Vancouver is a great place to live. Some even argue that is one of the greatest places to live. While we proudly call Vancouver our abode, there are some serious issues stemming in our great city. One of them is the poverty that many kids face on a daily basis. Every day in our city, there are children that go to school without food in their tummies and warm clothes on their backs. When they return home, more often than we would like to admit, there are instances of abusive and inadequate parenting.

Enter British Columbian schools. Out of sheer need, schools have become much more than educational centres. They are an arm of the welfare system, providing food, clean clothes, and most importantly, an ear to listen and the heart to show that others care. The Vancouver Sun Kids Fund is a charity that has been around for over thirty years. This year, they have launched the Adopt-A-School program where 24 schools have come forth and identified themselves as a school in need. All of this was the result of a story written in the paper, about a frusterated teacher who faced critical needs with limited resources. The needs of these kids are real and immediate.

The good news is that businesses, people and even other schools in more affluent areas are stepping in to help. TELUS was first to come on board as the first corporate sponsor. For every Facebook Like, they are offerring $1 to the charity, which will be matched, dollar for the dollar by the fund. One Like, $2 for hungry kids. As the most outstanding philanthropic corporation in the world, this was no surprise. Then there was Future Shop who surprised a local school with computers so that they can continue their after-school study group. Not to mention Frogbox, who responded to a tweet, and provided free boxes to collect jackets at a Shad concert over the weekend. These are only a few examples of genorosity our city has. Here’s how you can help:

1. Like Vancouver Sun Kids Fund on Facebook. 1 Like = $4 due to the support of the fund, TELUS and other donors. https://www.facebook.com/VanSunKidsFund

2. Text SUNKIDS to 20222 to donate $5 to the fund

3. Complete the donation form at https://vancouverfoundation.ca/vansunkids/donateonline.asp.

4. PHONE: To pay by credit card, call 604-605-2426.

5. NEW ITEMS: Our Adopt-a-School project not only collects money, it is a conduit so readers can immediately donate goods such as coats, shoes and gloves directly to schools and students who need them most. For information on how to donate new items, email adoptaschool@vancouversun.com or call Adopt-a-School coordinator Kathy Anderson at 604-605-2654.

We are excited to announce that the Buzz Entrepreneur Event – Fall Edition – will be hosted on Thursday September 15th 2011, at the Joseph Richards Lounge. As always, Reach Magazine and Vancity Buzz have come together to promote and support the entrepreneur community here in Vancouver. For this 2011 fall edition, our 3 main speakers are:

Jill Earthy – CEO of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FWE), a non-profit organization educating, mentoring and energizing female entrepreneurs with growing businesses.

Chris Breikss – CEO and Founder of 6S Marketing

and

Raul Pacheco-Vega – PhD professor at the University of British Columbia and Founder of Hummingbird604.com.

To find out more about The Buzz Entrepreneur Event, and to get your tickets, check out our new thebuzzevent.com website.

As most of you know, The Buzz Entrepreneur Event is known to host young and upcoming entrepreneurs Vancouver has to offer. This event will showcase and host new start ups and award winning entrepreneurs from different industries; and we are excited to continue to host this event in Vancouver.

Don’t forget – Doors Open at 6pm and make sure you click here to buy your tickets.

Sponsors are still needed for this awesome event. If you are interested in sponsoring this event, email us at info@thebuzzevent.com

Check out the video below to find out what happened at our last buzz event.

The Buzz Event – June 2011 from Yellow Hat Media Inc. on Vimeo.

By: Kim Lim

Clarence Au, also known as C-Infamous or C, somehow remains out of the spotlight. Despite being a music entrepreneur with his own studio and clientele many would be envious of, he remains humble and loyal to Vancouver. Upon walking into his studio I knew we would get along. Jaw-dropping graffiti art covered a wall while a soundboard, furniture, mixing equipment, and instruments were spread throughout. It was clear that he wants to make artists and anyone who visits his studio feel at home.

