Helping Biterrois residents to launch into the world of self-employment

Fatima, Abir, Hania et Marie-Marguerite, entrepreneuses biterroises. – Frédéric Faux

Des créatrices d'entreprises décident de transformer leur passion en métier et bénéficient des conseils d'un cabinet spécialisé.

Hania, after studying anthropology, created Koos Koos, a company that sells couscous made from barley; Marie-Marguerite, formerly of Arts Déco in Paris, gives private yoga lessons, remotely; Fatima, after a long career as a customer service representative or secretary, began making pearl jewelry and ornaments. All have in common that they have passed into the hands of Axents, a consultancy firm commissioned by the Region, which runs the "Béziers Créatives" club. "We help them build the project, obtain aid, and  promote themselves through flyers or on the internet", explains Abir Ben Ali, the mediator. 

Many of the women she supervises have also gone through a divorce, which sometimes requires them to regain financial independence: "They need to be supported , encouraged", continues Abir Ben Ali. Each, then, has its history, its constraints. "The children start to grow up, and we realize that we haven't lived the professional side of our life", confides Hania. Marie-Marguerite relied on the community to forget a toxic ex-spouse: "Each one brings their experience, she remarks. For my part, I gave them an intervention on stress management."

Fatima, on the contrary, can only congratulate herself on her husband, who supports her. However, she realized, when she was an employee, that it is always more difficult to find a job when you are a woman: "With children, housekeeping to do, employers think that we are less available." Now that she works independently, she no longer limits her ambitions: "I want to sell on social networks, online ;international… Pearl jewelry, it works very well in the United States."

-Koos Koos, on facebook.

-Macadam Yoga, on instagram.

-For pearl jewelry: titidailleurs on Instagram.