Peter Legge, Iconic Community Leader, Speaker, Businessman and Canadian Media Guru

Transcript

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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: This podcast is sponsored by eBay Canada.
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[00:26] SPEAKER_02: It's VanCoovers podcast.
[00:29] SPEAKER_02: On the Canada's podcast network.
[00:31] SPEAKER_01: Hello everyone. I'm Angela Faye,
[00:35] SPEAKER_01: pub builder and co-host of British Columbia's podcast.
[00:38] SPEAKER_01: Part of the Canada's podcast network,
[00:41] SPEAKER_01: your source for great insights from entrepreneurs from across Canada.
[00:44] SPEAKER_01: We talked entrepreneurs who are making it happen here
[00:47] SPEAKER_01: so you can listen, discover and engage.
[00:50] SPEAKER_01: I am super excited to have Peter Legg from Canada
[00:54] SPEAKER_02: wide media with us here today.
[00:55] SPEAKER_02: Now we're fewer in the publishing industry
[00:57] SPEAKER_02: or in British Columbia.
[01:00] SPEAKER_02: Peter really needs no introduction.
[01:02] SPEAKER_02: He's received the Order of BC,
[01:04] SPEAKER_02: which is one of the highest business achievement awards in Canada.
[01:08] SPEAKER_02: Instead of breaking a little bit about him,
[01:10] SPEAKER_02: I just want to jump straight in and say hi, Peter.
[01:13] SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Canada's podcast.
[01:14] SPEAKER_03: Hi Angela, thank you. It's honor to be here.
[01:17] SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
[01:17] SPEAKER_02: Well, we're going to have a little bit of fun.
[01:19] SPEAKER_02: But first of all, let's talk about both your entrepreneurial journey.
[01:23] SPEAKER_02: Can you give us, I realize it's long and lengthy,
[01:25] SPEAKER_02: but can you give us a snapshot?
[01:27] SPEAKER_03: I used to be General Sales Manager of a radio station in Langley, CJJC.
[01:33] SPEAKER_03: I thought I was doing a pretty good job.
[01:35] SPEAKER_03: And obviously I wasn't.
[01:37] SPEAKER_03: So the owner fired me.
[01:39] SPEAKER_03: He had philosophical differences and I have you.
[01:43] SPEAKER_03: And so the drive home to my house was a good 45 or 50 minutes
[01:48] SPEAKER_03: before the freeway was in.
[01:49] SPEAKER_03: And I had to face my wife and tell her, I just got fired.
[01:53] SPEAKER_03: So I drove as slowly as I could home.
[01:57] SPEAKER_03: What am I going to say?
[01:58] SPEAKER_03: What is she going to say?
[01:59] SPEAKER_03: What's going to end up here?
[02:01] SPEAKER_03: Hold into the driveway, water in the back door.
[02:04] SPEAKER_03: She said, oh, good day today.
[02:06] SPEAKER_03: I said, well, it was a little different.
[02:08] SPEAKER_03: Let's have a glass of wine on, get changed.
[02:10] SPEAKER_03: And then we'll talk about it.
[02:12] SPEAKER_03: So we did that and the glass of wine.
[02:14] SPEAKER_03: And she said, what's up?
[02:16] SPEAKER_03: She knew something was wrong.
[02:17] SPEAKER_03: And I said, I got fired today.
[02:20] SPEAKER_03: Silence.
[02:21] SPEAKER_03: Not a word.
[02:23] SPEAKER_03: Nothing.
[02:24] SPEAKER_03: She said nothing.
[02:26] SPEAKER_03: And then she said, after a good four or five minutes,
[02:29] SPEAKER_03: that's good.
[02:31] SPEAKER_03: That is very good.
[02:33] SPEAKER_03: You shouldn't be working for somebody else.
[02:35] SPEAKER_03: You're the best salesman.
[02:37] SPEAKER_03: You got the positive attitude.
[02:39] SPEAKER_03: You've got enthusiasm.
[02:41] SPEAKER_03: You can do anything you set your mind to.
[02:43] SPEAKER_03: So here's what I want you to do tomorrow.
[02:45] SPEAKER_03: When you get up, shower, shine your shoes, put on a suit
[02:49] SPEAKER_03: and tie and go out there and find a business that you can manage
[02:53] SPEAKER_03: and you can run and make a career of.
[02:55] SPEAKER_03: That's how she dealt with it.
[02:57] SPEAKER_03: Nothing could have been better.
[03:00] SPEAKER_03: So the next morning I got up and I heard of a chap named Al Davidson.
[03:04] SPEAKER_03: You've probably heard of Al Davidson.
[03:05] SPEAKER_03: The greatest sportscaster in Canada.
[03:09] SPEAKER_03: Used to work for CKNW in New Westminster.
[03:12] SPEAKER_03: And he had a magazine called Al Davidson's this week
[03:15] SPEAKER_03: that went bankrupt the day before I got fired.
[03:18] SPEAKER_03: So I phoned him and I said,
[03:20] SPEAKER_03: Al, you want to have lunch?
[03:21] SPEAKER_03: Let's chat about it.
[03:22] SPEAKER_03: He said, you're okay.
[03:23] SPEAKER_03: So during that lunch, that tour lunch,
[03:25] SPEAKER_03: I ended up buying that magazine.
[03:27] SPEAKER_03: Al Davidson's this week, $76,000.
[03:31] SPEAKER_03: I didn't have 76 cents,
[03:33] SPEAKER_03: but he said, I printed next week's magazine.
[03:36] SPEAKER_03: So you really take over in two weeks, which is perfect.
[03:40] SPEAKER_03: We changed the name from Al Davidson's this week magazine
[03:43] SPEAKER_03: to TV Week Magazine.
