I was very unhappy at being back in Montreal after leaving Belize.
We had bought ourselves a nice two story rooftop condo right on Lake St. Louis but in January of 2006, I remember the weather falling below 0 degrees Celcius for six weeks straight and I knew I could not live in Montreal any longer or ever again. I had to find a way out so, once again, I started the search and once again, I chose Victoria for a few reasons; We had friends there. Yim’s best friend, Karen lived there, Dorothy and mark lived there and I thought I could find work there.
The was a job opening for a Director of Marketing at a company called Aviawest, who claimed to manage several resort properties; Ucluelet, Parksville, Victoria and Vancouver, which I thought would be a great fit so I applied and once again, was flown out, interviewed and offered a job complete with moving expenses and this time, Yim knew that we were going to move. I had been very vocal about it.
There were a few obstacles. The company wanted me to start right away so we had to sell the condo. Two weeks later, it was sold but occupancy was six weeks so Yim stayed and packed the house while I flew out to Victoria to look for a house and start work.
Our House in Fernwood
I rented a temporary furnished apartment on Richardson Street and hired a real estate agent to find us a house.
We had been to Victoria a year earlier when Investors Group had flown me out for an interview and at the time, we had looked at a home in Fernwood that we both liked a lot but of course, we did not come to terms with IG regarding a contract so we never thought much about it but the day Yim flew into Victoria, that same house went back on the market and we literally drove from the airport after she landed to the house with the agent and put an offer on it.
Problem solved. We had a house.
Aviawest did not turn out well. The company had represented themselves as a Resort Development Company but in fact, they were a timeshare company and in case you don’t know the difference, it’s huge. The timeshare industry is full of fraudulent claims and false advertising — so much so that the Department of Business and Industry Consumer Affairs has issued a letter warning people of some of the tactics that timeshare sales reps use, including: Making verbal promises that don’t make it into the contract and high-pressure sales methods.
The company denied they had aggressive sales tactics to me so at one point, I asked our closest friends, Karen and Nick, to sign up and attend an orientation appointment with the sales group. They came back telling me it was a very aggressive sales pitch and when they said they would thin about it, they were literally called names for not agreeing to the terms being proposed. When I discussed this with the President, who had hired me, he denied this to my face.
Regardless of what a timeshare company tells you, timeshares lose value and are often sold for pennies on the dollar. That’s because owners get tired of paying all the fees associated with the property only to use it a few days per year. Once you get into a timeshare, it isn’t easy to get out.
I don’t know what the company expected to happen after lying to me but it did. Nine months in, the company and I parted ways with them being forced to pay me a three month severance package and Yim and I had been relocated to Victoria, as we wanted.
I was now free and ready to launch The Steve Roper Group
In 2007, I officially launched The Steve Roper Group. In the opinion of almost everyone who knew me, it was long overdue.
As with any business, you have to start with your first client and oddly enough, the first client I worked with in Victoria was based in Toronto – Condosky.
While there were some big accounts I worked for during our years in Victoria, such as Craigdarroch Castle, Angel Accessibility Solutions, The Ogden Point Enhancement Society, and The Swan Lake Nature Conservancy, as well as King Brothers, with whom I still work, there were many more businesses which trusted me to launch their online identity, some of which I have posted below. I no longer have files for all of the work I did during those years.
Each of these companies below helped me build my business during our years in Victoria. Some are still in business while others have since closed.
View Master Optics
Alex Rhodes approached me to help him build an identity for his Optics Company. He intended to market high end telescopes, which were extraordinary.
The business did well until we moved to Collingwood in 2013 and then became a challenge for Alex. Whether that was because we were no longer available to be there on a day to day basis or not, in 2017, he closed the business.
Econics
Econics are water sustainability specialists. They work with local governments, state and provincial governments, and utilities and specialize in demand management, watershed protection, utility management and governance, public policy and community engagement.
For close to four years, I created the first two iterations of their online identity as well as their Green Plumber initiative before relocating to Collingwood.
