find out why it started happening in the first place and why it’s continuing to happen,” says Mitton.

a [work] environment where that behaviour is not in their self interest, they are far more likely to curb that behaviour to the extent that they can.”

When Bullying is Ignored She says that some workplaces condone or turn a blind eye to bullying, and that, within that context, the phenomenon is likely to thrive.

To that end, says Berdahl, employers can help address the problem by removing any positive reinforcements to bullying and by Why People Bully Others imposing real consequences for bullies, up to The ‘why’ behind bullying is a subject that is and including termination, if necessary. of particular interest to Jennifer Berdahl, PhD, It’s an observation that is supported a professor at UBC’s Saunder Business School.

by Robyn Durling, spokesperson for an “It’s all connected to the basic concept organization called BullyFreeBC, which was of trying to exert power over someone and brought together as an ad hoc group to advise humiliate or denigrate them in some way,” the B.C. government about eight or nine years says Berdahl, who has written extensively on ago. The group incorporated as a non-profit the issue. and has continued with a mandate of raising “And you can do that pretty easily by awareness about workplace bullying. picking on some aspect of their appearance or According to Durling, some workplaces work to shame and humiliate them ... anything find that it’s easier to ignore bullying than to that is a social vulnerability can be used.” address the issue. “There’s no doubt that there “There are all sorts of bullying,” she says. is a reluctance from some employers where “I’ve written a lot on ostracism ... a sort they see that to engage in a process [to deal of shunning that takes place. The victim is with bullying] might expose them to a greater ignored and conversations stop when they risk of legal liability.” enter a room. That amounts to social death “In some industries, it’s endemic,” he says. and can be worse than being actively bullied.

“I’ve heard of situations It’s like being in solitary where the bully is the top confinement and it’s much salesman for example ... so harder to prove.”

The Effects no one is going to tell the Berdahl says that any of bullying on best salesman that he can’t bullying is a form of social Business act in that way ... he brings aggression that everyone in the big sales so the boss probably engages in to some Bullying affects the gives him a pass.” degree at some point in their overall “health” of an Bree* has firsthand careers. “There isn’t really organization, according experience of bullying as a a categorical ‘bully’ versus to the Canadian Centre buck that just keeps getting ‘non-bully’... although there for Occupational Health passed on because no one in are certainly some people & Safety. Here are some authority will deal with the with a higher proclivity (for of its effects: situation. After nearly four bullying) than others.” › Increased absenteeism years working for a national Personality disorders › Increased turnover retail chain, Bree felt that like extreme narcissism or › Increased stress she had a solid future with sociopathy can make people the organization. more likely to become › Increased costs for “My performance bullies, says Berdahl. employee assistance programs, recruitment evaluations were always 4 “Sociopaths who don’t and retention out of 5 ... across the board think about the other › Increased risk for ... and they had promised to person’s experience are more accidents/incidents send me off to management likely to engage in this sort training. I was getting fullof behaviour. And narcissistic › Decreased productivity time hours and benefits,” bosses are far more likely to and motivation she says. be bullies.” › Decreased morale That’s when a new Berdahl cautions, however, › Reduced corporate supervisor was assigned that there is a risk of simply image and customer to her section.

“For some blaming the individual confidence reason, she hated me from bully and not looking at › Poor customer service day one,” Bree adds. “She the situation in context. “If would criticize everything a high school bully enters

fail to look at it in context. It’s not that some people are just born ‘bad I did, talk about me in front of other workers and all of a sudden my apples’ ... a bad barrel will produce bad apples even if there are good performance reviews dropped to 1s and 2s. I had shifts cancelled for no apples in there.” reason and was being written up almost daily. She told me that I should While part of the problem stems from supervisors and managers resign.” ignoring bullying or even being bullies themselves, fellow employees have Bree reported the situation to the store manager and eventually to the to shoulder some part of the blame. human resources department. “It turned out that the human resources “Bystanders should be required or expected to step in,” said Berdahl, person was friends with the woman who was bullying me and she ”but that isn’t without risk. The person being bullied might be seen as not ended up supporting her no matter what,” says Bree. being able to stand up for themselves, opening the door for further abuse.

Bree was eventually transferred to another department, but found It can also hurt the bystanders who that the same supervisor would can open themselves up to bullying search her out in the store and BUllying By the numbers as well.” harass her there.

Based on 5,349 bullying and It’s also the case that bullies do “I went out on stress leave harassment enquiries and complaints not act alone, according to Berdahl. for a while, but in the end it “A posse ... yeah, they can’t get away just wasn’t worth it,” she says. with it without some level of support.

“I quit.”

That’s true both in the schoolyard and After experiencing a spike hospitality the workplace,” she says. in turnover rates within her “It could just be that people fear department, Bree’s alleged other them [the bullies] or are indirectly bully was ultimately transferred industries benefitting from giving them that to another store within the & sectors Bullying Healthcare support. Supporting a bully may get chain. The bully has not been by them opportunities or resources that subject to disciplinary action or industry they otherwise wouldn’t have. Even if required to take any training or they aren’t bullying themselves, they counselling. are supportive and equally to blame.”

Retail The Toxic Workplace Berdahl adds that, from an “The danger,” says Berdahl,” is organizational point of view, when that we look at a situation and people see that the bully is getting Source: WorkSafeBC, 2013 to 2015

63%

14%

13%

10%

Douglas 33

CALLING ALL HABITUAL TRASHERS (AND ON-THE-GO DISCARDERS TOO)

DO YOU KNOW A HABITUAL TRASHER? IS THERE AN ON-THE-GO DISCARDER IN YOUR FAMILY? ENCORP PACIFIC WANTS YOU TO PASS ON A MESSAGE: IT’S TIME TO RECYCLE. IF SO, EN BRITISH COLUMBIANS HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE PROUD OF THEIR RECYCLING BEHAVIOUR. OVER THE PAST FIFTEEN YEARS, WE’VE INCREASED THE AMOUNT OF MATERIAL WE RECYCLE BY 310%. BUT WE CAN’T BE COMPLACENT—THERE’S STILL WORK TO BE DONE. ALMOST 3

WHO’S NOT RECYCLING? In order to better understand how we can reach our target of 100% container recovery, we’ve conducted research to identify the profile and the attitudes of people who don’t recycle as much as they should. That research identified two groups who could be doing better: • Habitual Trashers are younger men who usually throw containers away rather than recycle them. They comprise only 18% of BC’s population, but they account for 49% of all containers thrown away, making them the heaviest discarders in the province. In general, they don’t believe recycling is convenient. They’re also not convinced it makes a difference.

• On-The-Go Discarders are older singles, couples or empty nesters who usually recycle, but when they’re out and about, they tend to throw containers away. It’s not that they don’t understand the benefits of recycling—they just don’t have the time to do it. Because they’re out and about a fair bit, such behaviour can really add up.

It’s time for this to change. Over the next year, Encorp Pacific would like to reach out to all Habitual Trashers and On-The-Go Discarders, and ask them to make an extra effort to bring their used beverage containers to a Return-It depot.

Doing so helps all of us: not only does recycling save precious landfill space, it saves energy and resources, and actually creates jobs.

WHERE CAN YOU RECYCLE? Looking to recycle your containers? You’ve got a number of options. First among them is your local Return-It Depot: our network of 173 depots accepts a wide variety of recyclables, including juice cartons and juice boxes. If you’re short on time, try our new Return-It Express kiosks— simply drop off your used beverage containers and we’ll take care of the rest. Residents in select urban centres can look for Return-It receptacles.

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away with the behaviour, the whole workplace becomes more toxic.

Four-Step Process

they take action and by then a lot of damage has been done.” to help prevent She says that it’s incumbent workplace bullying for all levels of management Bullying Prevention to be aware of what’s going Durling feels that the on in their organizations and provincial government could to deal with dysfunctional set a firm policy be doing a lot more. He says situations sooner than later, Create safe workplace that while improvements in even if that means retraining policies and procedures the Workers Compensation or disciplining long-time senior using WorkSafeBC’s Act do address bullying, the Bullying and Harrassment staff.