[03:45] SPEAKER_03: We still have TV Week, 45 years later.
[03:49] SPEAKER_03: It's still a number one magazine,
[03:51] SPEAKER_03: both in gross dollars and net dollars
[03:54] SPEAKER_03: and has about 25,000 page circulation a week.
[03:58] SPEAKER_03: And it helped us build the company
[04:00] SPEAKER_03: that's called CanadaWide Media today.
[04:03] SPEAKER_02: And you have a number of publications in our portfolio.
[04:06] SPEAKER_02: Could we rattle off a top few just for familiarity?
[04:11] SPEAKER_03: Yes, we have BC Business Magazine.
[04:14] SPEAKER_03: We have Award Magazine for the construction business
[04:16] SPEAKER_03: across Canada.
[04:18] SPEAKER_03: We own Western Living Magazine,
[04:21] SPEAKER_03: Western Living Condo, Vancouver Magazine,
[04:24] SPEAKER_03: BC Business, I've mentioned that.
[04:26] SPEAKER_03: And we do a lot of custom publishing
[04:29] SPEAKER_03: for organizations in Western Canada.
[04:33] SPEAKER_03: And we love it.
[04:35] SPEAKER_03: You know, it's not easy.
[04:36] SPEAKER_03: No business is really easy.
[04:38] SPEAKER_03: We haven't made money every single year,
[04:40] SPEAKER_03: but we've made money most years
[04:41] SPEAKER_03: and we anticipate that maybe next year
[04:44] SPEAKER_03: it could be even more challenging than this year.
[04:46] SPEAKER_03: But that's what we do.
[04:47] SPEAKER_03: And everything is published under CanadaWide Media.
[04:51] SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
[04:52] SPEAKER_02: And we're both in the media business,
[04:55] SPEAKER_02: so we can talk a little bit about that in a moment.
[04:57] SPEAKER_02: But you also launched a career as a speaker and an author
[05:01] SPEAKER_02: on the back of this business.
[05:04] SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that actually started in high school.
[05:07] SPEAKER_03: I want to do junior high school in New Westminster.
[05:11] SPEAKER_03: Well, Vincent, Massie, junior high school
[05:13] SPEAKER_03: leaned after one of our left-handed governors.
[05:16] SPEAKER_03: And I was asked to give the address
[05:20] SPEAKER_03: to the graduating students going from junior high
[05:23] SPEAKER_03: to senior high, never done it before.
[05:26] SPEAKER_03: And I loved it.
[05:27] SPEAKER_03: They seemed to love it too.
[05:29] SPEAKER_03: And so I really started there in grade nine.
[05:34] SPEAKER_03: And then in high school, I was emceeing all the meetings
[05:38] SPEAKER_03: and only audience participation things that they did there.
[05:43] SPEAKER_03: And I got hooked by it.
[05:45] SPEAKER_03: So that's how I started.
[05:46] SPEAKER_02: It's a bit addicting.
[05:47] SPEAKER_02: Well, and I confess that I've never actually been in an audience
[05:50] SPEAKER_02: when you were speaking, but I've watched your videos
[05:52] SPEAKER_02: and I have a very interesting story to tell you.
[05:56] SPEAKER_02: I'm in the process of reading one of your books.
[05:59] SPEAKER_02: Make your life a masterpiece.
[06:00] SPEAKER_03: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[06:02] SPEAKER_02: And I mentioned earlier, I started getting to know you, Peter,
[06:07] SPEAKER_02: you're a little bit just by reading your books.
[06:09] SPEAKER_02: And I've read the Power of Tacked, which if you haven't read it
[06:12] SPEAKER_02: before, it is a timeless piece.
[06:16] SPEAKER_02: Tacked is probably something that's never taught in schools,
[06:19] SPEAKER_02: but it is probably one soft skill that I think
[06:23] SPEAKER_02: everybody should have.
[06:24] SPEAKER_02: So it's definitely on my recommended reading list.
[06:26] SPEAKER_02: But make your life a masterpiece.
[06:27] SPEAKER_02: This is a odd thing that happened to me two weeks ago.
[06:30] SPEAKER_02: Is I'm reading your list of books that you've published.
[06:34] SPEAKER_02: And I, just by the title, make your life a masterpiece,
[06:38] SPEAKER_02: jumped out at me.
[06:39] SPEAKER_02: I must get my hands on that book before I interview Peter.
[06:44] SPEAKER_02: And I walk over, I have a shelf of business books
[06:47] SPEAKER_02: in my office.
[06:49] SPEAKER_02: And I walked over to that bookshelf just for lunch one day.
[06:52] SPEAKER_02: And I looked in front of me on that bookshelf.
[06:55] SPEAKER_02: What was your book?
[06:57] SPEAKER_02: I did not put it there.
[06:59] SPEAKER_02: I asked around my office to say who put it there.
[07:01] SPEAKER_02: And I'm pretty sure that maybe somebody
[07:03] SPEAKER_02: from your organization snuck it up.
[07:05] SPEAKER_02: It's so like everything.
[07:06] SPEAKER_02: But it was a very serendipitous.
[07:09] SPEAKER_02: And I got to say if you haven't already read it,
[07:13] SPEAKER_02: Peter, honestly, anytime I see a hotel bar of soap now
[07:17] SPEAKER_02: for the rest of my life, I'm going to think of you in laugh.
[07:20] SPEAKER_03: OK.
[07:21] Speaker UNKNOWN: OK.
[07:23] SPEAKER_03: Well, it is.
[07:23] SPEAKER_02: And that's an inside joke, right?
[07:25] SPEAKER_02: What else?
