Gastown House

The Olympics are bringing unprecedented amounts of people to downtown Vancouver, and they are shopping.  Business is really good if you're situated along the corridors of Granville or Robson.  The poor older uncle, Gastown, is left on the outside looking in.

Until innovative entrepreneurs came up with the brilliant idea of naming their community "Gastown House", in light of the other Olympic houses that have sprung up in the city.  How is this "house" better than Molson House, Heineken House, or Canada House?  According to the people handing out the Gastown flyers:

• no lineups
• lots of beer from around the world
• room to walk on the sidewalk
• unique shopping: Canadiana, vintage, local designs, brand names
• lots of restaurants that represent countries around the world
• parking

These guys were brilliant, sliding up beside the main event and making a name for themselves.  Yet they didn't overstep boundaries and outright copy the Olympic houses.  Brilliant!

Perspective

Moguls skier Jennifer Heil won Canada's first medal last weekend.  It was silver, not the gold that a lot of Canadians hoped for.  But she still happily accepted her bouquet on the podium.  Why? 

Because she WON silver, she didn't LOSE gold.  People need to remember she fell short of winning gold by TENTHS of a second.

Lesson: having a fresh perspective on things can make you instantly quotable in the media.

Olympic Effect

Have traffic re-routes affected how you are doing business February - March 2010? 

During the Vancouver Olympics, I am using transit and walking.  With the right weather gear, it is really pleasant to do so in downtown.  There's art and music playing everywhere.  It's also fun helping people not used to the transit system figure out what train they're supposed to take.

How is business going for you during the next few weeks?