Toolkit as a guide. prevention of bullying is not Hettiarachchi says it’s key its primary purpose. for anyone who is bullied “The lens that they or harassed to document all approach bullying with incidents of bullying and is from the perspective of report them every time they injury ... that injury being be clear occur. That’s particularly true a mental disorder,” he Provide your team since bullies are often “quite with examples of what adds. “So it’s not so much insidious,” she says. bullying is and what it about preventing workplace “Yes, they [bullies] tend to is not. bullying as it is about mental ‘kiss up and kick down’ ... it’s disorders (and the claims quite common. They are often arising from those disorders) seen by employers as being and their cost to the system.” good employees, particularly What’s needed, says by supervisors who only see create a process Durling, is a fundamental the good side of them.”

Outline a confidential change in approach.

“Document, document, process by which “First of all, there document...” urges Berdahl. employees can report shouldn’t be a need for a incidents and to whom.

“The better you record bullying mental disorder before there behaviour, the harder it is for is a compensable claim,” an employer to ignore it and it he says. “It should be much keeps it from being a ‘he said, broader than that.” she said’ scenario.’”

He feels that someone But at present, even take action who is bullied should be good documentation may Take complaints seriously and do investigate fairly. able to file a claim regardless do little to compensate an Document your process of whether they have a employee who is subjected and follow through. diagnosed case of stress to continual harassment. or depression — and that Compensation claims are only claims should be allowed possible if a mental disorder where the workplace has just become too results from the bullying and legal recourse is toxic for a worker to continue. Employers, for problematic. their part, should work proactively by being “It’s far better to resolve the matter without a aware of signals like increased absenteeism or lawyer,” said Hettiarachchi, “although a lawyer high staff turnover in a specific section of their can get involved as a mediator to try to get the organization; both are signs that something parties to work things out amicably. If a suit is may be seriously wrong. launched for constructive dismissal, it becomes Heather Hettiarachchi, a labour lawyer with far more adversarial.”

Kent Employment Law in Victoria, agrees “Let’s face it,” says Durling, “someone that more needs to be done. “Unfortunately, who is making minimum wage isn’t going to it [bullying] is alive and kicking in the hire a lawyer to sue, so they are left without workplace,” she adds. any practical remedy.” He says this is why “There are various reasons for bullying and the legislation needs to change to make employers aren’t equipped to determine why being bullied a compensable claim against someone is doing what they do, so all they can an employer, regardless of whether a mental do is to address it by having workplace policies disorder results. in place, educating and encouraging people to “It really should be about improving the act in a respectful way,” she adds. workplace,” says Hettiarachchi. “There should “The reality is that often the worst bullying be training and policies in place to help curb this sort of behaviour so that lawsuits and happens by people who are high up the ladder, and organizations don’t really want to deal with compensation claims aren’t even an issue. Let’s face it, it’s just good business.” ■ the problem ... it may take several years before

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Douglas 35

the New Canucks The Real Story About Immigrant Investment on Vancouver Island

By Shannon Moneo

Lei Hou and his wife Joyce Shi took over Willie’s Cafe and Bakery in Victoria’s Old Town in October 2014, and already the couple have added eight employees to the previous 15. The former Beijing residents have also spent over $150,000 renovating what’s called B.C.’s oldest bakery. New high-tech ovens, upgraded utilities, reconfigured seating, a revamped website and menu have refreshed the 1887-founded eatery.

“We are paying attention to how we can run the business better,” says Shi. “We have 36 Douglas

Jeffrey Bosdet/Douglas Magazine

Mention foreigners who buy businesses or homes on Vancouver Island and you’ll often hear exaggerated claims about immigrant business deals and too much immigration. But the real narrative may be closer to a rescue story about entrepreneurs keeping local business alive and money flowing into the Island economy.

ambitions to develop it well,” Hou adds. “We are contributing to the local economy.”

Hou, a technology expert who worked for online retailer Alibaba, and Shi, a Mandarinto-English translator, used an immigration consultant to help them find and purchase Willie’s. The previous joint owners didn’t have the business listed for sale. But, with one owner near 70 and another at 80, and no children willing to step in, the owners realized their exit strategy and preservation of the historic business with Hou’s offer.

“The owners had faith in me that I would make the business more successful,” says Hou, who learned English in college.

As well, the couple, who have a 12-year-old son, have spent money buying a two-kitchen home in Gordon Head so Hou’s parents can live half the year in Victoria. Despite the seven-day-a-week work schedule, the family appreciates their peaceful, green home.

Unlike Australia, where Hou also explored business opportunities, Canada has proven welcoming. “People are nicer here,” he says.

Willie’s Cafe and Bakery has a new lease on life, thanks to the enthusiasm of its new owners who immigrated to Victoria from Beijing.

Bigotry and Business Dallas Gislason, economic development officer for the Greater Victoria Development Agency, recalls a conversation he had earlier this year with a Victorian involved in the Shop Local movement. The woman was complaining that immigrants were buying too many local businesses. To counteract an alien influx, she told him, people should “shop local.”

But, as Gislason notes, if an immigrant moves to Victoria and operates a business, it’s still locally-owned.

The latent racism bubbled to the surface in Nanaimo this past June when racist flyers and graffiti appeared,

targeting Chinese immigrants and real estate agents.

The owner of Pacific Business Intelligence, which assists industry and government with international expansion and marketing, says panic about a foreign takeover is unwarranted.

“The actual numbers are fairly small related to the population,” says Doug Taylor, also an adjunct business professor at the University of Victoria. “In the scheme of things, it’s small stuff. They’re not buying Pfizer.

They’re buying small businesses no one wants to buy.”

In the past, immigrant entrepreneurs settled in the socalled MTV cities — Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver

Vancouver Island needs immigrant entrepreneurs, says Dallas Gislason of the Greater Victoria Development Agency, particularly with so many business owners ready to retire and no one local willing or able to take over their enterprises.

Douglas 37

Turn a trusted relationship into intelligent investments.

— but these cities have become who is buying real estate? saturated, and in some cases, too expensive, Gislason says.

Origins of buyers for Greater Victoria/ Tier 2 cities like Calgary and Vancouver Island/Gulf Islands/Sunshine Coast Edmonton have been drawing Residential Properties immigrant business people, but once-overlooked Tier 3 cities 2012 2013 2014 like Saskatoon, Medicine Hat Total Sales Total Sales Total Sales and Victoria are increasingly attractive. Getting children into good schools, in a clean, safe place, away from corrupt or controlling environments are prime factors, Taylor says.

B.C. B.C. B.C. Unfortunately, getting a true Purchasers Purchasers Purchasers picture of sales activity is all but 5,242 5,242 5,720 impossible. The B.C. government only tracks certain types of foreign investments, such as when a parent company starts a new business in B.C. and then builds necessary facilities.

Tracking all foreign investment Rest of would require investors to Rest of Canada Rest of self-report investments and Canada Canada 721 516 countries of origins. The federal 516 government does not require companies in Canada to do this, so there is no way to quantify that information, according Outside Outside Outside to International Trade and Canada Canada Canada Intergovernmental Relations USA............ 20 USA............ 48 USA............ 47 spokesperson Kirsten Youngs.

Europe...... 18 Europe...... 19 Europe...... 06 It’s not any better when Asia............ 11 Asia............ 22 Asia............ 39 it comes to statistics from Other........ 03 Other........ 07 Other........ 07 residential or commercial real TOTAL......... 52 TOTAL......... 96 TOTAL......... 99 estate sales, because again, be it Victoria or Vancouver Island real Courtesy Victoria Real Estate Board MLS System estate boards, information about Note: Data not fully conclusive because it is self-reported.

Note: The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board’s 2014 Buyer Profile indicates buyers’ origins is self-reported. that 2% of its residential buyers are from outside Canada.

Instead of solid data, educated guesses and urban legends are shaping public perception and By 2022, 25 per cent of the Capital Region’s sometimes, stoking xenophobia. population will be aged 65 or over, Gislason In mid-August, on the campaign trail, says. That could mean that 4,900 owners of Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he would 19,600 businesses in the Capital Regional inject $500,000 to track purchases of housing District will be retirement-ready. properties by foreign buyers. As well, the Compounding the situation is that younger Conservative Party has indicated it’s mulling people wanting to buy a business often don’t restrictions on foreign home ownership. In possess the money or skills to do it, says Brian Australia, the ability of foreigners to buy Peterson, owner of Olympic Business Brokers in existing homes is limited.

