January 20, 2025 • 28 mins
The Sabbya Spa Success Story: How a Young Entrepreneur Took Over Montreal’s Wellness Scene
In this inspiring episode of Business Energetics, we sit down with Maren Al Jendi, the visionary founder of Sabbya Spa in Montreal. At just 20-something, Maren has carved out a unique space in the competitive wellness industry, turning his dream into a thriving business. From his humble beginnings in Syria to building a warm, welcoming, and successful spa in Montreal, Maren shares his entrepreneurial journey like never before.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- How Maren navigated challenges as a young, inexperienced entrepreneur in a competitive market.
- The strategies he used to hire and mobilize a team that creates an exceptional client experience.
- Maren’s personal daily routine for success and how it keeps him focused and motivated.
- His top tips for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to make their mark.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a wellness enthusiast, or someone looking for actionable inspiration, this episode is packed with value you won’t want to miss!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Claudia Comtois (00:07):
Welcome back to the Business Energetics Podcast
.
I am here with Ma Ren himself,the one, the only, the founder
and owner of Sabia in Montreal.
You might have seen them.
They're taking the entirestreet.
This is a revolutionary medicalaesthetic slash, spa, slash
(00:29):
everything you could evenimagine.
You'll be needing to feelbeautiful, healthy and well, so
welcome to the podcast thank you.
Maren Al Jendi (00:38):
That's too many flowers.
I appreciate it.
I'm blushing already, but, uh,thank you.
Thank you for taking the timeto do this.
My pleasure.
Um, yeah, welcome to savia aswell thank you so much.
Claudia Comtois (00:51):
um so, Maren, you are telling me that I'm
giving you too many flowers, butcan we talk about how it is to
build this amazing facility atsuch a young age?
What got you into theentrepreneurship journey?
(01:12):
I've always been, I think Iwould say, a bit creative or out
of the box, but what I thinkmakes me an entrepreneur is my
interest in so many differentfields, so many different
aspects.
(01:33):
So it was a combination ofopportunity and kind of need to
get out and do somethingdifferent that brought the first
idea to my head that I wouldlike to take my first step at
innovating.
I would like to start this bysaying that I I'm lucky
unfortunate I have a very lovingand supportive father and
family who have given me thisopportunity to go and pursue
this and, with their support,that I'm able to capitalize on
(01:55):
uh and capitalize on theiropportunity, capitalize on
whatever creativity, innovationthat I do think I have.
So, yeah, I have a good rolemodel to look up to is a father,
a friend, a mentor, boss inmany different ways, but yeah,
so there is an opportunity herethat was to innovate.
(02:15):
I think it was a lot ofpeople's stories start in COVID
these days and you know I wantedto do.
There's there been a gap in myopinion in this industry where
medical aesthetics lackedwellness, lacked hospitality,
and I wanted to go in thatdirection and explore it.
I love it.
So what would you say tosomeone who you know they want
(02:40):
to launch themselves intoentrepreneurship but they don't
necessarily have the familysupport?
How would you tell them tonavigate when we don't have the
support of our friends or familyor everything?
How do you get yourself to dothings that are quote unquote
(03:02):
impossible or unachievable orunattainable?
Maren Al Jendi (03:09):
It's a tough question because I mean, my
answer might come from a placeof a little bit of privilege,
but in my past I grew up inSyria, a war-torn country,
unfortunate circumstances.
So there is the up and down ofthe fortune and the misfortune
that I've experienced and what Iwould answer your question with
(03:34):
is just to, like you weretelling me earlier, to ask and
try again and keep knocking thedoor and knock again, and knock
again and knock at and knock somany different doors.
I mean, yes, I have opportunity, but a lot of people look at me
with the external shell that Ihave, which is my age.
I mean, I like the businessacumen, I like the experience in
(03:56):
the eyes of people who arewell-established in their 40s,
50s or companies that have beenaround for a long time, and when
I'm going to knock their doorto try to collaborate with them,
it's a question mark that theyalways put on top.
So what I end up doing is Ikeep knocking the door and
knocking the door.
So an example that I could bringto you is the Four Seasons or
(04:21):
all the hotels that we've beenworking with.
They didn't know who I am.
They were wondering there isthis place, new place in
Montreal that keeps knockingtheir door and they're generally
always very much solicited,until I was able to break into
one of the other smaller hotels,place d'Armes.
I think.
They're a newer hotel theyrenovated recently and through a
(04:45):
relationship that I built withtheir team, I was welcomed to
kind of speak at the Golden KeySociety, le Clé d'Or, where it's
kind of the association for allthe concierge.
Here, of course, it's theMontreal chapter, but there are
so many around the world and Iwas able to go in and speak to
(05:05):
do different, so many like Ithink there were 40, 50
different hotels there at thesame time.
Okay, so I was able to speak tothem, et cetera.
And to answer your question ina long story it's to keep
knocking, keep asking thatquestion, keep trying, keep
going, and I guess you and Ilike see similarly on this, keep
(05:26):
going and I guess you and Ilike see similarly on this.
I think your story you sharedwith me earlier is very and it
resonates very well with me oflike keep asking for what you
want to achieve and until youget it, no matter the
opportunity you have.
Claudia Comtois (05:36):
So yeah, and where is the line.
So sometimes in theentrepreneur journey we have
roller coasters.
We have moments where it's ahigh a little bit lower.
How do you know if it's anopportunity to keep going or if
it's a sign to give up?
A lot of people are kind ofmitigated between the two.
