BCBusiness

SOCIAL CUES DON'T SWEAT IT Fitness studio/café Turf is a natural fit in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood, and its social strategy makes the most of an engaged community by Alyssa Hirose New Followers Turf marketed March as "Friends Month," offer- ing diehard members the opportunity to bring a com- panion for free. It's a smart initiative to get first-timers in the door, and word of the BOGO deal spread quickly on Instagram. 7.6k plays 114 likes What a Racket To announce the launch of Wilson tennis apparel in the studio store, Turf uploaded this video of the team plas- tering the neighbourhood with posters. Amplifying IRL advertising with behind-the- scenes social posting helps build the hype. 6.5k plays 140 likes 13 comments Walk the Plank A little relatability can go far—this video channels the awkwardness of turning the wrong way in a fitness class and ending up face-to-face with another person. It's not heavy-handed adver- tising, but it received an impressive reach: 37,000 views through TikTok and IG combined. 37.1k plays 1.4k likes 54 B C B U S I N E S S . C A J U N E 2 0 24 keepers to have more prolific summers. So they'll receive anywhere between 3,000 to 5,000 bees in the mail to get a head start or to replace hives lost to cold snaps in the winter. "The queen is in a cage—that's how they transport them—and I released a little clip in the cage which allows the queen and its attendants to eat their way out and join the rest of the bees. So this afternoon I've got to make sure that she's escaped her cage, and hopefully will start laying soon and start the cycle all over again." Zooming out, Fletcher's backyard is a sight to see in summer and spring: it includes fruit trees, a robust vegetable garden, 80 or so bonsais in vari- ous stages of growth ("Drives my wife crazy," jokes Fletcher) and a small bespoke greenhouse that he built using secondhand materials last year. Fletcher's longtime love for gardening led to a curiosity about propagating Japanese maple seeds and bonsais, which are fully mature trees that have been kept to a reduced size. He began collecting and caring for them five years ago, around the same time that he started beekeeping: "I found a couple of trees that were being sold in- expensively because they were half-dead, and I thought they would make great bonsais." Some he bred himself, others he picked up. Some are three inches, others three feet. "If you have a tree that's had damage from frost or wind, or has been hit with drought and is still alive but doesn't have the robustness to be a full-sized tree, you've all of a sudden got a really decent foundation to be able to create a bonsai, which is kind of like a piece of art that otherwise would just be thrown away," Fletcher explains. "I've got a little lemon tree outside my door right now that has six little baby lemons on it, and it's a bonsai, which is pretty cool." As it stands, patience is the root of all of Fletcher's pursuits. Change is slow—in growing bon- sais, in raising bees, in bridging gaps in health care—but it's also rewarding, says Fletcher. "It's sustainable, it's a pleasure, it's a routine and, equally so, as I look toward—at some point in time in my life—retirement, it's a hobby that you can share with friends and family, and it also creates some meaning to your day. There's nothing like eating good food out of your garden, there's nothing like having honey from your garden, and there's nothing like sharing that with your friends." S t e f a n F l e c h e r : L illi e L o ui s e M aj o r LEMON AID RebalanceMD CEO Stefan Fletcher dedicates his free time to slow-life activities like gardening

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