“I’m Tania Tassone. I am an event producer in Montreal. I’ve been doing this for fifteen years now, so I started my company in 2005 and at that time my focus was very corporate-oriented. So I approached a lot of companies. I was doing a lot of corporate retreats, a lot of employee recognition events, annual general meetings, and that sort of thing. In 2008 when things started, when a lot of corporate budgets got cut, I turned my focus a little bit more to the private sector. So I started doing a lot of weddings, a lot of private events, 50th birthday parties, a lot of that sort of thing, and since then I’ve been doing a good mix of both type of events. I love both ares very much because they both bring me such a diverse knowledge and I get to meet so many different people I would say sixty percent of the business is private forty corporate.”

“My background’s in marketing, so what I really like to put forward with everything that I do and everything that I plan is to really create a brand for the event and use the company’s corporate culture and their brand to come through in every single aspect of the event, whether it’s an internal event or an event for their clients. I really get to know the different companies and where they’re at, what they’re doing on an environmental basis, what their company culture’s like, what the people are like, and what they want to put forward, what they want the world to see them as. Every company has such a diverse corporate culture and it’s just so interesting to be able to translate that in every event element.”

“Recently, the Studio 54 documentary came out on Netflix and it’s had a huge amount of attention. So we decided to put forward that theme for this year’s event, Studio 54. We really want people to go get out of their comfort zone, dress up, have fun, really cross the line a little bit, be a bit edgy. We are doing it at Time Supper Club this year, which fits the theme really, really well. It’s gonna be visually entertaining and there’ll be a lot to stimulate all the senses, and it’s gonna be a great event. We’re looking at about, again, 500 people. We want to cap it and keep it smaller. We’re bringing in a lot of different Montreal restaurants and Montreal entertainment acts to create this Studio 54 theme.”

“Recently I got involved with the Welcome Collective, which is an organization that welcomes immigrants into Montreal and helps them get placed and feel comfortable living in the city. They provide all of the goods that you need to really get your life started here, and so they put you in touch with different families that are coming to Montreal to live and establish themselves, and it’s such a wonderful organization because you really get to understand the struggles of these people and you’re really tried to explain to them what they can achieve here and how much success they can have if they’re really open to it.”

“In a city like Montreal where everything’s so tight-knit and everyone sort of knows everything and hears everything, your reputation is everything. So it’s very important to maintain good relationships and be honest, be genuine, be likable, not put on the whole smoke-and-mirrors show.

I really pride myself on just doing really good work, going above and beyond, being the type of leader that really brings people together, and I’m not just trying to showcase myself through my work. I really want to showcase everyone who’s involved and I think just being honest and real is very important in this day and age, and particularly in a city like ours, where there’s a lot going on and a lot of players and everyone’s sort of trying to take the lead. I think it’s just to stay true to yourself is the most important thing.”

“When I began my business in 2005, the first community I sort of targeted was the Italian community just because I’m Italian. My parents immigrated here from Italy, so getting into that community was sort of easier. I spoke Italian. I understood the people, and it was a beautiful way into building my business. People were so supportive of me and brought me into a lot of different fundraising events for the Italian community. I was able to meet a lot of great people through there, and obviously every culture community really wants to start with their own people and supporting their own.

I created a wonderful network within that community, and then through doing events for different people of different backgrounds, I love the Jewish community just because they’re huge supporters of each other, of all of their organizations. They really have built strong foundations. Their relationships, they keep working at all their business relationships and they really support each other and it’s really a beautiful thing to see.”

“It’s a truly amazing city to work in, to be an entrepreneur in. I’ve been very, very supported by a lot of different communities. I’ve been able to network with people at all levels. I’ve met people from all different realms, all different religions, all different age brackets, and everyone here is really willing to help each other.”

“One of my first contracts ever in 2005 was Dans la rue. There was tons of corporate support around that organization, which was really great, and sometimes people forget about homeless people in Montreal. You focus a lot on health and a lot on other, sort of bigger causes, but Dans la rue is one organization that’s really gone and stayed very grassroots and does really great interventions at the micro level. It’s a wonderful organization.”

“My parents are so grateful that they came here of all countries. They had actually stopped in Australia for a few years and in the States for a little bit, and I’m very grateful that they ended up here because Montreal is a great place for business. You can really do whatever you want to do as long as you put in the work and you put in the time and you have passion.”

“People really support each other here and everyone is willing to hear out a new idea, see it through, invest some money into it, and it’s a place that really breeds creativity so anything you’re doing, and if you’re doing it with just a little bit of an edge and a little bit differently, people will automatically be drawn to it.”

“In order to really make it in this city, you gotta give. You gotta give. You gotta give your time. You gotta give your energy, your efforts, your talent. You gotta share.”