Nanaimo.

“I’m having a lot of difficulty finding buyers New Canucks Bring benefits on the Island to take over businesses when Victoria and the Island need immigrant people are retiring,” says Peterson whose entrepreneurs, Gislason says. These immigrants company serves businesses across Vancouver create jobs, spend money that strengthens local Island. economies and bring valuable new business It may seem counter-intuitive but another practices and networks. And, often, they buy businesses that could otherwise disappear. As in factor is the CRD’s slow population growth, which goes hand in hand with lack-lustre Hou’s case, where the children of Willie’s Café job creation. Between 2006 and 2011, Greater and Bakery’s aging owners didn’t want to take Victoria’s population grew by 4.4 per cent, over the firm.

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38 Douglas

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below the Canadian average of 5.9 per cent, and well below that average Canadian city growth of 7.4 per cent, Gislason says. Sluggish growth also puts more pressure on taxpayers who have to pay more to run municipalities.

Realtor Tony Joe agrees more needs to be done to foster the entrepreneurial spirit in the CRD. “There’s not a lot of opportunities in Victoria,” says Joe, who in July was elected president of the Vancouver branch of the Asian Real Estate Association of America and is a member of the City of Victoria’s Mayor’s Task Force on Economic Development and Prosperity.

Taylor, who’s worked in 35 countries, is more blunt. “Canadians don’t take risks. We’re very insular. It’s frightening. Vancouver Island is remarkably unsophisticated when it comes to business,” he says.

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40 Douglas

Where the Buck Drops Keith MacKenzie is owner of Victoria’s Chinook Business Brokers. About 25 per cent of his transactions (like Peterson, he assists clients with the private sale of businesses) in the last two years have involved buyers immigrating to Victoria or Duncan, often under the province’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), which selects foreign entrepreneurs who must invest in the B.C. economy and create jobs.

MacKenzie has brokered three sales for Chinese buyers, two for Iranians and one for a buyer from India. Most have been small “mom and pop” type businesses like coffee shops. The biggest deal was for $700,000.

Lately, MacKenzie has seen an uptick in Iranians looking to buy businesses as varied as chicken farms or butcher shops.

More Vietnamese business people have also appeared. MacKenzie has also been approached

by Iraqi physicians looking for a medical device business.

One aspect of his job is hunting for business owners who can be convinced to sell. Once a sale is made to immigrant buyers, vendors are happy with deals, which are usually quick and agreeable, MacKenzie says. When a deal is closed, these buyers usually pay outright, either in a lump sum or annual payments spread over several years for tax purposes.

In Nanaimo, Peterson arranged the sale of a skylight manufacturing company and an excavation business to two Iranian buyers and a hot tub business to a Chinese buyer. All buyers were aged 30 to 40. He’s found that purchases by immigrants begin to thin out at Campbell River.

It would be rare for a newcomer to Canada to buy a restaurant in Port Hardy, he says.

The Real Estate Question So what has given rise to fears that immigrants are buying Island real estate in droves? While there’s no doubt that real estate is being purchased by immigrants, the reported numbers

Under B.C.’s Provincial Nominee Program, foreign entrepreneurs must be day-to-day managers of their business, demonstrate residence in B.C., have a personal net worth of at least $600,000, invest at least $200,000 in their business, and create at least one new full-time job for a Canadian.

don’t support fears of a wave of foreign buyers.

Still, the Island real estate market is seeing benefits.

Peterson says that on his fairly short Nanaimo street, in the last few years, 11 homes, priced from $800,000 to $1.5 million, have been bought by Chinese or South Korean immigrants.

According to Taylor, Chinese don’t trust banks, so they like to park their money in real estate or small businesses. Often, they will buy a small business, operate it for a few years and then sell it. “If they have $5 million, you’d like them to spend it here,” Peterson says.

Joe, who hires Mandarin-speaking assistants to assist with real estate sales, has seen a trend emerge. Chinese who gained entry into Vancouver via the PNP program about three to four years ago now have citizenship status.

Unable to get their children into desirable schools, they relocate to Victoria, where private school entry is easier — and where real estate prices are considerably lower. Joe estimates that about 12 per cent of the sales he handles involve Chinese-Canadians.

Another Victoria sector enjoying the benefits of new residents is car dealers, Joe says. Luxury vehicles cost about one-third of what they do in China. necessary changes In July, the B.C. government revamped its Provincial Nominee Program by melding two categories — Business Skills and Regional Business — into Entrepreneur Immigration.

Foreign entrepreneurs are now rated based on a point system. As well, nominees have to be active, day-to-day managers of business operations, demonstrate residence in B.C., have a personal net worth of at least $600,000, invest at least $200,000 in their business and create at least one new full-time job for a Canadian.

The changes were in response to a refusal rate of up to 60 per cent under the previous system, says Rob Mingay, assistant deputy minister for the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training.

The quality of applicants wasn’t very good, he adds. Many of the several thousand applicants merely wanted to immigrate and reside in B.C.

“Under the new regime, we have a screening process to ensure they want to be true economic immigrants, not just immigrants,” Mingay says. The goal is to bring high-quality entrepreneurs to B.C. Target countries include India, China and the Philippines, he adds.

MacKenzie agrees a revamp of the PNP was necessary because the program was being abused. Foreigners who wanted guaranteed citizenship were parking their money in businesses, owning them just long enough to qualify, he says. So keen were they to buy businesses, eager buyers would pay inflated prices.

“Two years ago, brokers were looking for small businesses to buy. They were all over-valued. Something worth $60,000 to $70,000 sold for $250,000,” MacKenzie says. The new PNP is much better because it’s targeting new Canadians who want

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to create jobs. “And now, I can legitimately say, ‘It’s worth what it’s worth.’”

Now, areas of focus for the Island include the tech sector, succession buyers and businesses poised for rapid growth, such as the energy sector, Mingay says.

Would-be Canadians who meet the minimum registration requirements are entered into a selection pool. Periodically, the BC PNP invites the highest-scoring registrants to submit applications. If approved, applicants have up to 20 months to implement a business proposal under a performance agreement. If requirements are met, the BC PNP will nominate the applicant, allowing the applicant and dependent family members to apply for permanent residence. In 2015, 5,500 nominations will be accepted. By this past July, 2,600 had been nominated, Mingay notes.

Gislason has firsthand experience with potential foreign entrepreneurs. In 2013, 96 foreign groups visited Victoria. Of those, 23 were approved by the province to proceed with business deals. In 2014, 153 potential investor groups arrived in Victoria. [Approval figures not available at press time.] The visitors represented three types of investors: one-person (less than 10 per cent); family units (the majority); and multiperson groups, Gislason says.

In 2014, roughly 70 per cent were from China with a majority of the remainder from India, Korea and Japan, along with a handful of Europeans and Americans.

A place of strength As Taylor says, “There’s a big, wide world about to come wandering in through our door.”

Hou and Shi of Willie’s Cafe and Bakery have happily gone through a door that for some has been slammed shut. “It’s a new challenge for me, but a very good experience here,” Hou says.

Gislason remains optimistic. “Greater Victoria will gain immensely from increasing the diversity of its populace, from a global perspective. Taking more immigrant investors sends a strong message about the strength of our community.” ■

The 9th Annual State of the Island Economic Summit October 28 & 29, 2015

VIEA

Vancouver Island Conference Centre, Nanaimo, B.C.

It’s all about the company you keep The Vancouver Island Economic Summit has emerged as the business networking event on Vancouver Island. As part of the summit, the business-tobusiness tradeshow offers delegates a concentrated networking opportunity with qualified prospects, and the presentational content is assembled to specifically address topics that are important to economic vitality.

The agenda this year includes sessions on business financing and fundraising, intermodal transportation, labour-force strategies, First Nations aquaculture, entrepreneurs’ success strategies, land-use planning, manufacturing for export, social innovation in business and more.

‘‘ Josh McCulloch/Picture BC

If you are active in business on Vancouver Island and did not attend the Summit, you will have a lot of catching up to do with the rest of us.

It is simply that important.