[07:26] SPEAKER_03: Well, doing the books is great fun.
[07:29] SPEAKER_03: I'm not a great writer.
[07:31] SPEAKER_03: But I have a great editor who can take my ideas and dreams
[07:36] SPEAKER_03: and make something out of it.
[07:38] SPEAKER_03: And it takes about a year from the initial dream
[07:42] SPEAKER_03: of what the book's going to be about to the publication
[07:46] SPEAKER_03: takes about a year.
[07:47] SPEAKER_02: Do you publish other people's books as well?
[07:50] SPEAKER_03: We have done it.
[07:51] SPEAKER_03: But we're not known for that.
[07:53] SPEAKER_03: Printing about my books is done by freezes in Winnipeg,
[07:56] SPEAKER_03: or South of Winnipeg.
[07:57] SPEAKER_03: And you've got to know that business.
[08:01] SPEAKER_03: But the writing of the books, once I get the idea,
[08:04] SPEAKER_03: what I'd like to write about, and then I get a name.
[08:07] SPEAKER_03: I write to the name on what the content is.
[08:10] SPEAKER_03: So my latest book just came out a couple of weeks ago
[08:14] SPEAKER_03: called Under the Influence.
[08:16] SPEAKER_03: It started with, I was writing my life story,
[08:20] SPEAKER_03: and I called it What's Your Story.
[08:23] SPEAKER_03: So you in your life have got 100 stories
[08:26] SPEAKER_03: that have been published.
[08:28] SPEAKER_03: So as I was writing along, it came out,
[08:30] SPEAKER_03: I don't like that.
[08:31] SPEAKER_03: We'll call it Influence.
[08:33] SPEAKER_03: And then we'll keep writing, and it's called Under the Influence.
[08:37] SPEAKER_03: So what it is is your associations,
[08:40] SPEAKER_03: the things that you do, the people that you meet,
[08:42] SPEAKER_03: the places that you go, who you speak for,
[08:44] SPEAKER_03: who you associate with, what influences you,
[08:47] SPEAKER_03: make sure who you are today.
[08:50] SPEAKER_03: That's what it's called Under the Influence.
[08:52] SPEAKER_02: I like it.
[08:53] SPEAKER_02: I'll put that on my list too.
[08:55] SPEAKER_02: Can we talk just for a few moments, Peter,
[08:57] SPEAKER_02: what do you see are the trends happening
[09:01] SPEAKER_02: in the media industry today, and maybe specifically
[09:04] SPEAKER_02: in publishing and or future trends in the next decade?
[09:08] SPEAKER_03: Well, certainly the digital platform
[09:10] SPEAKER_03: in various forms is going to take over.
[09:17] SPEAKER_03: If it hasn't already taken over.
[09:19] SPEAKER_03: And that's fine.
[09:20] SPEAKER_03: There's nothing wrong with that.
[09:21] SPEAKER_03: I mean, in my 45 years,
[09:23] SPEAKER_03: we've had all kinds of things.
[09:25] SPEAKER_03: There were no cell phones, 45 years old.
[09:27] SPEAKER_03: There were no all sorts of things that are here today.
[09:30] SPEAKER_03: And we're still publishing more magazines today than we can so.
[09:34] SPEAKER_03: In fact, we've just talked to Simon Fraser University yesterday
[09:37] SPEAKER_03: about a magazine for that university.
[09:41] SPEAKER_03: Well, they're all young people.
[09:42] SPEAKER_03: Why wouldn't they go digital?
[09:43] SPEAKER_03: That they are doing digital,
[09:44] SPEAKER_03: but they want a product that people can have,
[09:48] SPEAKER_03: put on their shelves, read tomorrow, next week, and next year.
[09:51] SPEAKER_03: So I think media,
[09:54] SPEAKER_03: probably the printed word in terms of newspapers
[09:59] SPEAKER_03: will suffer more than we were at the moment.
[10:03] SPEAKER_03: We've just published the last edition of BC Business.
[10:05] SPEAKER_03: It's over 100 pages.
[10:07] SPEAKER_03: How is that possible?
[10:08] SPEAKER_03: I don't know, but it is.
[10:10] SPEAKER_03: Because people want to read good writers.
[10:12] SPEAKER_03: They want to read good stories, good illustrations.
[10:15] SPEAKER_03: And they really want to read to learn how they can be better
[10:20] SPEAKER_03: at what they do.
[10:22] SPEAKER_03: What they can do better at their company.
[10:24] SPEAKER_03: It doesn't have to be a media company.
[10:25] SPEAKER_03: It could be anything.
[10:27] SPEAKER_03: What can you do?
[10:28] SPEAKER_03: How do you become a better person
[10:30] SPEAKER_03: at whatever your career path is?
[10:32] SPEAKER_03: Because you can do that.
[10:33] SPEAKER_03: I can be better today and better tomorrow and better next week
[10:37] SPEAKER_03: than I was yesterday.
[10:39] SPEAKER_02: And how do you feel about this kind of blow up world
[10:43] SPEAKER_02: that we're in?
[10:45] SPEAKER_02: I'll call it the COVID coaster or economically.
[10:49] SPEAKER_02: Some people are suggesting we're in this recession.
[10:52] SPEAKER_02: Could you offer both some pragmatic advice
[10:56] SPEAKER_02: and perhaps some inspiration for Canadian entrepreneurs?
[11:00] SPEAKER_03: Well, first of all, it would be very insensitive me,
[11:04] SPEAKER_03: not to say that I feel for those families
[11:09] SPEAKER_03: who have been affected the most by the loss of their loved ones,
[11:13] SPEAKER_03: whether the father or their mother or even their children.