Maren Al Jendi (06:01):
I mean, what I have is some sort of a little
bit of an intuitive feeling onthe extent of the return on
investment for something likethis, so it's not really give up
.
I wouldn't.
I wouldn't position it as giveup as much as is it worth it, or
is it taking away time fromanother opportunity that I could
be investing myself in?
(06:22):
I have an employee I don't knowif she wants me to say her name
, but she's incredible andbefore, towards the last days
before we opened Sabia so let'ssay June of 2023, we were still
hiring for our reception teamwe're still trying to build a
(06:43):
team together and she sent herCV, sent it twice, sent it to my
colleagues, sent it to the headoffice, came and knocked at
this door.
We were closed.
We were in the middle of likecleaning up towards the end and
came and knocked at this doorand kept knocking and she kept
asking like hi?
Claudia Comtois (07:02):
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(07:23):
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So visit Alchemy Media today toget started.
Now back to the show.
Maren Al Jendi (07:30):
I would like to be considered for your
receptionist job and I wouldlike an interview right now.
What do you have going on?
Right now?
I'd like an interview and itdoesn't matter whatever
opportunities or not, orprivileges that she may or may
not have.
This is the perseverance ofsomebody wanting to do something
.
They walked, knocked the doorand kept knocking the door until
(07:52):
they got the end and she's withus since we.
We opened basically around thattime she's still here today yeah
, I love that and I want totouch a little bit more on that.
I want to circle back on whatyou just said and I want to take
you back to the moment whereyou had the idea let's open in
Montreal and let's do this here.
(08:13):
What were the feelings you werefeeling?
What was the energy brewingfrom bringing an idea into life?
Bringing an idea into life.
I don't know if I can pinpointa moment per se that I can
associate a feeling to.
Of course, there's a momentthat we sat back down you know
(08:36):
we're closing a meeting.
We stood up and then, if youwill, there's a eureka moment or
like what about medicalaesthetics mixed with a spa?
And all of us in the meetingsat back down and were like, ok,
let's discuss this.
The meeting was coming to aconclusion.
It was like 9.30 pm, we'rechatting, we're done.
It was like, ok, this idea thatwe've had before was not, you
(09:01):
know, was not going to go in thedirection that's, you know,
interesting for us.
He came up with the idea and wesat back down and that was the
moment.
Of course, I was in theconversation, in the discussion.
If I sit back and I reflect onhow I felt then is I felt like a
I would say it's like a rushall over my body of like
excitement.
(09:21):
Okay, another breath in, let'sdo it, let's take a stab at this
, and this is the easiest partof innovation in the moment,
like something clicked, becausethere is a book by I believe
it's elizabeth gilbert, which isthe big magic and she has the
concept that ideas are livingbeings a little bit like fairies
(09:43):
and they go to the people thatcan give them life okay so what
you're feeling right now.
It reminds me of this book whereit came out of nowhere at a
moment where everybody wasleaving and it felt home yeah,
it felt.
It felt like a new breath, feltlike, okay, let's try this again
, let's take a stab at thisconcept.
(10:05):
And we sat down.
The concept was like all overthe place at the the beginning
and you had to shape it and youhad to like kind of hone in on
exactly what is best and how wecan really mix hospitality with
medical aesthetics in a waythat's not done before it has
never been done, honestly.
Claudia Comtois (10:25):
Um, you guys have to google the company.
If you're in the montreal area,you have to try it out, because
I've never seen anything likeit.
Um, it's everything you'dimagine it to be thank you I
remember because, um, we havekatherine, who's going to be in
another episode, who hosted anevent here yeah and, first of
(10:49):
all, I've never seen eventshosted into a spa yeah that in
of itself is amazing.
So there's like two things Iwant to touch on, but also when
we were welcomed, it's the bestwelcome I've ever felt.
In any event, Thank you.
I honestly, I honestly, really,really, I want to press that
(11:09):
down, because you got to givethe flowers to those who deserve
it and the moment I passed thisdoor, I was greeted.
Somebody gave me a number, theytook my coat, they made sure
that it was secured, and then wehad a private visit and, mind
you, there were like at least 25, 30 people at this event, like
it was moving, and there wasn't50 staff members.
(11:31):
They were busy, but every timewe passed one there was a smile,
there was a greeting, there waswarmth.
So how do you, as a I mean,syria is very warm- the people.
I mean, it's the spices, it'sthe culture, it's the family.
How do you train a team to havethat warmth?
Maren Al Jendi (11:59):
There is a you, thank you again.
I'm going to leave with amassive bouquet of figurative
flowers that you're giving toSabia and myself.
And you pointed correctly it'sthe team and I think you asked a
question about training, but Iwould start even before training
(12:19):
.
I think you asked a questionabout training, but I would
start even before training.
And I think I mean energy is abig component for you and I take
the time to kind of get to knowpeople before they come onto
the team, get to know thempersonally and what they stand
for and how they present thingsand how they do it.
So what we've noticed, whatI've noticed when I was looking
(12:43):
into the medical aestheticsfield and to clarify, medical
aesthetics and a spa under thesame roof.
It's kind of this uniquestandpoint we have.
But when I was looking atpeople in the medical aesthetics
field and the experiences thatthey had, what I saw is two
things.
Usually I kind of cold,alienated experience that's just
(13:04):
dealing with.
You know skin on a surfacelevel.
you know, a little bit.
I mean removed from the person,if you will, and and the the.
The second component is that itwasn't welcoming per se.
(13:26):
They were expecting a certaintype of client that would walk
in who was just another personit's not me that was expecting
the clientele.
When I went and I visiteddifferent kind of existing
establishments here.