— Summit delegate 2014

’’

Douglas 43

What is VIEA?

VIEA’s main goals are to:

The Vancouver Island Economic Alliance (VIEA) is the only independent organization with an over-arching approach to economic interests across Vancouver Island. VIEA provides opportunities for communities, First Nations, businesses and other key stakeholders to collaborate on broad-based economic development programs to improve the region’s overall capacity for economic vitality. This regional alliance embraces all of Vancouver Island from Victoria to Port Hardy, as well as the Northern and Southern Gulf Islands.

As a small organization with an ambitious mandate, VIEA was established in 2006 with seed money from the provincial government and a task, simply put, to promote Vancouver Island. VIEA is a registered non-government, non-profit society funded by memberships, sponsorships and gate receipts from public events. Membership is open to anyone.

Keynote speakers Peng-Sang Cau, CEO, Transformix Susan Mowbray, Senior Economist, MNP Shawn Atleo, Shqui qwal for Indigeneous Dialogue, B.C., and former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations

44 Douglas

It’s All About the Company You Keep When you’re in good company, you can accomplish great things, and members of the Vancouver Island Economic Alliance (VIEA) find themselves in the company of business, government and community leaders, all of them dedicated to the economic health and vitality of Vancouver Island.

VIEA is all about collaboration. We know that when all of the players are invited to the table, and smart choices are brought forward into the right conversations, more ideas will be explored and the best solutions will be found. Across the Island, we seek expertise, we lead and join initiatives and we address issues with the most informed voices and

• promote a sustainable, diversified economy for all residents of the Vancouver Island region; • promote strong communities, First Nations, and careful stewardship of Island resources; • provide regional leadership for regional business attraction, retention and expansion; • promote regional initiatives that strengthen economic capacity.

willing hands at the table. Whether you’re involved in government, business, First Nations, institutions, nonprofits or professional associations, there is an issue and conversation in need of your voice.

VIEA is involved in projects that build cooperation, provide research data, coordinate efforts to promote the Island to investors and assemble stakeholders to explore solutions to nagging problems.

Intermodal Transportation The 2015 Transportation Forum brought great minds together to discuss issues and share solutions for how to best move people and goods both to and around Vancouver Island. The forum involved stakeholders

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“There’s a perceived disconnect between our Island and the rest of North America. There’s also a tendency to see the Georgia Strait as a barrier, but there’s an opportunity to see it as a connector.”

— George Hanson, president of VIEA

from across Vancouver Island. Representatives included: Nanaimo Airport, Nanaimo Port Authority, ColdStar Solutions, Comox Valley Airport, Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, Tourism Victoria and many more. The dialogue has just begun and improvements are being pursued.

Cost, reliability, frequency, efficiency and connectivity are the issues VIEA believes are critical to Island businesses. “There’s a perceived disconnect between our Island and the rest of North America. There’s also a tendency to see the Georgia Strait as a barrier, but there’s an opportunity to see it as a connector,” says VIEA president George Hanson.

“To solve this disconnect, a few of the ideas being proposed include an increase in shipping containers to promote more trade with Asia, an airport initiative to make flying to and from the Island more reliable and changes to upgrade ferry terminals.”

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portalberniportauthority.ca Port Alberni

PATH-ways

Port Alberni Trans-Shipment Hub

PATH

State of the Island Forest Products Sector: A Gordian Knot?

VIEA is meeting industry stakeholders to explore challenges and opportunities to grow the value-added forest products sector on the Island. The meetings are built around presentations outlining opportunities for innovative wood products and markets.

Participants discuss the barriers, opportunities and challenges to invest and grow this value• • •

Advantages to locating a new Trans-Shipment Hub in Alberni Inlet: • Closest Sailing Point to Pacific Northwest • Environmental Benefits • Maximize Use of Port and Transportation Infrastructure • Reduce Traffic Congestion • Land Reserve for Industrial Use

• Draft and Waterway • Use of Marine Highway • Non-Competitive • Security • Growing Vancouver Island Population Base • Warehouse Space

• Reduce Congestion • Land Reserve for Industrial Use • Draft & Waterway • Use of Marine Highway

• Non-Competitive •Douglas Security 45 • Growing Vancouver Isl • Warehouse Space

marc roper/Picture BC

Josh McCulloch/Picture BC

added sector from a variety of perspectives.

From a technology perspective, there is a small revolution happening in the forest product and forest management sectors, with many opportunities for developing new products and markets. However, many companies across the sector are just staying afloat, and there isn’t a lot of new capital investment. It has been a cautious time, and cost competitiveness is intense both in a domestic and foreign context.

The Wood Product sector on the Island is in a long-term readjustment, from its vertically integrated, large companies to firms with a much more diverse ownership. To date there

“The Economic Alliance has for years recognized the importance of having a clear statistical understanding of the Island economy to aid business and government decisions as well as to inform and attract investment.“ — Dave Willie, 2015 VIEA Summit Chair

VIU Matters Here by contributing more than $400 million to Vancouver Island’s economy.

Learn more about the positive impact we make in our communities and beyond. viu.ca/impact

46 Douglas

has not been broad supply chain collaborative frameworks to bring together business efforts and investments, or the buy-in to create a road map for the Island’s sector. There is a range of new products and markets that could provide opportunities, but few companies have the means or desire to take the plunge.

Overall, the sector seems to be caught in a Gordian knot, where there doesn’t seem to be enough cohesion between public policies and business interests, or an investment culture of innovation, to develop a truly cooperative approach to sector development and opportunities.

Industry stakeholders are supportive of the need for progressive change and interested in partnership opportunities. The industry as a whole may not be feeling as fearful or threatened as it was a few years ago. There are points of collaboration that could be worked on as part of a longer-term plan for the Island’s sector development.

Whether it’s working with professional associations to ensure contract and employment opportunities in major projects for Island companies and people, helping facilitate fibre-optic connections for north Island communities, partnering with economic development corporations to help local businesses access sophisticated global marketing data, or hosting stakeholder sessions on topics such as immigration and transportation, VIEA is a meeting place for people interested in fostering a vital, sustainable Island economy.

Coming Soon! In addition to the October 28/29 Economic Summit, VIEA is partnering with Raven Events and the Nuu-chah-nulth Economic Development Corporation to present the first-ever Aboriginal Business Match event on Vancouver Island, from February 1 to 3, 2016.

 join us for the

2015 economic summit!

Become part of Vancouver Island’s economic conversation.

Join more than 600 delegates to share ideas, expand business opportunities and learn about issues and trends affecting our Island’s future. Visit VIEA.ca today to register.

VIEA to release island economic report For nine years, VIEA has been hosting the annual Summit where hundreds of people gather to network, compare notes, learn of emerging trends and opportunities and explore solutions to persistent problems.

Several times, the Summit’s plenary agenda has featured presentations from prominent economists reporting on the Canadian and B.C. economies while extrapolating implications for Vancouver Island from these broader numbers.

VIEA has long held a desire to produce an annual report specific to the Island economy but has not

had the means to accomplish the task until now.

For the first time ever, VIEA will release a State of the Island Economic Report at the Summit. Each delegate will receive a copy of this report, to be released at the Summit Dinner on October 28. The consulting lead on the report, Susan Mowbray, senior economist with MNP, will be the keynote speaker at the Closing Luncheon.

This project is possible because of the initiative and sponsorship of MNP and by additional sponsorship from the Nanaimo Airport,

Susan Mowbray, Senior Economist, MNP Coastal Community Credit Union, BC Ferries, BC Hydro, and the BC Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training.

“We think the report will quickly become a go-to resource for anyone doing business and considering doing business on Vancouver Island,” says James Byrne, MNP’s regional managing partner for Vancouver Island.

Business & Strategic Planning

Meet Dinah, Senior Consulting Manager at Chemistry As Senior Manager of our business consulting team, Dinah specializes in helping communities and organizations achieve their economic and business development goals. She partners with clients to provide the research, consulting support and common sense advice needed to drive their economic and business development initiatives. Recent projects include a Business Incentives Strategy for a northern Canadian community, a Tourism Strategy for a Vancouver Island community, and a Business Plan for a not-for-profit organization in the East Kootenays.

