Biznik crosses the border
Yesterday Lara and I filled up the Jeep with $2.03 American gasoline and headed north. (Thought: I never thought I’d see the day when I could fill up for under 30 bucks again. But what kind of an impact is this cheap gas having on the brilliant innovators who quit their day jobs to create the next great electric car that we REALLY need?)
As we approached the Canadian border, Lara and I debated whether we needed make up a story for the guards. We were on our way to Vancouver to host our first Biznik workshop north of the border, and we weren’t sure if we owed taxes or something for what we were about to import. I imagined a conversation like this…
Guard: “What is the purpose of your visit?”
Me: “Ah, we’re importing a virus that’s been growing for three years in Seattle. Don’t worry - it’s a relatively slow growing virus - it tends to spread only with direct contact. But once exposed, people often become carriers…”
Guard: “Pull over, please…”
We rolled into Vancouver in time to share a cocktail with Christa Patchen Wagner, Biznik’s first and (so far) only Canadian Ambassador. Christa is, in a word, awesome. She did all the legwork in advance of this event, hooking us up with a sleek, urban venue perfect for our first engagement, called FigMint. The place was virtually deserted, located as it is on the fault line currently known as Cambie Street, where construction workers are sinking a new subway line ahead of the Olympics.
They only thing that sucked about the next three hours was the internet connection. Lara and I tagged team our way through an overview of social media then drilled down into detailed explanations of the website. A couple of members bailed before we finished, causing us to wonder whether they were bored or just busy. But glancing through the comments a day later is reassuring.
After saying good bye to everyone, we zipped downtown to the Pallisades Hotel, where we had booked a $300 hotel room for $99 bucks a month previous (hint: Kimpton Hotels’ loyalty program rocks). It must have been a slow night, or maybe they just sensed we were having a great night and wanted to make it even better. Because without asking, the desk clerk upgraded us on the spot to a room on the 22nd floor, which featured, she said, “an unobstructed view of the city.”
That turned out to be an understatement. Standing barefoot on our balcony before crawling into bed, we could see water on both sides of the island, and look straight down into a thousand living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. “I want to live in Vancouver some day,” I told Lara before falling asleep.
Note to self: create a backup presentation that you can run totally off of slides. Restaurants, no matter how elegant, always have sketchy internet connections.
November 27th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Great presentation Wed night in Vancouver Dan. It was very relaxing, or maybe that was just the red wine speaking
The attractive thing about Biznik is its grass roots offering that works for independants and small businesses. The casual and comfortable venues and presentations support that focus. No huge conference watching someone on a podium sell a product. A simple face to face conversation and an effective learning experience.
I love the border guard story. Ask Liam about his border guard experience when he came back from the last Biznik event in Seattle a few weeks ago. A great story.
Glad to hear Vancouver’s addictive nature had an impact on you. I came here to visit in 1993 on my way to Asia or Australia, somewhere else, but never quite made it. Anne and I also enjoy going to Seattle for a night every now and then and stay right downtown and walk around and soak up the ‘community’.
Cheers - Brad
November 27th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Brad, that was the first time I’ve ever taught a workshop with a glass of wine in my hand pretty much the whole time, and I’m glad to hear it was working for you as well as it was for me. I think on a core level, anyone who is running a business for themselves is comfortable blurring the line between work and play. Who says you can’t mix Bizniks with pleasure?
Ping me next time you’re headed to Seattle and Lara and I will share a glass of wine with you and Anne at our favorite downtown community-soaking-up spot.
November 27th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Wonderful story and a great event apparently… but where are the pics from the balcony?
… those Bizniks, the’re are never satisfied - always wanting more
DD
November 27th, 2008 at 10:47 am
What was I thinking? It would have been an awesome photo. Thanks for the reminder that a picture is worth a thousand keystrokes.
November 28th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Dan - all I can say is………I’m jealous!
Van is my hometown, and every time I venture back - I get goosebumps. I hope to plant myself there again soon.
Just your description of the view was enough for me.