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.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1505828
Socially Acceptable B ack in May, I posted on LinkedIn asking for suggestions about small businesses in B.C. that have been thriving during tough economic conditions. I got dozens of responses, almost all of them thoughtful and considered. And yes, a portion of those replies were self-serving, as you might expect. As an editorial team, we went back and forth a few times on which companies to highlight in this issue. But there was one decision that didn't take much time at all: the cover. As my brother-in-law commented on my LinkedIn post (why he didn't just text me, I'll never know): "I've noticed Mi Tierra Latina has been expanding a bunch. Now there are two near me on Commercial Drive! Could be cool to reach out to them and get their story." No agenda, no PR push. The best stories, maybe, are the ones you find from unexpected sources. So I headed down to Mi Tierra's flagship loca- tion on Vancouver's Commercial Drive. Imme- diately, I found myself taken by the colours bouncing off the walls—and, not long after, I was equally taken by the story of the savvy business owners behind this grocery import shop. I knew right away that it would make a cool cover, but I had nothing to do with making that cover come to life. Full credit goes to photographer Tanya Goehring and senior art director Jenny Reed for making what I think is my favourite cover in the half dozen years I've worked for this magazine. Thanks also go to Mi Tierra and the 13 other businesses that generously shared their stories with me and my fellow editors, Alyssa Hirose and Rushmila Rahman, for "Did You Say Downturn?" (p.26). No one needed to tell me that Sep- tember is a pivotal month for sports organizations that are either finish- ing off a season or preparing to start one up. We decided to take a look at how some of B.C.'s teams are doing at the box office in "Mane Focus" (p.58). The result is a veritable playbook of how teams are using their product to appeal to fans (or not) and an interesting look at all of the things that go into a team finding success beyond the play- ing surface. If the sports realm is a bit of a mixed bag as far as economic success goes, then the prov- ince's film industry is mostly kernels. Veteran BCB writer Steve Burgess originally took on "Reel Problems" (p.13) with the purpose of examining how B.C.'s industry was weathering Hollywood's actors' and writers' strikes. But Burgess's final story makes it clear that, even if labour peace has been achieved by the time you read this, the problems behind the screen in the B.C. industry go much deeper. Again, sometimes the best stories are the ones you weren't expecting to find. If you have one to share, please send me a note. Nathan Caddell, Editor-in-Chief bcb@canadawide.com / @BCBusiness ( editor's desk ) N E X T I S S U E Our Leadership Issue asks some prominent B.C. execs one question: What's the best advice you've gotten? C ON T R I B U T OR S Steve Burgess is a Vancouver- based writer and longtime BCBusiness contributor. His stories have explored topics like earthquakes, shootings and politics (more specifically, Premier John Horgan). With several friends and colleagues in the film industry, Burgess wanted to find out how the Hollywood strikes were affecting the local community in "Reel Problems" (p.13). His new book, Flight Risk: A Tourist on Trial, is due from Harbour Publishing next spring. "Since I was six years old, I've been fascinated with taking pictures," says Vancouver photographer Adam Blasberg, who studied photography at Langara College. Blasberg has given images to a number of BCBusiness articles over the years, including "Something in the Water" (p.71) and "Mane Focus" (p.58) in this issue. "I learn something from every shoot," he says. "This time I learned I'd like to shoot a campaign for the BC Lions." PORTRAIT: ALAINA MICHELLE 10 BCBUSINESS.CA SEPTEMBER 2023 608-060