Speak to Dinah to discuss your strategic and business planning needs: 250-382-3303 ext. 203 | d.white@chemistryconsulting.ca

400-1207 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC V8W 2E7 p 250.382.3303 e info@chemistryconsulting.ca chemistryconsulting.ca Douglas 47

At Rockfish Divers, owners Tyler and Alisa Preston follow the philosophy: Take care of the minor issues so they don’t add up to a big problem.

48 Douglas

6 issues

keeping business owners awake at night

(and what You can do about it)

by Mike Wicks

Jeffrey Bosdet/Douglas magazine

Just try to find an entrepreneur who has not lain awake at night worrying about business. Douglas asked local business owners what keeps them up at night and offers some strategic solutions for entrepreneurial insomnia.

Douglas 49

So what’s keeping local business owners awake in 2015?

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Is it the lingering effects of the economic downturn? The falling Canadian dollar?

Succession planning? The increasing price of gas, or the falling price of oil?

In fact, what worries the local business owners we talked to has more to do with the day-to-day running of their companies, the foundation stuff upon which successful businesses are built.

1

hiring the right people

When asked what business issues keep him up at night, Adrian Ortiz-Mena, who launched 900° Pizza in Langford earlier this year, says, “It’s attracting and retaining talent, because you’re only as good as your team.”

Mexican-born Ortiz-Mena, who studied banking in the U.S. before immigrating to Canada, deals with this issue by drawing from a wider pool of people who don’t necessarily have the right experience, but who do have the right attitude.

Studies repeatedly back up what OrtizMena says. According to a 2015 study by Leadership IQ, 46 per cent of new hires fail within 18 months because: › 26 per cent can’t accept feedback › 23 per cent are unable to understand and manage emotions › 17 per cent don’t have the motivation to excel › 15 per cent have the wrong temperament for the job › 11 per cent lack proper technical skills.

So attitude, not skill, was by far the biggest reason employees did not work out in a job.

The study looked at 5,247 hiring managers who collectively hired more than 20,000 employees over three years.

“You can’t teach attitude,” says OrtizMena. “They either come with a positive attitude or they don’t.”

Because oil and water don’t mix Catch basins, found in large parking lots and other paved surfaces, can collect pollutants and debris like oil, car grease and cigarette butts. If a catch basin is full or clogged when it rains, it can flood property and release contaminants into our waterways and the ocean.

You are responsible for cleaning out the catch basins on your property.

For information on how to maintain your catch basins and for a list of service providers, visit www.crd.bc.ca/catchbasin.

50 Douglas

2

Difficult Conversations

Paul Abra, former publisher of Island Parent magazine, which he recently sold after 18 years of success, also pinpoints HR issues as sleep stealers.

“I remember one instance where I needed to let somebody go and I spun it out for almost a year,” says Abra. “When I finally did let this person go, it was fine … they were fine.”

Now a certified executive coach, Abra brings his experience to bear when consulting with clients through his company Motivated Coaching. Not surprisingly, having these difficult conversations with staff is a common issue for many of his clients.

Adrian Ortiz-Mena, owner of 900˚ Pizzeria in Langford, has been a banker in the U.S. and a hotel manager in Mexico, but his dream was always to open his own wood-fired pizza restaurant — so he did.

Paul Abra, owner of Motivated Coaching, has a Graduate Certificate of Executive Coaching from Royal Roads University. For 18 years, he was the publisher/owner of Island Parent magazine.

Scott Dewis and Anita Pawluk are partners in RaceRocks 3D, an education technology firm developing learning and training tools using the latest technologies, including augmented reality.

Jessica Walker is one of four owners of Munro’s Books.

Founder Jim Munro retired after 50 years in business giving his iconic bookstore to four of his long-time employees, including Walker.

Alisa Preston and Tyler Preston are owners of Rockfish Divers which offers a full range of dive courses, charters for divers and snorkellers, and rentals and sales.

David McArthur owns Morello, a communication and graphic design agency focused primarily but not exclusively in the finance industry and specializing in highly complex and security-sensitive reports.

I’ll connect Monika with the staff at Orchestras Canada.

Tania Miller, Music Director, Victoria Symphony

Victoria’s a natural fit for the International Eco-Tourism Society. I’ll call them.

Deirdre Campbell, Owner, Tartan Group

I know the organizers of the Call to Action Conference.

I’ll email them.

Linley Faulkner, Community, Growth and Operations, sendwithus

Abra tells them, “It’s deciding what you want from the situation … One of the questions [to ask yourself] is ‘what if you don’t have the conversation, what’s going to happen?’ Another way is to ask, ‘How’s that conversation going to look? How are you going to structure the conversation?

What do you want to get out of it?’”

When Abra used to become frustrated with staffing issues, his wife would tell him, “Either deal with it, or get over it” — blunt advice which nevertheless helped him face up to those difficult moments.

3

Getting Money, growing money

Accessing funds to start a company, change direction or grow can be another big sleep stealer for business owners, including Scott Dewis and Anita Pawluk, partners in RaceRocks 3D, an education firm developing learning and training tools that integrate augmented reality, simulation, games, and video storytelling for the military, major corporations and government.

“We’ve bootstrapped for five years …” says Dewis. “We haven’t had access to capital or access to government programs.”

I brought the International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution here in 2014.

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bring it Let’s

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Conferences drive the economy and we all benefit.

Contact me: MonikaL@VictoriaConference.com

Douglas 51

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So how do they handle it?

“Early on we raised some money from friends, family and employees, and we’ve taken some debt and just operated off revenues,” says Dewis. “We finance the company by not paying ourselves. We’re very frugal with the money.”

And then there’s cash flow. “After pulling a specialist team together, if a project is delayed, we incur additional costs which affects cash flow,” Dewis adds.

Their solution? “We’ve started putting a delay clause into our contracts. For every week of delay, we get a percentage of our fee whether or not we deliver anything.”

To gain more cash-flow control, Dewis and Pawluck are moving toward a more productoriented business and B2C sales, because the downside of high-paying government contracts is that the client can cancel anytime.

Another aspect they are very conscious of is paying suppliers. “People are telling us ‘Collect fast and pay slow.’ That’s how they handle cash flow,” Pawluk says. “[But] what keeps me awake is not being able to pay suppliers. It’s your relationship with them that keeps them providing services to you ...”

That’s why being truthful and building relationships with everyone in the supply chain is vital, she says. “People go a long way to support you if they believe in you.”

4

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52 Douglas

Breaking into the market

A recurring challenge for most entrepreneurs is bringing in new business.

David McArthur of Morello moved to Victoria from the U.K. three years ago, bringing with him his communication and design studio specializing in the financial services industry.

But building local business has been a challenge, and much of his work still comes from abroad.

“We have some good clients and we’re definitely building our reputation,” he says, “but Victoria is a tough city to break into, in spite of the fact we are highly respected in the U.K. I lose sleep trying to figure out how to convince people to give Morello a chance.”

His approach has been to network and to build relationships with other businesses.

“You do the best job you can so they are willing to put your name out there and recommend you,” he says.

Victoria, he notes, is intensely relationship focused. “A lot of it is ‘if you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours,’ more so than in the U.K.” He agrees that having a niche is important.

“It’s how you set yourself apart, especially here where there are so many design and communication businesses. You really need to define yourself.”

5

The Responsibility

Tyler and Alisa Preston, owners of Rockfish Divers, offer diving charters off the coast of southern Vancouver Island from their two vessels, along with diving instruction. They also sell and rent diving equipment and recently opened a second retail store on Quadra Street.

For companies like Rockfish, ensuring everything goes smoothly for clients isn’t just a matter of pleasant customer service, it’s a matter of safety — and they take it very seriously.

Tyler, a scuba instructor trainer with over a decade of management experience in retail, uses the phrase “escalating compromise” to explain how diligent they have to be in noticing the small things.

“Escalating compromise,” he explains, “is when a number of individually minor issues combine to compromise safety.”

“Imagine a nervous novice diver, cold water, a strong current,” adds Alisa, a dive instructor who previously worked as the Dive Safety Officer at UVic. “The diver is carrying extra weight. Then add an overfriendly sea lion. Any one factor is probably manageable, add them all together and safety can become severely compromised.”

