The beauty of partnerships

Another key concept that I contemplated today is PARTNERSHIP.

No matter what, whether you have the resources, the expertise, the knowledge or the money to develop your idea or not, creating partnerships with other individuals or groups will give you the boost you need to make your idea become a reality.

We are ALWAYS better off working together. It may not seem that way sometimes, but the old saying ‘two heads are better than one’ doesn’t exist for nothing. The reason being this: when you are working alone, you assume all the risks; you must possess all the resources, and make all the decisions for yourself, by yourself. You then have no one to rely on when difficult times arrive (and they always do). But by creating a partnership, not only do you get the benefit of working with other people, socializing and having enlightening conversations, but you bring your idea or your work to a higher level.

So don’t be afraid to call that other business person or community worker up to have a discussion on how you might work together. Maybe there will be nothing there, and you will be home and say, ‘well, it was interesting conversation, but we will not be able to work together’. Maybe nothing will come out of it for weeks or months following that initial meeting. But maybe, and most likely, at some point down the road, there will be room for collaboration, and you will be happy you made that initial contact. They say ‘Don’t burn bridges’, but I believe I’m more of an advocate for ‘Create your own bridges’. So go for it!

Creative Energy

There are two kinds of people in this world : those who stop the flow of creative energy and those who enhance it.


If you are a creative, energetic, innovative, entrepreneurial and motivated person, you have to hang out with the same kind of person. Social entrepreneurs are people that do not necessarily want the security of a 9 to 5 job, and are willing to sacrifice a bit of their own comfort for the benefit of others. Therefore, in order for you to help spread the flow of creative energy, you have to make a conscious effort to be around other people who have that same longing. Otherwise, the creative flow gets trapped and never to be seen or heard of again. What a crying shame that would be!


I had this realization this morning when I was sitting with two (what I realized this morning) other social entrepreneurs. We were discussing ideas on how the stimulate the economic, social and cultural development of a small town like Cheticamp (such as we always do), but today was different. The FLOW was happening. There was no one else there to tell us that this wouldn’t work because of this, and bla, bla, bla. There was a sort of triangular energy flow thing happening and we concluded that we are going to join forces with the Arts Council, the Coop Council, the Economic Development Council and the unending creativity of the local high school students, to form a film cooperative. A radical business venture for a small community? Not when creative and realistic minds are joined together and have enough determination to make it work.

L'entrepreneuriat social...c'est quoi?

Bonjour à tous ceux et celles qui ont pris un moment de votre journée afin de contempler ces simples mots devant vous. Si vous êtes tombés sur ce blog, c'est qu'il y a quelque chose en vous qui vous attire vers l'entrepreneuriat social. Peut-être vous avez déjà entendu le terme ? Ou bien vous êtes déjà entrepreneur? Vous êtes possiblement un activiste social ou environnemental? Peut-être, simplement, avez-vous le désir d'explorer des nouvelles idées.

Ce blog parle d'un nouvel ordre. Une nouvelle façon de voir la vie et les actions qu'on mène tout le long de notre parcours. Je pense que d'une façon ou d'une autre, tout le monde peut se retrouver dans ces idées et même y contribuer afin de maximiser le partage et le 'flow' de pensées créatives.

Selon moi, un entrepreneur social est quelqu'un qui veut changer les choses, les rendre meilleures. C'est quelqu'un qui voit un problème, une injustice, ou simplement quelque chose qui ne va pas, et qui veut entreprendre des efforts pour changer la situation.

On peut prendre par exemple des leaders communautaires qui recueillent de l'argent afin de se doter d'un lieu de rassemblement pour la communauté. Cela pourrait également être quelqu'un qui décide de partir un système de covoiturage, un jardin communautaire ou un club de lecture pour les jeunes. Un entrepreneur social peut également entreprendre des initiatives plus globales, comme militer pour un traité international pour combattre les changements climatiques, ou même fonder un organisme d'échange interculturel afin de créer des rapprochements entre les gens de cultures différentes. Peu importe ton intérêt et ton parcours, si tu as un désir de changer le monde (ou ta communauté) et de le rendre meilleur, il y a de bonnes chances que tu tombes dans la catégorie 'd'entrepreneur social'.

Alors bienvenue à ce merveilleux monde! Il y a tellement de projets et d'initiatives extraordinaires qui ont été réalisés par le passé, mais il y en a tellement plus à venir. Ensemble, en partageant nos idées, nos ressources et nos expertises, il n'y aucun doute que nous pouvons atteindre nos rêves les plus ambitieux. On y va!