My name is Rich Coleman. I am a businessman. I was in the naval reserves in my youth, and the RCMP after that. I started a number of successful businesses. I went into public life in 1996 for 24 and a half years. I am the former deputy premier of the Province of British Columbia. One of my passions is helping young people get into business or helping them—for free—turn their businesses around.
The traits of a business leader are very important. Ironically, they align very much with Canadian Armed Forces training. Many business owners fail to succeed because they don't have the discipline or the organization. I have worked with armed forces members to help start businesses for them. They come with something you don't even find in a regular employment environment. From their training as members of the armed forces, they come with teamwork and personal responsibility. They can show up on time. They know operation and management of equipment. They understand inventory control from their very first day, simply because they are responsible for their personal kit. They have mental health and fitness.
With these basics, members of the forces need to transition to additional skills as they come out of the forces in order to be successful in business. This is where the armed forces could step up by giving them an understanding of financial reporting: the revenue and expense portions of running a business. There's no training or education that I'm aware of that helps those young men and women coming out of the forces do that. That would be one of my recommendations.
The second thing is that they need knowledge of the opportunities that are in front of them. This is not just for members of the armed forces. Young people looking to go into business tend to think there are only traditional businesses out there for them to get into and be successful at. In my experience—having worked with armed forces members who have gone into business—they are adaptable and can learn about different opportunities within the business environment.
To achieve the ability to seek out a successful business in Canada, you need to create an environment for success for these people as they come out of the armed forces. Business is no easy road. There are a number of stressors that come with owning and operating a business, and starting on your own is a daunting task.
Members need a number of things. First of all, they need to sit down with somebody to build a business plan so they can articulate their market, their objectives for building revenue and, in turn, how they can deliver on those objectives to somebody who might want to invest in their business.
One of the previous speakers brought up the issue of capital, which is obviously a requirement and also a hindrance for people getting into business today. What I have found is that the best thing to do with people with discipline, organization and a business plan is to sit them down with private investors who will look at things and be prepared to take a risk on an opportunity with somebody new. It's part of their mandate, as business owners, to go out and help these people.
Mentorship is very critical to starting a business. I've mentored a number of businesspeople over the years. The beauty of mentorship tied to a member is that they have the opportunity to sit down, talk about their frustrations, and talk about what's working and what's not working with somebody who has experience with mentorship. I think you will find that if you put a mentorship program in the Canadian Armed Forces, in co-operation with Canadian businesses, you will have a number of businesspeople who'd be happy to give them their time—to sit down and help them work through their business plans in order to be successful.
The accessible ear of an expert is an invaluable asset for a new business owner. The Canadian Armed Forces should think about having a mentorship program, if they don't already, in order to coach those who are looking to enter business. Currently, to achieve that relationship, I think you will find—I know this from my own colleagues in business, over the years—that they're really quite happy to sit down and help young businesspeople if asked to. Members of the armed forces.... Given how much people believe those who serve our country should have a hand, I believe they would step up.
The other thing the armed forces should consider is having a relationship with the major franchise opportunities in Canada. Have an agreement with them to look at our people to see whether they'd be good as franchise owners, because franchise owners are more successful in business, by percentage, than those just starting out on their own. That's because they come with the discipline and management that's required. The people coming from the armed forces have those skills as well.
I have direct experience with a young man in business who served in Afghanistan. I think the biggest thing for him and others I've dealt with is that they need to have a sounding board. It's not just about the mentorship. They really need to be able to pick up the phone and talk to someone. You'd be surprised how their stressors will come into play and they just need to talk to somebody. Sometimes, the stress is not exactly because of the business, but they just need to talk through something that gets them to the issue for their business. You'll find that really affects their ability to handle the volatility of their operation. Because they've come from a business environment, when they get to focus back on the business, their success is much higher.
For those described persons, I would take a call many times as a listening ear. If you look at how you can help them in this way, as I described, I think you'll find we will have a lot of successful young business people coming out of the armed forces.
Thank you.