Gentlewomen and Gentlemen, (small nod to courtesy there and some optimism)

Here we are for the first real installment of Reasons why, Kayin Fields is a good fit for Hootsuite.  The following is a list of some of the things I have started in the last 365 days.

– Social Media Specialist  @ Incogmedia

– Hot Chocolate Empresario  @ Dunbar Haunted House

– Nightclub Promoter @ 91 powell st.

– Associate Movie Producer @ Clearbrook Entertainment

My favorite version of the poster I created for this film.

– Co-Founder @ Modern Life Collective

– Various Media Proposals

– Began the process of opening my own bar

My girlfriend cautioned me again the title of reason #10 – I love the hustle, and while I understand that their may be some negative connotations that come with the word hustle, it really is how I spent most of this year. I think this opportunism comes from my family, lots of sales people in my family. It also came from the economic downturn in the bar industry. Bar work having been my primary source of income for the past 7 years, my empty wallet lead me to seek out opportunities where they lay. An example, myself and some friends took ourselves down to the Dunbar Haunted House, We waited like everyone did for easily an hour. The wait was cold, and could have  been so much better with a cup of hot something. So two days later my business partner and I were ready with huge tanks of hot chocolate, cups , halloween music, candles and the sure knowledge that we had both the only game in town and a captive market for our product.  For four nights near the tail end of the run of the haunted house itself, if you went there and were cold it was our hot chocolate that made the wait better. We refined it each day and sales improved and if we had had the whole run, wow. The organizers offered us the slot next year.

The whole 365 days I’ve been flirting with selling and producing social media packages to restaurants and bars. Ive written proposals, studied competitors strategies, written press releases. To be honest as this whole thing is  a PR campaign of sorts for you from me, it’s been hard not writing Dateline: Vancouver all over the place. Working on my own and for a time with Incogmedia I’ve been a part of the almost green-lighting of a lot of projects. I think I’m close to seeing the forest and the trees. Working on another proposal right now. What keeps bringing me back is the immediacy of social media and the intimacy of community building. I love it. I took my son the blodel conservatory earlier this year and spent some time talking with the workers their, when they told me about the government closing it down. I tweeted it before CBC, now if i had known at the time how to find an audience for that tweet it could have been something. Its the speed of the connections that amaze me and being able to find or create a community of people who love hotdogs but hate ketchup is at the least unique. being able to tell stories and share your passions with the world.

Also this year after a conversation with a co-worker at the bar I started to become more involved in Clearbrook Entertainment. Writing, producing, sales calls, finding investors. I flew down to LA in September and to pitch a tv show and meet with actors and executives. I get that this probably reads like a ‘what i did with my summer vacation’ school report, and while there could be some positive nostalgia associated with summer and days past, my main hope here is to communicate to you that wether I am handing out flyers to promote a nightclub night I’m hosting and working, co-ordinating with photographers and location scouts for a trailer shoot, writing social media proposals or literally selling hot chocolate out of the trunk of my car, I recognize opportunity and go after it. There are many smart, creative, talented people in this city and many of them see what I see, I do not stop at the vision, I put plans into action. I love the thrill of the chase, rushing against the clock, wheeling and dealing, staying up late to try. I love the hustle.

Thank you

Tomorrow Reason #9 – How many people in your office currently can catch a small dog?