You’re sure to have heard that life is about the journey not the destination. How C got to this point is definitely a long one. I was told from a friend about a stint Clarence did on 96.1 and asked him about it. He laughed and explained that in the summer of 2001 he co-hosted a hip-hop radio show. They discussed news and played music. It was here where he really began playing with music because he had to make clean edits of songs for radio play. At the age of 14, C-Infamous was already on the radio.

I mentioned that Clarence is humble and throughout our interview he didn’t name drop the big names he has worked with until I asked him to. For those who listen to hip-hop and rap, C has run with DMX, Dogg Pound (Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, DJay Cuttz), Nate Dogg, G-Hood, Spice 1 and Thug Life (Tupac’s old group). If Asian music is more your steez you’ll like hearing that he’s worked with Edison Chen, Anthony Wong, MC HotDog, FAMA and Jolin Tsai. Despite his international experience, he stays true to Vancouver and works hard to develop local artists such as Phixx Cravin, Laze-E and Amanda Silvera.

Creative types like Au obviously have music inspirations but switching things up on him, I asked him who inspires his entrepreneurial side and why. It seemed he didn’t even think about the question when he answered, “Warren Buffett. He’s smart with his money and makes a penny go a long way. I also admire his ethics and how he has a good sense of common sense.” As for hip-hop entrepreneurs, Clarence chose Russell Simmons because he was a pioneer of hip-hop and is a strong philanthropist. C wants to follow in the footsteps of his business inspirations who do good because he hopes to develop an initiative to supplement music education for youth.

Thinking of music, I imagine a collaboration between creative minds; thus, I knew I had to ask who is part of his crew. Clarence was quick to mention two names: Paolo Valdes and John Michael Pio Roda. He described Paolo as his marketing maven and an expert at networking in the industry. As for Pio, he explained that this guy was there from day one. He focuses on business development and management and coordination of events (primarily concerts).

If you are an aspiring music maven, listen to Clarence Au’s words of advice for you: “Be ready for the long haul. It’s not something that happens in a month, a year or even a couple years. It’s always a steady grind. Stick with it, the longer you stick with it the more your name naturally gets out there. Always focus on making good music because that’s what will be the deciding factor (as well as your personality of course).”

His journey has been a long one and it is still going. What’s in the near future for C? He’ll be bringing more artists to Vancouver for performances (on Canada Day he brought R&B legends Tony! Toni! Toné!, SWV and Ginuwine to Vancouver), putting out mixtapes including his own production mixtape and Laze-E’s “Mugger Therapy” mixtape and lastly, producing more songs for international artists like Edison Chen. In the next ten years Au would like to see himself still living in Vancouver and instead of him traveling to artists, have the artists travel to Vancouver to work with him so he can show them the city. Clarence not only wants to show them the beauty that makes our city the most liveable in the world but our expertise in video production and marketing. I look forward to following his journey and seeing when he brings Vancouver to music’s stage.

www.chronico.ca
@cinfamous
listn.to/cinfamous

By: Jacinta Gavinio

Interview with Desmond Chen of Thai House Restaurant Group

Vancouver is synonymous with diversity, and subsequently with rich, cultural cuisine. So it comes to no surprise that the Thai House Restaurant Group is a booming success in the city. The director behind the thriving brand, Desmond Chen, has paved the way for unique, concept restaurants in the city. This young but experienced entrepreneur shares a lifetime of priceless experiences that built the Restaurant Group into the thriving business it is today.

Chen’s father originally opened the first Thai House Restaurant on Robson Street in 1986 in a bold move to break out in the middle of Vancouver’s busiest hub of activity. He became a pioneer in introducing Thai cuisine to Vancouver’s growing rich cultural cuisine and the massive success following the year of Expo ’86 resulted in Thai House restaurants opening in Kitsilano, Richmond, North Vancouver and Metrotown, evolving the Asian food trend and becoming a household name for Thai food.