They're expecting a typicalclientele.
They weren't really.
They were surprised to see kindof a Middle Eastern guy come in
(13:51):
.
It's not usually the typicalclientele they would see.
So I noticed these two kind ofdeficits in the experience of
the client in the industry andthen, whenever I remembered that
, when I was, you know, buildingthe team and continuously
ongoing.
So the training for me whichyou asked about, for me starts
(14:15):
from the hiring and what kind ofenergy that people convey to
you while you're hiring them.
Are they?
Are they welcoming?
Are they them?
Are they welcoming?
Are they loving?
Are they passionate?
Are they interested in thehuman behind the concern that's
coming forward?
Or are they just solelyinterested in selling and just,
you know, looking at the concern, the skin concern, from an
(14:39):
external perspective rather thaninvolving themselves in getting
to know the person?
So that's step one.
Step two is I personally liketo take the time to be very
involved and warm and caringtowards my team and I do believe
it's one of my strongest beliefthat if the team is well taken
care of, this will automaticallyconvey to the guest.
(14:59):
It will automatically convey ifthe team is comfortable, if
they're welcome, if they'rewithin friends at work, if
they're within kind of.
They know they can go to theirleadership and they see warmth
from them and they see welcomingfrom them.
I think this will immediatelyconvey toward the guest
experience.
And I think this is what youfelt, because when people were
(15:21):
passing by you and giving yousmiles, even though they were
not giving you your tour, it'sbecause they're happy to see you
, they're genuinely happy to seeyou I do.
I do believe it wasn't forced atall exactly so.
I think there's an element ofthis that, of course, we can
train and we can work, and theteam works hard at evolving,
developing themselves, butthere's a component of this that
you can't train.
It.
(15:41):
You can't train love for peopleand welcoming a way that you
know, takes care of the humanbehind and beyond the concern
(16:08):
that they come in facing it's sointeresting because we're in a
period of time when this isfilmed, where employers are
having trouble to hire people,and to hire good staff and
people that actually want towork.
I keep hearing that nobodywants to work these days, to
quote some people.
But to see here that peoplecome with joy and warmth and the
(16:33):
persistence that, for example,the person that was giving you
their CV over and over and overagain.
it shows a willingness, and sodo you feel there's a false
narrative right now being pushed?
I do, I don't think.
I think when somebody sayspeople don't want to work, I
(16:54):
think there needs to be a littlebit of reflection whether
people don't want to work orpeople don't want to work in the
environment that's beingpresented, or people don't want
to work in the environmentthat's being presented.
I, our team, I do believe thatthey enjoy their work.
They love their work, they'reworking with something that
they're passionate about andthey love their work environment
(17:15):
.
They love their team andthey're working together and
supporting each other.
So they do want to work.
It's everything indicates thatthey do want to work.
It's everything indicates thatthey do want to work.
And you know, I was talking Iwas talking about this, uh, uh,
with a friend of mine, um, and Iget get asked this question a
lot of like how do you do a worklife balance?
And interesting.
(17:37):
And to me, I don't.
I don't see that like dichotomy.
It's not a work-life balance.
I think work is part of lifeand life overall is balanced
when, when you love what you'redoing, when you're doing
something, you know again, I'mfortunate, I'm lucky, I'm doing
something that I want to do andI'm passionate about um, it's
(17:58):
not work, I'm not working, I'mjust living that's, that's
honestly.
Claudia Comtois (18:03):
There's so many quotable moments there's
because you bring such a freshperspective and at such a young
age you have so much wisdom, andit's just honestly, it's
mesmerizing thank you, thank you, but I want, I want to know you
have mentioned and I know thatpeople don't really like to talk
(18:24):
about what they're doing behindthe scenes to give back, but we
had a conversation around yougiving back to some foundations
in Montreal in.
Quebec and I want to know wheredoes that will for philanthropy
and giving back comes from?
You know, at such a young ageyou could, you know.
(18:44):
Let's be honest.
You could be like, oh, thisbusiness is working well, I can
buy myself the car I want, I cando whatever, I can be on
vacation every single day, butyou decide no, I want to make
sure my staff is good, I want tomake sure I give back to
society, especially in theduring the holidays.
Where does that come from?
Maren Al Jendi (19:06):
I think it would circle back to the same
narrative as, like work, lifebalance, and I will link it for
you.
I believe life is a communityand we are a part of a community
.
We're all here together, we'redoing all living our separate
lives together and everythingintersects together.
So I don't see it as givingback, as an action of, oh, I
(19:33):
have to give back.
I see it as I'm living as apart of a community and I'm
sharing my experience, sharingwhatever I have access to with
others, to the extent that I can.
So, you know, recently wesponsored the gala for Fondation
Emergence.
Fondation Emergence, it's aleading foundation in the LGBTQ
(19:57):
community for rewarding a kindof social action that's in the
LGBTQ world and they're giving,you know, awards and recognizing
people who are fighting forcauses that they believe in.
That we event in.
Just I was a guest.
Sabia is kind of a year and afew months old, so we're not
(20:17):
necessarily in a position togive massive financial gifts,
but what we are offering forpeople is a moment to come and
experience taking care ofthemselves, and that's what we
were gifting.
Care of themselves and that'swhat we were gifting, even if
there is no check that will bewritten today.
But and eventually, of course,checks will be written, but what
(20:39):
we can always offer is hey,sabia is a space for you to take
time for yourself, take care ofyourself and reward yourself,
for you know living as part ofthis living, that you're doing
this kind of allow somebody totake care of you, allow yourself
to take care of yourself.
