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Freelance Camp Vancouver 2011
A peak at the future life of a Douglas College student

By Jerrie-Lynn Morrison

he semester has barely started but

you may have already wondered,

“What will I do when I graduate?”
If you’re thinking of running your own
business after graduating, an event such
as Freelance Camp Vancouver is worth
attending. The second annual Freelance
Camp “Unconference” was held on
Saturday, September 10, hosted by The
Network Hub at the River Market in
New Westminster. The event was aimed
at independent workers, such as writers,
graphic designers, web developers and
other solo entrepreneurs, to help them
“connect, share knowledge, and become
better freelancers.” The “unconference”
style refers to the way the event is arranged:
there is no pre-set agenda before the Camp,
just a suggested list of topics relevant to
freelancers. The agenda is decided on the
morning of the day of the event. Attendees
who are interested in leading a session
have 30 seconds to pitch their idea to the
audience. If there are more “pitchers” than
spots available on the agenda, the audience
votes for the sessions that will be presented.

Freelance Camp was an affordable way

for me to get a jump start on answering the
question, “what will I do when I graduate?”

The one-day event cost $10, and 100% of
all proceeds were donated to charity. I have
incorporated a few of the lessons I learned
from Freelance Camp into the following tips
for budding freelancers and entrepreneurs at
Douglas College.

Network and gather information while
you’re still a student

Don’t wait until you graduate if you already
have a general idea of what you want to do.
Attending an event like Freelance Camp
gives you a chance to observe, learn from,
and talk to people already working in the
field you might be interested in. I spent the
day immersed in professional development
sessions attended by working freelancers,
learned about some of the typical issues
freelancers face, and made an effort to
practice my networking skills. It was a
great way to get a feel for what my future
working life might look like.

During a session called Idea Factory,
which was facilitated by life coach Glenda
Gill, one of the freelancers in the audience
recommended that I, (a) find a mentor who
is working in my area of interest, (b) send
them cupcakes, and (c) ask them about their
work. After the conference, I decided to
contact fellow attendee Jason Sew, chief
wordsmith at Stickywords.com, so that I

could find out more about being a freelance
copywriter. But I offered him a cup of
coffee rather than cupcakes. Even if you
don’t follow the rest of the tips below, at the
very least start building your network while
you’re a student. It’s better to find out
you’re on the right track now, than to find
out after you graduate that you’ve been on
the wrong track.

Start thinking about business structure
Before you start your freelance business,
you’ ll need to decide whether you want to
be a sole proprietor or whether you want

to incorporate. A lawyer and an accountant
will be able to help you once you’re actually
ready, but before you approach them, you
might want to find out what exactly these
terms mean. Business coach, and camp
attendee, Felicia Lee pointed me towards
The Small Business BC website, which is a
great resource.

Learn balance

Or, as keynote speaker Mike Vardy said,
“don’t hack your life to death.” It’s a
challenge to try and keep up with school
work while trying to plan for your life after
graduation. But if you do a little at a time—
for example, send an email to a new contact
in the next week, make a quick introductory

   

phone call to a potential mentor in the
next semester, plan to attend an event like
Freelance Camp in the next year— you
won’t feel as overwhelmed as you would if
you tried to do it all at once.

If you’re interested in finding out more
about Freelance Camp and the sessions that
were held, check out www.thenetworkhub.
ca/freelancecamp. If you want to find out
when the next Freelance Camp will be,
or about other similar events, follow @
thenetworkhub on Twitter. The Network
Hub is a “workspace where entrepreneurs
can connect, create and collaborate.”

 

Earthquakes and student preparation
What to do if you’re at Douglas during a quake

By Maria Asselin-Roy, Staff Reporter

ome of you may have felt the ground
trembling on Friday, September 9.

Although Vancouverites felt not
much more than a faint vibration, the
Greater Victoria area felt an earthquake
between 3.0 and 4.0 on the Richter scale.
Since the core of the earthquake was about
17 kilometres east of the capital, and it
was relatively small, there was no major

damage. There were however aftershocks
of about 6.3 on the Richter scale, which
can be quite damaging. This is yet another
reminder of the “big quake” anticipated to
one day hit Vancouver. Every few months
it seems like the cover of The Vancouver
Sun and The Globe and Mail are plastered
with headlines claiming statements like
“BC put on alert for huge quake.” The
“big quake” is expected to come at any
time from tomorrow to 300 years from

 

 

now. Since we live in a subduction zone,
the West Coast is extremely vulnerable to

Many people also think it’s best to stand
in a doorway, this is a misconception

“Drop, cover, and hold. You should take cover under a sturdy piece of
furniture. If you are in the concourse and there are no sturdy pieces of
furniture available, it is advised that you place yourself in a corner or against
a wall, facing out while bringing your knees up, covering the sides of your
head with your arms, and clasping your hands behind your neck.”

an earthquake occurring at any moment.
The “big quake” is expected to reach 9.0
on the Richter scale, followed by tsunamis
on the western part of Vancouver Island.
What can we do to prepare for our safety
in case an earthquake strikes? For starters,
we can begin to understand the emergency
procedures at Douglas.

If an earthquake occurs while you’re
at Douglas College, first of all — you do
what you have always been taught to do in
elementary school. Drop, cover, and hold.
You should take cover under a sturdy piece
of furniture. If you are in the concourse
and there are no sturdy pieces of furniture
available, it is advised that you place
yourself in a corner or against a wall, facing
out while bringing your knees up, covering
the sides of your head with your arms, and
clasping your hands behind your neck.

Try to stay away from windows (standing
for example in the front door frame in the
concourse would not be the best idea).

as you will be hit with debris and most
likely injured. If you happen to be in the
elevator, stay there. Douglas College has
hired “floor wardens” to help evacuate all
students. You will know who they are by
their red and yellow vests. They will all
be in touch with Security or the incident
commander for instructions and best exits.
After the earthquake, you must wait for the
floor warden’s instructions. The incident
commander will then advise wardens
of their floor status. Several areas of the
college have emergency response cabinets
which contain emergency supplies. If we
are unable to leave the building, we will be
supplied with food, water, flashlights, etc.
In case an earthquake’strikes while
you are not at Douglas, it is advised by the
Government of BC that you understand
the measures that need to be taken in the
event of an earthquake. You can find that

information at www.pep.gov.be.ca