About Us — The Next Chapter

How this started

We kept seeing the same problem.

Public servants reaching out. Smart, experienced people who spent decades building expertise — suddenly looking at a layoff notice, a retirement package, or just the realization that they wanted something different.

And they all had the same question: "How do I actually turn what I know into a business?"

The courses they found felt generic. The government programs felt surface-level. The YouTube videos promised everything and delivered nothing they could actually use.

"They didn't need more information. They needed someone who could show them how it actually works — because they're still doing it themselves."

Workshop session with engaged participants learning practical business skills

That's when we realized: we could help. Not because we have all the answers. But because we're still in the grind — running our own businesses, making mistakes, figuring things out, and learning what works right now.

We started running workshops. Word spread. And The Next Chapter was born.

Meet Your Guides

Stephen Lau

President, Salient Marketing

Stephen started Salient Marketing in 2000, back when "digital marketing" meant convincing people that websites actually mattered. Twenty-five years later, he's still at it — serving clients, closing deals, figuring out what works.

He's taught marketing at Algonquin College, but he'll tell you the real education happened in the trenches: learning how to pitch, how to price, how to keep clients happy, and how to survive the inevitable dry spells.

When Stephen teaches, it's not theory. It's "here's what I did last Tuesday, here's why it worked, and here's how you can adapt it."

25+Years in business

1000sClients served

Tuan Nguyen

Founder & Business Coach

Tuan's been starting things since 2015 — some worked, some didn't, all of them taught him something. Today he works as a Fractional CMO and business coach, helping founders get unstuck when they can't see the path forward.

His superpower is taking a framework he built two days ago and helping you adapt it to your situation on the spot. He's not precious about methodology — if something works, use it. If it doesn't, figure out why.

Tuan brings energy, bilingual skills (English and French — crucial for federal public servants), and a fresh perspective on what's working in business right now.

10+Years founding

50+Founders coached

Why we do this

Because we remember what it's like to start.

Starting a business is hard. Starting a business after a career in government — where the rules are completely different — is even harder.

We've watched too many talented people give up because they couldn't find guidance they could actually trust. People who had real expertise, real value to offer, but couldn't figure out how to package it, price it, or sell it.

That's a solvable problem. And we decided to solve it.

Practitioners First

We only teach what we're actively doing. If we haven't used it recently, we don't teach it.

Hot Off the Press

Our content is fresh — sometimes days old. You get what's working now, not what worked a decade ago.

Adaptive, Not Rigid

We adjust to the room. Your challenges shape the session, not the other way around.

Action Over Theory

You leave with something you can use tomorrow. Inspiration is nice; implementation is better.

Two practitioners. One mission.