[11:17] SPEAKER_03: And they don't understand why some people
[11:21] SPEAKER_03: didn't get well and some people get it and don't get well.
[11:24] SPEAKER_03: So allow me to say that to your audience.
[11:28] SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
[11:28] SPEAKER_03: I'm not insensitive to that.
[11:30] SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
[11:30] SPEAKER_03: I've got three daughters of my own and seven grandkids
[11:34] SPEAKER_03: and God forbid something would ever happen to them.
[11:37] SPEAKER_03: The big question probably is,
[11:40] SPEAKER_03: where did this really all come from?
[11:42] SPEAKER_03: Where did this COVID come from?
[11:45] SPEAKER_03: And I'm not sure anyone really knows for sure.
[11:48] SPEAKER_03: But in British Columbia,
[11:50] SPEAKER_03: our minister is doing an incredible job.
[11:53] SPEAKER_03: It's painful as it is for a lot of businesses.
[11:55] SPEAKER_03: He's doing an incredible job of keeping the number of cases
[12:00] SPEAKER_03: down to a minimum.
[12:01] SPEAKER_03: I won't say she's in it or best in North America.
[12:04] SPEAKER_03: But she's got to be up there in the top four or five.
[12:07] SPEAKER_03: She's done an absolutely fabulous job.
[12:10] SPEAKER_03: I think I do believe what the Bible says,
[12:12] SPEAKER_03: this too will pass.
[12:14] SPEAKER_03: And how will it pass will be dependent on
[12:19] SPEAKER_03: what rules you're prepared to follow,
[12:22] SPEAKER_03: which some people in the United States are not following.
[12:25] SPEAKER_03: And there's a resurgence to this disease.
[12:30] SPEAKER_03: So I'm pretty faithful on my pool.
[12:34] SPEAKER_03: I need to be told why my staff keeps six feet away.
[12:37] SPEAKER_03: Keep six feet.
[12:38] SPEAKER_03: Yes.
[12:39] SPEAKER_03: I'm not good at that.
[12:40] SPEAKER_03: But I don't mind if they yell at me and tell me to do that.
[12:44] SPEAKER_03: They're doing it for their safety in mind.
[12:46] SPEAKER_03: This too will pass.
[12:47] SPEAKER_03: How do we come out of it?
[12:49] SPEAKER_03: It may not pass.
[12:50] SPEAKER_03: There might be some organizations and some people
[12:54] SPEAKER_03: are going to have to shift their career path,
[12:58] SPEAKER_03: shift their whatever they're doing now to earn living,
[13:01] SPEAKER_03: particularly if it's their own business.
[13:04] SPEAKER_03: That's a little dogged to
[13:06] SPEAKER_03: to we we've done okay.
[13:09] SPEAKER_03: And we're doing okay.
[13:11] SPEAKER_03: We're not making we've never made a fortune.
[13:12] SPEAKER_03: So I'm okay with what we're doing.
[13:14] SPEAKER_03: And the government has certainly helped.
[13:16] SPEAKER_03: I've really appreciate the government subsidies
[13:19] SPEAKER_03: for some of our staff and some of our freelancers.
[13:23] SPEAKER_03: And I hope that goes on for as long as it's feasible.
[13:28] SPEAKER_03: Now that's a long way of saying I don't really know
[13:31] SPEAKER_03: any more than the how we're going to get out of it.
[13:34] SPEAKER_03: But we have got to take
[13:37] SPEAKER_03: her Bonnie's rules and regulations
[13:40] SPEAKER_03: and take them very seriously and apply them
[13:43] SPEAKER_03: to our spouses and our children and our staff
[13:47] SPEAKER_03: and those people associate with
[13:49] SPEAKER_03: so that we are not going to get infected
[13:52] SPEAKER_03: or infect other people with something that we don't know we have.
[13:55] SPEAKER_02: And I appreciate that that's probably
[13:57] SPEAKER_02: some of the most pragmatic advice is
[14:01] SPEAKER_02: accept the guidance on you know some medical expertise.
[14:05] SPEAKER_02: One of the things I'm quite shocked
[14:09] SPEAKER_02: about so far is just how widespread the impact is
[14:13] SPEAKER_02: whether someone is actually dealing with personal
[14:15] SPEAKER_02: or family health issues or things are being delayed
[14:20] SPEAKER_02: because of circumstances or or the impact in business
[14:23] SPEAKER_02: and really we're a business podcast.
[14:26] SPEAKER_02: So one thing I haven't seen yet and perhaps because we're still
[14:32] SPEAKER_02: partially in crisis mode and we're not yet in recovery mode.
[14:35] SPEAKER_02: But we're just coming out of that.
[14:38] SPEAKER_02: We're just starting to reintroduce
[14:41] SPEAKER_02: inspiration for those that have lived through
[14:44] SPEAKER_02: her times and before would be very welcome Peter.
[14:48] SPEAKER_02: If you could offer a little bit of hope
[14:50] SPEAKER_02: some encouragement for our entrepreneurs
[14:53] SPEAKER_02: who are thinking you know do I wind up?
[14:56] SPEAKER_02: Do I you know what that behind me and say that was a pre-COVID
[15:00] SPEAKER_02: tight-knit business or starting something new or you know pivoting or growth?
[15:06] SPEAKER_02: From your experience what could you share at this time?
[15:10] SPEAKER_03: For me obviously you've got to be positive
[15:13] SPEAKER_03: and you've got to be enthusiastic and you've got to say to yourself
[15:17] SPEAKER_03: this too will pass somehow we'll get through this.
[15:20] SPEAKER_03: It might not be the business you're in today.
[15:24] SPEAKER_03: It might be a new business or a new venture
[15:27] SPEAKER_03: because your business could be affected.
