Josef Azam

Josef Azam

Montreal, Quebec
Successful Entrepreneur, Digital Marketing Expert, Leadeship Coach and Motivational Speaker
Josef Azam is a successful entrepreneur dedicated to giving back & digital marketing expert who helped clients to generate 1.5 billion dollars in sales. He leads and motivates the young generation on their journeys with the knowledge that he has gained through developing a unique approach to running a business and breaking industry barriers. Josef Azam is dedicated to promoting fitness as a source of discipline and motivation to the children that he coaches. As a child and young adult, sports helped guide and motivate Josef, which is a passion he tries to share with the next generation.
  • Change Management
  • Employee Management
  • Leadership
  • Peak Performance
  • Business Growth
  • Business Management
  • Board Meetings & Strategic Advisory
  • Career Development
  • Consultant & Coach
  • Corporate Audience
  • Corporate Entertainers
  • Corporations & Businesses
  • Department Meeting
  • Economic Development

JOSEF AZAM BIOGRAPHY

Josef Azam is a leadership coach, motivational speaker, successful entrepreneur who is passionate about giving back and a digital marketing guru who has assisted customers in generating 1.5 billion dollars in sales. He guides and encourages the next generation with the expertise he has gathered by building a distinctive approach to business management and breaking down industry obstacles.

Josef has been on a mission to improve and inspire the lives of people who come from similar hardships around the world.

Josef Azam is currently the President of Cloverdale Multi-Resources, a non-profit organization located on the West Island of Montreal, whose mission is to support lower-income families that have recently immigrated to Canada. He is also a board member of Yes Montreal (Youth Entrepreneurship Services), a non-profit community-driven organization that helps Quebecers find employment opportunities and develop their skills as entrepreneurs.

Occasionally, Josef gives entrepreneurship and leadership workshops at John Abbott College. He also dedicates a lot of his time to hosting free conferences and seminars for various organizations, children, students and entrepreneurs. He uses much of his personal experiences and struggles through school and business as a source of inspiration.

In the past year and a half, Josef Azam has given over 50 leadership and keynote speeches to organizations across North America and Europe. He has spoken to over 5000 underserved youth in communities and organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, JA centers, and school boards. As of November 2022, Josef will be speaking in prisons and juvenile detention centers in California and Georgia.

As a young child, he gravitated to combat sports like boxing, MMA fighting, and wrestling because he felt that if he became a strong fighter, people would look up to him as a tough guy and forget that he was a poor kid. In his early 20s, his goal was to be a professional MMA fighter and he started his first business, a martial arts school called Black Hawk MMA. In 2004, Josef Azam was offered a professional MMA contract from the famous Quebec TKO promotion, but he turned it down to focus his attention on business because the income would not allow him to support his parents.

As Josef started to achieve financial success, his physical health took the backburner. He gained over 50 lbs. and started becoming very insecure with his appearance. After his first child was born, he made a commitment to live an extremely healthy and disciplined life in order to set a good example for himself. Josef Azam now trains regularly with his oldest son. His transformation pictures went viral on a couple of fitness blogs in 2016.

Josef graduated from Concordia University with a BA in Sociology in 2007. His main goal was to study at the John Molson School of Business, but he was not accepted in the marketing program because of his low grades. At 24 years old and with very little experience, Josef Azam founded Design Shopp International, a web and digital marketing agency in Montreal.

He first learnt online marketing through the “Digital Marketing for Dummies” book. Josef is notorious for learning everything on his own and doing whatever it takes to make things work. In the early stages of the business, he also worked at the airport part-time, cleaning toilets and loading luggage to make ends meet.

DESIGN SHOPP INTERNATIONAL NOW HAS OVER 40 EMPLOYEES IN 4 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND GENERATES OVER 150 MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR IN REVENUE FOR ITS MARKETING CLIENTS ACROSS THE GLOBE.

Josef Azam also has investments in various restaurants and SAAS companies and is the president of Imagination Holding Co.

Josef’s parents worked hard and tirelessly at building a life from nothing. Josef’s father was a factory worker throughout his life, mainly in the steel industry. His mother worked as an office clerk in different companies. Josef Azam’s parents later had their only child. Growing up, Josef struggled in school and suffered from dyslexia, which was only diagnosed later in life. In addition to having a hard time academically, Josef lacked self-confidence and had developed a lot of insecurities from growing up poor in an affluent area.

