The Frontline of Business

If you’re considering your career prospects after leaving the Armed Forces, launching your own business is an option that’s particularly well-suited to your skillset. Veteran entrepreneurs share their experiences of turning to business

One of the best ways to take control of your career when you return to civvy street is from launching your own business. A move that can seem risky and daunting without the right support can quickly turn into a reward, as you take charge of your working life.

EMPOWER

Alice Bromage joined the military in 1995, leaving in 2016 to start her own business, using the skills and experience gained during service to do so. She now mentors and coaches others to follow in her footsteps through her business, Empowering Success.

“When you’re leaving the Armed Forces, it’s quite daunting to work out what your skillset is,” Alice recalls. “I’d already started doing coaching and mentoring when I was still serving. In the unit I was part of, 11 out of 12 were leaving at the same time, so I was already helping people resettle, work out next stages and think about career development. Somebody told me they’d pay me to do it and that was it.”

For many veterans, the departure from service is prompted by a desire for improved work-life balance, or to have more of a say in their career, which resonates with Alice.

“Starting a business after leaving the military allows you to be the master of your own destiny,” enthuses Alice. “It gives you the ability to say ‘yes’. It’s very empowering to realise that if something goes wrong, it’s 100 per cent your fault. But, if it goes right, a lot of that has been because of the hard work you’ve put in.”

RETREAT

When Nick Goldsmith left the Royal Marines after 11 years serving, it was the perfect time to embark on a new adventure, together with his wife Louise. In 2012, while Nick was still in service, they bought an area of woodland as somewhere that could act as an escape from their hectic working lives.

“When we purchased the woodland, it had no running water, no vehicle access and had been unmanaged for over 30 years,” Louise remembers. “It was never our intention to turn this into a business. At the time Nick was experiencing complex PTSD. I was also in a highly stressful job as a detective constable in child protection. The woodland was purchased as somewhere we could relax and unwind from the hustle and bustle of our lives. We worked hard managing the woodland and it became a beautiful, quirky retreat for us and was soon helping aid with Nick’s recovery, too.”

As a military spouse, Louise’s support was integral to launching the business and making it into the success it has become. Today, that small patch of woodland is Hidden Valley Bushcraft, providing high quality educational and recreational experiences for all ages and abilities.

Not only does the business provide bespoke adventure and survival courses, but they run a woodland kindergarten for children aged three to five and are giving back to the veteran community, too.

“The children spend the day exploring our beautiful woodland, learning and developing through nature-based activities,” explains Louise. “We also provide therapeutic woodland activities for injured military veterans with the aim to help them relax, learn new skills, build selfreliance and esteem, strengthen social bonding and move forward into the next stage of their lives. This has now become its own stand alone, not for profit organisation; The Woodland Warrior Programme.”

What started as a dream has not only become Nick and Louise’s career and source of income, but allows them to go to work every day doing something they’re truly passionate about.

We like to hope that some of our members will come back to us as mentors

GUIDANCE

Last year, in recognition of their hard work, Hidden Valley Bushcraft won an award at the Heropreneurs Awards 2019, run by veterans’ charity, Heropreneurs. The non-profit organisation provides advice, support and mentoring opportunities for exservice personnel and their dependants who wish to start their own business.

Peter Mountford is the chairman of Heropreneurs and has mentored around 40 prospective business owners who have left service.

“We have a huge community of volunteers who we’ve managed to recruit over the last 10 years,” Peter says. “Normally we find that when one of our members has a problem, they know the answer, they just need somebody that’s experienced and knowledgeable to talk it through with them. A lot of our mentors are highly experienced sounding boards.”

Heropreneurs currently has over 100 members benefitting from the advice and guidance that the charity’s 90 mentors can provide. After applying to the mentoring scheme, successful candidates will choose the mentor they’d like to work with, and they arrange monthly virtual meet ups to discuss any issues and talk through any areas they’d like further advice on.

The charity’s services are free to use and have been the steppingstone for many veterans to enjoy a long and successful career in entrepreneurship, with many returning the favour for others following in their footsteps.

“We like to hope that some of our members will come back to us as mentors,” says Peter. “Business isn’t for the faint-hearted. Until you have it established, it can be stressful. You have to live and breathe it for a long time.”

If you’re inspired to start your own business, there’s plenty of advice, information and support available to turn your idea into reality.

“Prepare yourself for a rollercoaster,” Alice advises. “But if you believe in yourself, it will happen.”

Are you ready to take your military skills into the world of business?