[15:30] SPEAKER_03: For example a buddy of mine runs Jimmy Patterson's radio station
[15:34] SPEAKER_03: that I think is up 47 of them.
[15:36] SPEAKER_03: He runs them out of of Kamloops.
[15:39] SPEAKER_03: And I was asking him about business and he said well the outdoor
[15:43] SPEAKER_03: Jimmy owns the Lee Outdoors in BC certainly Vancouver.
[15:46] SPEAKER_03: He says they're down 75% I said why North would outdoors be out 75%
[15:51] SPEAKER_03: he said because there's no cars on the road.
[15:53] SPEAKER_03: We buy outdoor advertising.
[15:55] SPEAKER_03: That's right.
[15:56] SPEAKER_03: These are the people in the cars.
[15:57] SPEAKER_03: They never even don't own me.
[15:59] SPEAKER_03: So that will come back but it will take time
[16:03] SPEAKER_03: as a increase the people will advertise outdoors.
[16:06] SPEAKER_03: So it's going to be different for other people.
[16:10] SPEAKER_03: Your life is not over.
[16:12] SPEAKER_03: Okay.
[16:14] SPEAKER_03: We haven't many of us haven't died.
[16:17] SPEAKER_03: Most of us haven't died.
[16:18] SPEAKER_03: If we're married and we have and I'm very happily married 52 years
[16:24] SPEAKER_03: to what loves me dearly and encourages me every single day
[16:29] SPEAKER_03: because I need encouragement.
[16:31] SPEAKER_03: People need encouragement.
[16:32] SPEAKER_03: They need to be know that they cared for and they're loved
[16:36] SPEAKER_03: and this will pass and we can get through it.
[16:39] SPEAKER_03: It'll take some time.
[16:40] SPEAKER_03: It might take some challenges.
[16:42] SPEAKER_03: We may have to borrow some money from them and dad.
[16:43] SPEAKER_03: We may have to remodeled your house.
[16:45] SPEAKER_03: Whatever we have to do we do.
[16:48] SPEAKER_00: This podcast is sponsored by eBay Canada.
[16:52] SPEAKER_00: eBay Canada is powering Canadian small businesses.
[16:55] SPEAKER_00: Go to eBay.ca slash up and running to open your online shop.
[17:01] SPEAKER_02: Peter let's talk a little bit about doing business generally in BC
[17:07] SPEAKER_02: and in Canada.
[17:08] SPEAKER_02: We have a privilege that we do have a most of our listeners in the Canadian.
[17:12] SPEAKER_02: But we have a lot of international companies looking at doing business.
[17:17] SPEAKER_02: And our goal is to be the number one essential podcast
[17:20] SPEAKER_02: medium for Canadian entrepreneurs and for international companies
[17:23] SPEAKER_02: looking at doing business in Canada.
[17:25] SPEAKER_02: So I'm hoping you can provide some insight on what you see as opportunities
[17:28] SPEAKER_02: or challenges BC specifically and maybe across Canada.
[17:33] SPEAKER_03: I'm basically in two businesses.
[17:35] SPEAKER_03: One is the media business and I guess the other is a media business.
[17:39] SPEAKER_03: It's a speaking business.
[17:41] SPEAKER_03: And speaking I've done more podcasts and zooms in the last three months
[17:45] SPEAKER_03: that I've done the last 30 years.
[17:47] SPEAKER_03: Which is wonderful.
[17:48] SPEAKER_03: I love it.
[17:49] SPEAKER_03: I don't have to get on the plane.
[17:52] SPEAKER_03: I don't have to stay in a hotel and all that kind of stuff.
[17:55] SPEAKER_03: But it's going to be challenging.
[17:59] SPEAKER_03: I don't want to suggest it's not going to be challenging.
[18:02] SPEAKER_03: And we're going to have to work harder and ask more questions.
[18:08] SPEAKER_03: When I'm speaking to a sales group, I say,
[18:12] SPEAKER_03: I don't actually mean this, but I do mean this.
[18:16] SPEAKER_03: So I'll go up to an attractively like you and I'll say,
[18:19] SPEAKER_03: will you marry me?
[18:21] SPEAKER_03: And you'll say no.
[18:22] SPEAKER_03: Then I say why?
[18:24] SPEAKER_03: And you say you're already married.
[18:26] SPEAKER_03: Then I say, if I wasn't married, would you marry me?
[18:30] SPEAKER_03: You might say yes.
[18:32] SPEAKER_03: So you've gone from no to yes in less than 45 seconds.
[18:35] SPEAKER_03: Doesn't mean we're going to get married and all that kind of stuff.
[18:37] SPEAKER_03: But I'm saying, ask the question, would you consider this proposal?
[18:43] SPEAKER_03: No.
[18:44] SPEAKER_03: Most people won't say why?
[18:46] SPEAKER_03: Well, why wouldn't you consider?
[18:47] SPEAKER_03: Well, it's too expensive.
[18:49] SPEAKER_03: Oh, help me understand.
[18:50] SPEAKER_03: How do you mean it's too expensive?
[18:52] SPEAKER_03: $50,000.
[18:53] SPEAKER_03: And I've only got 35.
[18:55] SPEAKER_03: So then you say, are you saying to me that you buy this
[18:59] SPEAKER_03: proposal for $35,000?
[19:02] SPEAKER_03: If they say yes, then you have to quickly say,
[19:04] SPEAKER_03: can I sell this proposal for $35,000?
[19:07] SPEAKER_03: Can I make enough changes in this proposal
[19:10] SPEAKER_03: that I can still make a profit of $35,000?
[19:13] SPEAKER_03: And nine times out of 10 you can.
[19:15] SPEAKER_03: So it's conversational.