And we gifted a lot of theguests experiences at Sabia to
(21:05):
come and have a conversationwith a medical professional, see
whatever concerns they have.
Have a conversation with amedical professional, see
whatever concerns they have, tohave a massage and relax a
little bit, get off their feetthat they're working on a daily
basis, spend some time at thethermal area here in a little
(21:26):
bit of quiet and a calm.
And so, yes, I don't see itparticularly as giving back as
much as I am sharing whateverexperience I've built with the
community that I'm surroundedwith.
I mean, we were at the heart ofthe village.
People worked very hard, muchharder than I have, to build
this community and I, you know,want to take pride in being in
(21:47):
the community.
That's you.
You know the village, theMontreal, the Canadian was given
an opportunity to come toCanada and leave an unfortunate
circumstance in Syria and I wantto be part of this community
and I am you are definitely, andyou're spreading the warmth and
the self-care, so thank you forthat.
Claudia Comtois (22:09):
I love that.
I want to know, before we wewrap everything up, I want to
know do you have a specialroutine, morning routine, before
bed routine, something thatputs you into the
entrepreneurial spirit but alsokeeps you grounded, because your
energy is very grounded, it'svery um at ease, which I'm
(22:34):
pretty sure aids in yourdecision making.
Probably, um, what, what isyour unfair advantage?
Or your little routine thatyou're doing, or your je ne sais
quoi that you add in your dayto stay grounded?
Maren Al Jendi (22:48):
um, so, uh, until very recently I mean very,
I would say, maybe a year or soago uh, I wasn't as uh kind of
grounded or as tame, if you will, uh, but uh, and because you
know, energy was pulling me inso many different directions, I
wanted to do this, this, thatand the other, and of course,
(23:10):
there, there are still sometimesthat this comes up, and it's
not at all a negative thing, Iwouldn't think of it as such,
but the groundedness I thinkI've started to be able to
develop is associated with aroutine that I've developed and
for me, I wake up at 6 am,naturally, usually between 6,
(23:33):
and you know my alarms at 6.
But sometimes, you know, I wakeup between 6.15, 6.30.
I wake up, you know, wash myface, get dressed and go to the
gym immediately.
Ok, yeah, the gym is my bestfriend lately.
(23:55):
Uh, the gym is my, uh, my bestfriend lately.
Um, it's time for myself, withmy music and some weight,
sometimes heavy, sometimes light, um and uh, you know, enjoy,
that's the time for myself.
Finish, go back home, shower,eat, get dressed and go to
whatever work I have.
And I think the moments that Ihave at the gym and the moment
that I have in the car are atthe gym is to ground my body in
(24:18):
the car is usually to ground mymind, see what the day ahead of
me is and get in the zone, andusually my days run like this
until, say, 9, 10 pm, whenever Iget back home and cycle begins
again wow, so that's, that's sonothing, nothing out of the
ordinary, nothing unique.
(24:39):
You know, I don't.
Uh, I do consider gym, mymeditation.
I do consider gym, mymeditation.
It's, uh, usually a a bodyexperience kind of to ease the
mind and then driving usually mymind experience to ease the
body.
Claudia Comtois (24:54):
Vice versa do you have a go-to uh training
like you do, more hiit or weightlifting or cardio?
Is there a thing you like to?
Maren Al Jendi (25:03):
um.
So I, uh, I went through a a ajourney of weight loss and, yeah
, to kind of gain back controlof my body.
I was at around 300, 300 pluspounds and through a long
journey I lost quite a bit ofthat weight and, you know, I'm
(25:25):
comfortable in my body now.
I'm even gaining back myfunctions.
I know my back doesn't hurtanymore, like I feel good, I'm
active, I'm energetic, uh.
So right now my training hasshifted towards more, uh, weight
lifting and strength training,towards being able to, uh, you
know, build for a healthierfuture and, you know, maintain
(25:47):
my organs.
Try to do the best I can, uhfor myself.
It's, it's a form of self-care.
So, mostly, mostly, weighttraining, I do some boxing, play
some basketball.
I'm bad at all of them but, uh,I think the enjoyment I get is
from, from doing the activityitself.
I think this is where the funcomes from and do you have
(26:08):
anything you want to tell?
Claudia Comtois (26:11):
It could be a younger version of yourself that
had aspirations or that was ina moment of uncertainty.
They had a dream and they feltlike, am I dreaming too big?
What would you tell that personthat has an idea that has
visited them and they want toexecute?
What do you wish you heard inthese moments?
Maren Al Jendi (26:36):
I mean it's a cliche, but I would have liked
to hear that you know towards ifI'm dreaming too big.
If I ask myself that question,the answer to it would be you're
not dreaming big enough.
I love that.
I do believe that things aredefined by their opposites, so,
(26:58):
and there's joy that comes fromsuccess, there's joy that comes
from failure, there's joy thatcomes from opportunity, there's
joy that comes from lack thereofand, uh, I think to cherish
those moments, uh, both equally,to appreciate those moments
both equally, um, is is veryinsightful, and I've learned
(27:22):
that recently.
And uh, uh, I, I think this issomething that I always like to
remind myself of in moments thatare down that this is what
makes moments that are up as, uh, as substantial as they are.
I don't know.
Claudia Comtois (27:39):
A little bit of a cliche no, it's okay, we need
these reminders.
My question is a cliche in andof itself, but it's because I
believe we have to be remindedover and, over, and, over and
over again, especially in thesemoments of doubt.
To have that repetitionoverpower the the forces that
(28:00):
are trying to stray us away fromour paths, is the best thing we
can do.
