These guides are the manual behind our launch work. They cover the three places where openings in Burquitlam–Lougheed most often lose time or money: doing tasks in the wrong order, listing a unit that the map barely understands, and spending without knowing what a customer is worth. Each guide stands alone, includes checklists and worked numbers, and assumes you might do the work yourself.
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Launch budget arithmetic: what to spend, and when to stop
Set a launch budget from three numbers you already know: the gross profit on a typical sale, your closing rate and how often customers come back. Those give you the value of one enquiry, which caps what you should pay for marketing.
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The 120-day launch countdown
Work backwards from opening day in five phases: decisions at day −120, foundations at −90, go-live at −60, warm-up at −30 and the first season to day +90. This guide lists what belongs in each phase and why the order matters.
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When the map doesn't know your building yet
New buildings often have several addresses, unclear entrances and pins that land in the wrong spot. The fix is to confirm your exact commercial address, enter the unit on the second address line, place the pin at the customer door by hand and verify only once the location is real.
The 120-day launch countdown
The 120-day launch countdown is the place to start if you haven't opened yet. It splits the months around opening into five phases: decisions, foundations, go-live, warm-up and first season. Each phase lists its tasks and explains why they sit where they do.
You'll learn why the website should go live weeks before the doors open, why the phone number and business name must be settled early, when to attempt profile verification, and what to measure from day zero. It ends with the five mistakes that cause the most rework.
Read it if: you have a target date and a long list of things to do, and you want them in order.
When the map doesn't know your building yet
When the map doesn't know your building yet deals with a problem that is common near the stations. New towers often have more than one address, entrances that face side streets and map data that hasn't caught up with construction. The result is customers walking to the wrong door.
The guide walks through confirming your exact commercial address, entering it the way Google's guidelines require, placing the map pin by hand, writing directions a phone user can follow and timing verification. It finishes with a checklist you can tick off in an afternoon.
Read it if: your business is in a new or recently completed building, or you've noticed your pin in the wrong place.
Launch budget arithmetic
Launch budget arithmetic replaces guesswork with three numbers you already know: gross profit per sale, closing rate and repeat business. From those it calculates the value of one enquiry, a working cost ceiling, break-even on a monthly plan and a six-month spending shape.
Worked examples cover an electrician, a hair studio and a tutoring centre, so you can see how different margins change the answer. It also lists the budgeting mistakes that make marketing look better or worse than it really is.
Read it if: you are deciding whether to run ads, take a monthly plan or do the work yourself for now.
How the guides fit together
The three guides follow the order of a real launch. The countdown sets the sequence. The address guide handles the profile step inside that sequence, which is the step most likely to stall in a new building. The budget guide decides how much paid activity belongs in the warm-up and first-season phases.
If you follow all three, you'll have a dated plan, a correct listing and a spending limit before opening day. That's most of what a launch needs.
What the guides don't cover
The guides are about marketing. They don't cover permits, zoning, building inspections, tax or legal structure, and nothing in them is advice on those subjects. Where a guide touches licensing, it links to the official City of Coquitlam or City of Burnaby pages so you can read the rules at the source.
They also don't replace judgement about your specific market. A café and a plumbing firm both need a profile, but they need different photos, different categories and very different budgets.
When to bring us in
If you'd rather have the guides carried out for you, each one maps to a service: the countdown to the pre-opening launch plan, the address guide to new-location profile work, and the budget guide to opening-season ads. Plans and prices are on the pricing page. To ask a question about any guide, contact us by call, text or email.
We publish these guides as a marketing and consulting service. We are not a contractor, and the guides contain no installation, repair or building advice.
Frequently asked questions
Are the guides really free to use?
Yes. They're written so an owner can follow them without us. If you later want help, they also explain how we approach the same work.
Which guide should I read first?
Start with the countdown if you haven't opened yet. If you already have a unit in a new building, read the address guide next. Read the budget guide before you spend on ads or a monthly plan.
Do the guides apply outside Burquitlam?
Mostly, yes. The examples are local, and the address guide reflects conditions near the stations, but the method works for an opening anywhere in Canada.
How often are the guides updated?
We review them when official sources or Google's guidelines change. Each guide shows the date it was last updated, and the sources it relies on.