Hello Local Guides,
I am excited to share the recap of my first meet-up in Canada! This meet-up is part of my “Making 10 Years Impactful” series, where I focus on supporting small businesses in my community.
I chose this location because it’s one of the most diverse and vibrant communities in Vancouver. It has many small businesses and restaurants, along with open spaces where people can relax and enjoy the outdoors.
I was expecting two new Local Guides to join the meet-up, but due to some unavoidable reasons, they couldn’t make it. So, I conducted this meet-up with @zac555.
We took storefront pictures of small businesses, as many had outdated or very few images on Google Maps. We also made edits where needed and answered yes/no questions for the businesses as part of the meet-up.
Most of these businesses are very welcoming and inclusive. Many had stickers saying “Everyone is welcome,” rainbow flags, or signs that said “Safe Space.” We also noticed that most stores were wheelchair-friendly, we saw several people enter easily using wheelchairs.
The business owners here come from diverse backgrounds. There are many international restaurants including Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, Nepalese, Greek, Japanese, and more. We had short chats with a few owners, and they shared that Google Maps reviews help them attract more customers though some people are still hesitant to leave reviews.
One challenge we faced was taking full storefront photos, especially for wide shops. Even after zooming out, it was hard to capture the whole front from top to bottom. We also tried taking photos from across the street, but they didn’t come out well. Still, we did our best to take helpful pictures that show the appearance of each store.
My favourite business during this meet-up was a small European dessert and bakery shop, run by a lovely couple. The store had a warm and cozy vibe, and I’m excited to share more about it in my upcoming post stay tuned!