So definitely encourage youguys to listen over and over and
over again to that, maren.
Thank you so muchène thank youso much.
Maren Al Jendi (28:12):
Thank you so many large bouquet of flowers.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
I appreciate you having me.
Good luck.
Claudia Comtois (28:25):
Thank you.
Welcome back to the Business Energetics Podcast
.
I am here with Ma Ren himself,the one, the only, the founder
and owner of Sabia in Montreal.
You might have seen them.
They're taking the entirestreet.
This is a revolutionary medicalaesthetic slash, spa, slash
(00:29):
everything you could evenimagine.
You'll be needing to feelbeautiful, healthy and well, so
welcome to the podcast thank you.
Maren Al Jendi (00:38):
That's too many flowers.
I appreciate it.
I'm blushing already, but, uh,thank you.
Thank you for taking the timeto do this.
My pleasure.
Um, yeah, welcome to savia aswell thank you so much.
Claudia Comtois (00:51):
um so, Maren, you are telling me that I'm
giving you too many flowers, butcan we talk about how it is to
build this amazing facility atsuch a young age?
What got you into theentrepreneurship journey?
(01:12):
I've always been, I think Iwould say, a bit creative or out
of the box, but what I thinkmakes me an entrepreneur is my
interest in so many differentfields, so many different
aspects.
(01:33):
So it was a combination ofopportunity and kind of need to
get out and do somethingdifferent that brought the first
idea to my head that I wouldlike to take my first step at
innovating.
I would like to start this bysaying that I I'm lucky
unfortunate I have a very lovingand supportive father and
family who have given me thisopportunity to go and pursue
this and, with their support,that I'm able to capitalize on
(01:55):
uh and capitalize on theiropportunity, capitalize on
whatever creativity, innovationthat I do think I have.
So, yeah, I have a good rolemodel to look up to is a father,
a friend, a mentor, boss inmany different ways, but yeah,
so there is an opportunity herethat was to innovate.
(02:15):
I think it was a lot ofpeople's stories start in COVID
these days and you know I wantedto do.
There's there been a gap in myopinion in this industry where
medical aesthetics lackedwellness, lacked hospitality,
and I wanted to go in thatdirection and explore it.
I love it.
So what would you say tosomeone who you know they want
(02:40):
to launch themselves intoentrepreneurship but they don't
necessarily have the familysupport?
How would you tell them tonavigate when we don't have the
support of our friends or familyor everything?
How do you get yourself to dothings that are quote unquote
(03:02):
impossible or unachievable orunattainable?
Maren Al Jendi (03:09):
It's a tough question because I mean, my
answer might come from a placeof a little bit of privilege,
but in my past I grew up inSyria, a war-torn country,
unfortunate circumstances.
So there is the up and down ofthe fortune and the misfortune
that I've experienced and what Iwould answer your question with
(03:34):
is just to, like you weretelling me earlier, to ask and
try again and keep knocking thedoor and knock again, and knock
again and knock at and knock somany different doors.
I mean, yes, I have opportunity, but a lot of people look at me
with the external shell that Ihave, which is my age.
I mean, I like the businessacumen, I like the experience in
(03:56):
the eyes of people who arewell-established in their 40s,
50s or companies that have beenaround for a long time, and when
I'm going to knock their doorto try to collaborate with them,
it's a question mark that theyalways put on top.
So what I end up doing is Ikeep knocking the door and
knocking the door.
So an example that I could bringto you is the Four Seasons or
(04:21):
all the hotels that we've beenworking with.
They didn't know who I am.
They were wondering there isthis place, new place in
Montreal that keeps knockingtheir door and they're generally
always very much solicited,until I was able to break into
one of the other smaller hotels,place d'Armes.
I think.
They're a newer hotel theyrenovated recently and through a
(04:45):
relationship that I built withtheir team, I was welcomed to
kind of speak at the Golden KeySociety, le Clé d'Or, where it's
kind of the association for allthe concierge.
Here, of course, it's theMontreal chapter, but there are
so many around the world and Iwas able to go in and speak to
(05:05):
do different, so many like Ithink there were 40, 50
different hotels there at thesame time.
Okay, so I was able to speak tothem, et cetera.
And to answer your question ina long story it's to keep
knocking, keep asking thatquestion, keep trying, keep
going, and I guess you and Ilike see similarly on this, keep
(05:26):
going and I guess you and Ilike see similarly on this.
I think your story you sharedwith me earlier is very and it
resonates very well with me oflike keep asking for what you
want to achieve and until youget it, no matter the
opportunity you have.
Claudia Comtois (05:36):
So yeah, and where is the line.
So sometimes in theentrepreneur journey we have
roller coasters.
We have moments where it's ahigh a little bit lower.
How do you know if it's anopportunity to keep going or if
it's a sign to give up?
A lot of people are kind ofmitigated between the two.
Maren Al Jendi (06:01):
I mean, what I have is some sort of a little
bit of an intuitive feeling onthe extent of the return on
investment for something likethis, so it's not really give up
.
I wouldn't.
I wouldn't position it as giveup as much as is it worth it, or
is it taking away time fromanother opportunity that I could
be investing myself in?
(06:22):
I have an employee I don't knowif she wants me to say her name
, but she's incredible andbefore, towards the last days
before we opened Sabia so let'ssay June of 2023, we were still
hiring for our reception teamwe're still trying to build a
(06:43):
team together and she sent herCV, sent it twice, sent it to my
colleagues, sent it to the headoffice, came and knocked at
this door.
We were closed.
