It's A 10/5 Nerdaversary!

This is my story and the origin of BS Communication Strategies Inc.

This blog is inspired by the 10 year anniversary of acheiving my Master of Arts in Professional Communication (as a student in my 40's) and starting and running BS Communication Strategies Inc. for 5 years.

Part 1/5 (the 70's-early 90's): Back to the very beginning.

I have to start at the start and say that my interest in communication was probably already innately there as a child. Many would describe me as a talker or, as my parents would always say, I was rarely "quiet"... I had high energy and was often described as gregarious or outgoing (LOL). I think most times my parents were okay with this, but sometimes it exasperated them!

My parents are my first inspiration. I saw what great relationships and what great communication looked like. My parents were wonderful partners and friends to each other. The road wasn't always easy, but they always communicated with each other with thoughtfulness and with listening. When I look back as an adult and as a "communication nerd," I see the conversations they had with each other, with myself and 2 brothers, our friends and our extended family and friends. They developed great relationships; it’s how they brought joy into the everyday things. They listened, they empathized and they accepted with no judgement.

I am a person raised in a family based on great conversations, love and joy. I think that really started me off on the right path. Forward to my early jobs as a teen; cleaning, retail, serving and daycare. I always enjoyed being around people. I guess from the very beginning, that was part of my makeup.

Of course I also enjoyed solitude (especially reading for hours and hours), but I saw the value and I still see the value, in people. Looking back from the phase I’m at right now, that was the seed planted in my mind early on regarding communication. It was also at that time I developed an interest in veterinary medicine and caring for animals, which led me to my diploma in Animal Health Technology. That’s where I started to understand something further than the human-to-human relationship: the human-animal bond and the importance and relevance of that connection.

Part 2/5 (1993 -99): Off to college & the start of my career.

It's 1991, I was off to school headed to Fairview, Alberta. I entered the profession of veterinary medicine in the Animal Health Technology, diploma program. This meant being far away from family and home, being in an environment I knew nothing about. As many young people do, I experienced things as a learner, a student and a young adult away from home for the first time. I learned how to learn and how to have FUN. I met amazing friends and was deeply inspired by many instructors; their skills and their passion for teaching. My very first introduction to the importance of having good relationships with clients, was in the "Client Communication" class with Fiona Cameron. 33 years ago, she taught me how to think about the other person and to consider the owner's role in the care of their animal. She helped students recognize that developing a solid relationship with animal owners ultimately benefited their pets. It was there, in those very early days, I began to invest in the people part of things.

I've always been a volunteer. In college, I served on student committees and was part of a group taking cats and dogs to visit seniors. I could see there the important relationship animals have with people and I saw the inspiration of people coming together for a greater good.

I loved learning the technical and medical sides of the veterinary profession and I was good at them; that foundation was needed for my competence and confidence and my absolute JOY in the work. 

Graduated in 1993 (class valedictorian - my first formal presentation!). I worked in a mixed animal veterinary practice for over seven years. It was a progressive practice; excellent medicine, client centered and team driven. I began primarily in large animal medicine (especially horses!). Within the first 2 years, I began a shift to the people side of things. Very quickly, I was advanced into a supervisory role, spending time dealing with clients at the front, managing appointments, scheduling volunteers and mentoring new staff. I can’t think of a better start to a profession that I still love. SO many great people; clients, veterinarians, RVTs, students and support staff. I was rubbing elbows with real leaders in veterinary medicine. 

It's here (1994) that began my 15(ish) year journey volunteering with veterinary organizations which began with the Alberta RVT association. It was important to me to learn the goings-on in the background of the profession and fully understand the implications of a self regulated profession.

I’m grateful for those early experiences; in practice and volunteering for provincial, national and international organizations. All supporting my growth and my mistakes.

In this time period, I met my husband, Colin and had my son, Nick and in 1999 we planned a big move...

Part 3/5 (1999-2020): The OC era.

It's 1999; late spring, I’d been working in mixed animal practice and just returned to work from maternity leave. My mom phones me (back in the day when we dialed the phone) to read me an advertisement in a city newspaper, the Edmonton Sun. A job ad for an instructional assistant at Olds College in the Animal Health Technology program.

