BCBusiness

BCB MayJune 2022_LR

With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.

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Tell us, what is the story behind Harc Creative? For years we thought we had to hustle in the same way every other creative agency did. We'd climbed up through Vancouver's start-up scene but something always felt a little 'off'. We had some work to do, so we rolled up our sleeves, checked our egos, did our own personal work, and asked ourselves some brave questions. That's when it came to us: what if we gave our clients that same space for reflection and self-discovery we gave to ourselves? And so, we started Harc – named after Parker's grandfather who had that nickname in his day. The word 'hark' is itself a perfect representation of the space we're inspired to make for clients and ourselves to feel heard. It struck a perfect balance between close-to-home and openly accessible, so it stuck. What is it about TD that attracted you the most? We heard a TD representative speak very passionately about diversity and inclusion at a queer entrepreneurship conference a few years back. Since then, we weren't able to shake the feeling that our banking relationship could be more meaningful than just purely transactional. At Harc, we believe that the highest impact projects always arise from partnering with clients whose values align with ours, so we thought why not apply that same principle when choosing a financial institution? With that lens, remembering the TD representative's passionate speech at the conference, we felt that they were right for us. What has the onboarding experience been like? We didn't know what to expect when switching to TD from another major bank, so the experience we had was a very nice surprise. Arriving at our first appointment in downtown Vancouver, we immediately knew that 'we weren't in Kansas anymore'. Within minutes, the representative smoothly asked our pronouns, checked with us about access needs, and– more im- portant than anything else– helped us feel visible and affirmed as the gay couple we are. No chuckles, no jokes, no foot-in-the-mouth moments– just a human helping some humans on their road to financial achievement. In your view, what are some of the benefits TD has been able to offer from a small business perspective? For us, honesty is extremely important. In everything we do, we show up hon- estly so that our clients have permission to do the same. That might include some tough conversations about hearts and minds and touchy-feely stuff, but we're big believers in speaking from the heart. In our own lives as gay men, we've had to choose authenticity. Taking that one step further, we've had to learn how to be kind to ourselves, and we feel called to help clients make that same space for themselves, their colleagues, and their customers. And so, it is clear that one of the benefits of working with TD has been the team's openness and availability every step of the way. For both of us, im- poster syndrome and self-doubt have plagued our approach to our finances since forever, so the TD team's willingness to support us on our financial journey has been invaluable. Whether you're starting, growing or managing your business, TD can help you with your business's financial journey. Learn more at www.td.com/businessbanking SINCE 2018, HARC CREATIVE has been helping organizations step into their own light. The duo behind the agency, Parker McLean and Jarren MacDougall, are helping empower businesses across BC and Canada to present themselves to the world with authenticity and joy. As Harc Creative is itself a small business, Parker and Jarren believed that their agency's financial needs required a more personal relationship with their bank. Here's more on their journey as small business owners and why they made the switch to TD. Why this small business made the switch to TD Why this small business made the switch to TD

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