Chen grew up in the restaurant business, starting at the age of 13. He spent his high school years and summer vacations working in the restaurants. “A lot of people don’t know this, but I learned to cook and prepare all of the sauces when I was 14 years old. I can cook the majority of dishes on the original menu.”

His venture into the business side of the company was influenced by a personal life changing experience at the age of 17. “I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur, but this experience inspired and motivated me to be more responsible at a very young age.”

One of Chen’s most influential experiences was the management of a commercial and residential building at the age of 18. “I learned a lot about people and I learned how to deal with different personalities at a young age. It’s something you would never learn in school; that job was my university. It was the most beneficial business experience for me.”

He continued to work in the head office duirng the day and in the restaurants during the evenings and by 2000, he embarked on creating a breakthrough concept that introduced a new cuisine trend in Vancouver: fusion. Urban Thai Bistro opened in Yaletown that year, and the timing was impeccable. Yaletown was becoming the destination spot for Vancouver’s nightlife and Chen could see the potential for the up-and-coming trendy community. The restaurant received an overwhelming positive response and, in those early stages of development of what is now one of the most popular destinations in the city, Urban Thai Bistro became a fixture in the growing neighbourhood.

Eager to push forward with innovative restaurant concepts, the group opened Samba Brazilian Steakhouse in 2002 – the first Brazilian restaurant introduced to Western Canada. The 280-seat restaurant became a hit party spot, with a vibrant Latin-inspired atmosphere and nightly live entertainment.

Chen prides in all of his restaurants serving authentic cuisine and paying careful attention to every detail. “We really concentrate on offering the best quality to all of our customers. All of our chefs for our Thai restaurants are from Thailand and our chefs for Samba are originally from Sao Paulo Brazil.”

Chen is fixated on introducing innovative new restarurant concepts and stepping out of traditional boundaries by adding flare to the new Charm Modern Thai Restaurant and Bar in Yaletown, which opened its doors in 2008. His inspiration for the modern Thai concept with Charm came largely from his travels abroad to Europe and Asia.

The Group’s next venture is one that Chen is visibly excited about: Pink Elephant Thai opens at 1152 Alberni Street in April. “There is so much action on Alberni Street now, but there’s no vibrant Asian room there. This new location is really unique and it’s a different concept. It’s energetic and vibrant.”

With his concept restaurants setting the trend in the liveliest spots in Vancouver, Chen really reiterates the power that social media has had on getting the word out. “Social media is playing a huge role in our marketing campaign right now. I have a full-time social media person that looks after Twitter and Facebook – we seldom go the traditional route via magazines or newspapers anymore.”

When asked how Thai House Restaurant Group continues to be such a raging success, Chen says this: “I do my research and I have a full support group and an amazing team of staff, from our General Manager of Operations, our Executive Chef to our Head Office staff to our entire front and back of the house employees. Some of our staff have been employed with our group since we first opened Thai House in 1986.”  He doesn’t look at other restaurateurs as competitors, either. “You should look at them as your network and learn from each other.”

His business ventures don’t stop at building restaurants. The Group expanded their business operations to their retail sauce line and began manufacturing their own line of Authentic Thai Curry Sauces in 2006. The line is now available Canada-wide.

His advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners is straightforward. “To me, an entrepreneur is someone whose mindset is always about business; someone who comes up with an idea or concept, then executes the plan in full. There are a lot of people that have great ideas but can’t effectively execute their plan. It’s easy to get a business up and running, but the challenge is sustaining it. Sometimes it helps to have a mentor – someone who has experienced some of the things you are going through. The reality is, life experiences can teach you much more than you could learn in school.”