It’s an essential philosophy for the management of a diving business, but it’s also an apt metaphor for business management in general. Take care of all the minor issues so they don’t add up to a big problem.

From putting training at the forefront to providing equipment counselling for clients, success is in the details.

6

working on, not in, the business

When he retired last year, Jim Munro, founder of Munro’s Books, gave his business to Jessica Walker and three of her colleagues — Carol Mentha, Sarah Frye and Ian Cochran — all long-time employees of the bookstore.

Asked what keeps her awake at night, Walker says, “My main challenge is to run the store in a way that makes Jim proud, to have the business he spent so long building continue to be a success. It’s a high hurdle to clear.”

The new owners are very respectful of Munro’s legacy. “So much that it actually took a while to realize ‘Oh, we can make that change,” says Walker.

While she often wakes up at night worrying there are not enough hours in the day or second-guessing decisions, Walker says the biggest challenge has been “To learn to take off the hats many of us have worn as employees and put on owners’ hats, to actually make time to think about your business as a business and not just what you need to do that day.”

It’s Worth It Most entrepreneurs will have to deal with these sleep defiers at some point over the course of owning a business. And while a non-entrepreneur might say it’s all just too much, for business people who are passionate about what they do, this sheer determination to succeed and make a difference is worth the lost ZZZZ’s. ■

“My main challenge is to run the store in a way that makes Jim proud, to have the business he spent so long building continue to be a success. It’s a high hurdle to clear.”

— Jessica Walker, one of munro’s books new co-owners

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INTEL

Product Makers and Business Builders

56 Digital Life Will Wearable Tech Become the New Work Wardrobe?

58 Money

Navigating the Best Travel Insurance Coverage

60 Sales and Marketing Come on Down — The Price Is Right, Or Is It?

Jeffrey Bosdet/douglas Magazine

[business intelligence ]

54 Entrepreneurship

Dr. David Naysmith, a Victoria cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon, is in the process of manufacturing and patenting his unique suture kits, which can be used to improve the suturing skills of GPs and medical students.

entrepreneurship by peter Elkins

Two Types of Business People Who Really Need Each Other (and Why We Need to Make it Happen) There are two types of people essential to product development — product makers and business builders. Both are key to our entrepreneurial eco-system, but too often they never meet.

54 Douglas

Y

ou know that friend or neighbour who absolutely blows you away with his product concepts, but whose ideas or inventions never seem to get commercialized despite the fact that this innovator is sitting on gold?

Meet your product maker.

Typically, the product maker is what we call the “mad scientist.” This is the person toiling away, creating solutions to everyday problems that make our lives easier. For the most part, these solutions are useful and well built, just not widely shared or available commercially.

Take my friend Finlay. About a decade ago he wanted to buy a laser sailboat. To find this boat, he actually wrote his own software that enabled him to be notified immediately exactly when the boat he was looking for was

posted in multiple classified services around Vancouver.

Another great example of someone seeing a problem and inventing a solution is Dr. David Naysmith. This Victoria-based cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon is continually developing innovative emergency response products and medical training solutions based on his experience as both a practitioner and educator.

His latest is the development of suturing kits (complete with fake skin!) and a suturing education program to help medical students and GPs become better at stitching people up. He teaches at both UVic and Royal Jubilee Hospital.

Close to my heart are the elusive craftspeople working in their basements, living rooms and garages doing research and development on “future” technologies. Examples of this are rural property owners who have developed alternative power waste and water systems to solve their own problems.

So why do these product makers seldom or never commercialize their work? There are various reasons. Some of them lack marketing skills, some lack leadership skills and most of them simply don’t know what steps to take next.

The Other Half of a Great Team Enter the business builder, that person with the “King Midas touch.” This is the person with an uncanny ability to create strategies, serve employees and customers, manage finances and apply gentle pressure to the areas needing it the most at the right time to systematically grow a balanced business. This is the rainmaker.

Local examples of business builders include Randy Wright, executive VP of Harbour Air, who has been instrumental in building businesses since he first worked at the family gas station as a kid. Other Island examples of business builders include Colin Dobell, president and CEO of the Nanaimo-based robotics firm Inuktun; Bobbi Leach of the global ecommerce platform RevenueWire; and Peter Gustavson, CEO of the new foreign exchange EncoreFX. cohorts for Success So how do we bring these product makers and business builders together to create success?

As part of an experiment, I have been meeting with entrepreneurs for several months, and have witnessed firsthand how this pattern of disconnect between makers and builders continues to repeat itself. I see this day in and day out as one entrepreneur is getting in the elevator and one entrepreneur is getting off the elevator. Each of them needs the other and may, in fact, be looking for funding to hire the other. The key is to create better ways for them to connect.

So what do we do?

We’re well into the new economy (the service economy) and it’s no secret that collaboration is one of the fastest growing global strategies.

In that spirit, one of the ways we can accelerate product makers and business builders to come Douglas 55

together is through a cohort (group) approach to learning and incubation. The idea is that learners have to work in teams to be graded. You can imagine the challenges this brings on as IQ and EQ battle over the oxygen in the room. We need to put energy into creating local opportunities for the cohort approach. finding local connections Established “in person” programs for entrepreneurs on Vancouver Island include the technology centric Venture Acceleration

Program (VAP) delivered through Innovation Island in Nanaimo and VIATeC in Victoria. Another possibility is to take part in Client Advisory Boards offered through the UVic Innovation Centre for Entrepreneurs (ICE), an initiative of the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business.

We also have online resources like startupweekend.org which brings product makers and business builders together, as we saw in Victoria last year with a video game startup weekend, and in Nanaimo earlier this spring.

Both events resulted in ongoing relationships.

In communities where no events exist, why not consider hosting one?

We need to create many ways for product makers and business builders to connect and help them learn “what they don’t know they don’t know.” This will boost their success and help to accelerate our entrepreneurial eco-system. ■ Peter Elkins is co-founder of the Capital Investment Network, Kick Accelerator and Business As Unusual.

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

Tech from Head to Toe

Glasses VSP’s Project Genesis, an activity-tracking eyewear prototype, automatically syncs with a smartphone app to record steps, calories burned, activity time and distance traveled.

digital life by david Alexander

Will Wearable Tech Become the New Work Wardrobe?

From productivity tracking wristbands to fatigue sensing detectors, wearable technologies are increasingly being seen as a strategic platforms for business performance. In fact, studies show more companies are planning to introduce wearables into their businesses. So what does a wearable future look like?

W

hile the launch of the smartphone felt like an instant revolution, the growth of wearable technology is more like a slow burn that, once it truly ignites, will significantly impact not only daily life but also business.

It’s still early days, but let’s look at a few potential business impacts.

Behaviour Tracking Let’s start with the big scary one. Physiolytics refers to linking wearable technologies with data analysis and quantified feedback to monitor employee behaviour. It grew out of two trends: the wave of technologies monitoring health and performance and the recent interest in big data.

The idea behind physiolytics is that an employer can monitor, in real time, to a minute level, the performance of employees. How they do their tasks, their energy levels, their water cooler conversations — it’s all fodder for analysis.

And modification. If we take this to the next step, processes can be modified on the fly to improve performance, leading to ongoing tinkering of the workplace to create an optimum environment for staff to function within.

For instance, the Salesforce Wear platform, launched in June 2014, can track the link between the daily physical activity and sleep patterns of sales staff, and their success on sales calls.

There is some validity to the idea that a 56 Douglas

Headband The Muse uses seven EEG sensors to monitor brain activity while you meditate, so you can train your mind to be calm. (choosemuse.com)

Shirt cuff or bracelet The high-fashion jewellery options from Cuff act as personal security devices, allowing wearers to send alerts with a tap. (cuff.io)

Biometric sensors woven into the fabric of The Hexoskin shirt can chronicle every data point about your breathing, heart rate and movement. (hexoskin.com)

wristband shoes Lenovo recently revealed a demo for “smart shoes” that display the wearer’s mood on a small screen on the footwear.

They also track fitness data.

monitored employee is a more productive employee. A U.K. study found that employees using wearable devices were 8.5 per cent more productive than those without devices. Beyond increases in productivity, the same study shows that wearables increase job satisfaction by more than three per cent. Increased productivity and happier employees, even if minor, would boost a business.