Their Founder, Kirk Stinchcombe has worked in natural resource management for over two decades, both from within government and in advisory roles. He is considered one of Canada’s foremost experts in water demand management and has supported numerous drinking water and watershed protection programs across the country. His mission is to improve the water sustainability of communities.
Choquette Law
For four years, I worked with Paul Choquette in developing his first website. Mr. Choquette was born and raised in Montreal, Canada and we had a lot in common, including a love for St. Viateur bagels. Paul attended college and law school in the United States pursuant to a student visa and as a young immigration attorney, married an American citizen, processing his own applications for conditional and permanent residence. Subsequently, he became a naturalized United States citizen.
25 years later, Choquette Immigration Law Group provides clients with a clear understanding of the immigration steps that lie ahead and the professionalism to guide them through the process. Paul is committed to serving clients needs, through honesty, determination, and a results-focused approach.
Forbes Pharmacies
For several years, I worked with Forbes Pharmacy to create their advertising and online identity. The companies included Forbes Pharmacies, Ageless Living, True Space Media, Ageless Me and Casino Royale Rentals. I created the identities for Ageless Living, True Space Media and Casino Royale Rentals.
Partymart
I created the identity for Partymart in 2005 while still in Montreal and they actually moved along with me to Victoria. The two young owners were digitally aggressive and at one point, had over 75 different website online, all linking back to their website. This strategy was to assure they ranked well for different products.
Over a period of six years, I worked with Partymart, creating monthly newsletters and managing their online presence.
Waterform
For three years, I created Waterform’s first few iterations of their online identity.
Waterform Design has been providing landscape design, planning, construction, and project management services for properties on Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, the Sunshine Coast, Central B.C., and the United States for 30 years. Waterform draws on their extensive experience and knowledge to bring durable and unique qualities to the environments that they create. Their creative solutions to erosion and riparian restoration encourages natural ecosystems that are low-maintenance, resilient, and beautiful.
Traditional Toys
Traditional Toys ran a small business specializing in wooden toys and we worked with them to develop an online identity which captured the whimsical nature of the products they sold.
Her company’s first toy was a set of wooden blocks and marbles, named Prism Playset. Next came ABC Nursery Alphabet blocks, decorated with storybook images from the 1900s, and Kolor Dot Dominoes. All the games carry their histories on their boxes, which are reproductions of the originals.
The nostalgic packaging really appealed to adults, and all packaging featured the history of the toy on the bottom of the box,. These were well made heirloom toys.
Site for Sore Eyes
We first met Gary and Rita Herman in a mens clothing store in Windsor while I was working for BBDO/Chrysler.
Years later, we got a phone call out of the blue that they had moved to White Rock and wanted a new website, so the four of us reconnected and for the next 2 – 3 years, I created an online identity and advertising for the company, including monthly Facebook Ads.
Cruise Victoria
The first Victoria client I had was Cruise Victoria.
CVS Tours is a motor coach company operating in Victoria, BC Canada. They pride ourselves on operating the most modern fleet of motor coaches and Double Decker buses on Vancouver Island. CVS has a team of very talented individuals who are committed to ensuring guests have the finest experience possible while in their care. As of October 2016, CVS was operating the world’s first all-electric double-decker bus manufactured by GreenPower.
CondoSky
In 2007, as odd as it seemed to me, my first client was CondoSky in Toronto. They had no online presence at that point, so the slate was clean. I can’t even recall how it was that we began working together and within a year, the travel and time distances made the relationship difficult to continue but we did create a good framework for them, which is still reflected in the familiar grey and orange brand identity today.
CondoSky have been in the real-estate business for over 20 years, and specialize in buying and selling Condos. During that period, they have built lasting relationships with some of Canada’s most prolific developers. They are VIP brokers with many of Toronto’s top builders, and offer clients early access to projects before the general public. Getting in early means a better chance of nabbing that highly sought after unit at a discount.
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