Visit www.thaihouse.com for an authentic and unique culinary experience and follow @pinkethai on Twitter for the latest updates on the newest exciting concept restaurant coming to Vancouver in Spring 2011. (www.pinkelephantthai.com)

On Thursday 16th of June 2011, Reach Magazine and VancityBuzz will once again present The Buzz Entrepreneur Event at the Canvas Lounge. Sponsored by Sherri Hoover from Investors Group, the Buzz Entrepreneur Event is known to host young and upcoming entrepreneurs Vancouver has to offer. This event will showcase a host of new start ups and award winning entrepreneurs from different industries.

Entrepreneurs are of a different breed. They are creators, thinkers, philanthropists, daredevils, and down-right hard-workers. It is only amongst their peers are they able to foster their uniqueness.

So far the Buzz Entrepreneur Event has hosted entrepreneurs such as Ryan Holmes from Invoke Media – founder of Hootsuite, Minna Van from The Network Hub, Alisha Mann from Alisha Mann Ventures and a host of other amazing entrepreneurs. You can rest assured that this upcoming Buzz Event will host great speakers, and great start ups.

Yes, there will be food and drinks! But more importantly, the networking opportunity is invaluable. Past Buzz Events have seen businesses spark relationships which have strengthened today. We want to contribute to the entrepreneur community and help business grow. It is where we come from and where we would like to give back!  This Buzz Event will feature 3 amazing Speakers… They are

Speakers

George Moen – Blenz Coffee
Cheryl Nakamoto – Mcneil & Nakamoto Recruitment Grp (McNak)
Mark Brand – Boneta Restaurant

Performers

Kristie Yung – Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist

Venue: Canvas Lounge: 99 Powell Street. Vancouver.

Time: 6pm

Register for Tickets HERE

We are excited to announce our new partnership agreement with Vancouver View Magazine.

Starting next month, Reach Magazine will be featuring selected entrepreneurs inside the Vancouver View Magazine.

Vancouver View Magazine is a full-colour, glossy publication that celebrates the vibrant lifestyles and ardent pulse of our dynamic city

For over 2 years, our main purpose has been to enhance entrepreneurship in Vancouver and also promote entrepreneurs by giving them a stage to showcase their start ups, and successes.  By showcasing our featured entrepreneurs in the Vancouver View Magazine, we believe that our purpose will be enhanced further.

We will also continue to feature entrepreneurs on our website, and continue to produce the entrepreneur focused Buzz Event every 3 months.

We thank you all, and are grateful for your continued support in all our endeavors.

We are excited about the future, and we also can’t wait to start working with Robyn Jesson and her team over at
Vancouver View.

On the 19th of May 2011, The Network Hub hosted its monthly Vancouver Entrepreneur Meetup. ReachMag.ca was there to cover the event. Pictures provided by Hummingbird604.com. Thanks Raul.

At my ripe old age of 28 years old, I have started three companies and recently made the painful decision to leave one last year. It was a hard decision and one I struggled with for a long time.  If you have been following my blog, you probably have seen me compare the process of starting a business to birthing and nurturing my businesses as my babies [Click] .  The decision to start a business is easier than the decision to leave a business because after 4 years of blood, sweats and tears to build a business to leave it empty-handed with nothing to show is nothing short of a painful but strangely a zenful lesson about detachment.

Success of a start up is a function of its co founders and there are many things to considered when picking your cofounder.  I am learning and this is what I learned. I can’t help you figure out what you do need but I can probably assist with what you might NOT want.

1. Lack integrity
This top my list of must-have because without integrity nothing else matters.  It is the essence of everything successful in life and in business.  What is integrity?  It is about doing the right thing, even if no one is watching.   Without integrity, a business is short-lived and before that.  If from the very beginning your start up isn’t ingrained with the do what you say and say what you do attitude, your start-up is doomed.

2. Trust
This is a particularly hard one to gauge because trust is earned over a period of time and perhaps this is why most of my start ups involved people I know or have been friend with for a long time.  This in itself is a double-edged sword because unless you are a very logical person, it is difficult to distinguish the personal from the professional obligations.   Don’t mix business with pleasure but if you must, set boundaries and rules early on.  You better have trust if your mortgage depends on it.  But also realize trust can be broken and when it is broken, it is time to part ways.

