As part of an ongoing series, we’ll be interviewing creative entrepreneurs in Vancouver to see how and why they think doing your own thing in business is possible, why it has boomed in Vancouver, how they’ve benefited from it, and what makes them tick as an entrepreneur; we want to know, “Why Vancouver”.

Third up in the “Why Vancouver” series, is Miranda Grigor. A cat loving, punk dancing camper, Miranda is one hell of a graphic designer. I work alongside this lovely lady at Flipside Creative, making all sorts of great visuals for kind people across North America. I pitched my idea to Miranda, and asked what she thought on the topic of “Why Vancouver”. What Miranda notes for our conversation, is that us West Coasters have a focus on lifestyle. We aim to be happy first and foremost, and choose Vancouver for the lifestyle, not the job opportunities. If we wanted corporate careers, we would have moved to Toronto or New York, but here in B.C we try to do it all. Check out Miranda’s reasons for “Why Vancouver” (plus why freelance!) and her 5 getting sh*t done faves.

MG: “When I moved to Vancouver I had no idea what I was doing. I was only one year out of design school when I packed my bags and left my life in Ontario to start a new chapter on the west coast. It helped that I had a few friends and family here, but career-wise I was taking a huge risk, leaving my first real full-time design gig at a pretty reputable studio.

I’d just gone through a pretty devastating breakup and it sounds super cheese, but the ocean and mountains were calling me. I wanted to be close to my family, and at that time in my life I was more focussed on finding myself than nailing down a career. I feel like if you're happy with yourself, the work stuff will figure itself out. Spoiler alert: it did.

The design community in Ottawa, where I went to school, is really small and everybody knows everybody else. I had tons of industry contacts before I even graduated, and finding work wasn’t really a problem. But when I moved to Vancouver I knew nobody in the field. Compared to Ottawa, I found the design scene here to be a bit cold and disconnected.

This is totally based on my own experience, but I feel like a big part of the reason freelance is so popular in Vancouver is because agencies don’t want to hire full-time junior creatives. Understandably, it’s a risky investment that may or may not pay off. There also seems to be a serious lack of co-op programs in the design schools here, which means students aren’t getting the opportunity to connect and gain that crucial experience in a real work environment prior to job hunting. So basically everyone is just trying to make things happen on their own. What’s really cool is that a lot of people are becoming really successful in that way. People are initiating conversations and developing their own sense of community.

So like a lot of other designers, I didn't have much luck connecting with agency people when I started out in Vancouver. So I opened my job search to include in-house gigs, and BAM. All of a sudden I was getting job offers. Eventually I settled into a position where I got to be in charge of all things creative. That is to say, I was the only designer catering to six content strategists. Before this I didn’t even know what a content strategist was. The workload was insane but the challenge was really fulfilling to me at that time. The pay was pretty great, too.

The problem with in-house work is that creative people get bored easily. It wasn't much more than a year before I had major brand burnout and I was really missing the variety that comes along with agency work. I still didn’t have any agency job offers, but I had made some contacts along the way so I decided to take on some freelance temporarily until I got my “real job” figured out.

That was almost two years ago.

I used to think freelance was too risky and that I needed the structure of an office to stay motivated. But as my business started to fall into place, I realized I was much happier when I had more freedom in my work life. Something as simple as eliminating my commute made me feel more balanced and fulfilled. 

Today I’ve narrowed my client roster down to a few steady, ongoing contracts which alleviates all that “what if” freelance stress while giving me that itty bit of structure I tend to crave. I get to be my own boss, while still being part of a team. Depending on the day, I get to work with agencies or in-house marketing teams — all on my own terms (for the most part). I get the best of both worlds, plus the downtime I need stay sane.

Word of mouth referrals have really helped set things into motion for me, but I also feel like my authenticity and strong work ethic have been major keys to my success as a freelancer. And even though I Sometimes have to work until 1am to keep up, other days I get to knock off early and hit the beach on a Thursday afternoon. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

1. Do you have a favourite cafe or local spot to work from?
I'm one of those rare people who actually feels less distracted working from home. I’ve got a pretty sweet little office setup with a big window, a big screen, and an endless supply of coffee. Also, when I’m home I’ve always got a dog by my feet and at least one cat in my lap, which makes me pretty happy. But when I do need a change of scenery, I love Lost + Found on West Hastings and Gigi Blin, which is a super cute little cafe in my neighbourhood in south Van.

2. What's your favourite music to listen to whilst working?
This is the hardest question ever. At my core, I’m a rock n’ roll girl. For me, that means everything from doo-wop to rockabilly to surf pop and punk music. But I’m going to take this opportunity to give a shout out to two of my favourite local bands, Dead Soft and Supermoon.

3. What's your favourite thing about summer in Vancouver?
I love that you can bike anywhere. I love hanging out with friends outside at a park or the beach, listening to music. Recently I’ve been making a point to hit up various happy hours with my girlfriends after work. When I first moved here, Vancouver didn’t do the happy hour thing, so I’m pretty stoked we have that now.

4. What's one thing you can't live without?
My cats. That’s two things…

5. What's the best advice you've ever been given as freelancer/ self employed designer?
Always set aside enough money for taxes (thanks Dad). 

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!