We were in the middle of likecleaning up towards the end and
came and knocked at this doorand kept knocking and she kept
asking like hi?
Claudia Comtois (07:02):
Interrupting your incredible podcast.
Are you inspired by Myron'sincredible journey so far?
He went from dreamer tosuccessful spa owner and at
alchemy media, that's exactlywhat we do.
We help entrepreneurs like youturn your bold ideas into
thriving businesses with expertmarketing strategies.
Whether you're just starting orready to scale, we're here to
(07:23):
make your visions a reality.
So visit Alchemy Media today toget started.
Now back to the show.
Maren Al Jendi (07:30):
I would like to be considered for your
receptionist job and I wouldlike an interview right now.
What do you have going on?
Right now?
I'd like an interview and itdoesn't matter whatever
opportunities or not, orprivileges that she may or may
not have.
This is the perseverance ofsomebody wanting to do something
.
They walked, knocked the doorand kept knocking the door until
(07:52):
they got the end and she's withus since we.
We opened basically around thattime she's still here today yeah
, I love that and I want totouch a little bit more on that.
I want to circle back on whatyou just said and I want to take
you back to the moment whereyou had the idea let's open in
Montreal and let's do this here.
(08:13):
What were the feelings you werefeeling?
What was the energy brewingfrom bringing an idea into life?
Bringing an idea into life.
I don't know if I can pinpointa moment per se that I can
associate a feeling to.
Of course, there's a momentthat we sat back down you know
(08:36):
we're closing a meeting.
We stood up and then, if youwill, there's a eureka moment or
like what about medicalaesthetics mixed with a spa?
And all of us in the meetingsat back down and were like, ok,
let's discuss this.
The meeting was coming to aconclusion.
It was like 9.30 pm, we'rechatting, we're done.
It was like, ok, this idea thatwe've had before was not, you
(09:01):
know, was not going to go in thedirection that's, you know,
interesting for us.
He came up with the idea and wesat back down and that was the
moment.
Of course, I was in theconversation, in the discussion.
If I sit back and I reflect onhow I felt then is I felt like a
I would say it's like a rushall over my body of like
excitement.
(09:21):
Okay, another breath in, let'sdo it, let's take a stab at this
, and this is the easiest partof innovation in the moment,
like something clicked, becausethere is a book by I believe
it's elizabeth gilbert, which isthe big magic and she has the
concept that ideas are livingbeings a little bit like fairies
(09:43):
and they go to the people thatcan give them life okay so what
you're feeling right now.
It reminds me of this book whereit came out of nowhere at a
moment where everybody wasleaving and it felt home yeah,
it felt.
It felt like a new breath, feltlike, okay, let's try this again
, let's take a stab at thisconcept.
(10:05):
And we sat down.
The concept was like all overthe place at the the beginning
and you had to shape it and youhad to like kind of hone in on
exactly what is best and how wecan really mix hospitality with
medical aesthetics in a waythat's not done before it has
never been done, honestly.
Claudia Comtois (10:25):
Um, you guys have to google the company.
If you're in the montreal area,you have to try it out, because
I've never seen anything likeit.
Um, it's everything you'dimagine it to be thank you I
remember because, um, we havekatherine, who's going to be in
another episode, who hosted anevent here yeah and, first of
(10:49):
all, I've never seen eventshosted into a spa yeah that in
of itself is amazing.
So there's like two things Iwant to touch on, but also when
we were welcomed, it's the bestwelcome I've ever felt.
In any event, Thank you.
I honestly, I honestly, really,really, I want to press that
(11:09):
down, because you got to givethe flowers to those who deserve
it and the moment I passed thisdoor, I was greeted.
Somebody gave me a number, theytook my coat, they made sure
that it was secured, and then wehad a private visit and, mind
you, there were like at least 25, 30 people at this event, like
it was moving, and there wasn't50 staff members.
(11:31):
They were busy, but every timewe passed one there was a smile,
there was a greeting, there waswarmth.
So how do you, as a I mean,syria is very warm- the people.
I mean, it's the spices, it'sthe culture, it's the family.
How do you train a team to havethat warmth?
Maren Al Jendi (11:59):
There is a you, thank you again.
I'm going to leave with amassive bouquet of figurative
flowers that you're giving toSabia and myself.
And you pointed correctly it'sthe team and I think you asked a
question about training, but Iwould start even before training
(12:19):
.
I think you asked a questionabout training, but I would
start even before training.
And I think I mean energy is abig component for you and I take
the time to kind of get to knowpeople before they come onto
the team, get to know thempersonally and what they stand
for and how they present thingsand how they do it.
So what we've noticed, whatI've noticed when I was looking
(12:43):
into the medical aestheticsfield and to clarify, medical
aesthetics and a spa under thesame roof.
It's kind of this uniquestandpoint we have.
But when I was looking atpeople in the medical aesthetics
field and the experiences thatthey had, what I saw is two
things.
Usually I kind of cold,alienated experience that's just
(13:04):
dealing with.
You know skin on a surfacelevel.
you know, a little bit.
I mean removed from the person,if you will, and and the the.
The second component is that itwasn't welcoming per se.
(13:26):
They were expecting a certaintype of client that would walk
in who was just another personit's not me that was expecting
the clientele.
When I went and I visiteddifferent kind of existing
establishments here.
They're expecting a typicalclientele.
They weren't really.
They were surprised to see kindof a Middle Eastern guy come in
(13:51):
.
It's not usually the typicalclientele they would see.
So I noticed these two kind ofdeficits in the experience of
the client in the industry andthen, whenever I remembered that
, when I was, you know, buildingthe team and continuously
ongoing.
