On Wednesday, October 12, at the Hôtel du Jardin in Saint-Félicien, the Cercle pour les femmes entrepreneures du Domaine-du-Roy will be launched, a group of businesswomen looking to improve their networking and share their entrepreneurial experience.

The idea for the Cercle came from agents of the Société d’aide au développement des collectivités (SADC) Lac-St-Jean Ouest and Émilie Tremblay, a businesswoman specializing in bereavement intervention.

« Émilie had already taken part in exchange circles. These were beneficial experiences for her. In the course of our discussions, we decided last June to send out an in-house survey containing around ten questions. We wanted to validate the interest of women entrepreneurs in our region in creating an exchange circle. », explains Steeve Larouche, local development officer at SADC Lac-St-Jean Ouest.

A survey showed that there was a real interest in forming a group for women in business. The results were significant.

“Marlène Claveau, co-owner of Trium Médias, corroborated what the survey had shown. She confirmed that there was a real need for women entrepreneurs to get together. In particular, to break the isolation often experienced by women in business,” he adds.

The launch

After several meetings, the idea of creating a Cercle pour femmes entrepreneures du Domaine-du-Roy took shape.

For her part, Émilie Tremblay, who has established a number of business partnerships in Quebec, had been hoping for such a group for some time.

“With my company, I create business links. I found it unfortunate that we didn’t have an exchange group for women entrepreneurs in the Upper Lake region. On the other hand, they do exist elsewhere in the region,” she explains.

Initially, the founding meeting will not impose any formal structures. For the moment, there’s no question of forming an NPO with a Board of Directors. The primary aim of the meeting is to launch the association.

“All women in business are welcome, regardless of the size of the company or the field in which they operate,” says Marlène Claveau of Trium Médias.

“October 12 will mark the launch of this wonderful initiative, which will be held as part of a 5 à 7. Small bites will be served. Anyone interested can attend free of charge. On this occasion, we will form a small committee to plan future meetings,” concludes Steeve Larouche.

Émilie Tremblay, Marlène Claveau and Steeve Larouche have joined forces to form the first Cercle pour les femmes entrepreneures du Domaine-du-Roy.