Ten questions for Rachelle Séguin | Confidence and strong emotions

Every Friday, a Quebec business personality answers our questions. This week, it’s the turn of the boss of Omy Laboratoires, a Quebec company that makes custom-prepared cosmetics.

What are your best and worst habits?

I’ve had this habit for a really long time: I always start my day with a smoothie made with ginger, spirulina, chia seeds, flax seeds, sweet almonds… It helps me get into a good frame of mind. I don’t drink coffee. I pay attention to what I eat despite my work schedule. There’s also my skincare routine… I can’t start and end my day without it. It’s a religion. (laughs)

My worst habit is being on my phone too often. The fact that my work tools are connected to my phone means that I am always looking at it and I am sure that it is detrimental to creativity. Since I had a daughter, it has been on my mind. It is not that easy to manage.

Who do you admire in the business world?

I admire a lot of people, especially Dominique Brown (Chocolats Favoris). I am fascinated by companies that sell directly to consumers because it brings a lot of complexity. Dominique Brown, I think he went beyond the product and he built an experience. That’s something I try to do at Omy: offer an experience, play in the imagination and offer something bigger than what people can conceive. And when I was little, I was fascinated by Lise Watier. When I was young, people told me that I could be the next Lise Watier because I talked about my idea of ​​starting a business. She is a woman that I admire enormously. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to meet her.

How do you unplug?

I’m really into thrill-seeking: bungee jumping, skydiving. I find there’s nothing better to disconnect. You don’t think about anything afterwards.

What book or movie do you usually recommend?

The book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. When I was younger, I didn’t do a lot of team sports. When I started my business, I discovered the importance of being able to collaborate well in a team. This book helped me a lot to understand how effective teams work together: the importance of trust, of communication. It’s essential to growth. When we started, we were two in our team. Now, there are 60 of us.

What advice are you glad you ignored?

When we started, we wanted to participate in the show In the eye of the dragonbut we were really limited in terms of preparation. People told us that we weren’t ready, that we shouldn’t go, that we were going to get dumped. In the end, luckily we listened to each other. We went to the show anyway. It really marked the launch of Omy. If we hadn’t had that, the influence wouldn’t have been the same. So, it helped us a lot to trust ourselves.

Was there a moment when your career took a turn?

We started the company while I was starting my master’s degree. And in my head, it was just a project that I would do on the side. I never thought I would make a living from it. My plan was to do my master’s degree, then my PhD. I understood that I could make a living from my business and I chose not to continue with a PhD. I chose to invest in the growth of Omy and to hire PhD students in my company. I understood that I was capable of being a good entrepreneur, without necessarily being a PhD student.

What do you do to congratulate or thank someone?

I like writing cards. I express myself a lot through writing. I also like to thank someone by offering them an experience: going to dinner, doing an activity. I find that it is worth more than just giving something. I am not the type to give a bottle of wine. That is not me.

Are you the type of boss who often gives “pats on the back”?

When I notice someone is making an extra effort, I’m the first to tell them. On the other hand, to impress me, it takes a little bit (laughs). You can’t just do your job, you still have to do a little bit extra.

How long do you take to eat dinner at work?

I often forget to eat… When I’m focused and doing things I love, which happens every day, I don’t see time go by. So often, I forget to eat dinner. I don’t do it on purpose. I don’t realize it. Sometimes at 5 p.m., I see that my lunch is still in the fridge.

Your best investment?

It was investing personal loans to found Omy. At the beginning of Omy, we had no more money for various reasons. We had to finance ourselves. I had a personal loan. I wondered if I would dare to use it for that. Finally, I took the entire loan and launched Omy. Finally, it was a very good investment.