Remote Control

The future of work in Mammoth?
“You want a focus group? Go sit in Stellar Brew’s parking lot on your tailgate at 6 a.m.,” said the Mountain Lab’s Scott McGuire, who is one in a series of professionals presenting on their skill sets at The Fort coworking space in Mammoth Lakes.
McGuire bounced back and forth between Mammoth and the Bay Area for years before finally starting his brand strategy and development company, based in Mammoth. He says that, although many ideas are born in the mountains, cities have historically been where the jobs are.
“I kept having to go to these places I didn’t want to be for a ‘real job,’ and then I’d have to come back here and fill my tank,” says McGuire. “I finally asked myself, ‘Why do I keep doing that? Why don’t I just … create the life I want here?”
McGuire will present his workshop, “Making it Work in a Mountain Town,” on May 23.
Coming up next week (Wednesday, April 25) is Linda Cobb’s workshop on branding. Cobb, the principal of Bumpercrop Studio, works from her Tyrolean Village condo for clients like Dwight Yoakam, the Grammys—even the Beach Boys.
She’s excited about the potential for remote work in Mammoth because it’s helped her realize her own dream of snowboarding in the mornings and jogging in the woods with her dogs while still working at a professional caliber.
“I always had in my mind that I’d love to be able to work at the level I’m working at, but be able to live anywhere,” said Cobb. “Technology made that possible, but even then, it was really about client psychology. They felt if you weren’t in L.A., then you weren’t working.”