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In May 2010, 14 years after Sentinelle Health Group was established, Mylène Chaumont took over as President of the family business. A few months later, she received the “Best Company Transfer” award from the Chambre de commerce de Gatineau.
Groupe Sentinelle Santé is part of the private health care services sector, a rapidly growing area right now. “This is an innovative area, in which the laws are changing. For my part, I like taking risks, I like putting myself on the line and getting out of my comfort zone,” points out the President.
This “comfort zone” is one that nearly pulled the rug out from under her in 2010, when she tried to expand Sentinelle Santé’s market on the Ontario side. “I tried to approach the MPs on Parliament Hill to offer them the services of our Ottawa clinic. What I got from them instead were questions about the legality of our services in Ontario, because the laws are not yet entirely clear in that province. The Liberal and NDP members came down particularly hard on us by bringing up the issue in the House,” she recounts. I am happy to say that it was all resolved to our satisfaction in December 2010, and the Sentinelle clinic is operating within Ontario laws and regulations.
Passing the torch
In 1996, Ms. Chaumont’s father, Marcelin Chaumont, inaugurated the first clinic of the Groupe Sentinelle Santé in the Hull sector in Gatineau. Two years later, a second clinic opened in Ottawa.
The Groupe offers businesses occupational health services in various forms, ranging from preventive medicine services to pandemic planning. In 2005, Sentinelle Santé became the first business in the National Capital Region to offer private health care services to the public.
Before taking over the helm of the family business, Mylène Chaumont had to acquire 51% of the shares owned by her parents. In order to obtain the funds, she contacted the Canadian Youth Business Foundation through Développement Économique - CLD Gatineau. The DE – CLDG youth fund was also an invaluable resource.
Today, Ms. Chaumont employs approximately 15 people and is considering opening franchises in different parts of the country. A first licence may be coming in the Toronto area.
An exhilarating journey!
Mylène Chaumont was not handed the presidency on a silver platter. On the contrary! She had to convince her father of her deep desire to work in the family business, and most of all of her commitment. At one point, she offered her services as a representative on a volunteer basis. After five months, Marcelin Chaumont was convinced. In 2006, he offered his daughter a position with pay as director and representative.
Ten years earlier, when the business was established, Mylène Chaumont had just started studying law in Ottawa. She immediately wanted to work at Sentinelle Health. But instead of hiring her, her father encouraged her to pursue her education elsewhere.
From a job in international development in Costa Rica, she moved to an international consulting business. She continued with the Option Femmes Emploi community organization, while at the same time completing a master’s degree in project management at UQO. At that point, she was only 26 years old!
She worked her way through several positions, from serving on the board of directors of a caisse populaire, to the Cégep de l’Outaouais and the hôpital Pierre-Janet, even working in a child care centre in Ange-Gardien, the municipality that elected her as its Municipal Councillor.
As though this were not enough, a consultant at Option Femmes Emploi pointed out to her that she had yet to develop sales experience. So Mylène Chaumont insisted on getting a business development position with the Service de formation en entreprise at Cité collégiale. “I was hired because, according to my director, I had managed to make a good impression despite the fact that I had absolutely no sales knowledge. When I was hired the training department was running a $300,000 deficit. A year later, we posted profits of $18,000.”
This exhilarating journey gave her a chance to try her hand at everything, from sales to management, and even some human resources. Mylène Chaumont now wants to grow her business. And as she likes to say: “The sky’s the limit!”
Pratical information
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What made you decide to start up a business?
My father worked for a health care agency in Rouyn, but he always wanted to be in business. At a certain point in his career, he had to leave his job. That was the ideal moment to start up his business, particularly since he was convinced of the tremendous potential of private health care services, not only for businesses but for the public at large as well. As far as I am concerned, I was every bit as convinced that there was a future in this sector. From the very start, I always knew that I wanted to be part of the family business and to tackle our challenges.
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Why Gatineau?
Compared to other parts of Quebec, Gatineau’s economy tends to be more stable because of the heavy concentration of federal government organizations. Gatineau is part of a pool of one million inhabitants, which is far from negligible.
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In your opinion, what advantages does Gatineau have over Ottawa?
As far as private-sector health care services are concerned, the laws are far clearer in Quebec than in Ontario.
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What are the advantages of working for yourself?
When you work for yourself, you are really challenging yourself. It is also a way to express yourself professionally. Being at the decision-making level is also very stimulating.
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What surprised you the most about the business world?
It really is a man’s world. There are still very few business women in the region, and work-family reconciliation issues probably account for that, at least in part. At a personal level, I temporarily left my functions as director and representative in 2008 following the birth of my second son. Upon my return nine months later, I had to start all over again, which was particularly difficult. This is a very negative aspect for women.
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To what do you attribute your business success?
The key to my success is that I am well surrounded. Given that I have never been particularly gifted in human resources, I sought out a consultant. I am also a member of the Centre des jeunes dirigeants (CJD) in Gatineau: this is a wonderful network for sharing among young entrepreneurs. We hold meetings regularly, which gives each of us a chance to share our problems with the group. As we go around the table, every member proposes a solution, which leads to some very interesting discussions. Most of the time, we leave the meeting with some good ideas.
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What were your toughest challenges, and how did you overcome them?
In 2006, we lost our largest client in Ottawa, which just about brought the company down. I have to say that this client represented 80% of our sales. But this difficult experience forced us to diversify.
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What does it take to succeed in business today?
You have to believe in your project, and most of all be passionate about it, because there are many discouraging moments.
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What advice would you give someone who is thinking of starting up a business?
When it comes to business, you have to surround yourself with people who compensate for your weaknesses.
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How did Développement économique – CLD Gatineau contribute?
To finance the purchase of the shares in my company, Développement économique – CLD Gatineau gave me funding and guided me towards the Canadian Youth Business Foundation.
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