The startup culture in Vancouver is not only thriving, it’s growing. It’s become a trend of it’s own that inspires, and encourages everyone to join in. People who move to the city see and experience this first hand, and realize that when surrounded by the energy here, there isn’t anything they can’t do. The world is your oyster in Vancouver, but how did that come to be? Why is Vancouver such a hot-bed of self employed creatives?

As part of an ongoing series, we’ll be meeting and interviewing creative entrepreneurs in Vancouver to see how and why they think this has happened, how they’ve benefited from it, and what makes them tick as an entrepreneur; we want to know, “Why Vancouver”.

This week we spoke to Alexa Mazzarello of Alexa Mazzarello Creative. Photographer, creative, and all round babe, Alexa is a fellow full time member at L’Atelier. We originally met through the amazingly connected community of creatives in Vancouver, so she seemed like the perfect person to pitch my “Why Vancouver” question to.

Like many, Alexa agrees that creating your own career path is highly common in Vancouver, especially when compared to big cities elsewhere:

“When I first moved to BC, I worked as a nanny to support myself. After about 8 months, I got fed up being miserable and just leapt. I said I wasn’t going to take gigs that didn’t support the life I wanted in the future (at that time it was the near future, like, is this getting me where I want to be in 1 year?). This also meant I lived on savings when I needed to, which isn’t ideal. After about another year of instability (but constant connecting and shooting here and there), things started to get better, as they often do if you simply persevere long enough.

As of March of this year, after producing Body Thoughts in Toronto I returned to Vancouver to a couple exciting opportunities which allowed me to confidently say I was full-time freelance. My passion is bringing concepts to life through creative direction, strategic thinking, project management and teamwork. I am really excited for upcoming projects.

I think there are a few things going on [here]:

Proximity to nature:
A big reason why many people flock west (I’m from Ottawa as well) is for the lifestyle, proximity to mountains and ocean and forest. The type of person that wants that is seeking a deeper connection to the world around them and often times a lifestyle that is full of meaning. This often means that type of person is attracted to the freedom and flexibility of being their own boss. And it feels so much more possible when you’re among so many others doing that. Not to mention the influence nature has on creativity. YOU JUST CAN’T GET THAT KIND OF INSPIRATION ANYWHERE ELSE. Mountaintops and tree trunks and crashing oceans.

Influence from neighbours south of the border:
San Fran, Seattle, Portland…all cities that are known worldwide for their creativity, innovation, tech influence, and all these things come with certain cultural attitude that values experience, risk-taking, dreaming big, pushing limits. I think this heavily influences what’s happening up here - it’s that west coast laid back, I want to do what I WANT vibe and geographically we are supported. 

Attitude & commitment to a lifestyle:
Another thing that is a reality in Vancouver is the need to hustle. It’s expensive compared to other cities in Canada. If you’re choosing to stay you’re also choosing to make things work because you want a certain lifestyle. Running your own gig provides feelings of autonomy and possibility. (You also have no one to blame when you fuck up, but, that’s part of it!).

Again, I think this is connected to the desire for freedom and flexibility but it’s also linked to a general attitude and less ’traditional’ way of doing things. I know many people who run their own gigs AND work another (or 2 or 3) part-time, flexible job to make ends meet. Often times those extra jobs are stepping stones until their main thing becomes stable enough to support them, but overall the choice to live this way is because people are deeply committed to living a life of meaning and experience.

Relationship to time:
Again, very connected to lifestyle and being around nature, but worth noting on it’s own…things are a bit slower out west. People partner up later and don’t commit to marriage until later (or at all). This leaves room for adventure and risk taking and building a business or freelance career.

There’s a flip side to this as well…that because the cost of living is so high here, people choose to NOT take on the added responsibility of a family. Or they wait until much later. I have started to wonder how other cities support freelancers, young families, and creativity. I’ve been reading a lot about Iceland (READ THIS - my incredibly brave and inspiring friend has spent 3 years creating it) and I'm planning a trip to Berlin to discover this for myself.”

Stay tuned for more interviews (1 every week!) with other creative “do-ers” on the topic of “Why Vancouver”, and in the meantime check out Alexa’s top 5 for getting sh*t done:

1. Do you have a favourite cafe or local spot to work from?
Arbutus Cafe in Kitsilano. Birds and Beets in Gastown is inspiring. Nelson and the Seagull, because…… bread and cozy settings.

2. What's your favourite music to listen to whilst working?
I've been listening to my girl Anita’s Social Yoga mixes. I LOVE THEM. 

3. What's your favourite thing about Summer in Vancouver?
Beaches, bikes, craft beer, roadtripssssssss, and ALL THE VISITORS.

4. What's one thing you can't live without?
Lately, the time to cook my own food - it’s so, so, so cathartic. Since I’ve signed up for a permanent desk at L’Atelier I’ve been to separate my home/work life a bit more (they’re obviously so intertwined) but a couple days a week I’ll actually leave my laptop at the office and go home, blast music, and make beautiful food.

5. What's the best advice you've ever been given as freelancer/ self employed designer?
So much from so many mentors, friends, co-collaborators, but I’ll [share] just a few that are recent and relevant to where I’m at right now in business.

Charge what you’re worth:
This is really important in a field where there are so many ways of doing things. Basically, whatever feels right for YOU is what you have to stick to. Of course, be fair. Always be fair, but ultimately only you can know what feels good. This has been a big shift for me in the last year and has resulted in a lot of no’s, but ultimately it also lands me the best clients and work I’ve ever had and THAT’S the benefit of creating your own standards.

Get used to cancellations:
This was a harder one for me to handle at the time, because it came from my partner. I came home one evening last month and was disappointed that a client had cancelled. I was upset because it was a project I was really excited to take on but Dave basically said, ‘Get used to this.’

In listening to his perspective I realized that something very important. He said, ‘The more successful you get, the more this is going to happen.’ It’s basically like, as you continue to grow and create and build your business, you start playing in a larger field and so you have to prepare yourself for bigger disappointments. I’m a big believer in learning by doing. My best lessons have come from mistakes and no’s. 

Neil Gaiman has said, "Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something."

If you liked this post, let us know! We want YOU to be part of our community - so send me a message (lucy@ateliervancouver.com) and you can join in on one our community events, or be part of this blog series! Join the conversation!