Jersey girl transplanted

Kathleen Hadford chose to move from fast-paced urban America to family-friendly small-town B.C.

Kathleen (Kat) Hadford has a professional photography business in Golden, B.C. — Photo courtesy Kat Hadford

It’s a far cry from her roots in the suburbs of New York City, but Kathleen (Kat) Hadford and her family love their home and their lifestyle in small-town British Columbia. Hadford is the owner of Kat Hadford Photography in Golden, B.C.

We asked Hadford how she came to settle in Golden.

How in the world did you get from super-urban America to small-town B.C.?

I was born and raised in New Jersey, and then lived in Connecticut for six years. After we had our first child, it became too difficult to keep up the pace of our life in Connecticut—the hour-long commute to and from the city was consuming too much of our time, and I had to travel a lot with my job. My husband grew up in Lillooet and Golden, and I had done my graduate degree in Vancouver at UBC, so we decided to move back to B.C. We spent six years in Lillooet before moving to Golden last summer.

What do you like most about your work?

I love the creative part of my job, of course, and I love that I can schedule my appointments around my kids and my family life. I love being able to choose my priorities.

What advice would you offer to someone starting a business in a creative as opposed to a tangible or consumable product?

They need to realize that not everyone will be their customer, and concentrate on serving those who value what they’re doing. Those are the people who will be happy to pay for their expertise. Also, to run a business, you have to focus on more than the creative side—you have to remember to pay attention to the business side of the business as well, in order for it to survive.