[19:18] SPEAKER_02: So you've just identified something for me in this podcast that I have found
[19:25] SPEAKER_02: it very difficult to put my finger on.
[19:27] SPEAKER_02: And we often get challenged with the different cultures between particularly American
[19:34] SPEAKER_02: and Canadian cultures because we're sure that this ain't order.
[19:38] SPEAKER_02: And people will say to me, the Americans take more risks.
[19:41] SPEAKER_02: They take their marionage from Nurel.
[19:44] SPEAKER_02: They say yes, marriage conversations.
[19:47] SPEAKER_02: But suddenly you've just pinpointed that we're super conservative here in
[19:51] SPEAKER_02: Canada. That's my experience.
[19:53] SPEAKER_02: And I would love to get your insight on that.
[19:55] SPEAKER_02: But conservative doesn't necessarily mean any lack of entrepreneurship or risk.
[20:02] SPEAKER_02: It means asking me more questions.
[20:05] SPEAKER_02: Okay, will you marry me?
[20:07] SPEAKER_02: No, not in the forefront, not from the very limited pieces that I know
[20:12] SPEAKER_02: is kind of a tip on how to deal with Canadians.
[20:16] SPEAKER_02: A little bit of ask more questions.
[20:18] SPEAKER_02: Find out more about them.
[20:19] SPEAKER_02: Get into the conversation.
[20:21] SPEAKER_03: If I go with a client and what exactly do you do?
[20:26] SPEAKER_03: And I'll be shocked at how many people, not out of 10 people see, no one's asked me that.
[20:31] SPEAKER_03: What do you manufacture?
[20:32] SPEAKER_03: What do you sell?
[20:36] SPEAKER_03: What's depending on where the conversation goes?
[20:39] SPEAKER_03: What's the profit margin?
[20:41] SPEAKER_03: How many sales guys do you have?
[20:42] SPEAKER_03: How many office do you have in Canada?
[20:44] SPEAKER_03: People won't ask that question.
[20:46] SPEAKER_03: And then somewhere in there you sneak in and what do you do for advertising?
[20:49] SPEAKER_03: Do you use newspapers, magazines, radio, television?
[20:53] SPEAKER_03: What do you do?
[20:54] SPEAKER_03: And they'll tell you.
[20:55] SPEAKER_03: Are you married?
[20:56] SPEAKER_03: Do you have children?
[20:57] SPEAKER_03: What are their names?
[20:58] SPEAKER_03: People will tell you pretty much most of the questions you asked them.
[21:03] SPEAKER_03: And out of that, you form
[21:05] SPEAKER_03: they're probably, and you say it this way,
[21:07] SPEAKER_03: they're probably, as I see it,
[21:09] SPEAKER_03: they could be a way in which you and I could do business.
[21:12] SPEAKER_03: Do you kind of have to answer yesterday?
[21:14] SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that probably could.
[21:16] SPEAKER_03: I didn't say there would be.
[21:17] SPEAKER_03: I said, that probably could.
[21:18] SPEAKER_03: So then you have to figure out how do we,
[21:21] SPEAKER_03: how do we, what can I do to help your business?
[21:23] SPEAKER_03: What can I do to help you grow?
[21:25] SPEAKER_03: What can I help you to sell more of your widgets?
[21:27] SPEAKER_03: And if I can do that,
[21:29] SPEAKER_03: could we do business?
[21:30] SPEAKER_03: And you'll probably say, yeah, if you can do that.
[21:33] SPEAKER_03: Okay, then I got to figure out how I can do that.
[21:36] SPEAKER_02: What's next on the horizon for you guys?
[21:39] SPEAKER_02: This is a sample test line of questioning for how to do with Canadians.
[21:43] SPEAKER_02: What's your wish?
[21:44] SPEAKER_03: Whether you've met my EA,
[21:46] SPEAKER_03: who is originally from the Philippines
[21:49] SPEAKER_03: and has only been with me a few months,
[21:52] SPEAKER_03: but is an absolute whiz in the computer digital world.
[21:57] SPEAKER_03: And she's got me doing things that I'm not even sure I would dream about a year ago.
[22:03] SPEAKER_03: So I wouldn't do it on my own,
[22:05] SPEAKER_03: but I'm now doing it because she guides me, directs me,
[22:09] SPEAKER_03: and encourages me, and says, don't do this, do this, and so on and so forth.
[22:12] SPEAKER_03: So where that will go in the next year,
[22:15] SPEAKER_03: I don't know, but it'll be, it's a lot more today than it was six months ago,
[22:19] SPEAKER_03: therefore, so it's going to be a lot bigger six months from now.
[22:23] SPEAKER_02: Well, I'm curious just talking about your team right now.
[22:27] SPEAKER_02: There was a, everything that has at in the moment,
[22:31] SPEAKER_02: when you're about 130 employees,
[22:33] SPEAKER_02: what's your team hoping right now?
[22:35] SPEAKER_02: Are they all in one place or are they remote?
[22:37] SPEAKER_02: Are they distributed globally?
[22:40] SPEAKER_03: Well, it's basically great.
[22:42] SPEAKER_03: They're all in vain.
[22:43] SPEAKER_03: We do have apps in Toronto,
[22:45] SPEAKER_03: but they're hired reps and they have their own offices.
[22:48] SPEAKER_03: I would say we've got 55, 60 people,
[22:51] SPEAKER_03: and probably on a daily basis, you might have,
[22:55] SPEAKER_03: you might have as many as 10.
[22:57] SPEAKER_03: Everything is done more.
[22:59] SPEAKER_03: I believe that they're working every day, doing what they're doing.
[23:03] SPEAKER_03: We have one magazine that I haven't seen one editor for three months.
