She will remember the date forever. Shock, too. It was August 2018. Marianne Lemay was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. It was two months after a miscarriage, followed by extreme fatigue.
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At 28, the mother of a boy who was a year and a half at the time nevertheless had the first instinct of telling her employer at the time that she could continue to work. “I was told no,” she says. I took two and a half months off. »
The imposed rest gives him time to think, necessary for the next steps. She needs to reconsider her outlook on life, especially when she is told one day that she may only have two weeks left to live…before finding a targeted, recurring treatment to which she will respond well. “I have always exceeded my limits, but with my illness, I understood that I had some, that I had to take them into account and that life is short! »
She decides in the process to approach the world of work differently. She wants to help others and have fun. In 2019, she founded Kolegz.
Success, without getting tired
Nearly four years later, the human resources creativity firm has six employees. And customers are knocking on the door. “I have experienced exponential growth, except at the very beginning of COVID when finances were catastrophic,” says the now president and employee experience specialist. But I didn’t let go. We survived thanks to a government program that allowed clients to fully pay for our services. I built myself a portfolio, which gave me credibility to go and find others. »
And this, without Marianne Lemay exhausting herself excessively. Because embarking on entrepreneurship came with conditions that she dictated to herself! “Being a superhuman entrepreneur is exhausting,” she notes. As human resources director in the past, I took all the stress and suffered. I don’t have the energy for it anymore. »
What I do excites me, it keeps me alive and makes me forget the disease. The stress of running a small business is nothing compared to being told you could die.
Marianne Lemay
Marianne Lemay says she is able to let go, especially on deadlines. “I am more open, more patient. Vacations are unlimited. Myself, I take six weeks a year, she lists. It forces me not to work 80 hours a week, to spend time with my family, my son. I take the time to smell her hair… It’s worth gold. I had no choice, but it gave me another vision of life. »
To feel good, she never hid her illness, neither from the employees she hires (“Are you aware that I have cancer and therefore anything can happen?”) nor from her clients. (“Sometimes there may be a delay…”).
The entrepreneur is also transparent on social networks. One of the reasons: “To signify that we have the right to speak when things are not going well”, she justifies. Last week, Marianne Lemay notably wrote on LinkedIn: “Managing a business and having cancer (under chemo) is not easy! […] My illness is what forces me to stop, to reflect, to be wiser. My business gives me goals that inspire me to look forward and stay alive. »
“Not everyone wants and can talk about such a diagnosis,” she agrees. The reality of my business allows me to, because we work on the long term with clients. I suggest sick entrepreneurs ask themselves: what’s the worst that can happen if you talk about it? To analyze the pros and cons. »
In her company, you don’t feel like you’re talking to a girl in her early thirties, so wise and lucid are her words. “A maturity came with cancer,” she says. The first year aged me 10 years. »
Illness or not, Kolegz will last a long time, in his eyes. Death is not a scenario for those who see their professional role evolve. “But I don’t imagine extraordinary growth, because it’s exhausting,” she admits. You have to go step by step. I’ve already refused a high-paying mandate, because we wouldn’t have had any fun. I don’t hesitate to say no. »