MARIE HOUDE, GENERAL DIRECTOR, THE GREAT COSTUMIER

After completing her Bachelor's degree in International Studies, Marie Houde volunteered for cooperatives in Peru. It was then that something clicked: her future job would inevitably contribute to changing the world. This was followed by eight years at Oxfam-Québec, which validated her managerial profile. Then, she made the leap into the cultural world as Director of Operations and Financing at the École nationale de l'humour. "Le Grand Costumier arrived at the crossroads of these two worlds: humanitarian and cultural," she explains. After the announcement of the closure of Radio-Canada's costume shop in 2005 and the disappointment of the artistic community, she saw immense potential in this social economy business project. Her values and ambition were recognized by the board of directors, who entrusted her with the reins of Le Grand Costumier, where the creator would have a central role. “I realized that I had this need to be in a helping relationship,” she adds. “That defined the Costumier business model. How far can we go to support the creator in his approach? The whole range of services related to costume rental (training, personalized research) came from that.”

Maude Houde now wishes to continue to enhance and restore the collection, in addition to growing the business in the rest of Canada and the United States.

CONSCIOUS PASSIVITY OR HOW TO TRANSITION FROM REACTION MODE TO VISION MODE

Solutions from the Quebec School of Entrepreneurs

How do you differentiate those who dream of starting a business from those who have truly become their own boss? Taking action. Proactivity is a common trait of entrepreneurs.

As a business evolves, however, the entrepreneur must, beyond actions, take a step back to develop a vision that will help guide business growth.

From creator to manager

When starting out, everything has to be done. The daily life of an entrepreneur, although guided by a vision, will be more made up of concrete actions. Once the company is more established, he will take more of a manager's position. This small table shows the distinct attitudes and skills according to the stage of the company.

THREE KEY SKILLS

DELEGATE

Knowing how to delegate is not always a natural attitude for entrepreneurs. Trusting your employees, your collaborators, accepting not being able to control everything down to the smallest detail will be useful to you, even liberating! It also proves valuable for freeing up your time. What to do with it?

GETTING HIGHER

We have all had the experience of being immersed in a problem and desperately trying to solve it. Sometimes, the solution comes by stepping away from it. Distancing yourself from operations will help you see things more clearly. From above, you have a better overview. To take a step back, the entrepreneur must ensure that they establish a management model that allows them to take this time to reflect. The Wheel of Growth tool developed by the École des entrepreneurs du Québec suggests that businesses be able to count on a recurring sales revenue* or what is called in English a “repeat business”. This makes it easier for a business leader to think about developing new products or services, conquering new markets, or rethinking internal processes to optimize operations.

* A recurring sales revenue is a business revenue that generates recurring income and can be passed on or delegated within the company/organization.

BE LESS REACTIVE, LEARN TO SAY NO!

Yes! Sometimes it is useful to be passive and refuse opportunities that arise, especially if they are not consistent with your long-term vision, your short-term goals or simply the values of your organization. NB: Growth coaching courses like the one followed by Marie Houde of Grand Costumier can help you take the necessary step back and develop your management skills.