From Business Student to Community Entrepreneur
Posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2018
Marc Lapierre graduated from the Business program in 2003. Since then, he has been a busy man, working hard at building three different businesses. Marc shared his story with us about his journey.
Where are you currently working?
I have been working as a Financial Advisor at Frank Carroll Financial Ltd. since 2009 guiding business owners and professionals towards financial security. I also am the owner/founder of GoHuntBirds.com – a boutique media company that focuses on growing the bird hunting community in Canada. GoHuntBirds.com was founded in 2013. I also act as the business development director for Revel Marketing Agency in a mentorship role to its two founders. Revel Marketing Agency is a small start-up SEO/Media/Marketing agency in Burnstown, Ontario which was founded in 2017.
How do you feel that your program helped guide you to your current path?
I have always been interested in business. Taking the business course in my hometown of Pembroke, Ontario set me up with the foundation to what has become a career as a lifelong entrepreneur. It allowed me to stay at home while I was going to school and save up quite a bit of money while I was studying that I used to start several businesses when I graduated.
If you had to choose, what were the top 3 program-related items, activities or experiences that benefited you most during your studies?
Learning techniques in sales, strategy and marketing/advertising are three of the MANY skills I built upon at Algonquin. I still use these skills daily and always evolving them to make my business ventures better.
Why did you want to get into your chosen field?
Financial Planning was always an interest of mine. I started investing at the age of 16 and learned about the markets and insurance at a young age. I was offered a position out of college by Frank Carroll Financial Ltd. when I graduated, but I declined it to try selling Real Estate (which I never did pass the exam to do). I took a job as a courier from 2005-2009 and scratched out a pretty good living delivering parcels and running other small venture businesses on the side. In 2009, I was again offered the same position at Frank Carroll Financial Ltd. and seeing as the economy was in a recession, I thought it would be a great time to get into the financial services industry….and I was right. The thing I love about my chosen career the most besides the ability to make my own hours is helping people.
What are your next steps? What are your future goals and aspirations?
I plan to continue to grow the three businesses I have a hand in as well as add a fourth piece to the puzzle by adding some more recreational real estate to my portfolio. I’d also love to do more mentoring and perhaps some teaching to other small business owners and startups. I love the mentorship role that I have with Revel Marketing because I can actually see value in it for others.
Would you recommend the Business program to a future student thinking about taking the plunge?
YES!! I would honestly suggest EVERYONE should take this program as a foundation to whatever it is that they think they might want to do. The things that you will learn by taking a business course can translate into all aspects of life, regardless of the nature of your future employment. Anyone who is seriously considering taking the Business program at Algonquin College or even just wants to chat business is free to get a hold of me anytime at marc@fcfinancial.ca.
- Posted in
- Uncategorized