This even extends to employee health. To prevent workplace accidents due to fatigue, heavy equipment firm Caterpillar recently introduced an infrared camera that can determine how long

To be released in 2016, the Wove Band combines a digital fabric developed with a flexible electronic display, so the wearable computer can be used flat or wrapped around your wrist. (wove.com)

eyes are closed and how fast they open and close, to determine if an operator is in danger of falling asleep while driving or operating heavy equipment.

Companies, such as oil giant BP, are seeking ways to lower medical costs and boost employees’ health by giving them Fitbits in exchange for access to their data. The more fitness points employees rack up, the lower the company’s insurance premiums.

What we’re seeing in 2015 is just the beginning.

Beyond that, think about the increased use of biometric resumés, voice analyzers, mood

monitors — all taking the old business adage “what gets measured, gets done” to the ultimate.

Customization for Customers Tapping into the same wearable data, businesses are becoming increasingly able to modify their environments, marketing and entire strategies within minutes to meet the needs of the consumers — potentially increasing sales and profits.

The Disney MagicBand is one indicator of how wearable technology can significantly improve the customer experience. The MagicBand is an all-in-one bracelet which, using radio frequency technology, allows a customer to enter any Disney property, including resorts, and make purchases.

No need for a wallet. It also alerts staff to your vitals before you even walk in the door: your wait staff will know your name, that you are a vegetarian (no need to hear about the chicken special) and allergic to peanuts, all before they meet you.

The entire experience is both simplified and customized. Of course, it’s Disney, so they make it sound magical: “Once you’ve linked your MagicBand, you don’t need to do anything different. Your MagicBand and My Disney Experience profile will do the rest, creating unexpected Disney moments — just like magic.”

Imagine having a relationship with your customer before they walk in the door — you know what they like so that means you are able to target your sales to them from the get-go.

What about offering retail consumers wearable wrist devices that track their behaviour from the moment they enter the store, including aisles visited, weight of shopping basket, products viewed and more? Would that help put bricks and mortar retailers more on par with online businesses in terms of big data collection? Maybe so. Would you wear a tracking device in the grocery store in exchange for special coupons and rewards?

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The Flipside Of course, any large-scale technological change means there are potential downsides to consider.

Here are a few: Privacy > This is the huge issue. What right do employers have to monitor the actions of employees or customers? And then act on that data? This will certainly be the debate in years to come as wearables become ubiquitous.

Bring Your Own Device > Wearables take us back to the same BYOD questions we faced with smartphones: how do we regulate wearables in the workplace? What is appropriate?

Analytics > With the data acquired through wearables — and it will be a huge amount of data — businesses will need the tools to connect with it, sift through it and analyze it. It’s such a new field that it’s not likely many businesses currently have this skill set.

These issues are only the tip of the iceberg, but we need to take them seriously because, Douglas 57

is hiring and we want YOU!

David Alexander manages Digital at the Royal BC Museum and has a keen interest in technology trends that affect our business and lives.

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58 Douglas

with the current investment in wearables and the uptake from consumers, it’s hard to imagine this being a quick fad. There is loads of potential for businesses to capitalize on this technology, but it also brings some hefty societal questions.

Is this the same revolution that the smartphone brought — or is it something much, much bigger? ■

Most business or leisure travellers will never experience the nightmare of being injured or getting seriously sick in a foreign country. But if the worst happens, being without adequate travel insurance could endanger your financial future or even your life.

A

78-year-old man travelled to Texas to visit family and friends. While there, he had a sudden onset of acute chest pain and was rushed to the hospital where he was admitted for three days, treated for pneumonia and discharged with medication. The total cost added up to $36,563.72 U.S. His provincial health plan only contributed $523.07.

You can see why it’s essential to have travel insurance, and many of us do have some coverage and don’t know it. If you have a group health insurance plan through work, check to see if your group benefit plan provides you and your dependents with out-of-province and out-ofcountry medical coverage.

However, these group plans vary in the extent of their coverage, limitations and exclusions. So before you assume you have adequate coverage, make sure you investigate the details of the contract to determine if any exclusions apply to your personal health situation and travel needs. don’t underrate your needs If you find your group health insurance travel coverage lacking, purchasing private travel insurance may provide you with the coverage and peace of mind you need. And it may save your life.

Private travel insurance is designed to not only protect your well-planned vacation from financial loss but also to ensure that you can access immediate medical attention if things go terribly wrong. Whether you lose your luggage or contract African tick-bite fever, you need to know you can get help. That’s where a good insurance policy comes into play.

Is Travel Insurance worth it?

United States hospitalization Costs $4,293 US per Day average Basic Travel insurance $5.00 per day (based on 7-day trip)

spain hospitalization costs $481 US per Day AVERAGE Basic Travel insurance $5.00 per day (based on 7-day trip)

THailand hospitalization Costs $500 US per Day average Basic Travel insurance $5.00 per day (based on 7-day trip)

Did You Know?

Some policies may not cover you at all if you are injured while taking part in high-risk activities like scuba diving, bungee jumping, parachuting, skydiving, hang gliding, or even riding scooters.

South Africa hospitalization Costs $685 US per Day average

Argentina hospitalization Costs $702 US per Day Average Basic Travel insurance $5.00 per day (based on 7-day trip)

Basic Travel insurance $5.00 per day (based on 7-day trip)

Australia hospitalization Costs $1,308 US per Day average Basic Travel insurance $5.00 per day (based on 7-day trip)

Sources: International Federation of Health Plans, World Health Organization, and Pacific Blue Cross

And yes, you do need a good policy. Here’s why: In the event of a major injury or illness while traveling in the U.S., for example, the uninsured traveler will end up at the doorstep of the U.S. healthcare system. Insurance claims could run into hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars.

When deciding on which travel policy is best for you, it pays to examine the fine print. It’s true, there’s nothing like fine print and legal language to put a downer on your much-anticipated travel adventure, but if you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel.

Choose your coverage Emergency medical coverage is the most important part of your policy, but policy coverage can be different with each insurance plan. You can’t have a heart attack on Monday and then fly to a vacation destination on Wednesday and expect to be fully covered if you have another heart attack on Thursday. This is called a preexisting condition and your travel insurance will not cover the expense while on that trip.

There are, however, solutions to provide a limited level of coverage if you are willing to pay a higher premium. Again, check the terms of the contract. For thrill seekers like back-country skiers and bungee jumpers, check to see if your activities are covered.

Under certain circumstances, medical questions may be asked to determine your rate category. It’s imperative that you understand the questions and that you answer accurately to ensure a smooth claims experience. Insurers have

the right to deny your claim if they find out you didn’t answer the questions correctly.

Insurance premiums are calculated based on age, destination and duration of travel, with the world divided into different zones. When travelling to the U.S., where health insurance is a multi-billion dollar industry, or to less developed countries with a lower standard of healthcare than Canada’s, look for a policy with a high level of coverage.

Some providers offer “unlimited” medical coverage for a higher premium, while a less expensive policy might cover up to $5 million U.S. Assess your needs accurately.

For active business travellers, purchasing a “multi-trip” policy might be a good option, but don’t overpay for coverage that you don’t need.

Think about aspects of a policy that are important to you. It makes no sense to pay a premium to reduce rental car charges if you don’t drive, or to cover lost luggage when all you have is carry on.

Choosing the right options and adjusting limits can help reduce the premiums you pay.

When You Need More Coverage We’ve all heard luggage horror stories. Does your policy have individual item limits? What are they?

Are electronic devices included? Is theft from inside a car excluded? What if your cell phone falls off Yosemite? Not sure or confused? Ask your insurance carrier prior to purchase. Insurers are legally obligated to decipher the policy wording in simple terms.

And before starting your vacation, weigh

the merits and costs of ensuring against travel delays, airline insolvencies, personal liabilities, car rental disasters and trip cancellation. Some credit cards provide travellers with benefits to mitigate potential trip misadventures but read the fine print before you buy. making a claim When travelling, keep the emergency number of your insurance provider close at hand. We suggest that you laminate the travel card they provide you and carry it on you.