3. Fear of uncertainty
Certain red flags are easy to notice early on in the business, fear of uncertainty is not hard to notice.  They are terrified of the unknown and constantly wishes for structure and stability.  The inherent nature of startups are highly unstable and failure rate is high.  You have to be up for whatever because in a startup any thing can happen and it usually does….

4. Not enough determination
Starting a business literally take every thing you have – emotionally, mentally and physically.  Startups take a lot of punches in the nose so it is hard to stay focus and execute unless you have determination.  You work under stressful conditions with little to no pay and little or hope of being in business the next week so unless you have determination, it is very difficult to wake up tomorrow to do it all over again.

5. Not a hustler
A lot of start up requires you being resourceful because you are working with limited resources.  From thinking on your feet, thinking outside the box or whatever you want to call it, I describe this as hustling (not the kind where you rip people off) being an exception and not the rule. It is about working at McDonald so you can learn about food process before getting into restaurant business or traveling for 3 hours after class to intern for free at a company to learn and to also have a part-time job to pay for school.   A hustler is a passion person who can get others to be passionate about what you do.

The start up I left didn’t close down, it’s still operating but I made the decision to walk away from it. Is it a failure?  Some might say it is but I am not one to shy away from that word because “failures” are badges of honor for me. What is it then?  I took a leap of faith, started a business with a friend, I understand life is full of uncertain and people change along the way.  To paraphrase Thomas A. Edison, I have not failed.  I’ve just found 5 reasons why that won’t work.   Any business I am involved in has to be one that integrity-based and as soon as it is not despite my best effort to change put it back on the right path, I will step away.   I have to be who I am, do what I love and work with people I like – there is no compromise on that.

I hope the examination of my specific mistakes with help other entrepreneurs and those looking to be one.  When you start your business, I hope I have saved you from a host of mistakes that you might possibly make that can be avoided.  If you have done all your due diligence but it still didn’t work then walk away.   You choose your destiny by choosing your team – your team starts with your co founder.

I have to admit when I first labeled myself an `Entrepreneur’ I thought I now sounded very intriguing, slightly mysterious, and seriously interesting. Almost sexy.

If Entrepreneur had a `role description’ written by a recruitment agency it would read something like this:

Desired Skills and Experience

• Must be able to move small mountains on a daily basis, be open to change, willing to take risk, flexible beyond belief and have the stamina of an ultra marathon runner.
• Must enjoy working ridiculously long hours for little money and enjoy being financially burdened 90% of the time.
• Should be used to getting little to no sleep or at least adopting irregular sleep patterns
• Able to cope with vast amounts of stress – mainly self induced and happy in the knowledge that work life/ balance is not in the dictionary as a realistic expectation
• Most comfortable having your ego bashed on a daily basis, able to enjoy the thrill of a rollercoaster ride and not prone to puking or showing signs of weakness.
• Used to doubting your abilities and having days when you wonder what the heck you’re actually doing and whether it is even a good idea let alone whether people will buy it.

If someone had told me it’s a sure fire way to lose sleep, lose all semblance of a balanced life and  become a slave to work I might have considered not taking this route…….yeah right! Deep down we love it.

So why do we do it?

I believe that for some of us it’s the allure of fame and fortune – that winning idea that turns into an overnight success. For other it’s the freedom of working our own hours and being able to take off at any time – even if this an elusive quest.

For many it’s our complete and utter passion for doing what we believe in day in and day out. For others it’s because we don’t want to work for someone else or are lousy at it, perhaps we’re just not good at `regular work at all’. Then there’s those of us that didn’t get an education, really had no career skills but knew we could make something of ourselves and our endless stream of ideas.

Whatever the reason that we landed in this spectacular role, we deserve to recognize our awesomeness from time to time.

Who cares if we’re addicted to work and the lack of balance in our life, or that we’d rather be doing nothing else than working on all our many business projects?

