Joël Richer is the founder of Bulles et Bières Entertianment Inc. where his vision is to be the premiere mobile bar and entertainment service provider in Southwestern Ontario and have a great time doing it. B&B was established with the mission of meeting and exceeding customer expectations for premiere mobile bar and entertainment services through our unique and exciting product and service offerings. Joël says, “Our focus is on growth through the establishment of strong local relationships with customers, vendors, and local partners.”
Below are highlights of the interview conducted between World’s Leaders and Joël Richer:
Describe who you are as a person, inside and outside of the workplace.
I think one of the reasons I have been successful is that my approach with people is no different inside or outside of the workplace. I have always prided myself with being unapologetically me and I try to maintain authenticity and transparency with people I work with personally and professionally. Building strong alignment in life is largely about creating and maintaining strong relationships with others. It can be very difficult to achieve this without being open and honest about who you are. I am a confident leader but also have no fear of being vulnerable and empowering others to contribute and add value. I make every attempt to inspire others to rally behind my vision rather than impose my views.
Describe your background and what did you do before you started/joined the company?
I spent much of my formative years in Northern Ontario, Canada and moved to Southern Ontario in high school. I studied History and Religious Studies at Western University where I completed a Master of Arts in 2012. In tandem, I spent my first decade in the professional world honing my compliance and risk management skills at Citi Financial. Following the completion of my MA I accepted a position in the Risk Management team of Emco Corporation, Canada’s largest wholesale distributor of plumbing, HVAC, Industrial, and Waterworks products. Over the course of the following decade, I further built my leadership skills where I oversaw the complete overhaul of the organization’s Health, Safety, and Wellness program and was recognized as one of Occupational Health and Safety Canada’s Top 10 under 40.
Tell us about the inception of the company. How did it all start?
I have always had a keen interest in sales and marketing and felt like the time was perfect to use the skills I have developed in the corporate world to embark on my first entrepreneurial venture to meet a need in the local market, while supporting other like-minded local business owners. The story of Bulles et Bières began with the idea of helping customers transform their events from a typical social event to a memorable experience without the need to spend exorbitant amounts of time, resources, and energy on planning and execution. After witnessing the rise in popularity of mobile bars in the U.S. and overseas, my partners and I felt the time was right to bring something new and exciting to the Canadian market.
What has made you successful? What do you value?
What has made us successful is our commitment to our Vision, Mission, and Core Values. Everything we do is filtered through this.
Our Vision – Become the premiere mobile bar and entertainment service provider in Southwestern Ontario and have a great time doing it!
Our Mission – Have Fun and Entertain! – Bulles & Bières was established with the mission of meeting and exceeding customer expectations for premiere mobile bar and entertainment services. We strive to provide unique and exciting services and products to customers with a focus on growth through the establishment of strong local relationships.
Core Values – Embrace a Possibilities Mindset. Listen to Understand. Communicate and Execute. Take Accountability. Support Local.
Which are the major services of the company and how do they the company to get ahead in the competition? What value-added services does the company provide?
We specialize in experiential marketing, where our business-to-business clients can rely on us to plan and execute on providing mobile bar & entertainment services that will make their event memorable for their client base. Further, our business-to-consumer division adds a tremendous amount of value to the customer by being an all-inclusive option where customers can rely on premier mobile bar options that will impress guests while also leveraging our existing partnerships with other local vendors in the event space that can create an unforgettable atmosphere for those in attendance.
What are the most important aspects of a company’s culture? What principles do you believe in and how do you build this culture?
One of the most important aspects of our company’s culture is a willingness to take risks and challenge the status quo about what is possible. We are navigating in an industry that is underdeveloped, which comes with a host of risks as we experiment with what investments have the highest return. It all comes back to embracing our Core Values.
What is the significance of innovative ideas in the company?
Innovative ideas are the lifeblood of what will enable Bulles et Bières to differentiate itself in the market and gain a competitive advantage. Our approach of servicing both business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients while building a lifestyle brand with e-commerce options is unique in our market and once fully developed will provide us with a competitive advantage to benefit from multiple revenue streams and enable strong reinvestment into the business’ growth.
Give us your opinion on; do organizations rely heavily on individual heroics or team processes?
I believe that many businesses have a vision of relying on team processes but that they are often driven by individual heroics in some important ways. Without strong leaders (not necessarily managers) in the business driving vision and showing others what is possible there can be stagnation that develops even is team processes and dynamic is effective.
What are your responsibilities as the Founder/CEO of the company? What is the happiest part of your daily routine?
I am largely involved in business development and driving the strategic vision for the organization. The best part of my role is having the ability to add value in my local community and also seeing my team get involved and being energized by our path forward.
What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
Patience. Progress and success happen one small step at a time and periodically requires some steps backwards to put on the proper footwear or get the proper footing. Forgetting this can lead some to stumble and fall early in their leadership role. However, stumbling or falling doesn’t necessarily mean failure. The slips, trips, and falls can be powerful tools to understand your blind spots as a leader and continue to progress up the long staircase of success.