[23:09] SPEAKER_03: It's a weekly magazine.
[23:11] SPEAKER_03: The magazine gets out every Tuesday,
[23:16] SPEAKER_03: and they're now saying, I don't want to come back to work.
[23:20] SPEAKER_03: My house, and I'm going to have a tough job rationalizing
[23:24] SPEAKER_03: why I should say no, and I can't think of every reason to say no.
[23:27] SPEAKER_03: They're happier.
[23:28] SPEAKER_03: The magazine is getting out.
[23:30] SPEAKER_03: What's getting done?
[23:31] SPEAKER_02: It's a real destruction, really, of some of our assumed systems of how we do business.
[23:37] SPEAKER_03: I'm a big guy.
[23:38] SPEAKER_03: I need to look you in the eyes.
[23:40] SPEAKER_03: I need relationships.
[23:42] SPEAKER_03: That's how I function.
[23:44] SPEAKER_03: But obviously they don't.
[23:46] SPEAKER_03: There's three editors to this TV week magazine.
[23:49] SPEAKER_03: There's three editors, and they all work from home.
[23:52] SPEAKER_03: Not their own home, not together.
[23:55] SPEAKER_03: Somehow they piece it all together.
[23:57] SPEAKER_03: It comes together.
[23:58] SPEAKER_03: It's perfect.
[23:59] SPEAKER_02: It is.
[24:00] SPEAKER_02: Peter, I can pass.
[24:01] SPEAKER_02: I'm in that bridging generation.
[24:03] SPEAKER_02: I mean, I come from where we used to shake hands,
[24:06] SPEAKER_02: and always had a personal relationship first.
[24:10] SPEAKER_02: I'm dealing with the fact that so many of my clients and people I need to serve
[24:14] SPEAKER_02: are happy with digital.
[24:17] SPEAKER_02: And I've had a co-operate case base for five years.
[24:19] SPEAKER_02: So I was always understood that I need that face-to-face contact.
[24:23] SPEAKER_02: So it feels a bit odd having the first person meeting with you over digital.
[24:27] SPEAKER_02: But I'm pretty sure.
[24:29] SPEAKER_03: Where do you want to take your business?
[24:31] SPEAKER_03: Do you know where you want to take your business?
[24:33] SPEAKER_03: I do.
[24:34] SPEAKER_03: I do.
[24:34] SPEAKER_03: I do.
[24:34] SPEAKER_02: You know what?
[24:35] SPEAKER_02: I'm in a transition personally, and so I'm going to put on my head list to come
[24:40] SPEAKER_02: meeting you and person in Vancouver.
[24:42] SPEAKER_03: Put a timeline to that.
[24:44] SPEAKER_03: If you've got things or whatever, 10 things you want to do,
[24:47] SPEAKER_03: I can do this one in three months, and this one in a year, this one in two years,
[24:52] SPEAKER_03: right down a timeline.
[24:54] SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
[24:55] SPEAKER_02: And just curious, and I know none of us really know what tomorrow is going to bring.
[25:01] SPEAKER_02: But after this question, what is the best way to get a hold of you, Peter?
[25:04] SPEAKER_03: You have a phone number, email address?
[25:07] SPEAKER_02: I don't have a phone number.
[25:11] SPEAKER_03: 604.
[25:13] SPEAKER_03: 473.
[25:16] SPEAKER_03: 0332.
[25:18] SPEAKER_02: And I do have your email, which is easy because it's Peter Legge at CanadaWideMedia.ca.
[25:23] SPEAKER_02: Right?
[25:24] SPEAKER_02: Who would you love to hear from?
[25:26] SPEAKER_02: If you had five people calling you in the next two weeks,
[25:31] SPEAKER_02: what would you want to hear from?
[25:34] SPEAKER_03: I mean, you could say the obvious things, but I'd like to think about that.
[25:40] SPEAKER_03: We get phone calls basically every day.
[25:44] SPEAKER_03: For a podcast, a Zoomcast, a speech, there's less speeches, but there's a lot kind of
[25:51] SPEAKER_03: being tentatively booked if they can get beyond 50 people in a room.
[25:57] SPEAKER_03: Hopefully they're going to do that in the fall.
[25:59] SPEAKER_02: Well, I do have an idea for why I might want to get a hold of you,
[26:03] SPEAKER_02: but I'll leave that for another time.
[26:04] SPEAKER_02: Just going back to you.
[26:07] SPEAKER_02: Is there anything that you do?
[26:09] SPEAKER_02: And I know you have your own reading list.
[26:12] SPEAKER_02: Is there anything in your list that you would love to share with other Canadian entrepreneurs
[26:18] SPEAKER_02: as a reading list or a recommended source of inspiration?
[26:23] SPEAKER_03: Well, the one question I'm asked the most is,
[26:26] SPEAKER_03: what is the one thing I could do to be a better business person?
[26:32] SPEAKER_03: And I do read my maize at how many people say,
[26:36] SPEAKER_03: okay, we'll starting today, you read a book a week for the rest of us.
[26:42] SPEAKER_03: You read a book with the Yale-Felt pen, and you underline those quotes,
[26:47] SPEAKER_03: those illustrations, those stories, those aha moments,
[26:51] SPEAKER_03: and it will absolutely change the world.
[26:54] SPEAKER_03: You're a completely different person.
[26:56] SPEAKER_03: You'll be more interesting.
[26:58] SPEAKER_03: And people say, well, what books should I read?
[27:00] SPEAKER_03: Well, if you're in sales, read Napoleon Hill's book Think and Grow Rich.
[27:05] SPEAKER_03: Why would do that?
