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March 8, 2017 - No Comments!

Local Tools: Networking

Networking. It's dreaded, it's hated, it's not always fun. Fear not though! We've got a post coming later this week on how to make it 100x more fun, and to test out your new skills, here's 5 local events and tools you can use for growing your network.

(With today being International Women's Day, the majority of these events come from companies run by women, are targeted for women, or include a panel of women only speakers.)

MARCH 8TH/15TH/22ND: Rock Your Business Plan
Get the support of Futurpreneur while you hash out your business plan. The best bit about workshops? Meeting people in the exact same situation as you, in a much more relaxed and informal fashion. Rock that network and gain skills at the same time!

MARCH 23RD: Improve your public speaking skills
Here in the office at the end of the month, YWIB is hosting an event to discuss public speaking - something that can be applied to those networking events you're planning on attending! Get your presentation and speaking skills down with an intimate workshop taught by Genicca Whitney.

MARCH 27TH: Grow your personal brand
Attend an event that focus on growing your personal brand, and meet likeminded people while you're at it! Vancity Business Babes has an event just for that on March 27th. Reserve your spot here and head downtown to surround yourself with powerful women!

MARCH 30TH: Women in Tech
A panel discussion with women from companies such as Slack, Saje, Hootsuite and more. This panel profiles some of the leading ladies in tech. They'll be sharing personal experiences, advice and how they achieved their career successes.

February 14, 2017 - No Comments!

Local Tools: 5 Ways to stay productive and healthy this month

February in Vancouver has been tough. We've had more snow than the city has experienced in decades, and health and productivity levels are at their lowest because of it. We've got a roundup of local tools and events to help get you refocused and back on track.

#1. Reconnect and get inspired
Check out Fall For Local speaker evening - all about having a side hustle and owning it. With 4 local entrepreneurs talking, you're sure to come away re-inspired and ready for spring.

#2. Stay healthy!!
URGH snow and colds and infections are the worst. But our resident nutritionist Erin is providing us with 3 work friendly lunch recipes at our hustle session next week. Pop by after work on Wednesday 22nd at 5pm to hear more about the healthy food you can be making at home! RSVP here.

#3. Laugh
A good laugh can do wonders for the soul. Get yourself over to Granville Island on a Sunday night for the Rookie Improv Show and let off some steam!

#4. Avoid burnout
Learn how to avoid burning out - something that's especially important if you're an introvert and spend your energy on interacting with others! Grab a place at member Faris's talk that's happening tomorrow night here at L'Atelier!

#5. Meditate
Something we all know we should do, and most likely forget to do - especially in times of sickness or when we're rushing to get things done. Our tip? Take 5 minutes alone just to sit and be quiet. If in doubt though, make the most out Moment Meditation's current 2 for 1 deal using code "2for1"

January 16, 2017 - No Comments!

Local Tools: 5 ways to stay organized and focused in Vancouver

Like everyone else, the dust of new year is settling for us and we're getting focused and organized for the new year ahead. This year, we'll be sharing more tips and tricks about co-working and how to thrive as a freelancer or small business owner in Vancouver. We'll be making sure to feature local ways of achieving this each month, as we love our Vancouver family and want to continue supporting them!

#1: A C A L E N D A R
To get things kicked off, we're starting with the obvious; you need a calendar to plan for the year ahead of course and luckily for us a couple of our members joined forces to design some fun and functional calendars that you can print at home! Check out Pretty Office Thing's Etsy store to see the calendars designed by Salt Design Co. and use code PRETTY50 for a cheeky discount 😉

#2: A P L A N N E R
In this same realm, we can't not feature Stil Classics and their amazing planners. Owner and Director Marissa is also a member of our office - Marissa designed her planners with everything she was missing in mind. It's functional, beautiful and has daily to-do lists alongside your schedule so you can check in with each of your daily tasks and never lose focus.

(Photo of the Design Love Planner - which is currently on sale!)

#3: T H E J O B H U N T
Need help with a job hunt this month? Talent Collective have got you covered- they're hosting a free(!!) online webinar to help reduce your job hunting stress, nail your resume and avoid common mistakes.

#4: L E A R N I N G
Growing a business or freelance career is tough. Join the team at Brainstation YVR or at Red Academy to acquire more skills that pay the bills!

