It’s never too late to get off the corporate treadmill and start your own business. Helder Mendes will attest to that.

Eight years ago, Mendes was part of the senior management in Indonesia for Conoco, one of the world’s largest oil companies.

But Mendes always had a burning desire to be his own boss and run his own show.

So at 43 he made a profound life-changing move, returning to Calgary where he had spent his teenaged years and leaping head-first into the health-care equipment business in 1997 with wife Lynn to head Calgary’s franchise for MediChair.

Larry MacDougal photo, Business Edge
Helder Mendes demonstrates motor chair on a wheelchair ramp for a van.

Mendes hasn’t looked backed since, but to the Portuguese-born entrepreneur, it isn’t just about the bottom line.

It’s also about his passion and dedication to make a difference in people’s quality of life.

1. What was your boyhood dream growing up in Portugal?

“My family had their own businesses in Portugal – my father was a carpenter and had a furniture building company – so my dream was always to own my own business.”

2. Who was the greatest influence in your youth?

“My grandparents were a great influence. They were landowners and I particularly remember how compassionate my grandmother was. She was a tremendously caring person. When the people that worked for us were sick, she always made sure she took good care of them. That always stayed with me.”

3. Why did you choose to take economics at the University of Calgary?

“When I was at St. Mary’s High School, I took an economics course and I found it to be a very attractive subject. I’m a firm believer that university is not just a place to go so you can get a job. A lot of people went to university to get a job but I went to university to get an education.”

4. Having spent most of your working life in the oil industry, what did you enjoy most about that job?

“I really enjoyed being involved in the strategy, the long-range planning, development, economic evaluations and acquisitions. I like things that happen real fast. I think I excel in a dynamic world and that’s why accounting (his first job in the oilpatch) was a little tough for me.”

5. What was it like for you working in so many countries around the world while with Conoco?

“It was absolutely terrific. Coming from Portugal, I think I do have salt water in my veins. I love different cultures. I love working and dealing with different people. I spent a lot of time in Nigeria, the U.K., Norway, Holland and Indonesia.”

6. What valuable lessons did you learn from your diverse background in the oil business?

“In business, you learn that there isn’t just one way of thinking about or dealing with a problem. You have to have an open mind. I think that’s what I learned from dealing with so many diverse points of view. I think it has enriched me personally.”

7. What was it like being based in Jakarta for two years heading Conoco’s business development?

“It was a terrific experience, but I have to tell you that after two years I was ready to move. There’s just so much poverty and there is so much suffering in those countries. When you’re driving down the street and you see the poverty and you find you’ve almost become immune to it, where you don’t really recognize the suffering of people any more, it’s time to go home.”

8. Why did you leave Conoco and the oil and gas business in 1996?

“I always said that I would come back to Canada when my oldest son started high school. Also, I was 43 then and I knew that I had to make a decision at that point if I was going to stay with Conoco. I still had the desire to start my own business. Life in Jakarta was not reality. My kids lived with five or six servants in a 6,000-sq.-ft home. That was certainly not the lifestyle I wanted my kids to get used to. I wanted them experience a normal childhood. I wanted my son to get a job when he was 16. But I should also say that Conoco did a tremendous job of looking after myself and my family.”

9. So on returning to Calgary, did you consider working in the oilpatch?

“No, I didn’t. I wanted to get involved with a business or industry that I thought had a social impact or social value. Not that Conoco didn’t have any of that. I love working with people. I have a passion for helping people. I looked for a business that had a social conscience and one that I could work in with my wife Lynn.”

10. Why did you choose to buy the MediChair Calgary franchise in 1997?

“What impressed me about MediChair was that the company was represented throughout the country. If a client would spend the winter in Victoria, for example, then the company would be able to serve them there. The other thing I liked is that MediChair was not like a franchise like McDonalds, where they basically run the business for you. MediChair gave me the opportunity to run the business my way. They basically say, ‘Here it is, go to town and be as creative as you want.’ I could not work for a restrictive type of environment at that time.”

11. What was your startup cost and how did you finance it?

“I bought an existing business and it cost me $400,000. I was able to pay cash for the business.”

12. How did your experience in the corporate world help you to run your MediChair business?

“For one thing, you learn that you can never depend on government for anything. With Conoco, 90 per cent of our business was government-related. I also learned not to be undercapitalized. You’re also always taught to think big in the oil business and to pay attention to risk assessment.”

13. What was your revenue in your first year with MediChair?

“It was about $700,000 and it was $7 million last year. This year, it should be around $8 million. To be honest with you, the industry is quite small here in Calgary because a lot of the players have come and gone. Over the past year to year and a half, we’ve probably lost half of our competitors who have gone out of business.”

