Meet Brigitte Over a (Virtual) Cappuccino

Brigitte Hermanns, Founder & CEO of Alveare Social and The Fit Hive | Ontario, Canada

I received a note from a respected former Google executive and current CEO of Pelmorex, The Weather Network, about a brilliant mind he had the chance to encounter. He so strongly believed in her talents that he started connecting dots to ensure she received relevant introductions and support. Needless to say, I’m the lucky one who can now call Brigitte a friend and an inspiration. She smiles, a lot. It’s infectious. So infectious that it’s a dose of liquid sunshine in itself. She is strong-willed and will turn any difficult situation into an opportunity. She goes after what she wants, forging strong relationships and building a community along the way.

Brigitte has a degree in Biology, and has worked for some of Canada's largest brands in social media, food science, and retail marketing. She has been an entrepreneur since 2018 in the digital marketing space before founding Alveare Social, a boutique Toronto Social Media Marketing Agency that moves at the speed of life to provide B2B and B2C brands with exceptional content, value and results. Brigitte is on a mission to redefine the Social Media Marketing Agency model, having created a unique system of operations that provides value to clients, at a fraction of the cost. Her team is focused on bringing back unique content, strategy and return on investment, in a timely, efficient and organized manner. Fun fact! Alveare in Latin means beehive or hive, which perfectly summarizes Brigitte’s approach to business: partnership, collaboration, purpose-driven.

Brigitte is also the Founder and CEO of The Fit Hive, a digital wellness brand, motivating and inspiring busy women to live a healthier lifestyle. The Fit Hive provides its community with recipe R&D inspiration, equipment-free workouts, brand collaborations, and social events.

Let’s get to know Brigitte over a virtual Cappuccino. ☕️

“Remembering that while the virus is contagious, so is love, enthusiasm, positivity and laughter.”

- Brigitte Hermanns

How are you taking care of yourself during the current COVID-19 pandemic and how are you fostering the spirit of community in our evolved virtual world?

B.H.: During a time of such uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to keep positive both for yourself and your community. Remembering that while the virus is contagious, so is love, enthusiasm, positivity and laughter. While sharing facts and spreading awareness is important, so is the power of spreading positive energy and stories. Not only is this an excellent time to engage with your community for support, but it is also a prime time for experimentation, testing and harnessing social media's valuable feedback loop.

Whether you're in a panicked state over being temporarily laid off, or bored at home due to self isolation, I think that this is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of this gift of time, and use it wisely. Take advantage of activities that you either wouldn't typically designate time towards, such as reading, cooking, Spring cleaning, and video chatting loved ones and friends over your morning coffee.

I believe that there will be a number of interesting things to come from this forced online community shift, including; firstly, businesses who hadn't previously realized the power of an online presence and community, witnessing first hand the importance and hopping onto social. Secondly, this is an incredibly interesting period for social media analytics analysis and comparison, therefore if you are not already, make sure to take advantage of this, to both learn and benefit from. Thirdly, a more comfortable and permanent integration of online community and engagement into daily life. 

* Below answers provided prior to COVID-19 self-isolation being in effect.

What does the power of connection mean to you and how has it impacted your personal and business life?

B.H.: Connection is a powerful thing! Whether it’s online or offline, the power of connecting with people is something that is so important for support, inspiration and motivation. I always try to surround myself with people who inspire me to be the best version of myself, and who encourage me to think big and push me to new limits.

I have found that being an entrepreneur is like riding a roller coaster. Therefore to have those people that you can lean on through a sharp turn, be your safety net when you think that you’re going to fall off, or raise your hands up in excitement with, is something incredibly special.

Creating and fostering communities is inherent to you. What initially encouraged you to become an entrepreneur and create The Fit Hive? What learnings are you applying to your new venture, Alveare Social?

B.H.: The Fit Hive originally started with an assortment of baking experiments, attempting to create variations of popular desserts that were both healthy and delicious. Using my background in food science and a whole panel of roommates and friends for feedback, I was on a mission to make healthy desserts taste just as good as unhealthy ones. This recipe experimentation transformed from solely offline to online, with the creation of a blog, and from food to overall healthy lifestyle. Social channels were then added and experimented with, brand collaborations were formed, and the online community starting to grow. Fast-forward to now, where The Fit Hive is a registered corporation, with thousands of pieces of content created and posted, hundreds of brand collaborations, and the first product launched, along with a commercial to help promote it. The whole process of brand building has heavily involved community. Constantly listening to feedback, experimenting, and adapting to change and need. These, along with many other learning are constantly being applying to Alveare Social.