This piqued my interest. I was seven years into my career, loving the profession and when I learned about this job, I reflected on the positive impact I felt when I was in college. I wondered if I could be part of something like that or if I'd be good at it? I applied and we went for the interview; Colin, Nick and me. I was interviewed by 3 amazing people; coordinator, Dr. Susan H., instructional assistant Deb K. and the Dean of the School, Rod R. I was quite scared; I didn't have teaching experience, but I loved the profession and had rock solid technical skills that I felt confident I could share.

By August, I was offered and accepted the position. It was a busy time; resigning from practice, moving and starting a VERY new role. We lived with my in-laws in Calgary for six months and I drove to Olds every day. I remember the first day; I spilled coffee on my white shirt and had to buy a shirt from the bookstore. #embarrassing

That was the beginning of 19 beautiful years at Olds College. I began as an instructional assistant, worked hard to become an instructor then became the program coordinator. I took courses on teaching, leadership, communication and curriculum design. I was sponging up as much learning as our students were. We had our daughter, Madison, in 2005 and we were a busy family!

In my time at OC, we developed new curriculum, moved to online models and quadrupled our students and staff. I was so proud of that work, the team and all those amazing students. During my time as coordinator, there was a very engaged president: Dr. Tom.  He met with coordinators once per year for a 'one on one'. He planted a seed in my mind; "Becky, I think you could package all your years of continuing education & professional development and put that toward pursuing a degree." It seemed way beyond me, but I chatted with colleagues learned about Royal Roads University and enrolled in a Master of Arts program in 2014. It was a vigorous time of life; online learning, two x 3 week residencies in Victoria, BC, still working full time, parenting 2 kids, volunteering at the college and serving on councils and committees. #overwhelming

But the learning...I loved that. It's at RRU that I meet my dear friend and the "S" of BS Communication Strategies, Sage McIntosh. We were kindred spirits, supporting each other through full-time jobs and families while getting our degrees. I think we spent equal times laughing and crying. We did it though and in 2016 we achieved an MA in Professional Communication. RRU's tagline then was, "Life.Changing". Certainly was for both of us.

In 2018, I said a tearful farewell to Olds College.  A career leap with Mosaic Veterinary Partners for three years as Director of Communication & Culture and getting back into mixed and rural veterinary practice. It was like returning to home base; mixed animal medicine, rural communities, hard working teams. Then the pandemic hit and I saw and felt the need for communication training.

In all this time, my entrepreneurial spirit was growing. It's 2020 and I start BS Communication Strategies; jokingly named after an idea Sage and I had to combine our initials BS (which is often recognized as code for bulls**t). I started the company and worked at it off the side of my plate as a sole proprietor from 2020 to 2021.

Fun Fact: I also started another new business with friend, Elan, The Horsewoman's Club where we learn about whiskey and horses.

Part 4/5 (2021-2026): BS begins & gains momentum.

It's 2021 (the pandemic is tapering off) and I’d been running BS Communication Strategies as a side hustle for a year. I put every single dime I made back into the business; website, brand development and learning all I could about entrepreneurship and running a biz.  I met Sarah at SOAR Creative, Meghan of MU Photography and Chris of StayFocusd and we were building my brand voice (images, video, design). I was curating curriculum for 1, 2 and 5 day programs.  I was starting to think maybe I could do this full time and reached out to my dear friend, Diane, to help me. I asked her, "How do I do all the numbers, spreadsheets and accounting?..." She stepped up and offered to help me (thank GAWD!).  I would be nowhere without Diane, the business manager of BS. Her intellect, experience and business acumen made the dreams and the business a very real thing. She's badass and I adore her! In those early days, Sage (the 'S' of BS) provided guidance on stakeholders and key messages and building a communication plan. I was digging in to running a business; it was both terrifying and exhilarating!