14. Why has that happened?

“It’s a very, very tough business if you don’t get into it for the right reasons. When you talk to people about home medical equipment, everybody thinks we just have lines of people outside waiting to give us their money, but that’s not the case at all. But this is an education business, a service business. A lot of people get into it for the wrong reasons, thinking that just because the demographics (of an aging population) are there, you’re going to make a lot of money. Nothing could be further from the truth. As an example, when we have a transaction, quite often there are four people involved – a paying agent from the government, a therapist recommending the purchase, the client and one of the offsprings of the client. If someone doesn’t qualify for government assistance, then there are other agencies to which we need to direct the client, such as Easter Seals, which is a tremendous, tremendous organization.”

15. What’s your vision for your MediChair business?

“First of all, we can never forget where we came from and that’s staying in touch with all of our clients. My plan is that we’ll be doubling our business within the next three to five years. I see a lot of growth, not only from the aging of the population but also from the accessibility side of the business, because so many retirement residences are only equipped with steps. It’s also very, very difficult to get into most public buildings because the (wheelchair) ramps are not at acceptable grades. They’re too steep. That (lack of consideration) drives me nuts.”

16. What’s your outlook for the health-care sector in Alberta?

“Right now, our health care sector is in a very confused state. There are all kinds of underlying messages being passed along. For example, the Alberta Aids To Daily Living (provincial government agency) was being reviewed and as a result of that nobody really knew if that program would continue to exist. But right now, because there’s an election coming up there’s another two-year contract. The needs will not go away. The question is, who will fund it? I see private (health-care) plans playing a bigger role in funding some of these services but there are a lot of private plans that are not being utilized. But the people my heart goes out to are those who fall through the cracks (of the health-care system) and have to go to Easter Seals. To the best of my knowledge, nobody sits in a wheelchair because it’s a cool thing to do. Most people sit in a wheelchair because they don’t have any choice, so let’s not forget about them.”

17. What’s it like having your wife as a business partner?

“It’s the most wonderful thing. I think one of the reasons for our success has to do with her background as a registered nurse. She has some understanding what it is like to be in a wheelchair. We just had our 25th anniversary and we like each other very much.”

18. How would you describe your entrepreneurial style? “I’m very much an open-door kind of individual. I want to have a dynamic place where people feel good about what they do. I share information. There are no secrets. Nothing in my office is locked. If anyone needs something from my office, they’re welcome to it. I believe goals are what you set and you shoot for. And I believe you should never be afraid to stretch those goals but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t achieve them. Two questions I ask when (an employee) comes into see me about a problem. First, is anybody hurt? If the answer is no, that’s good news. The second thing I ask is if the company is going to go belly up. If it isn’t, that’s OK. Everything else we can deal with.”

19. Are you planning to return to the corporate rat race?

“No. Because I have a lot of action here. We just bought a small company in northeast Calgary (the franchise’s third store) I’ll be looking at other opportunities within the province. And you know, I would have to be starving on the sidewalk with my last shirt all ripped on the back before I would go back to work for anyone else, period. You know, I love what do. This is not work. I have no intention of ever retiring. It seems that whatever it is that I’ve done has been passed on to my kids, because my son just graduated from McGill University and he’s doing his master’s degree in economics in Australia right now.”

20. What’s your most important goal beyond business?

“I have three children whom I hope will become half-decent human beings who recognize that we have a responsibility to those in society around us. I’d also like to make a difference to people’s lives and be known as someone who really cared. You know, I’m the luckiest man on earth.”

IN PROFILE: Helder Mendes
* Title: President/owner, MediChair Calgary.
* Born/raised/age: Algarve, Portugal; 51.
* Education: University of Calgary, BA degree, economics, U of C faculty of management, accounting major.
* Family: Wife Lynn, three children.
* Career: Prior to starting his MediChair business in 1997, Mendes spent 16 years in the oil industry as an economist, financial analyst and corporate planner, including 12 years with Houston-based Conoco. In his final two years with Conoco, he headed business development for the company’s Indonesian operations based in Jakarta. He has also worked as an accountant for Amoco Petroleum and financial analyst for CanadianOxy (now Nexen Inc.).
* Accolades: In 1998, Mendes received the Impact Award from Rehab & Community Care Magazine, a national honour for commitment to the health-care equipment industry. He was honoured as volunteer of the year by the Canadian Paraplegic Association in 2002.

THE COMPANY: MediChair Calgary
* Profile: MediChair Calgary is the Calgary franchise for MediChair, North America’s largest home medical equipment franchise company with 59 stores across Canada. Besides the three stores in Calgary, MediChair also operates franchises in Edmonton and Red Deer.
* Products: Rehabilitation and home medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers and scooters, lifts and elevators for the commercial and residential market, automotive adaptations and lifts and soft goods for personal care.
* Awards: MediChair Calgary was earned company honours for the largest franchise and highest growth awards three times – in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
* News: MediChair recently purchased Active Home Health Care in Northeast Calgary as its third store.
Website: www.medichair.com
* E-mail: calgary@medichair.com
* Main office: 7413 Macleod Tr. SW, Calgary T2H OL8 (other stores at 8-3434 34th Ave. N.E. and 1535 19th St. N.W.)
* Phone/Fax: 403-252-5366/252-7140; toll-free 800-661-6672.