You suffered from an ankle injury last summer which forced you to take a hiatus from The Fit Hive. Instead of drowning into a negative spiral, you took the opportunity to reset and refocus. You created Alveare Social, a Social Media Marketing agency, during this time and have described this business as your Aha moment. What led you to create this venture and what do you aspire to gain from it?

B.H.: Breaking my right ankle last May did turn out to be a sort of blessing in disguise! It forced me to learn a whole new level of patience and appreciation for mobility that I had taken for granted before. While also discovering new ways to unwind (other than exercise), and becoming more in-tuned with my body than ever before. I guess that being immobile for four months can have that sort of effect!

However, the largest shift that came from breaking my ankle was in my career. The injury not only caused loss of mobility, but also a huge decline in content, analytics and brand partnerships. Wonderfully enough though, what I did start to gain was social media marketing consulting opportunities from brands who were following The Fit Hive and aware of what I was capable of creating. What started out as something temporary then began to grow and flourish, and as soon as I was back on my feet I was out pitching to further grow my consulting client list. It was not only rewarding to help build other brands, but it was also exciting to be involved in a number of different businesses and diversifying my social landscape.

Before evolving from consulting into an agency, I had a system of operation to tackle first. Having worked with many marketing agencies on both the brand and influencer side, I was constantly shocked by the lack of speed, partnership and value for the astronomically high agency fees that were being charged. Therefore knowing that I could do better than what was currently out there, I created a scalable and efficient system of operation. This was based on feedback, experimentation and research and is focused on partnership, efficiency, and value for clients. Alveare Social (meaning Hive in Latin), is now growing and I couldn't be happier!

You have obtained support from some of the best tech and marketing leaders in the industry. How do you approach relationship building? What advice do you have for entrepreneurs who are starting off and need to build a strong network of advocates?

B.H.: It's been a whirlwind of inspiration to say the least! I approach relationship building with honesty, curiosity and an open mind. Everyone has their own individual way of thinking, communicating and working that makes them unique and successful in their own way. Therefore to be an active listener in conversations, and to pick up on these unique skill sets is important.

A few years ago when I was ready to make a career shift, I made a point of meeting with as many inspirational leaders as I could get in front of, to listen to their career stories. Absorbing as much as I could from each meeting (I call this sponge-mode), to see how this information could be useful in determining the next step in my own career. While listening to these stories I compartmentalized the information into a number of different categories, including different communication styles, strategy moves, largest risks, rising from failures, managing wins, etc. This information, along with the support of a number of these leaders, is what helped me make the leap from corporate life to entrepreneurship with greater confidence.

Regarding advice to other entrepreneurs; get out there and learn! Surround yourself with those that you admire and strive to be like! And remember, that no matter what someone's job title may be, that you too are a CEO, therefore act as such! Be early, organized and have a goal for each and every meeting. Realize and understand the power of listening to others stories and experiences, because if you do I can guarantee that you will walk away miles ahead.

You now run a social marketing agency geared towards community and creativity. In an increasingly competitive digital landscape, how can brands distinguish themselves through the power of community?

B.H.: Community is a huge distinguishing factor! Having essentially a fan club of people who are willing to post and boast about your product or service just simply because they love it, is something invaluable. Not only does it help to build trust and relationships with those buying/using your products or services, but it also helps you to continuously control the narrative of your brand. Community can also bring a valuable feedback loop, for new product development and current product enhancements. With ongoing analysis of both analytics and feedback you are able to learn what your existing customers are enjoying, looking for, or lacking, gathering a huge amount of market research, just through your community alone!

One thing you never compromise on is wellness. What daily rituals keep you motivated and energizes throughout the day?

B.H.: My daily power walks paired with my happy pop playlists help me to reset and unwind. I also look at each day from a very holistic perspective, being mindful of how much I'm moving versus how much I'm eating. This helps me to keep fully in-tune with my body, my needs and consistent with making healthy choices. Posting healthy recipes and fitness routines to The Fit Hive also helps to keep me motivated. Making me want to eat better and move more, which in turn helps to motivate my community to live a healthier lifestyle.

Mindset you live by... go!

B.H.:

Positive mind, positive vibes, positive life!

The worst that someone can say is no.

If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them - Albert Einstein

Just do it - Nike

Connect with Brigitte!