Meet Sharon Brand, BMG Founder
Written by Trinity Duong
Today’s article will offer exclusive insight into the inner workings of Brand’s Media Group. With an interview between Trinity Duong and Sharon Brand, the founder of the communications agency, readers and clients alike are invited to dive deeper by exploring what goes into Brand’s Media Group.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Paris and I grew up in Montreal. I moved there when I was 7. Growing up there and moving allowed me to learn a different language because I didn’t know English and it helped me understand the various cultures and piqued my interest in traveling and being the adventurous self that I am now. My childhood was nice because the quality of life in Montreal was very playful. We had four seasons so my family was always doing some sort of activity. We would go skiing and skating and in the fall we’d jump in the leaves, it sounds childish but it really made me a naturalistic person and helped me grow my vision of seeing the human side of things.
Where did you go to school? What did you do?
I was in a private high school for 5 years. It was a Jewish high school so it felt like a bubble because we didn’t get the chance to interact with anybody outside of our religion or even our color and it felt very secluded from the outside world. As I went on to Cegep I started realizing “Wow, there's another life outside this bubble”. It was crazy to think that some people I met lived right next to me and I had no idea. High school was great but I found that I was often interested in art and fashion and leaned more towards creativity whereas my peers were more interested in becoming doctors or lawyers so when entering Dawson College I got to meet so many people who loved and were studying the things that I loved. It’s actually where I met Annabelle, she was in my program! After Cegep, I went to Israel for three years for my Bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in marketing. I went to IDC at Herzliya above Tel-Aviv and of course, it was a huge culture change because I was in the Middle East and everything was different but it was life-changing. It’s actually where I started Brand’s Travel which was a travel log that I created in 2016 and it allowed me to understand more in-depth the power of networking and building relationships with people I meet. After my BA I applied to Parsons for my Masters in Fashion Studies and I started in New York during my first year and ended in Paris my second year. I didn’t really enjoy New York but I was lucky enough to spend three weeks in Paris at a summer class and I loved it so much that I transferred the second year.
How did Brand’s Media Group start?
I've been working for so long for different companies as a social media manager and my dad was always telling me, “Sharon, you're working for this brand and this brand but you should have them as clients and work for as many businesses as you can”. I never had the opportunity to do it but when Covid hit I went back home and I realized it's true I have a very wide network in four different cities and I love what I do so I figured why not start something. The first thing I did was find a name, then with my graphic designer we got our logo in three weeks and after another few weeks, we finished our website and launched on May 1st, and on May 20th we got our first three clients.
What are your future goals for BMG?
I think that it’s very important to take it day by day because as much as I want offices and the team to grow and more clients it’s important to stay in touch with where we are right now. I want to take it slowly although I want it to grow quickly. I appreciate our team and hope that in the future we continue to be as diverse as possible because it’s really important for me to work with people from different backgrounds, countries, and age groups. A major goal is to keep an intimate relationship with each of our clients because I don’t want us to just be another communications agency, I want to keep the value, touch, and sensibility that we have for our people.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In ten years, realistically I would love to have one office in Paris and one office in Montreal. I have no idea where I will live but I hope to have a family and kids and just a good team to work with, maybe write a book and have a podcast. I would love to bring Brand’s Media Group out of just being a consulting agency and give it more outlets and media that would have it on different channels.
Where did you see yourself 10 years ago?
At 14 it was the start of Instagram and I loved it but no one understood and I even deleted the app because no one was using it. When it became on-trend I started posting outfit pictures and my parents were telling me, “Sharon go on private you know you don't know who's looking at your profile” and when I was 14 I wanted to connect with people but I was just paranoid about social media but now within 10 years, there are these huge fashion bloggers and that's how they started. So I knew 10 years ago that I would work in communications. I wanted to work with people and speak and do something in fashion and art so I knew from the start that I won't be doing anything other than that.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
I would say, my grandparents and parents. I see how hard they work and how much they encourage me to do what I love. My mom always told me if you love to draw, be an artist and I know that's not how a lot of parents see it so it was really inspiring and I hope I can do the same for my kids in the future. I just see how passionate both my parents and my four grandparents are about their work and I think it's so important to do what you love because you'll never be satisfied or happy any other way.
What is your greatest accomplishment?
Being a good leader within my community. An example was when we Covid happened and we were in lockdown, I organized lunches and dinners to be delivered to 7 hospitals for 4-months and with the help of my Instagram community, we were able to raise $10,000. I realized then the power that Instagram and social media held because people wanted to listen and help so it’s something that I’m really proud of not only because of my work but because of the contributions that my community made.
What is the hardest thing you’ve had to deal with?
It's still hard right now even after 6-months it's just having to do the administrative work because I want to focus on creativity but I don't have a choice but to do all the accounting and running everything myself. It’s a side that no one sees. It’s also a challenge but in a good way, managing the team. Making sure that everything is running smoothly and that people are happy and just keeping everyone motivated by setting goals. It’s not hard but it’s a challenge but it’s rewarding because I get to connect with people I didn’t even know a few months ago.
Favorite memory?
When Jasmine started, she came over in Montreal and we were just remaking the Instagram page because it was a mess and she had everything in mind like the color scheme and the writing, everything. I told her I want this Instagram page to be incredible and she looked at me and she was so fierce with her look and she said, “No, Sharon you don't get it BMG will be the best, we are the best.” and it was just really inspiring to see my first employee who believes in BMG as much as I do. The memory of working with people that believe in my brand as much as I did when I first created it is a really good thing to hold onto.
What is your favorite thing about BMG?
It’s all about the people. Everything that involves people, the clients we work with, the team members that join, the network we create with our clients and their audiences, the influences that we work with. I mean we've been speaking with people we've never thought that we would be speaking to and it's all out there and it's happening. My favorite thing is that I go to bed every single day and I know that the client is happy with what we did today. I could never go to bed knowing that something is not done or something has been done wrong so we just work to make that client satisfied and I think it's so beautiful and special that we are allowed to do that.
Do you think that there has been a defining moment in your career?
So my boyfriend who I met in June is the Founder of Futurize and he is a consultant as well and helped me put in place the vision, missions, and values that BMG has and without that, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. We worked on a business plan and models because they are so relevant right now and for the future.
What are Brand’s Media Group’s core values?
The first one is to help one another. By this I mean if one of the team members needs help with a post or a story we know that we can engage and help one another. The second is just to breathe because I know I can get too wrapped up in everything we have to do and so taking a step back and understanding that it will be ok helps. The third one is to treat everyone rightfully which is within the team as well as with our clients. Thinking creatively is the fourth one because we are in a creative field and so we have to think outside the box for everything that we do. Our fifth one is something that we use often. It embraces open communication in a respectful manner. If someone needs help or isn’t comfortable doing something I am an open book and so is everyone on this team and it's just about embracing talking about anything and everything.
Some final words?
Right now everything is going so well and it's all due to the teamwork that is happening. We divide the client’s work well and the schedule has been so smooth with such a good flow and I'm incredibly proud of everybody and excited to see how Brand’s Media Group grows.
