It probably sounds funny and is somewhat hard to believe, but indeed we started bWEST Interactive on July 1, 2009 (Canada Day), exactly one year ago.
Looking back at my original post on the bWEST blog a year ago it’s quite amazing and somewhat humbling to see how much has been accomplished in 365 days. I am truly grateful for the help, support, encouragement and inspiration of so many people.
From the non-profit organizations that we had the good fortune to work with in the early days including Organic Islands Festival, Habitat for Humanity and Power To Be, to the people we met along the way (too many to mention) and the clients who’s business we have earned, we could not be happier about the way things have turned out this first year.
Of all the great things that have happened and continue to unfold, right now I’m most excited about organizing Canada’s first Social Media Camp right here in Victoria BC.
This one-day conference dedicated to exploring, discussing, learning and sharing about social media, will take place on October 3, 2010 at the Victoria Conference Centre.
We already have some fantastic speakers booked including:
- Mr @unmarketing Scott Stratten, author of the soon to be released book "UnMarketing"
- Julien Smith, Co-author of the NY Times Best Selling book "Trust Agents"
- Dave Olsen, Community Director at Hootsuite
The Early Bird Registration is now open.
In celebration of our first year we’re giving away a copy of "The E Myth" an excellent book by Michael Gerber about "what every successful entrepreneur knows", and what I’m still learning.
On July 7th we’ll do a random draw from those that have left a comment and send the winner their book.
Good luck and thank you…
13 thoughts on “bWEST turns ONE”
Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary! That’s a real milestone to have achieved. And thanks for organizing the conference. I’ve already signed up.
My comment on what I’ve learned is that you shouldn’t make assumptions about people or opportunities until you try them out or hear them out. The most unlikely are sometimes the ones that have the most potential. And each person you meet might be your next client – or is a friend of theirs.
I would have posted anyways – wanting to wish you a Happy Birthday and congratulate you!
But the chance to win the book is irrisistable!
Congrats, Chris – I hear a lot about you around town – you have an excellent reputation for professionalism and knowledge. Way to go!
Gaylia
Happy Birthday bWest Interactive! Best wishes for many more years of success in helping young business grow through social media activities.
Rosemary White
Congratulations Chris! We really enjoy working with you and helping our clients to grow. Your expertise in Social Media has been a great addition to our team. We look forward to continuing our partnership.
Congratulations Chris! Thanks for putting Victoria on the social media map.
The camp speakers look great, I look forward to it.
Happy First Birthday Chris. It’s definitely an important milestone!
Hey Chris,
Happy belated birthday! It’s great to see how far you’ve come in a year. Keep it up!
All the best,
Josiah
Wow – thanks everyone for the kind words. Much appreciated. I look forward to working with all of you in one way or another this year. So far Dave is the only one who left a comment about business learnings, but you are all eligible to win the book 🙂
congratulations on your 1st Anniversary and it is a pleasure to work with you 🙂
I was recently reminded that being successful in business is to look for new opportunities in absolutely everything – that opportunity shows itself at the strangest times, unexpected places, even sometimes disguised as problems – it takes courage to change paths and accept the new challenges – but the possibilities of what can be gained/learned is well worth the calculated risks! one door closed is the opportunity for several more new ones to open – so go for it 🙂
Happy 1 year anniversary Chris!!1 You have come a long way!
Very recently I learned that it is impossible to run a business without some kind of a team. There are just too many things to be done for ONE person! I have been trying to learn how to juggle doing the Marketing, the website, the copywriting, the photographs, writing a cookbook, invoicing, etc etc,, and it has been wayy too much.
Yesterday, I connected with a VA and we are going to work together so my business can really reach the people who need what we offer. I am sooo excited!! It feels like a huge relief to know that I don’t have to do it on my own.
I will give you lesson #2 ( because this one is just as important as #1)
After learning about marketing and business in total immersion this past year, the one thing that I have ‘awakened to’ is that I need to make the information MINE. We are all different…so learning from people who went before me is very valuable, but taking that and figuring out how to use it the way that makes sense for me is very freeing.
It feels nice just to pass those lessons along Chris! They have been huge for me, and I hope they can help somebody else too.
Peace and light
Elissa Joy
First of all I want to say a huge thank you to everyone the left a comment on the blog; Dave, Gaylia, Rosemary, Bonnie, Tracy, Steve, Elissa, Josiah, Anney and Janis. There were lots of kind words, which I really appreciate a some great stories about business learnings.
And now….. congratulations to the winner (picked by random draw) of the book "The E Myth" – Bonnie Pollard.
I hope you enjoy the book Bonnie. It’s full of useful insights which helped me along the way.
Happy Birthday bWest! Look forward to seeing you again at Organic Islands. For my part, I appreciate the social marketing info I gathered from your session.
Cheers,
Steve
Steve Duck
Events & Escapes
http://www.SteveDuck.ca
e ~ info@SteveDuck.ca
t ~ eventsnescapes
f ~ eventsandescapes
t ~ 778.430.0668
Congratulations Chris on your first year in business – may there be many more.