(Photo from a Vancity Business Babes event at Brainstation in 2016.
Photo credit: Lucy Gregory)

#5: H E A L T H
Lastly, and possibly one of the most important things to consider as an entrepreneur or freelancer, is your health! Make sure you stay focused and stress free this year by putting your mental health first. Moment Meditation start their 3 week challenge on January 23rd - the perfect opportunity to give it a go and introduce a few more calm moments into your daily routine.

(Photo from this journal entry on the Moment site. Unknown photo credit.)

Let us know how you're getting along this month! You can tweet at us @vancityatelier or email admin@ateliervancouver.com

December 23, 2016 - No Comments!

“Why Vancouver” Featuring Sabrina Chammas

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 is our last interview in the series, and we're coming full circle by featuring L'Atelier founder and owner, Sabrina! If you've been into the office, you will of course know Sabrina, but if not, here's to chance to get to know her a little bit. Sabrina tells us more about why she came to Vancouver, and why she thinks Vancouver is such a great place to have a thriving small business.

Thanks for reading this series, we'll be back in the new year!

August 26, 2016 - No Comments!

“Why Vancouver” (A weekly series)

This summer I noticed something; people in Vancouver are doing what they love - forging their own way and taking big risks for business. They're saying no to office jobs, and working for small companies, or multiple companies, or themselves! We're creating our own job roles here and hustling all over town. It's particularly common in our little city, (and on the west coast in general, hello tech boom in California) but how and why did it happen? Why is it that people in Vancouver branch out on their own and take the big leap into the self employment or freelance life?

As part of an ongoing series, we’ll be 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”.

First off though, let me introduce myself. If you’ve been into the office here at L’Atelier, you might have seen me around – I’m Lucy, the British girl sat to the right hand side of the front desk. As part of the team at L’Atelier, my main focus is creating opportunities in which we can help each other to thrive and grow - something I'm truly passionate about. Need something in the office? Stuck on a business idea? I'm your girl!

Outside of L’Atelier, I’m a busy bee hustling for 3 creative agencies as a graphic designer, social account manager and more! I co-own Salt Design Co. with my business partner and gal pal Daphne Wong, and do the rest of my work remotely, hence the need and love for a space like L’Atelier!

I started on the freelance rollercoaster because I've always wanted to be self employed, but also because it became necessary; finding a full time job as a designer is tough! Very few agencies in Vancouver want to make that commitment, and there's very little movement or turnover of studio jobs. But, with multiple part time gigs available to me, I pulled them together and made one crazy complicated job instead. This is in me, it's a way of life I've been working towards long before I moved to Vancouver, but what I've found, is that it's possible to do it here. Being surrounded by others who are also doing their thing, enables me to carve out my self employment dreams. I truly don't believe it would be as easy (hah!) to do so back home in England.

Stay tuned for weekly interviews with other creative "do-ers" on the topic of "Why Vancouver", and in the meantime, check out my fave’s for getting sh*t done:

1. Do you have a favourite cafe or local spot to work from?
Yes! When I was studying, I found that Prado in Gastown was high on my list. Despite the awkward bathroom situation (If you've been, you'll know what I'm talking about), they have decent music, good food and coffee (plus they let you eat your own food!) and the wifi ain’t half bad. More recently though, I enjoy working from Lost and Found in Gastown, or Craft in Olympic Village. If you’ve never thought about working from a restaurant during the day, you’re missing out! Waitress service, comfy booths…. Beer on tap, you really can’t go wrong 😉

2. What's your favourite music to listen to whilst working?
If I need to focus, no music at all. If I want something on, I actually prefer to listen to BBC Radio 1. As far as radio goes, Canada kinda sucks. So I listen to my home country’s favourite station; With a mix of musical genres, live music covers and decent conversation, it’s been a firm favourite since I was a pre-teen. (p.s install an extension on your browser to get around any country/ I.P issues - it’s well worth listening to!)

3. What's your favourite thing about summer in Vancouver?
Last year I would have had said the heat. For a few glorious months, that heat and humidity is amazing. But this year…. well, my favourite thing about summer in Vancouver is the sheer number of events that take place! There’s always something going on, and if you happen to miss it, chances are it will happen again next year, so no need to worry about missing out.

4. What's the one thing you can't live without?
Good friends and great conversation. And toast, there’s always got to be toast.

5. What's the best advice you've ever been given as an entrepreneur/small biz owner?
Nail your elevator pitch. (I’m still working on this, not gonna lie)

If you liked this post, let us know! We want YOU to be part of our community. Send me a message (lucy@ateliervancouver.com) and you can join one our community events, host a workshop or even be part of this blog series!