If you need to make a claim, keep a record of everything, including receipts, police reports and other details that support your claim. If the claim is investigated and accepted, you should normally be reimbursed within a few weeks. If not, an appeals process is available. Keep in mind, most insurers will only accept original receipts!

Play It Safe With proper investigation, travel insurance doesn’t need to cost you an arm and a leg. Get advice from a qualified insurance advisor. They can help save you time and the aggravation of understanding complex insurance contracts. So if you twist your ankle on the Great Wall of China or get bitten by the Chilean recluse spider, you’ll be very happy to have spent a little time picking out the right policy. ■

Steve Bokor, CFA is a licensed portfolio manager and Ian David Clark is a certified financial planner with PI Financial Corp, a member of CIPF. Douglas 59

Come on Down — The Price Is Right Or Is It? With consumers price-checking your competitors on their smart phones, sometimes right in front of you, intelligent pricing is becoming increasingly important to your bottom line. How can you sell more and increase profits when dealing with today’s price-savvy consumer?

I

was in the produce aisle of my local grocery store the other day looking for Romaine lettuce when I got to thinking about price and how it affects what we buy. I had a decision to make: should I purchase the organic head of lettuce at $3.99 or the non-organic at $1.69?

Now, I often go organic, but there’s a certain point where my desire for the potentially healthier alternative gets undermined by price. In this case, I couldn’t justify paying more than twice as much for the organic product.

The thing is, the extra $2.30 was not going to break the bank for me. It wasn’t, after all, a high price item like a car where paying 135 per cent more would mean I’d have to be in a whole different tax bracket!

But I just couldn’t see the value. And there, in my opinion, is the crux of the matter. No matter which books, online articles and marketing courses tell us about the various methods of pricing (and there are

dozens of strategies) it all comes down to whether a buyer feels comfortable paying what you are asking.

If you’ve ever read a book or taken a course on marketing, you’ll have come across the four Ps of marketing: Place, Product, Promotion and Price. The first three often get more attention than the fourth, perhaps because setting up shop is fun, promotion is sexy and developing the product is at the heart of what you do.

But, hold on. Take a close look at the first three Ps. What do they have in common? Yes, they all cost you money! It all comes down to price. Setting the correct price is the only one of the four Ps that will generate revenue and profits; that is, of course, if you get it right.

At the end of the day, the right price is the price a customer is willing to pay and come back again and buy from you in the future.

Think about some of your recent purchases.

Do you feel ...

You were ripped off and regret the purchase?

The price was OK but you think you could’ve got a better deal elsewhere?

The item was suspiciously cheap and you have an uneasy feeling?

The price was fair but you’re not sure that the company will be there for you if something goes wrong?

Adam Voorhes

Sales and marketing By mike wicks

Price it Right I once read a business plan where the entrepreneur’s pricing strategy caught my eye. I confronted him with

Congratulations to the FortisBC Efficiency in Action Award winners!

Island Health, along with nine other organizations from the education, foodservice, pulp and paper, new home construction and entertainment industries, is improving its bottom line through energy efficiency and winning awards for it too.

Wendy Furlan-Morgan and Steven Smith from Island Health accept the public sector award from FortisBC’s Jennifer Coulthard and Mandy Assi.

Find out who else won at fortisbc.com/commercialawards.

FortisBC uses the FortisBC name and logo under license from Fortis Inc. (15-065.12 06/2015)

60 15-065.12_Commercial_Awards_DouglasMag_7.5x4.7.indd Douglas

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7/9/2015 12:45:23 PM

my opinion and told him that he was going to lose money on every item he sold. He quickly came back with, “Yes, but I’ll make it up in volume!” He meant that if he sold enough product, he could manufacture more, thus reducing the unit cost to a point where he could make a profit. Of course, this approach pre-supposed he would stay in business long enough for this to occur, something I felt was highly unlikely.

Introductory pricing, sometimes called penetration pricing can be a valid strategy, but it can backfire. At some point you will have to raise prices, changing the value proposition for customers and potentially causing a price war with competitors, which does nobody any good.

The Holy Grail of Pricing I won’t go into all the other strategies, such as psychological pricing, feature pricing, option pricing. They all have their good and bad points.

The holy grail of pricing is to set a price that makes you a large enough profit to keep your business healthy, while making the customer feel he or she got not just a fair deal, but a good deal.

When determining a fair price, consider what you are selling and how you want the value to be perceived.

For instance if you have a low-value item and try to sell it for a high price, you’ll be seen as trying to scam customers. At the opposite end of the spectrum, if you have a high-value item and try to sell it too cheaply, potential buyers will become suspicious.

Certain high-value items can carry a premium price. In these cases, the profit margin is higher than it would be for middle-of-the road items, but once again, there has to be sufficient prestige to warrant the price. Think high-end automobiles or fine restaurants.

Even low-value products can be incorrectly priced. For instance, if you visit a dollar store and see an item marked $10, you might question purchasing it regardless of whether or not the price offers fair value. Why? Because you are in a

Adding value is the best way you can justify or increase your price and it doesn’t have to cost you a lot.

“dollar store,” your perception may be that items should be less expensive.

Building Value So perception really does play a vital role in pricing. If you build value into your product, regardless of what your competition is charging, you may be able to ask a higher price than they do. Often, value does not have to cost you much, if anything. Excellent customer service has value; additional services such as having your car washed or getting a ride home when your car is serviced add value.

Do note that niche products often demand a higher price: the more you can make your product or service unique, the higher price you can ask, especially as it makes price shopping difficult.

Adding value is the best way you can justify or increase price and it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. Value is always in the eye of the beholder. Holding a focus group with people who represent your market demographic will provide you with insight into what potential customers think your price should be: a price that represents good value, a price that will make your customers feel happy they purchased from you, and more importantly one that makes you a profit.

Price Comparison at YOur Fingertips Today, more than at any other time in history, consumers have access to information about what price almost any item is selling for, not only locally but also globally. Intelligent pricing is becoming increasingly important. Remember, this is an era where your potential customer may know more than you do about your competitor’s pricing (and what does and doesn’t represent good value) than your salespeople.

Pricing in a way that limits the ability of potential buyers to make apples-to-apples comparisons makes sense. Building value in what you sell is priceless. ■

Work on your business

— not on your books

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

Setting the correct price is the only one of the four Ps (Place, Product, Promotion, Price) that will generate revenue and profits; that is, of course, if you get it right.

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The Artist Series from PEETZ features limited edition mahogany and brass fishing reels carved

by Kwagiulth artist Jason Hunt. The Hunt family’s artistic tradition is world renowned.

Most people who have fished the West Coast know PEETZ Outdoors. The Rock Bay company founded 90 years ago by Boris Cecil Peetz and owned since 1977

by Bill Hooson, is famous for its handmade, limited edition fishing reels.

Art Aylesworth has been using PEETZ equipment since he started fishing in the 80s — and as a woodworking hobbyist, he admired the craftsmanship of the reels. “I had a lot of respect for PEETZ,” he says, “but over the years I noticed the company seemed to be in decline. I said, ‘This is a good old brand; somebody’s got to do something!’”

In November 2014, Art, along with Shawn Aylesworth and Marc Hoelscher, joined PEETZ as new partners and began to reinvigorate the heritage brand, including the creation of The Evolution Series, PEETZ’ first major innovation in reel design in over a decade. Designed to compete with the latest high-tech reels, the new reel features a one-way drag that gets rid of the “knuckle buster” effect of older PEETZ reels.

Next, the partners are focusing on creating a family of products and a plan to awaken the European, New Zealand and Australian markets to the superb quality of PEETZ. This June, they launched an Artist Series of mahogany and brass fishing reels, carved by Kwagiulth artist Jason Hunt. The limited edition pieces kicked off an initiative with the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) called Reel Change, where $10 from every reel sold via peetzoutdoors.com goes to PSF salmon conservation.

The partners are full of ideas for the future of PEETZ. “We’re listening and paying attention to the market,” says Art, adding that he and his partners are also looking at other ideas such as the gift market for PEETZ products.

And as they say in the world of fishing, “A reel expert can tackle anything.”

62 Douglas

PEETZ craftsman Bill Hooson punching out brass reel components.

Jeffrey Bosdet/douglas Magazine

Gone Fishin’

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