dynamic

YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
James Court, left, and Sean Court
at the Moncton Coliseum in front
of a custom, interior-lit LED trade
show booth their company designed,
fabricated and now installs at seven
shows across Canada.
Photo: Clayton Morrissey
Display your passion
Young entrepreneurs help companies showcase their value By Erin Elaine Casey
Find your passion and make a job
out of it. We hear it all the time — from
motivational speakers, the latest business
how-to books, and our favourite TED
Talks. But as most of us know, it’s easier
said than done. Many would-be entrepreneurs,
even in their 40s and 50s, still
don’t know what they want to be when
they grow up.
Laurie Cameron, President and
CEO of CEED Centre for Entrepreneurship
Education and Development, thinks
young entrepreneurs have something
to teach us about harnessing passion.
“We’re recognizing young people as a
force that’s having a big impact in business
and innovation,” she says. “Let’s
encourage that energy and creativity.
We need to think about how we build
the climate to unleash that hidden but
dynamic potential.”
That’s what makes Sean and James
Court so special. At just 22 and 23 years
old, they’ve turned their passion for
helping other entrepreneurs showcase
their products and services into a highly
specialized enterprise. The brothers own
Beaumont & Co., a business that designs,
20
builds, installs, and stores one-of-a-kind
custom exhibits and displays for trade
shows, sporting events, festivals, and
retail locations. It installs worldwide for
businesses of all sizes, national brands,
special events, and conferences. Clients
include Atlantic Lottery, Kent Building
Supplies, several provincial government
departments, and both American
and Canadian customers in the seafood
industry.
James and Sean are part of the
new generation of young entrepreneurs
diversifying the business landscape in
Halifax and beyond. “We offer turnkey
solutions,” explains James. “Normally,
if a larger company is attending several
trade shows, they have their own team
to manage this, but it takes up a lot of the
marketing department’s time. It causes a
lot of stress and headaches, and we take
those away. We become a small arm of
these larger companies.”
The brothers grew up in Charlottetown,
PEI and spent several years working
in the family advertising business.
This hands-on education prepared them
for working with many different kinds of
JULY & AUGUST 2016
clients, and gave them an appreciation
for how hard it is for businesses to set
themselves apart from the competition.
“We really pay attention to what
our clients’ needs are, and help them
display the value of what they’ve built,”
says Sean. “We realize how much hard
work people put into their companies,
often generationally. When we see that,
we have no shortage of passion. They’ve
built it up, built the products, everything
is perfect, but they need help standing
out at international trade shows. It’s not
easy to stand out, but especially in Atlantic
Canada, with so many great products,
they really should be standing out.”
Beaumont & Co. is standing out in
its own right. The company offers a full
range of display services, and does it
sustainably. Traditional banners, booths,
and other exhibit components are made
of vinyl and other materials that are
time-consuming to transport and set up,
but Beaumont uses 90 per cent fabric and
recyclable aluminums. It’s lightweight,
portable, and the fabrics are biodegradable.
It’s greener, easier to set up, and
much more affordable to ship and store.