Everyone around Josef seemed happy, motivated, and financially stable, while his experience differed greatly. Growing up was a constant struggle, At the young age of 10 years old, every weekend, Josef would go to the St-Eustache flea market and sell second-hand jeans to help support the family. Seeing as his father spoke very broken English and not a lick of French, Josef would do most of the sales.

It was at this flea market that Josef Azam first learned about sales. Despite the ongoing financial and educational struggles that he experienced, Josef was the first in his family to graduate from post-secondary education. It was then, after being on academic probation twice and almost getting kicked out of college, that he met his future wife, who gave him the foundation and encouragement that he always needed.

Josef has been married to his lifelong business partner since 2012, and together they have 2 boys, one of 6 years old and the other 11 years old. Within his free time, Josef Azam has been running the Riverdale Wrestling Club program in Montreal for the past 6 years. To date, the club won 5 consecutive city championships and shaped many provincial and regional champions.

Josef Azam is dedicated to promoting fitness as a source of discipline and motivation to the children that he coaches. As a child and young adult, sports helped guide and motivate Josef, which is a passion he tries to share with the next generation.

Videos

Podcasts

Play

Perception vs reality

SBC

Should you be an entrepreneur? - Podcast #1
Play

Perception vs reality

SBC

How to start a business with ZERO money! Podcast #2
Play

Adonis Stevenson

SBC

The fight and fury in sports (podcast #1)

Josef Azam Topic Presentations

emotional intelligence - the driving force for leadership & success

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • In order to empower your peers and teams, you’ll need the ability to emotionally connect with a variety of people from different ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds. Effective leaders should have a solid understanding of how their emotions and actions affect those around them. Join Josef Azam on a journey of self-discovery into your self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills in order to truly succeed.

recruitment and retention in the nonprofit sector - engaging the why

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • Josef has strong values by which he lives his life. He is compelled to help others and motivate them on their journeys with the knowledge that he has gained. He has developed a unique approach to running a business by honouring his core values, which has led him to break industry barriers and has allowed him to generate close to a billion dollars in sales for his clients. Through his work as CEO/President of Design Shopp, a teacher at John Abbott College, and a regular guest speaker at YES Montreal, he invests in others as he invests in himself. Giving back through his work and motivating others to do the same is a cycle that fuels his inner fire to succeed and lead in the workplace.

from struggle to success - how to become a first-generation entrepreneur

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • As a business owner, teacher, husband, father, and fitness advocate, Joe finds himself wearing many hats. Each one is of great importance to his personal fulfillment and encompasses a part of his identity, a tool which he considers to be vital to his progress. His personal success has been built through determination and perseverance, and he has found strength in the struggle.

    As a speaker, he focuses on the life lessons he extracted from the moments that have tested his boundaries. If there’s one thing he has learned and wishes to communicate, it’s to always be true to who you are.

Testimonials

Coming Soon!

Articles & Media

Why emotional intelligence is a key factor when kickstarting your business

Canadian Immigrant

The idea of diving into entrepreneurship is daunting for many, but the reality is, it can be attainable and a lucrative path to success when you focus on key elements. Inherently, individuals possess entrepreneurship skills, but it is a matter of tapping into them. This requires doing the work most...
View

Charitable Choices: Josef Azam, Motivational Speaker and Coach

Montreal Guardian

Josef Azam is the CEO and Co-Founder of Design Shopp, a Montreal-based multinational digital marketing agency. Growing up from humble beginnings, Josef is now committed to philanthropy, investing in others and giving back to disadvantaged youth by sharing his experiences. He gives speeches around...
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Design Shopp International Inc. Announces Expansion in Asia

AP News

Design Shopp, a digital marketing and web agency headquartered in Montreal Canada, has expanded its operations and team in Asia. With this latest infrastructure in place, the Design Shopp team is no longer bound to a physical office. “We always had clients around the globe, but now, with our new...
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This Baggage-Handler Refused To Give Up. Now He’s CEO And Has A Powerful Message That Will Inspire You.

Inspire More

He started out as a baggage handler and now he's a successful CEO... and it only took him 5 years. Josef Azam's keys to success are things to remember for anyone, no matter what their aspirations might be. Our Takeaway: Ordinary people can always achieve extraordinary things...it's all about...
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The Social CTV

SBC

The importance of giving back | The Social
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Books

Coming Soon!

How to book Josef Azam for an event?