So the training for me whichyou asked about, for me starts
(14:15):
from the hiring and what kind ofenergy that people convey to
you while you're hiring them.
Are they?
Are they welcoming?
Are they them?
Are they welcoming?
Are they loving?
Are they passionate?
Are they interested in thehuman behind the concern that's
coming forward?
Or are they just solelyinterested in selling and just,
you know, looking at the concern, the skin concern, from an
(14:39):
external perspective rather thaninvolving themselves in getting
to know the person?
So that's step one.
Step two is I personally liketo take the time to be very
involved and warm and caringtowards my team and I do believe
it's one of my strongest beliefthat if the team is well taken
care of, this will automaticallyconvey to the guest.
(14:59):
It will automatically convey ifthe team is comfortable, if
they're welcome, if they'rewithin friends at work, if
they're within kind of.
They know they can go to theirleadership and they see warmth
from them and they see welcomingfrom them.
I think this will immediatelyconvey toward the guest
experience.
And I think this is what youfelt, because when people were
(15:21):
passing by you and giving yousmiles, even though they were
not giving you your tour, it'sbecause they're happy to see you
, they're genuinely happy to seeyou I do.
I do believe it wasn't forced atall exactly so.
I think there's an element ofthis that, of course, we can
train and we can work, and theteam works hard at evolving,
developing themselves, butthere's a component of this that
you can't train.
It.
(15:41):
You can't train love for peopleand welcoming a way that you
know, takes care of the humanbehind and beyond the concern
(16:08):
that they come in facing it's sointeresting because we're in a
period of time when this isfilmed, where employers are
having trouble to hire people,and to hire good staff and
people that actually want towork.
I keep hearing that nobodywants to work these days, to
quote some people.
But to see here that peoplecome with joy and warmth and the
(16:33):
persistence that, for example,the person that was giving you
their CV over and over and overagain.
it shows a willingness, and sodo you feel there's a false
narrative right now being pushed?
I do, I don't think.
I think when somebody sayspeople don't want to work, I
(16:54):
think there needs to be a littlebit of reflection whether
people don't want to work orpeople don't want to work in the
environment that's beingpresented, or people don't want
to work in the environmentthat's being presented.
I, our team, I do believe thatthey enjoy their work.
They love their work, they'reworking with something that
they're passionate about andthey love their work environment
(17:15):
.
They love their team andthey're working together and
supporting each other.
So they do want to work.
It's everything indicates thatthey do want to work.
It's everything indicates thatthey do want to work.
And you know, I was talking Iwas talking about this, uh, uh,
with a friend of mine, um, and Iget get asked this question a
lot of like how do you do a worklife balance?
And interesting.
(17:37):
And to me, I don't.
I don't see that like dichotomy.
It's not a work-life balance.
I think work is part of lifeand life overall is balanced
when, when you love what you'redoing, when you're doing
something, you know again, I'mfortunate, I'm lucky, I'm doing
something that I want to do andI'm passionate about um, it's
(17:58):
not work, I'm not working, I'mjust living that's, that's
honestly.
Claudia Comtois (18:03):
There's so many quotable moments there's
because you bring such a freshperspective and at such a young
age you have so much wisdom, andit's just honestly, it's
mesmerizing thank you, thank you, but I want, I want to know you
have mentioned and I know thatpeople don't really like to talk
(18:24):
about what they're doing behindthe scenes to give back, but we
had a conversation around yougiving back to some foundations
in Montreal in.
Quebec and I want to know wheredoes that will for philanthropy
and giving back comes from?
You know, at such a young ageyou could, you know.
(18:44):
Let's be honest.
You could be like, oh, thisbusiness is working well, I can
buy myself the car I want, I cando whatever, I can be on
vacation every single day, butyou decide no, I want to make
sure my staff is good, I want tomake sure I give back to
society, especially in theduring the holidays.
Where does that come from?
Maren Al Jendi (19:06):
I think it would circle back to the same
narrative as, like work, lifebalance, and I will link it for
you.
I believe life is a communityand we are a part of a community
.
We're all here together, we'redoing all living our separate
lives together and everythingintersects together.
So I don't see it as givingback, as an action of, oh, I
(19:33):
have to give back.
I see it as I'm living as apart of a community and I'm
sharing my experience, sharingwhatever I have access to with
others, to the extent that I can.
So, you know, recently wesponsored the gala for Fondation
Emergence.
Fondation Emergence, it's aleading foundation in the LGBTQ
(19:57):
community for rewarding a kindof social action that's in the
LGBTQ world and they're giving,you know, awards and recognizing
people who are fighting forcauses that they believe in.
That we event in.
Just I was a guest.
Sabia is kind of a year and afew months old, so we're not
(20:17):
necessarily in a position togive massive financial gifts,
but what we are offering forpeople is a moment to come and
experience taking care ofthemselves, and that's what we
were gifting.
Care of themselves and that'swhat we were gifting, even if
there is no check that will bewritten today.
But and eventually, of course,checks will be written, but what
(20:39):
we can always offer is hey,sabia is a space for you to take
time for yourself, take care ofyourself and reward yourself,
for you know living as part ofthis living, that you're doing
this kind of allow somebody totake care of you, allow yourself
to take care of yourself.
And we gifted a lot of theguests experiences at Sabia to
(21:05):
come and have a conversationwith a medical professional, see
whatever concerns they have.
Have a conversation with amedical professional, see
whatever concerns they have, tohave a massage and relax a
little bit, get off their feetthat they're working on a daily
basis, spend some time at thethermal area here in a little
(21:26):
bit of quiet and a calm.
