Tomorrow, June 24th, is Quebec National Day. This made me reflect on what it means for Websystems to be Québécois. 

Websystems is located in Quebec City, Canada. The province of Quebec has a predominantly French-speaking population. Imagine this: we are 6 million people who speak French in North American, surrounded by about 300 million people who speak English.

Some would like to see our situation (linguistically, geographically and culturally) as dire. Some would see it as a disadvantage over our neighbors.

I disagree. I believe being a small company in a small society or French-speaking people, in a sea of English-speaking people, is good. Here's why:

It forces us to stand out: Being different helps us not be just like the next project management solution.

It forces us to take ownership of who you are: We're Quebecois. There is no way around it. We chose to use it to our advantage, Quebecois and Canadians in general have a very good reputation worldwide.

It forces us to set the bar high: Being a small company, the project management industry is huge and very diverse. There are very big players on our field. Aiming to make as good a product as them is the only way to make it.  

It feels good to tackle competition that's much bigger than us - and win! I always enjoy making a sale where our clients will move from a big company's product to yours - because AceProject fits theirs needs better.

To all the small companies and small societies out there, I suggest you read Seth Godin's Small is the new big.

Enjoy your difference :-)

Happy Saint-Jean-Baptiste!