Dream Big, Work Hard & Never Give up!

A Special Women’s Day story dedicated to all those who helped me

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By Julie Hubert, President & CEO of Workland

I started dreaming of changing the world before I was 10, watching in awe as my grand-parent’s small farming business turned into something bigger ever year.  

I dared to dream of starting my own company from scratch even though I came from a humble background, where food was sometimes scarce, where me and my siblings all had to start working at a very young age to help pay the bills and where I later saw my parents lose everything they had worked so hard for. 

It never occurred to me that the fact that I was a woman might make this dream just a little bit harder.... And I did not consider that being poor would make me start (WAY) behind everyone else. 

I just let the dream sweep me away. 

I continued dreaming about changing the world and being President of my very own company, even as a single teen mom of 17.  I did not focus on the fact that having no money and being in survival mode would make me fall behind the others even more. 

I just kept on dreaming, working full time, studying part time over more than a decade, right up to my MBA and into a prestigious corporate career. 

 But my dream never left me.

 In my early 30s when the right project came, I held on tightly to my dream when I walked in and quit my big corporate job that made me so unhappy, to start my very own company in a field that was totally new to me. 

 Inspired by my grand vision and the stories of my favorite business heroes, I went ahead braving the unknown.

After a few years of work, stress and struggle in my new business, I didn’t give up even when all I had worked so hard for started to fall apart.  I refused to give up on my dream and continued working harder than ever, determined to find ways to save my dream no matter how far away it would take me from my comfort zone.  And with the support and help of many, I did.

As of result of my daring to dream, working hard and not allowing myself to give up no matter what, today, my company Workland is alive and doing very well, hiring and placing hundreds of amazing people every year and bringing creative solutions to companies looking for talent. 

I guess that is in part where my obsession with horses stems from. Even if all odds are against them and even if they start from the very back of the pack, any horse can end up winning the race.

Why didn’t I give up when I had so many reasons to do so along the way? Because amazing people around me made giving up an impossibility. 

They say behind every great man there is a strong woman.  I say behind every great woman, there are a ton of amazing women and men.  

On women’s day, a day obviously focused on us, I also wish to highlight the contribution of men to our success. I’ve had lots of women help me out through the years, but I’ve also had several men, who saw in me what no one else saw, who believed in me, who went out of their way to help me, who pushed me to reach beyond my limits, who gave me breaks when I needed them and inspired me to “get back in the ring” and continue to fight for my dream.

Men; continue to support the women around you as you never know to what extent you can contribute to helping them achieve their dreams.

Women; no matter your starting point and even if all odds are against you, always remember that you can achieve anything you desire if you…dream big, work hard and never (ever) give up!

Men & women to whom I dedicate my Women’s Day to:

Jean Jobin, Alexandra Hubert, Zaher Agha, Nicolas Rodrigue, Rania Harb, Hammouda B. Mekki, Zeina Tabbal, Moe Younes, Vincent Therrien, Abdelhak Figuigui, Aarwa Sheikh, Rafael Ferreira, Josée Valiquette, Fran?oise Tourangeau, Claude Hubert, Pierre Brochu, Michel Hubert, Alain Lemaire, Elaine Holland, Sylvain Pelletier, Denis Bystrov, Marc Lachapelle, Daniel Larouche, Christian Perron, Robert Sanson, Baris Demir, Serge Bourassa, Dan Dillon, Dustin Ellis, Steeve Lespinasse, Marc Alcindor, Eric Belair, Marrouane Nabih, Brian Jeffers & Sam Altman.