And so, yes, I don't see itparticularly as giving back as
much as I am sharing whateverexperience I've built with the
community that I'm surroundedwith.
I mean, we were at the heart ofthe village.
People worked very hard, muchharder than I have, to build
this community and I, you know,want to take pride in being in
(21:47):
the community.
That's you.
You know the village, theMontreal, the Canadian was given
an opportunity to come toCanada and leave an unfortunate
circumstance in Syria and I wantto be part of this community
and I am you are definitely, andyou're spreading the warmth and
the self-care, so thank you forthat.
Claudia Comtois (22:09):
I love that.
I want to know, before we wewrap everything up, I want to
know do you have a specialroutine, morning routine, before
bed routine, something thatputs you into the
entrepreneurial spirit but alsokeeps you grounded, because your
energy is very grounded, it'svery um at ease, which I'm
(22:34):
pretty sure aids in yourdecision making.
Probably, um, what, what isyour unfair advantage?
Or your little routine thatyou're doing, or your je ne sais
quoi that you add in your dayto stay grounded?
Maren Al Jendi (22:48):
um, so, uh, until very recently I mean very,
I would say, maybe a year or soago uh, I wasn't as uh kind of
grounded or as tame, if you will, uh, but uh, and because you
know, energy was pulling me inso many different directions, I
wanted to do this, this, thatand the other, and of course,
(23:10):
there, there are still sometimesthat this comes up, and it's
not at all a negative thing, Iwouldn't think of it as such,
but the groundedness I thinkI've started to be able to
develop is associated with aroutine that I've developed and
for me, I wake up at 6 am,naturally, usually between 6,
(23:33):
and you know my alarms at 6.
But sometimes, you know, I wakeup between 6.15, 6.30.
I wake up, you know, wash myface, get dressed and go to the
gym immediately.
Ok, yeah, the gym is my bestfriend lately.
(23:55):
Uh, the gym is my, uh, my bestfriend lately.
Um, it's time for myself, withmy music and some weight,
sometimes heavy, sometimes light, um and uh, you know, enjoy,
that's the time for myself.
Finish, go back home, shower,eat, get dressed and go to
whatever work I have.
And I think the moments that Ihave at the gym and the moment
that I have in the car are atthe gym is to ground my body in
(24:18):
the car is usually to ground mymind, see what the day ahead of
me is and get in the zone, andusually my days run like this
until, say, 9, 10 pm, whenever Iget back home and cycle begins
again wow, so that's, that's sonothing, nothing out of the
ordinary, nothing unique.
(24:39):
You know, I don't.
Uh, I do consider gym, mymeditation.
I do consider gym, mymeditation.
It's, uh, usually a a bodyexperience kind of to ease the
mind and then driving usually mymind experience to ease the
body.
Claudia Comtois (24:54):
Vice versa do you have a go-to uh training
like you do, more hiit or weightlifting or cardio?
Is there a thing you like to?
Maren Al Jendi (25:03):
um.
So I, uh, I went through a a ajourney of weight loss and, yeah
, to kind of gain back controlof my body.
I was at around 300, 300 pluspounds and through a long
journey I lost quite a bit ofthat weight and, you know, I'm
(25:25):
comfortable in my body now.
I'm even gaining back myfunctions.
I know my back doesn't hurtanymore, like I feel good, I'm
active, I'm energetic, uh.
So right now my training hasshifted towards more, uh, weight
lifting and strength training,towards being able to, uh, you
know, build for a healthierfuture and, you know, maintain
(25:47):
my organs.
Try to do the best I can, uhfor myself.
It's, it's a form of self-care.
So, mostly, mostly, weighttraining, I do some boxing, play
some basketball.
I'm bad at all of them but, uh,I think the enjoyment I get is
from, from doing the activityitself.
I think this is where the funcomes from and do you have
(26:08):
anything you want to tell?
Claudia Comtois (26:11):
It could be a younger version of yourself that
had aspirations or that was ina moment of uncertainty.
They had a dream and they feltlike, am I dreaming too big?
What would you tell that personthat has an idea that has
visited them and they want toexecute?
What do you wish you heard inthese moments?
Maren Al Jendi (26:36):
I mean it's a cliche, but I would have liked
to hear that you know towards ifI'm dreaming too big.
If I ask myself that question,the answer to it would be you're
not dreaming big enough.
I love that.
I do believe that things aredefined by their opposites, so,
(26:58):
and there's joy that comes fromsuccess, there's joy that comes
from failure, there's joy thatcomes from opportunity, there's
joy that comes from lack thereofand, uh, I think to cherish
those moments, uh, both equally,to appreciate those moments
both equally, um, is is veryinsightful, and I've learned
(27:22):
that recently.
And uh, uh, I, I think this issomething that I always like to
remind myself of in moments thatare down that this is what
makes moments that are up as, uh, as substantial as they are.
I don't know.
Claudia Comtois (27:39):
A little bit of a cliche no, it's okay, we need
these reminders.
My question is a cliche in andof itself, but it's because I
believe we have to be remindedover and, over, and, over and
over again, especially in thesemoments of doubt.
To have that repetitionoverpower the the forces that
(28:00):
are trying to stray us away fromour paths, is the best thing we
can do.
So definitely encourage youguys to listen over and over and
over again to that, maren.
Thank you so muchène thank youso much.
Maren Al Jendi (28:12):
Thank you so many large bouquet of flowers.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
I appreciate you having me.
Good luck.
Claudia Comtois (28:25):
Thank you.
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