I’ve always been interested in how things work, how they could work better, and what it takes to make an idea real.
That curiosity has taken me well beyond the boundaries of any one job. Alongside a full-time career that grew from prepress and graphic design into creative leadership and commercial responsibilities, I’ve built an independent creative business, cofounded a motorcycle rental company, and developed a motorcycle tourism initiative that grew into a community-supported program across Manitoba.
These weren’t successive careers. They were parallel pursuits, each with its own challenges, opportunities and, of course, lessons.
I’ve spent more than two decades making things, building things, figuring things out and occasionally learning the hard way what it takes to keep them going. This is the story behind that work.
The long and winding road
My professional career began in prepress. In 2004, I moved into catalogue production and graphic design. In 2008, I joined a magazine publisher as a Senior Graphic Designer, beginning a long and rewarding career at that company.
I became Art Director in 2012 and Director, Sales and Creative in 2018. Over time, my responsibilities expanded beyond creative production into leadership, sales and the commercial realities behind the work. But my day job was only part of the picture.
While that career was progressing, I was building and running businesses of my own. Each venture demanded something different, from finding clients and managing finances to serving customers, developing partnerships and organizing events.
The timelines overlapped and so did the lessons (a key word that keep showing up).
Making a living. Making things.
In 2001, I started a freelance graphic design and web development business. I wanted extra income, but I also wanted a creative outlet beyond the technical demands of prepress.
What began as freelance work became a registered business serving clients around the world. I handled the creative and technical work, but also the sales, marketing, customer service, administration and finances. I added web hosting as another service, built relationships with long-term clients and kept the business profitable every year it operated.
I closed it to commercial work in 2024, after more than two decades.
It started as a side venture. It became a business I ran alongside my career for nearly a quarter century.
[Explore the freelance design and web development business]
Easy rider. Hard lessons.
In 2012, I cofounded a motorcycle rental business in Manitoba. We were entering a niche market with a short riding season, high insurance costs and limited support for motorcycle tourism.
The business brought together our different strengths. My cofounder was excellent at retail sales and customer service; I brought a more structured approach to organization, planning and business operations.
I learned about vendor relationships, product management, customer-facing operations, finances and events. I also learned that a promising idea and complementary strengths aren’t enough on their own. Communication, shared visibility and effective management matter just as much.
I left the business in 2017. It closed in 2019. Obviously it wasn’t the outcome we’d hoped for, but it was an education no textbook could have replicated. Some lessons are learned by doing. Others arrive when things don’t go according to plan.
[Explore the motorcycle rental business]
Take the long way home
As I was leaving the rental business in 2017, I started a motorcycle tourism initiative to showcase Manitoba’s riding destinations: scenic roads, historic sites, roadside attractions and small towns worth exploring.
The idea was simple. Give people a reason to get out and ride, discover more of their own province, and connect with places they might otherwise pass by.
The initiative grew slowly at first, then took off in 2020 as local travel became especially relevant for obvious reasons. Its strongest years were 2021 and 2022, with community participation, promotional events, local media coverage and partnerships with all four regional tourism boards.
It also became a way to highlight the small businesses that make communities distinctive. I wrote short articles about towns and places to visit, often focusing on local restaurants and other independent businesses. I’ve always enjoyed talking with small business owners, learning what they do and hearing the stories behind what they’ve built. The tourism initiative gave that interest a practical outlet.
Despite community support and some tourism funding, the time and costs involved exceeded the resources available. I closed the initiative in 2023.
It was a grassroots project that showed how much a person can build through persistence, relationships and a willingness to do the work. It also taught me the lesson that creating something people value and finding a sustainable way to fund it are two different challenges.
[Explore the motorcycle tourism initiative]
What it’s all about
Looking across these experiences, I see a common thread.
I like understanding the whole picture. Not just the design, but the business behind it, the practical steps needed to make it work. The opportunities, the people, costs, relationships and decisions that determine whether it can last.
I’ve worked across creative production, leadership, sales, independent business ownership and community initiatives. I’ve dealt with clients, suppliers, business partners, customers and tourism organizations. I’ve built things that lasted, tried things that didn’t, and learned lessons from both.
I’m particularly interested in, and inspired by, small business. I enjoy talking with owners, understanding how they got started, learning how their businesses operate and discovering what makes them tick. That curiosity extends well beyond the ventures I’ve run myself.
I’m proud of having built things of my own while continuing to develop my professional career. Not because every venture was a success, but because I was willing to try, take responsibility and see things through.
I didn’t follow a prescribed path. I learned by doing the work, making decisions, solving problems and dealing with the results.
Sometimes the work is creative. Sometimes it’s commercial. Sometimes it’s a little of everything. Usually, it’s about figuring out what needs to be done—and then rolling up my sleeves and getting on with it.