BY JAMES WELLS 
“I have always respected the process, it’s been a motto I’ve lived by even before I started up Respecting the Process.”
There is a level of understanding and respect needed to appreciate the way things work in life, how events unfold before you and what you accept into your life, disciplines that Adam Rochon, founder and owner of the media company, Respecting the Process, has learned over the years.
A Kitchener native, Rochon, 27, has lived in the city most of his life.
Studying journalism and working in the world of media was not the first educational path Rochon aimed for. Originally, he believed a life to serve and protect as a police officer was for him. After realizing it just wasn’t the right fit, he dropped out of Conestoga’s police foundations program after attending classes for only a couple of months.
“I just wasn’t one of those guys who wanted to spend all of their time in the gym working out and wanting to arrest people,” he said.
With spare time on his hands he could think ahead and plan his next move. With a passion for film and a sense of creativity, he believed dipping his toes into the world of media would be his next step.
“It took a lot for me to understand what I wanted to do, but I found the process very rewarding, hence the name of the company,” said Rochon
He first enrolled in the media studies certificate program at Humber College in Toronto, moving away from Kitchener for the first time.
It was in his dorm at Humber where the words “Respecting the process” really developed and shaped his mindset and work ethic.
“I moved into my dorm at Humber and for some reason there was green tape in my room and so I taped ‘respecting the process’ to my wall,” said Rochon. “I must have been asked about 200 times what does respecting the process mean? And I found my best answers to things were coming out of that question.”
Having completed the program with excellent marks and a newly developed passion for journalism, Rochon wanted to follow this new-found passion to see where it would lead him.
However, the thought of going to university and spending another four years was unsettling.
A faster track seemed like the more affordable and less time-consuming option, especially when aspirations of starting his own media company began to occupy his thoughts. So, Conestoga College, a school that offered two journalism programs at its Doon campus, seemed just like what Rochon was looking for.
After being accepted into Conestoga’s journalism – broadcast program, two years of education, a job at 570 News, a podcast and a successful video produced for the CSI board of directors at Conestoga College, Rochon was well on his way to a career in the world of media.
The beginning of Respecting the Process began during Rochon’s time at Conestoga College. His video that was produced during the Conestoga CSI board of directors’ trip to Costa Rica was later discovered by staff at the City of Kitchener. They loved his work so much that they offered him a 14-video contract.
In a meeting to discuss the job, Rochon was asked for a business card, which he didn’t have. Proving that he is a man of action, Rochon said he would email them his website and contact information later that day. After concluding the meeting, he ran home, sat down at his computer, created the Respecting the Process website and sent it to them that same evening.
Since Rochon first embraced the entrepreneurial spirit back in February 2014, the clients have been steadily and organically approaching the company for media assistance. Many of his clients are looking for different ways to market, brand and promote themselves in an engaging and creative way that the work at Respecting the Process provides. Rochon said he currently has approximately 10-15 clients including, Volvo, BMW, Kara’s Smart Foods, Conestoga College, the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. However, there was one client of Rochon’s that blossomed from a client-business relationship into a brotherhood.
Gerald Kara, owner of Kara’s Smart Foods, describes Rochon as “a modern-day storyteller with less talk, more action and a game changer.”
Canadian professional boxer Denton Daley also sings Rochon’s praises. Rochon followed the boxer around for more than two years, filming his life in and outside the ring. Rochon, to this very day, looks up to Daley as if he were an older brother.
“These short films explained everything I wasn’t capable of doing on my own, but with his help I learned very quickly that anything is possible,” said Daley. “These videos have reached the masses worldwide and to this day I get feedback from major promoters from around the world on how compelling and interesting my story has become.”
Being very pragmatic about where to put his energy, Rochon believes that we all need time to escape from the stressful nature of the day-to-day work life. Respecting the Process is his creation, his life, but he still likes to get away from it all. Saturdays are when he destresses and focuses on his personal life. On Sundays he’s back at it, preparing for the week ahead.
“My business is only going to be as great as I can create it to be,” said Rochon. “I really just want to encourage people to do something after watching the videos, a call to action in a sense.”
What is Journalism?