Newcomer Entrepreneur Of The Year Describes ‘Heart-Warming’ Win
MONCTON – A milestone and a moment that warmed the heart – that was how Zina Aljaratli described being declared newcomer entrepreneur of the year.
“When they announced that I was a finalist, I was really excited – I was definitely hoping for that,” said Aljaratli, a newcomer from Aleppo, Syria, who has lived in New Brunswick for the past three years.
Aljaratli, who owns Surreal Design Studio, was given the award at the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton’s 37th annual Business Excellence Awards gala on October 18.
“At the awards gala, I went here, but wasn’t expecting to win, to be honest with you. I was happy to be there, very excited about being a finalist and winner,” Aljaratli said.
“I got nervous as the category got closer, and it felt so real at that moment. It was such an exciting moment, everyone was cheering and it really warmed my heart.”
She said she is aware the award is significant and is happy her hard work has paid off. She noted that she admires all the other recipients and the equally hard work they did to get where they are.
Aljaratli, who holds a bachelor of fine arts from Aleppo University, has been in the graphic design business since 2010. Her CV includes employers like Belgium’s Bostani Chocaltier, Belladerma Beauty Solution, and Crystal Shopping Mall in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
She launched Surreal in 2019. Surreal specializes in bespoke graphic and web design. Aljaratli and her staff of five work with a variety of clients of different sizes, across numerous sectors, from municipal governments and local startups, to non-government organizations and not-for-profits.
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Aljaratli said Surreal is growing and part of its strength is its ability to work with such a wide variety of clients.
“Anything with visual communication that is relevant to the marketing needs for businesses and organizations – we don’t do marketing as per a strategy. We help with marketing needs in terms of visual communication – whatever the strategy requires,” Aljaratli said.
“We focus on projects that are meaningful and aligned with our values because I love to support the community I’m in, and give back.”
Surreal bills itself as a non-traditional marketing company, eschewing social media use.
In an effort to build a resilient, sustainable community, Surreal promotes diversity, gender equality and mental health, and operates under a mandate of reducing its environmental footprint, with a focus on recyclable materials, earth-friendly products and digital over paper.
While she faced few interruptions and roadblocks to launching Surreal, Aljaratli said the biggest obstacle was integrating into the community.
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“I was lucky, I received a lot of support and the services here allowed me to start in a timely manner,” she noted.
“A lot of leaders in the business community were supporting and mentoring me, and I think Moncton is a great place to start a business. It can be challenging, but there’s always the support you need to face those challenges.”
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].