Owners of JJ Bean & The Dirty Apron provided one highlight at BAM 2025

A key theme at the recent Business As Mission (BAM) 2025 Conference was vulnerability.

From a couple of Trinity Western professors who had both worked in Africa to an American woman who created a social enterprise in Mombasa, Kenya to a couple of successful local businessmen, the gathering at Westin Wall Centre in Richmond March 8 was replete with encouraging stories of people striving to live out the gospel in the workplace.

Several of the speakers sounded notes of caution and caveat, but all agreed that practicing their faith amidst the vicissitudes of the marketplace has been worthwhile, even exciting.

And this was the largest BAM Vancouver conference thus far, with a decidedly upbeat atmosphere. The 180 participants included a large number of younger entrepreneurs and students.

John Neate & David Robertson

A highlight for many local participants was a joint presentation by two well established local businessmen – John Neate, CEO and founder of JJ Bean and David Robertson, chef / co-owner of The Dirty Apron.

They didn’t hesitate to discuss their triumphs – Neate is now operating 23 JJ Bean cafés and Robertson and his wife Sara have created a cooking school, catering service and delicatessen.

Part of the fun was some good-natured ribbing between two men who have become close friends.

Robertson said at one point: 

Knowing John over the years I realized how easy to was to make money in the coffee biz – I’d have 46 [stores] by now!

Neate responded:

The coffee business is very competitive – and there’s no way Dave could do it.

Robertson added later:

John used to mentor me, now I mentor him.

But both men also offered plenty of sobering advice. Each said the early years, particularly, were tough.

Neate prevailed upon his wife to open an in-house daycare (and more) to help support them. He initially believed all the positive signs of growth in the business were his doing, but gradually realized that it was all God’s doing.

Robertson borrowed money from his parents and worked 14 hour days. He said he still struggles with workaholism, and has tried to be much better at spending time with his family.

The pandemic played a key role for each of them, but in different ways. Early on, Robertson was urged to tithe through the business as well as personally – that is, “what we were being told to do by God.” There was no return for two years, but “when Covid happened, God opened up the floodgates.”

Neate said, “I almost lost it all in 2020.” JJ Bean had to lay off most of its employees – had to close shop but continue to pay rent.

“From a faith point of view it was really amazing,” he added, as he was forced to ask, “who am I apart from JJ Bean? It was a really wonderful time of reflection.” He realized, “I’m so much more than JJ Bean . . . that’s not who I am: I’m so much more than that.”

He said he would have had 30 stores instead of 23 if it had not been for Covid, but added, “our culture is stronger today when we have 23 stores than when we had five.” One key, he said, is that “We’re choosing to honour the customer. . . . They teach us a lot. There’s lots of beautiful people out there who aren’t Christian.”

Each offered some thoughts for younger entrepreneurs and business people.

Robertson said “You can’t teach what you’re not practicing.” He said it’s a challenge working with people close to you, that he loves working with his wife now, but that hasn’t always been easy. He added they have tried to create a culture where people are excited to come to work, or at least empowered: “If you want to make a good culture in your workplace, work on shared projects together.”

Neate said that culture is focused on mission, which can be a challenge because the people who create that culture move on fairly regularly. “To combine a personal mission statement with a business mission statement is my goal.”

He concluded with a couple of pieces of advice:

• If you want to open a coffee shop, for example, go work for a number of coffee shops: “There’s nothing like the wisdom that’s gained by having a few years behind you.”
• “One of the best practices I have tried to follow is . . . to let people go in the best way possible . . . always do better” than is required by the government or rules for dismissal for just cause.
• Seek support. John Neate and David Robertson get together once a month to talk life and cook; they’ve moved from a mentoring relationship to becoming great friends.

Worldwide focus

BAM Vancouver conferences always feature an interesting combination of international and local initiatives. For example:

• Brian Albright and George Watts, now both business professors at Trinity Western University, spoke of their many years overseas. Albright worked with NGOs in a variety of fields incorporating developmental and income generating strategies in Kenya. Watts spent almost a decade in East Africa working as a management consultant, hospital administrator, university instructor and in other roles across Burundi, Rwanda and Kenya.
• Donna Cheung spoke about Wakefield Agency, and which she co-founded with her husband Nouven. She said at one point she had been too busy “running from box to box in the Christian world,” but the for past 14 years they have been trying “to make Jesus known in daily life” as they “help people tell their stories.”
• Mike Baer, founder of Third Path Initiative, is a seasoned ‘Bammer,’ with considerable international experience. His key theme was ‘intentionality’: “Is what you’re doing connected to what God is doing in the world?”
• Jenny Nuccio had just flown in from Mombasa, Kenya where she lives with her family and runs Imani Collective, created to empower artisans who create kids goods, blankets, jewellery and more. She first flew to Kenya with a dream at 22, against the conventionally wise advice of her trusted uncle: “Every time I set foot in Kenya I felt this sense of peace. . . . Listen to what He is doing in your life; God is already pursuing you.” She said the pioneers of Imbani Collective have taught her as much as she has taught them. After 13 years, she added, we are getting to see it – “breaking the generational cycle of poverty.” She brought with her two big boxes full of Imani Collective produce.
• Andrea Soberg, TWU’s Dean of the School of Business from 2008 to 2014, and just recently retired from the university, was “quite disappointed” when she sought to find out where there was training in BAM. She is now involved with the BAM Global Academics Network, which focuses on networking; research; and teaching and student engagement.

It was refreshing to hear all of the presenters describe some of the serious challenges, even failures, they have faced – along with some remarkable achievements.

Organizers

Mike and Jennifer Davies founded BAM Vancouver. They have been with Youth With A Mission (@ywam_org) for over 30 years and have travelled to over 50 countries.

According to an Instagram post on the BAM site:

For the last [13] years Mike has been part of a discipleship program for businessmen in Vancouver. It was through this course that he noticed that many of them were looking for somewhere to either give financially or invest in as mentors.

In 2015, Mike was invited to a Business As Mission (BAM) event in Chiang Mai, Thailand and it was there that he began to join the dots. A year later after attending a similar event in Seattle, a group got together and pioneered the first BAM Conference in Vancouver, June 2018.

Mike took part in the Workplace Track at Lausanne 4 in Seoul/Incheon last fall, which involved about a quarter of the 5,200 participants and demonstrated how significant marketplace issues have become in the mission world today.

The sponsors of BAM Vancouver 2025 were City in Focus, John Fluevog Shoes, Trinity Western University, Regent College, Rise Above Finance, BetterIt Workplace Chaplains, Tenth Church, Midland Industrial Covers and Purpose Driven Development.