BIZZ cooperative, plants, etc. Launching a joint boutique

SAGUENAY – BIZZ cooperative, plants, etc. Today he unveils the first partnership. Bairiveraine is opening a small store inside the Solidarity Cooperative's headquarters on Rue Racine.

This partnership, which the two organizations describe as an entrepreneurial friendship, reserves a large portion of the trade for indoor plants from Plants and others, which will be on sale every day. The owner, Julie Dallaire, will also be present two days a week at the downtown Chicoutimi location to share her passion and knowledge of plants.

The project was launched in December, after the BIZZ collaborative team suggested that Ms Dallaire pilot the experiment. “Mutual aid and working together is part of our DNA. It came from itself. It is currently more difficult for small businesses. There is less traffic. We decided to come together to create something new and different. “We decided to come together to create something new and different,” says Guillén Pelletier, co-project director and one of the co-founders of the cooperative. We want to invent tomorrow's business world.”

The synergy created reduces costs for both parties through sharing of employees and a portion of the rent. However, this is not the main reason why the two organizations cooperate. “Above all, this entrepreneurial friendship allows us to help each other move forward. […] We want to create an experience and add a unique touch to our store. This is what will attract people to the city centre. We believe in him very much. “It is important to increase connections between entrepreneurs,” says Ms. Pelletier.

The human side

It was the human aspect that prompted Julie Dallaire to embark on the experiment. “I launched my business on my own three years ago and opened a storefront. But after three years, the loneliness started to take its toll. When I go to BIZZ, I feel the energy of the team. I feel confident. It’s really like co-living,” she says.

She considers starting her own boutique a very motivating project. “Customers are different. I meet new people. I want to get to know them to find out what matters to them. I want to offer products that are better suited to those customers’ needs,” she explains.

New business model

BIZZ cooperative, plants, etc. They believe they have succeeded in creating a new business model through this project, which they call Entrepreneurial Friendship. This concept goes beyond a simple partnership. Rather, it is “a close relationship, built on trust and cooperation, between entrepreneurs, companies or cooperatives that share common values, goals or interests.” […] We work together synergistically, sharing ideas, resources, challenges and successes. This relationship is based on mutual understanding and a desire to actively support each other's success. […] This approach goes beyond a simple business transaction to create deeper personal and professional connections, they explained in a press release.

The BIZZ collaborative team would like to further develop partnerships of this kind with producers, processors and suppliers. “They will really need to be complementary organizations committed to this dynamic. Yes, we want to evolve, but the idea is to support each other. We want to create synergies and mutual assistance focused on the sustainability of the project,” explains Guillén Pelletier.

She is already preparing another project, this time with regional producers. This could see the light this summer. “It really aligns with our mission of providing healthy, local food. It's very exciting. Yes, we already sell their products, but we want to see how we can move forward,” Ms. Pelletier reveals.