The rapid rate of change in our world is bringing new opportunities for B.C. businesses to diversify and grow. But how do you know if it’s the right opportunity for your company? And if you identify a need in the marketplace, how can you pursue it to build on your existing revenue stream? Here’s how four companies found success by shaking up their business models.

Cooperatives, unions and collectives hold wisdom about building the trust and cooperation needed to engage and retain employees for the long term. While not every company is suited to a collaborative model, every employer can learn from what these employee-friendly models are doing right.

Long Covid is not only having a material impact on employees, but on businesses, too. On top of the disruptions to worker availability and productivity caused by an initial Covid infection, ongoing illness is creating a more complex staffing challenge.

As we continue to experience the challenges and uncertainty posed by climate change, it’s time to consider whether standard construction materials and methods are enough to meet the housing demand while also prioritizing the health of our climate.

The rise of equity crowdfunding allows companies to tap into a new funding marketplace that’s helping to make the opportunity to invest — and reap the potential benefits — more accessible for investors and entrepreneurs alike.

While brick-and-mortar retail has struggled to compete with the convenience of 24-hour online shopping — with many companies shuttering as a result — there is still hope for the in-person shopping industry.

How a company’s compensation philosophy, and the way it's communicated, can help deflate the resignation boom.

As meeting the needs of our team members is more integral than ever before, here are some ways you can get them involved and engaged in your evolving hybrid workplace.

Part of the magic of the holidays is the celebration of joy and the focus it brings to our connections with others. So, if we’re living in a tough time full of hard things we can’t control, what would happen if we created joy all year, and not just during the holidays?

Parents who have kids in school and jobs outside of the home are struggling to do the right thing for everyone. Whether you’re a leader or a co-worker, here are 6 ways you can help support working parents who are juggling the chaos.

In a job market that is suddenly awash with remote work roles from global companies the opportunities to level up your career are more plentiful than ever before. So now the question is, are you happy with your current role? Or is it time for a change?

Laughing with others causes a release of endorphins and dopamine in our brains. This is a natural health benefit that can improve how we feel and perform during our work day. Using humour in our team interactions enables us to experience these positive brain chemicals together, building connection, cohesion and engagement.

Douglas brought together a panel of business owners and human resource leaders to talk about how the pandemic has affected mental health and well-being in the workplace. They are united in their forward-thinking approaches toward mental health and have skillfully navigated the subject with their teams and within their organizations through the year.

Many of my days are spent helping leaders develop empathic leadership skills to support their team’s mental wellness. While the work is very different from my past as a documentary filmmaker, I’m seeing intersections that are increasingly relevant to what today’s workforce needs from its leaders.

The negative impacts of COVID-19 are experienced very differently by male entrepreneurs and female entrepreneurs. The Royal Bank of Canada recently released a report on these differences, stating that “in a matter of months, the COVID-19 pandemic knocked women’s participation in the labour force down from a historic high to its lowest level in over 30 years.” So what does this mean for female entrepreneurs who are trying to keep their businesses alive amidst the chaos?

Fear-based leadership is easily identified by its dehumanizing tactics: bullying, shaming, yelling, fear-mongering and more. What’s a lot less obvious is the harm it causes.

“I became very stressed and paranoid to the point that I would fall asleep, stressing about work, and wake up stressing about work,” said one executive who previously worked under a toxic leader in the financial sector. “There were moments where I wanted to vomit, I was so scared,” said another employee in a creative industry. “We always felt trapped and in danger.”

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and had the punch-in-the-gut thought, “You don’t know what you’re doing and everyone is going to figure it out?” Or you’re networking at an event and suddenly a voice in your head says, “You don’t belong here.” Perhaps you’re in a meeting with your team and think, “You don’t know what you’re talking about and they know it.”

That voice is your impostor syndrome.

Difficult conversations are, well, difficult. We know there are issues to be addressed, things to be said, progress to be made, but it’s going to be tough. We delay, distract, vent to others, doing whatever it takes to avoid the very conversations our company needs to move forward effectively.

It’s human nature to dodge conflict, and many business leaders are guilty of it, to the detriment of their businesses. In fact, one of my co-founders called me out on being a dodger.

I’ve been an entrepreneur for much of my career, first as a producer/co-owner of an independent TV production company and then as a tech- startup founder.

Most of the companies I have joined or founded were female-led businesses in male-dominated industries. I’m used to being the only woman in a group of men in a variety of professional contexts. I have learned to navigate those spaces and be comfortable within them while being conscious of having to keep myself safe.

It was bathtime. My two kids were playing with toys in the tub when my six-year-old son stopped and looked me in the eye.

“Why can’t you and Daddy be married anymore?”