// A story about Saskatoon’s Medical Mile, aka an idea the city of Saskatoon botched //
Boeing is one of the world’s largest airplane makers.
Boeing is also one of those brands which most folks feel they know more about than they actually do.
For example, have you ever wondered why one of the world’s largest airplane makers is headquartered in the Seattle area?
It can’t be the weather, right?
The story of the Boeing brand started with its founder, William E. Boeing. He was in the timber industry, and he ended up getting involved with airplanes purely as a hobby.
After seeing his first plane in 1909 at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exhibition, Mr. Boeing was so starstruck with planes that, shortly after, he started taking flying lessons.
But the more Mr. Boeing learned about planes, the more he felt that he could build a better plane than the ones that were available at the time. His experience with the timber industry came in handy because the original planes had many wooden parts.
So, in 1916, Mr. Boeing started his own aircraft manufacturing company. Just like most entrepreneurs, he had his fair share of ups and downs with it, but Boeing eventually became a household name for all things airplanes.
The takeaway: All things start out small. Even the big ones.
Never ever be discouraged to start small.
That strategy worked out for William E. Boeing, didn’t it?
“OK, when do we get to that idea which the city of Saskatoon botched?”
Right now.
Have you ever had one of those moments when you feel that you’re being visited by the future?
It’s one of those moments when you think to yourself, “So, this is what it feels like to be truly alive.”
That’s exactly how many on our crew felt upon first hearing the idea, some 20+ years ago, about the transformation of a sleepy street just west of downtown Saskatoon (20th street, from Ave A to approx. Ave R West) into something called Saskatoon’s Medical Mile.
In short, the idea was to attract medical pros from around the world to establish a practice in the area.
“Why would they want to do that?”
The short answer: Because the Canadian mid-west is one the best-kept secrets in the world.
Folks here are well-educated and uber friendly, the air quality is unmatched (and yes, the air is often cold, too), the amount of culture is astounding, the landscape is pristine and diverse (we even have good skiing, both downhill and cross country, believe it or not), etc.
To continue, the street ‘pre-selected’ for Saskatoon’s Medical Mile was just steps away from one of the most scenic urban river valleys both in Canada and the world. (Don’t take our word for it, just Google it.) What’s more, the street was also located in a historic neighbourhood that features some of the city’s most authentic buildings.
“That DOES sound pretty darn good.”
Right?!
In your mind’s eye, you can see how Saskatoon’s Medical Mile could have been to Saskatoon what the Strip in Las Vegas is to Las Vegas, just a million times more wholesome.
You can see how the idea could have gone on from inception to survival, from survival to stability, from stability to success, and from success to maybe even significance, no?
“Since this story is about an idea which the city of Saskatoon botched, I now know that Saskatoon’s Medical Mile never happened. But why not?”
Our 2¢: Because the idea was missing the one ingredient which every successful idea must be coupled with.
The ingredient? An entrepreneur like William E. Boeing.
You see, it is a poorly kept secret that almost everything that makes our lives more enjoyable or more productive was created by an entrepreneur. Your smartphone, your running shoes, your favourite pizza, your you-name-it — who created them? The banks? The government? It was the entrepreneurs.
You know what else is a poorly kept secret? Even if in their gut they might know that all things start out small, even big things like Boeing, most people never take that first step.
But entrepreneurs do. To move our society, and our economy, to where we need it to be in the future, we need more folks to take up entrepreneurship, no?