[27:06] SPEAKER_03: It was published in 1947,
[27:09] SPEAKER_03: and it sells millions of copies even today.
[27:12] SPEAKER_03: It's listed in every single book store in North America and Great Britain.
[27:18] SPEAKER_03: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
[27:21] SPEAKER_03: It sold multi-millions of copies.
[27:24] SPEAKER_03: And it is his secret, his 17 secrets of how you can be a better person.
[27:30] SPEAKER_02: That is brilliant.
[27:31] SPEAKER_02: And again, it comes back to something that is timeless.
[27:34] SPEAKER_02: There's some basic human principles that we all share that
[27:39] SPEAKER_02: to have relationships and to deploy tact,
[27:43] SPEAKER_02: to be optimistic and enthusiastic.
[27:45] SPEAKER_02: I can suggest that anything on Peter's writing list is probably going to hit that mark.
[27:51] SPEAKER_03: There's a week goes by.
[27:52] SPEAKER_03: Why don't you say to Sherry,
[27:55] SPEAKER_03: can you get these books for me?
[27:56] SPEAKER_03: I don't know where she gets them.
[27:57] SPEAKER_03: They're not necessarily for sale in the stores,
[28:00] SPEAKER_03: but I've read in this book.
[28:02] SPEAKER_03: I've read, he quoted somebody else's book.
[28:04] SPEAKER_03: I'd like to read that book.
[28:05] SPEAKER_03: It could be out of print.
[28:07] SPEAKER_03: It could take three or four weeks to get.
[28:09] SPEAKER_03: Somehow she'll track it down.
[28:11] SPEAKER_03: And on my desk, next Monday, they'll be a book that I ordered three weeks ago.
[28:15] SPEAKER_02: What are you reading right now, Peter?
[28:17] SPEAKER_03: Well, I'm reading a guy by the name of Eric Lawson, probably Eric Lawson.
[28:23] SPEAKER_03: I bought his book in, I was in Palm Springs,
[28:26] SPEAKER_03: and I saw his first book, and I thought,
[28:29] SPEAKER_03: I'll read that, read that on the plane.
[28:32] SPEAKER_03: He lives in Seattle, and he's written at least eight books.
[28:38] SPEAKER_03: We're trying to get them all.
[28:40] SPEAKER_03: It's tough to get.
[28:41] SPEAKER_03: I like hard-cubby books.
[28:43] SPEAKER_03: I got over 2,000 books in my library.
[28:45] SPEAKER_03: So I practice what I preach.
[28:49] SPEAKER_03: He's a great writer.
[28:52] SPEAKER_03: The book I'm reading now is on the ambassador of the United States to Berlin
[28:58] SPEAKER_03: at the outbreak of World War II when Hitler was in Berlin.
[29:04] SPEAKER_03: I haven't finished yet.
[29:05] SPEAKER_03: Absolutely fascinating.
[29:07] SPEAKER_03: Now, it's not 100% true, but I'm sure 99% of it's based on truth.
[29:12] SPEAKER_03: Absolutely, pretty intriguing stuff.
[29:14] SPEAKER_03: But anything by John Maxwell, anything.
[29:18] SPEAKER_03: You can go to any bookstore, and there'll be 20 books by John Maxwell.
[29:21] SPEAKER_03: Some of them are only 10 bucks a book.
[29:23] SPEAKER_03: Or by kind of, and read them, put them in your library,
[29:27] SPEAKER_03: and study them, and it will change you.
[29:32] SPEAKER_03: It will change your thinking.
[29:33] SPEAKER_03: It will change your board thinking.
[29:35] SPEAKER_03: It will change how you interact with people and what you do.
[29:38] SPEAKER_03: And if it happens to be a speaker,
[29:41] SPEAKER_03: it changes my speaking and what you speak about.
[29:44] SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
[29:45] SPEAKER_02: Do you have anything planned now when your speaker is circling
[29:47] SPEAKER_02: or you answer everything on the board?
[29:49] SPEAKER_03: Well, I've got a couple books for the fall.
[29:51] SPEAKER_03: I haven't heard that they've cancelled them.
[29:54] SPEAKER_03: One's in Toronto, and one's in the States somewhere.
[29:58] SPEAKER_02: Okay.
[29:58] SPEAKER_02: Well, if anybody's in Toronto in the States will watch on your website
[30:01] SPEAKER_02: for some speaking engagements coming up.
[30:04] SPEAKER_02: Peter, that would breezes to the end of a chat.
[30:06] SPEAKER_02: I could probably sit and talk to you for hours.
[30:08] SPEAKER_02: But thank you so much for joining us on Canada's podcast.
[30:12] SPEAKER_02: I'm in place.
[30:12] SPEAKER_02: I'm in the mood to meeting you in person.
[30:15] SPEAKER_03: Anytime.
[30:16] SPEAKER_03: Anytime.
[30:16] SPEAKER_03: If you're in Vancouver anytime, lunch is on me.
[30:19] SPEAKER_01: I will take you up on that, absolutely.
[30:21] SPEAKER_03: Thanks.
[30:22] SPEAKER_01: Thanks for taking the time today to listen to British Columbia's podcast
[30:26] SPEAKER_01: on the Canada's podcast network.
[30:28] SPEAKER_01: We hope you enjoyed the show today.
[30:30] SPEAKER_01: Make sure you sign up for our newsletters and write a review for us on iTunes.
[30:35] SPEAKER_01: Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram,
[30:38] SPEAKER_01: LinkedIn, or at Canada'spodcast.com.
[30:41] SPEAKER_01: You can check out what other entrepreneurs are doing across the country.
[30:45] SPEAKER_01: I'm Angela Faye.
[30:47] SPEAKER_01: See you next time.
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