A common point brings together the Alberta entrepreneurs who met on Saturday at the Business Day organized by Parallèle Alberta: French. Although the province is predominantly English-speaking, networking in French can be a golden opportunity to expand their market.
On the second floor of the Alt Hotel in Calgary, French conversations mingle to create a melodious hum. Coffee in hand, the entrepreneurs exchange their impressions of the first conference of the day which focused on how to prepare your business for export.
After the meal break, it was Amokrane Mariche’s turn to make a presentation on the importance of brand image. He traveled from Montreal to speak in front of the dozens of entrepreneurs gathered.
I made the trip because I am passionate about French-speaking communities.
A quote from Amokrane Mariche
For social network specialist LinkedIn, networking is about value.
It is therefore not simply a question of meeting people who are in a similar business environment, but of meeting people with whom we have common elements such as language, culture, and who experience issues similar.
Mr. Marique travels across Canada giving lectures. What distinguishes Quebec from Alberta, for example, is that the intention to meet here is strong.
In Montreal, or even in other countries where French is the majority, we will move towards slightly more sectoral aspects. He cites as an example architects, engineers, the e-commerce sector, who are going to come together, it’s very vertical.
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For Amokrane Mariche, who gives conferences in Canada and internationally, branding concerns more than the image of a company, it is also the impression that an individual leaves.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Laurence Taschereau
But here, I see the richness, the diversity of people, both in terms of origin, in terms of sector, and in terms of entrepreneurial status […] And that’s really where innovation begins.
We are going to break down the silos
Present on this sunny autumn Saturday, Bruno Schell, practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine and Yahia Dadssi, who is starting his business in communication solutions.
The two men work in diametrically opposed fields, but the event is no less relevant to their growth objectives, they say.
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Bruno Schell is particularly interested in the conference on branding given by Amokrane Mariche.
Photo : Radio-Canada
For Bruno Schell, learning is his main motivation. Brand development is the part where I try to work, as a good student, confides the acupuncturist.
It’s not just language, it’s a cultural vector that extends through other elements.
A quote from Bruno Schell, practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and orthopedic massage
For his part, Yahia Dadssi is more looking for potential clients who could benefit from communication services.
We are in the field of advertising, there is no advertising without networking. If today we are there in a French-speaking event, tomorrow we will be in an English-speaking event. The idea is to try to be more and more present [en Alberta].
Parallèle Alberta defines itself as a catalyst for Francophone economic development in Alberta.
You know, it only takes one contact, one connection in this type of event to propel you forward, believes the communications manager for Parallèle Alberta, Amine Zabian.
There are people I met more than two years ago and today, they are well-established entrepreneurs.
