Graphic recorder wins provincial Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Mo Dawson to find new ways to make some money.

That career change – going from an out-of-work cook to a graphic recorder – has paid off for the Victoria resident.

His company, Mo Dawson Creative, has captured this year’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award through the BC Achievement Foundation’s Indigenous Business Award program.

Award recipients will be honoured at a ceremony scheduled for Oct. 7 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

“Winning the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award is a huge milestone for Mo Dawson Creative,” Dawson said. “It represents all the dedication, creativity and cultural richness I put into my work.”

Dawson, a 34-year-old member of the Dzawada'enuxw First Nation in British Columbia, had been working as a chef when the pandemic hit. He then had to come up with another source of income.

That’s when he pivoted and decided to become a graphic recorder.

“It kind of came out of the initial COVID lockdown,” Dawson said. “There were restaurant closures for three months and so I was just at home. Everyone was asked to stay home and stay safe. And so, I was in the same boat as a lot of people, spending a lot of time at home.

“What came out of boredom I guess was getting back into illustration and artwork, which has been a great passion of mine since before I could remember. That whole situation kind of did reconnect me to a childhood passion and to a lifelong hobby of creating art and illustration. And I wanted to find work doing so.”

Dawson said his mother suggested he explore graphic recording work. He found a three-day training course, taught by a woman who had made a career out of graphic recording and had travelled the world doing it.

“It was very excellent training,” Dawson said. “I really enjoyed it and went straight into my first contract the following week with Emergency Management B.C. It was a five-day ZOOM conference because everything was on ZOOM at the time. There were no in-person meetings allowed.”

Dawson explained that with his job he records live conversations and adds illustrations to his work. He’s found work through conferences, symposiums, forums and strategic planning sessions.

“Any settings where there is a group of people having a discussion, I record the discussion and pull out key points and high-level takeaways through illustrations and I create a visual summary of conversations,” he said.

Though he had found some work a couple of years beforehand, Dawson officially launched his business Mo Dawson Creative in January of 2023.

“It was still very much a part-time gig for the first couple of years,” he said. “I was still cooking full-time. So, I would record an event every now and then, every few months, for the first little while.”

The majority of his work has been with Indigenous clients.

And he’s thrilled that his efforts have been recognized with a provincial award.

“This acknowledgement fuels my passion for making sure Indigenous stories are represented and celebrated through visual art,” he said. “It reminds me how important it is to use my platform to uplift Indigenous voices and promote understanding across diverse communities.

“Art has always been my greatest passion and receiving this award as an illustrator, artist and visual storyteller feels like a childhood dream come true.”

Besides receiving a cash prize for his award, Dawson will also be part of the BC Achievement Foundation’s Shine The Light campaign.

There will be extensive promotions on the foundation’s website and social media platforms for all of the award winners.

The foundation’s Indigenous Business Award programs recognizes exceptional achievements of

Indigenous entrepreneurs, businesses, partnership entities and community-owned enterprises.

The other award recipients this year are:

Business of the Year – one-to-two person enterprise:

Rad Relish Co., West Kelowna

Business of the Year – three-to-ten person enterprise:

AshFireWear, Cranbrook

Business of the Year – eleven + person enterprise:

KICA Contracting Ltd., Dease Lake

Community-owned Business of the Year – one entity:

Ahous Adventures, Tofino

Community-owned Business of the Year – two or more entities:

Nch’ḵay̓ Development Corporation, West Vancouver

Business Partnership of the Year:

Seven Generations Environmental Services, Mission

Also, Robert J. Dennis Sr. is this year’s recipient of the Award of Distinction for Lifetime Achievement for his role advancing the economic and political landscape of Huu-ay-aht First Nations.