{"id":98718,"date":"2022-08-08T13:43:32","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T13:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interac1.wpengine.com\/?post_type=content&p=98718"},"modified":"2025-05-30T17:37:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T21:37:48","slug":"how-this-branding-consultant-helps-marginalized-entrepreneurs-succeed","status":"publish","type":"content","link":"https:\/\/www.interac.ca\/en\/content\/business\/how-this-branding-consultant-helps-marginalized-entrepreneurs-succeed\/","title":{"rendered":"How this branding consultant helps marginalized entrepreneurs succeed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article is in partnership with Daily Hive <\/a>and Canada\u2019s LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marginalized communities need \u201csomebody who gets them. They need somebody who understands that they want to show up authentically as themselves and not feel like they have to be somebody else to sell their product or service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s according to social entrepreneur Michelle Osbourne, founder of the boutique communications agency Michelle Osbourne & Co<\/a> based in Quebec City and a body positivity influencer<\/a> who works with women of colour and non-binary people who need help promoting their socially conscious business or brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a queer parent who navigated her introduction to the world of motherhood at 42<\/a> while juggling French lessons, life in a new city (she moved to Quebec City from Toronto seven years ago), and trying to find her feet as a communications entrepreneur, Osbourne knows the struggles that come with setting up your own business. And luckily for us, she\u2019s willing to share some of her wisdom on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hustle<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cI hustle every day,\u201d Osbourne says. \u201cPeople think it\u2019s easy. They say, \u2018Oh, Michelle, you have all of these [Instagram] followers and you\u2019re doing so well.\u2019 But they don\u2019t see me up at 3 am. And they don\u2019t see the effort that goes into juggling my life and business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s these struggles that help her empathize with her clients. \u201cMy passion is for working in communications with not-for-profits,\u201d she tells Daily Hive. \u201cMy heart has always been in building up my community \u2014 marginalized women and non-binary persons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Osbourne knew she wanted to work with entrepreneurs who make a social impact, but that meant narrowing her customer base \u2014 a move that those following her career warned her against. But, Osbourne is a big believer that \u201cbuilding a socially conscious community is not just about the bottom line.\u201d She knew she was targeting a niche market and believed that this approach would work out in her favour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, Osbourne focused her new venture on providing communications strategies for marginalized women and non-binary entrepreneurs in the vicinity of Quebec City. But the pandemic had other plans. As it forced many businesses to pivot online<\/a> in order to stay competitive and survive, it made Osbourne shift her mindset to a global scale, rather than just focusing locally. This shift coincided with her setting up an Instagram page on body positivity<\/a> \u201cjust for fun.\u201d Little did she know it would be the explosion of followers on this platform (currently 16K and counting) during the pandemic that led her to finding her true customer base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confidence crusader<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cAt the beginning of the pandemic, I started to build a social media platform about body liberation because that\u2019s when the George Floyd situation and [the Black Lives Matter demonstrations] had happened, [and] we were all just tired of the bullshit,\u201d she says.

Osbourne felt the time was right to speak up about who she is, so she used her Instagram platform and branded herself as \u201ca confidence crusader.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This meant that when she \u201ctook a leap of faith\u201d in December 2021 and set up Michelle Osbourne & Co, the clients were already there because she had spent two years building her community, building trust, and getting to know her followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She now has clients based across Canada, the US, and the UK. \u201cThat was the best thing that I could have ever done,\u201d Osbourne reflects, adding, \u201cI was a nobody before the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, she can proudly state, \u201cI teach marginalized communities how to use their lived experiences as \u2018superpowers\u2019 so that they can create a brand that advocates for change. My calling is to help inspire, empower, and build confidence in tomorrow\u2019s radical visionaries so that they can augment their voice and build human-first businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her success has also been noticed by those around her, as she was voted one of CBC Montreal\u2019s Black change makers<\/a> last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authentic branding for marginalized communities<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The main issues Osbourne finds her clients face are \u201cbeing taken seriously, showing up as their authentic selves, and access to money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStatistically, women of colour are the poorest people<\/a> on the planet,\u201d says Osbourne, \u201cBut funny enough, we are one of the biggest demographics who are building small businesses right now. So money is always an issue in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When payment is an issue, Osbourne works with her clients to come up with a reasonable payment plan which they conduct via Interac<\/em> e-Transfer. This kindness is born out of her history working with non-profits and a desire to help socially conscious entrepreneurs succeed, plus her own experience of \u201chustling for every dollar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her clients are often also members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, which can see them face other challenges. \u201cSometimes I think people in the 2SLGBTQ+ community hide who they are, or try to be someone else for fear that their clients won\u2019t like it when they find out they\u2019re gay,\u201d says Osbourne. \u201cI want to remind them that there are so many people who don\u2019t care that you\u2019re queer. They just want you to be able to do business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She warns, \u201cPeople can smell fake a mile away,\u201d and tells a success story about a client who gained 10K new social media followers in a week by telling her true<\/em> story rather than conforming to perceived norms and talking solely about her product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe saw huge success just by showing up as herself and telling her story and stopping pretending to be like all of the other experts in her field and doing the same thing that everybody else is doing,\u201d said Osbourne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest lesson Osbourne has learned during her journey as a social entrepreneur is to ensure she has more than one revenue stream. As her online presence has grown, Osbourne\u2019s business has expanded to include communications planning, brand coaching and consulting, body positivity speaking, and content creating for various brands. She\u2019s also currently building an online store selling branded merchandise, children\u2019s books, and Amazon store favourites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As her business grows and her revenue streams diversify, a reliable and fast payments provider is essential. Osbourne uses Interac<\/em> e-Transfer which she says has \u201cgreatly simplified the money transfer process between me and my clients.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI use Interac<\/em> e-Transfer on a daily basis when I\u2019m transferring funds between clients and making payments on bills and invoices \u2014 and I actually don\u2019t know what I would do without it,\u201d she says. \u201cIt has really, really helped me streamline how I give and receive money, especially as a small business entrepreneur who doesn\u2019t have a lot of money or resources to invest in big systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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