Feature Friday: Christine Salberg

Christine and I have been connected on social for quite a few years. However, our first in-person conversation happened just a few months ago at  Social Media Breakfast YYC. Christine is one of my favorite entrepreneurs. She is incredibly knowledgeable about social media, and she is keen to share her wisdom. She is also one of the most down to earth people I have ever met and I am so excited to be featuring her this week.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your work. Where are you from? What do you do?

My name is Christine Salberg and I have a boutique social media management company. I help small businesses set up social media accounts, post and manage their accounts and train employees through one on one coaching or workshops.

I am originally from Montreal and have a son and daughter in their 20’s both in university.

What inspires you to do what you do? How did you start doing this work?

My path to social media has been different from most. My career began in the 90's as a dentist. After graduating from McGill University I moved to BC and practiced dentistry in Golden and Invermere for 10 years.

I had to stop practicing due to carpal tunnel and I relocated to Calgary to raise my young children.

I was very involved in my children's school and extracurricular activities. This led me to organize events for friends and founding my event planning company, Innovative PlanIt.

I became active on social media for my own company and soon found my niche. Clients for which I had planned events enlisted my social media skills and I now focus exclusively on social media management.  I love the research involved in learning new clients' industries. I especially love the 'social' part of social media. It's wonderful to connect with people that otherwise I would not have met.

What inspires you most about your community (city, group of friends, etc.)?

The Calgary entrepreneur community is amazing. Through networking and social media, we help each other by sharing advice, recommendations and referrals. When you are an entrepreneur working alone from home you can feel isolated. The Calgary community is filled with networking opportunities such as the Calgary Chamber, SMByyc, Capital Ideas, Calgary Business Professionals Group and The Measurable Difference (to name a few). Through these events, I have met many entrepreneurs whom I now call friends.

If you could give anyone who is starting out in your field (business, non-profit, etc.) one piece of advice, what would it be?

My advice to new entrepreneurs is don't be afraid to try something new. I jumped on the social media bandwagon later in life (at 48!) and was worried about what to post, who to follow and what my brand should be. The best way to learn something is to try things to see what works and what doesn’t work. Don’t be afraid of failing. “Fear of failure must never be a reason to not try something.” Frederick Smith.

Tell me three fun facts about yourself or your organization.

1. I was born in Cairo, Egypt, and French is my mother tongue.
2. I have been a Big Sister with Big Brothers and Sisters of Calgary for 7 years. My "little" is 18 years old now, in University and aspires to be a dentist.
3. I used to run a Professional Organizing business and was the chair of Professional Organizers in Canada.
4. I run over 50 km/week and have run several 1/2 marathons but only started running at 40.
5. My company is Innovative PlanIt. I am updating my website this month and will have new content in October… stay tuned.

Get in Touch

Website:  http://innovativeplanit.com/

LinkedIn: Christine Salberg

Twitter: @innov8iveplanit

Instagram: christine_salberg

Facebook: Innovative PlanIt

Do you know of a person, business, non-profit or other organization doing amazing work in Calgary? Tell me about it! Visit the Feature Friday page for more information!