On May 17th, 2017 Rebecca Perez, owner of GossClub.com, hosted a BeGossy event at the W Hotel in Montreal. General admissions tickets were $55 and included two drinks, food, a gift bag, and complete access to the event, with 10% of the proceeds from the tickets sold being donated to the foundation Jeune en Tête. The event included a panel with 6 girl bosses, as well as a fashion show featuring local designers Alice Kass Lingerie, Mèche the Label, Maison Elema, and Gaudi. The panel was hosted by Perez and featured six speakers, Laura Casella, host of Global News Morning, Catherine Maisonneuve, Food, Travel and Lifestyle Writer for The Daily Hive, Marielle Katz, owner of the Public Relations company Frenzr, Alessandra Salituri who owns Citizen Atelier, Monique Weston a Freelance Photographer, and Anne Lovely Etienne who is a lifestyle journalist for Journal de Montreal and 24 Heure. The panelists discussed how they got into their lines of work as well as how someone who is just starting out can succeed in the media.
The main tip that kept coming up throughout the panel was for hopeful professionals to "go to work for free" (Casella), meaning get an internship while you are in school, since internships help you make lasting connections. Casella got her start in the media when she was studying at Concordia University as an intern for CJAD. Once she graduated they realized that the work she did was crucial so they offered her a paid position. Monique Weston said that when it comes to photography the best way to enter the industry is to take pictures of everything. This has become easier to do with advancements in technology, so if you are hoping to start a career in photography pull out your phone and snap pictures whenever you can. Weston also emphasized the importance of not only being comfortable behind the camera but being comfortable in front of it, but above all else she believes that the way to make it in the industry and what has helped her get to where she is, is being kind. Show kindness to everyone, not only is it something you should be doing but people remember those that not only did a good job for them but also had a great attitude while doing it.
Marketing is a large part of how these women have been so successful in their respective careers, so when an attendee asked what the women's best marketing tactics have been, the panelists had a lot to say. Catherine Maisonneuve said "… don't pretend to be someone else". Maisonneuve emphasized looking at the career of someone that is doing what you want to pursue, but she does not think that anyone should change themselves to be a replica of their idol and should be sure to market themselves as unique. Weston takes an uncommon marketing approach to her work, instead of paying for online ads or having a website she instead uses word of mouth as her main source of marketing. She believes that if she did a good job those that she has worked for in the past will give her name and number out to anyone they know that is looking for a photographer. In an interview with Rebecca Perez on May 18th she stated that the best form of marketing for her events is bringing the experts and the aspiring professionals together and allowing them the opportunity to talk one on one. Perez said during her interview "I have never seen anyone else doing that" which makes BeGossy stand out.
This event in particular was useful for those trying to enter the media, it gave everyone the opportunity to interact and make connections with professionals in the fields that they are hoping to pursue. The next BeGossy event will be taking place on June 7th, and will have a panel about breaking into the car industry since it will be around the time of the Grand Prix. Just like every other BeGossy event it will have a fashion show where all of the clothes have been produced by local designers. To learn more about Rebecca Perez head over to her website GossClub.com where you can gain access to her online magazine, which she hopes to start creating a yearly hard copy edition of to distribute at her BeGossy events.
*All pictures were taken by Dolmax Photography and came from the Goss Club Facebook page