i live in winnipeg. most of the brands i work with are not in winnipeg. that used to be a problem. it stopped being one a few years ago.
the meeting is the only thing that ever needed a city.
and the meeting is on a screen now. has been since 2020. not just for me — for the people hiring me. nobody at logitech is asking where i'm based. they're asking whether i can ship.
the cost of being here is the budget at being there.
my fixed costs in winnipeg are roughly a third of what they'd be in toronto and a fifth of what they'd be in la. that money funds the work — the cameras, the lights, the rent on the space, the time i can spend on a personal project that turns into a brand pitch six months later.
it also means i can charge a fair rate without padding it for a city tax. brands notice that.
nobody at logitech is asking where i'm based. they're asking whether i can ship.
winnipeg has a small-business problem that's also an opportunity.
local trades, local construction, local retail — most of them are still on facebook from 2014. they don't need an agency. they need one person who'll set up a phone, a website, and a content cadence and not disappear. that's a market.
i do the brand work for income and reach. i'm building the local-business arm because the gap is real and the people running those companies actually want help.
the actual point.
where you are matters less than what you ship. winnipeg is fine. it's fine for the brand work. it's good for the local work. it's better than fine for keeping your head down and getting better.