Josef Azam keynote speaker is an expert presenter and has a wide range of experience speaking to a wide variety of audiences and organizations. Josef Azam delivers keynotes, workshops & training sessions. They may also host or emcee events. Hire Josef Azam from Montreal, Quebec for your event to inspire the audience to take action and make change in their work and their lives. Your workplace will benefit from our keynote speaker and their keynote talks and speeches will shift the mindsets or behaviours for the audience members in Canada. 

Interested in booking Josef Azam for an event?

Are you looking to hire Josef Azam for your event? Josef Azam Montreal, Quebec is a dynamic and engaging speaker that offers audiences researched content paired with expertise and a dynamic speaking ability. Josef Azam is also a Canadian corporate consultant and coach and facilitates workshops and training sessions for a corporate audience. Josef Azam is an expert keynote presenter and speaks on wide variety of topics. Hiring a great speaker for your event is important and working with a thought leader like Josef Azam from Speakers Canada’s roster will engage audiences into the content of the presentation to bring awareness and a fresh perspective for their approach to their work and their lives. Book Josef Azam to educate, motivate and activate the audience through an interactive and entertaining presentation at corporate meetings and gatherings.

Known as a popular key note speaker in Canada, Josef Azam creates life changing experiences for the participants with practical insights and strategic advice they can implement right after the session. Working with a one our leading expert speaker like Josef Azam from Montreal, Quebec offers organizations a fresh perspective to assist the people of the organization. No matter if it is a government, association, or business crowd, Josef Azam is a perfect speaker for your event. Through unique practical insights for trending topics and years experience speaking to different organizations, Josef Azam focuses on changing individuals to make better decisions at work and their lives. No matter if you are holding an in person or virtual event, having an influential speaker such as Josef Azam will engage, motivate, and activate the audience to make a change in their lives and inspire action for results to meet organizational goals. Your workforce will benefit from Josef Azam’s presentations and speeches, with measurable results set to shift the people of the organization and core direction of the company. Book Josef Azam speaker for your annual general meeting, conference, summit, or convention in Canada.

How much does it cost to hire Josef Azam for a keynote presentation or virtual event?

Josef Azam is an expert professional key note speaker with a lot of experience speaking and delivering engaging talks to organizations and audiences in Canada. Each of Speaker Bureau Canada’s talent have different ways to assess their fees, and Josef Azam speaker fee ranges depending on the size of the audience, event format (in person or virtual), event location, and if the organization booking them is a non profit, association, government department/government agency or business/corporation. The speakers we work with are flexible with their fees, and it is important for us to learn more about your event before we approach them, as it is our role to work for you, and to help you find a speaker within budget. 

Please contact Speakers Bureau of Canada and provide us with your event details so that we can contact Josef Azam to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like Josef Azam for your event. As Josef Azam's agent and as a Canadian top speaker bureau and talent agency for speakers, we are able to propose each event opportunity from each host organization’s behalf to try to help you get in touch with Josef Azam and confirm them for your in person or online meeting/event. We can also provide and advise on the booking process and potentially negotiate their fee. Speakers Canada is a client focused speaker agency, and we work for you in finding good speakers for your team meetings and booking processes.

Josef Azam Disclaimer
Speakers Bureau Canada assists companies and event planning teams seeking to hire talent like Josef Azam for speaking engagements, virtual meetings, conference appearances, training sessions and workshops facilitations. Our Canadian speakers bureau does not claim to exclusively represent Josef Azam, however they are represented by Speakers Canada, and we work with them closely for their Canadian speaking opportunities and bookings. As Canada’s top speaker bureau, we represent Canadian motivational keynote speakers and professional guest speakers that will be available on your upcoming events date and location that are withing the budget. Our talented bureau speaker booking agency can help find business speakers or celebrity speakers that aligns with each organization, audience, event theme and the topic themes you hope for the speaker to address in their presentation. 

When SBC receives a request to book Josef Azam we provide you with their speaker fees, travel costs and check their schedules. We work closely with the host organization’s event planning team and the speaker to handle the logistics and to relay or negotiate associated costs. Our talented team members then will work with our talent directly or their agent/manager/assistant to confirm the Canadian speaker fee and travel expenses, so that event planning teams can receive an official quote for the speaker appearing at the event. Speaker fees and travel costs vary per speaker and our role is to contact Josef Azam about your event, after we have connected with the event organizers to learn all the event details and/or conference program. Each booking request is unique since session durations and audience sizes can vary which may affect the speaker’s fees. If you are looking to hire Josef Azam, we recommend filling out the booking request form so a booking agent from Speakers Bureau Canada can get in touch with our talent to help you coordinate with your team to engage the speaker for a successful event.

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