I can’t help it and I know I’m not alone. Especially when someone pings me at 1am in the morning with an idea, or an email response and I send them a note to say they should be sleeping…which is ironic in itself given I just answered.

This is a common bond between many entrepreneurs and so this article is to honour those of us that don’t take time recognize our awesomeness. Who else climbs the highest mountains unprepared just because?

Who jumps from buildings without checking the parachute first or sails off on an uncharted course to enjoy a new adventure and reach a new shore?

Yes that’s right – we do. So shout it out, celebrate your fabulousness and create your own definition of Entrepreneur, just like this:

E = Extraordinary

N = Neurotic

T = Tenacious

R = Restless

E = Extreme

P = Persistent

R = Relentless

E = Energetic

N = Nimble

E = Engaging

U = Unstoppable

R = Revolutionary

I’m sure at least one of those words resonates and I think they showcase the many different facets that make us who we are. What sets us apart is the ability to accept our flaws and acknowledge our strengths and push on regardless of not knowing the outcome or whether we have the right ingredients for success.

This is no ordinary role. This is not for the weak or fearful, the scared or the meek, this requires guts, courage and spunk and even moments of insanity.

Go ahead, write your own description and make sure you leave a legacy you’re proud of. Or at least make the title bestowed upon you into an acronym you can spell like: PEER >  ENTER > RUN   OR  PEE > RE-RUN > RENT

We are excited to announce that we have joined forces with FreeVancity.com to bring you another Retweet & Follow contest – Sponsored by WestCoast Hot Yoga.

The Giveaway

For a chance of winning one of 4 free hot yoga classes courtesy of WestCoast Hot Yoga, all you have to do is either leave a comment below with your email address, or Follow @ WC_HotYoga on twitter and Retweet the following.

I just followed @WC_HotYoga for a chance to win 1 of 4 free hot yoga classes http://bit.ly/eTlEbp

Our lucky winners will be selected on the 15th of December by the guys from FreeVancity.com.

About WestCoast Hot Yoga

Westcoast Hot Yoga (WHY) established in 2001 with great aspiration to create a network of yoga studios that will nurture and support its students’ progress.  The WHY philosophy is that yoga is for everyone.

Our teachers draw on many years of experience studying various styles with different teachers from diverse backgrounds and working with medical health professionals.

About FreeVancity.com

Welcome to a community that supports ‘free-dom’ on a whole different level. From events to local listings, Free Vancity aims to build a vibrant and cultured community by bringing people together through their common love for all things free.

More about Hot Yoga

How does Hot yoga work?

By the tourniquet effect: stretching, balancing (using gravity), and creating pressure all at the same time. The blood supply in arteries and veins is being cut off, creating pressure. When released, a lock gate effect is created, causing blood to rush through veins and arteries, flushing them out. Also, pressure is applied to the heart by its relative position to the rest of the body.

What is happening in my body during Hot yoga?

Muscles are contracted and stretched at a cellular, biochemical level. Lipids and proteins reorganize optimally in such stretching, allowing for better circulation. Joint mobility and range of motion is increased, and strength is built by the use of gravity. Muscles and joints are balanced.

Blood and calcium are brought to the bones. Working against gravity strengthens the bones. The organs of the immune system within the bones (red marrow) are boosted.

The lymph nodes are massaged, lymph is pumped throughout the body, and white blood cells are distributed throughout the body as the lymphatic system works more efficiently.

There is compression and extension to the thymus, spleen, appendix and intestines; lungs are stretched and flushed out by increased blood circulation. The endocrine glands are encouraged to secrete appropriate hormones, and the communication between hormones and various glands and systems of the body is perfected. Toxins and waste are eliminated through the organs of elimination.

The nerves are stimulated by compression and extension, improving communication within the systems of the body and supplying fresh blood, oxygen and nutrients throughout. The brain is stimulated by improved circulation and by varying blood pressure.