So, it's June 2021, I made the difficult decision to leave my job and go full-time with BSCS. I incorporated the company and my full time gig became (and still is), BS Communication Strategies Inc. In November of that year, I offered my first Signature Program, "Mobilizing RVTs®" Eight RVTs attended and I was wildly inspired and highly motivated to keep going. I was bringing research to reality and seeing communication skill have deep impact. This became a huge time of growth for me and the business. I had to think about my programs, my brand, the target audience and how to manage my time & money. Entrepreneurship, I was learning, is not for the faint of heart.

I have a post-it note from when I first started that literally says: "Coaching people to communicate better." That is still the root of everything I do. I was tapping into 20 years of teaching experience to build curriculum, speak at conferences, coach veterinary students under the direction of Dr. Cindy Adams (another huge influence in my life) and create training programs that affected actual skill development in people. I was refining my own coaching skills with simulated clients and defined skill sets. I continued to learn and challenge myself.

The hashtag, #StayNerdy, is about maintaining curiosity and open-mindedness. I also love the color orange! For me, it represents JOY and you'll see it everywhere in my brand. The logo has a story; I was driving to Vancouver with my kids, Maddy and Nick, dreaming of my business and brainstorming a logo with speech bubbles. My daughter sketched it out and we decided the bubbles needed to overlap. My son said, "In the middle, where they're connected, that's where the 'magic' will happen." and that's still my signature logo, those 2 connected speech bubbles. It's represents great relationships based on a foundation of dialogue skills. It's fun to see how that logo foundation has stayed the same, but has morphed over the years to become what it is today. A small thing, but it has big meaning!

Since then we have grown in size and scope, I've learned a TON about business and in doing so have learned some very hard and painful lessons.

Since 2021, I have produced 2 documentaries, built six Signature Programs, spoken at 20+ conferences, curated over 30 custom team workshops, developed 3 online courses, taught at veterinary and technologist programs, created an annual communication summit and have learned and learned and learned and failed and failed and failed! I'm grateful for my family and my friends, for hanging in there with me through the steep learning curve.

During all of this, I started referring to myself as a Communication NERD.

Part 5/5 (present day 2026): And here we are.

It's June 2026 and I've been celebrating two big milestones: 10 years since graduating with an MA in Professional Communication and 5 years since incorporating BS Communication Strategies and operating it full-time. I couldn't be more proud of the work I've done, the painful lessons I've learned and the people I have had the pleasure of working alongside. It's about people; the ones who influenced me, supported me and even the naysayers who challenged and hurt me. People really do inspire me and I love the learning and growth that comes in the presence of people who matter. There are SO MANY good ones out there.

In 2025 I offered the first Curiosity in Conversation communication summit. My vision is to bring people together, to learn from other Nerds who know how to share ideas in ways that land, to allow time and space for real connection and to enjoy the company of amazing people. I'm hyped for this to be an annual, SOLD OUT, event. I'm an optimist, after all!

At the end of the day, we have to look other humans eyeball-to-eyeball, have great conversations, conflict proactively, build relationships and generate a sense of belonging and acceptance. Skilled communication facilitates all of this and it's a skillset we all need, not just to survive the day, but to enjoy it.

I stew on the "four stages of competence." (unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence) and it's relevance to dialogue. When you gain these skills, you first feel relief, then you get some wins and then you start applying them strategically until you develop a flow. In the final stages, people are "crushing it"; the complex conversations become ways to flex those skills. In my programs, I see people move from the early stages of just needing stress relief, to building the skills to achieving mastery by coaching others.  My fave part of it all? These skills are portable! 

Looking back, I am so grateful. To my family (Colin, Nick, Maddy), my team and extended crew of talent (Diane, Shanna, Sage, Cindy, Sarah, Meghan, Chris), my friends, my supporters and the people who have trusted me with their education: I thank YOU.

I am happy, inspired and excited to keep doing this work. I know it has impact.

To all my fellow communication nerds: I am here for this. I’m on my own path of "communication nerdery" and I’m excited to meet you along the way.

Thanks for following along and helping me celebrate these milestones.

I appreciate you.

Let’s do this!  #StayNerdy

📸 by Meghan Unger at OffSet Studios