I’ve always loved Spring. When I was little, my Mom and I would walk home from my grandparent’s house on sunny Sunday afternoons and I loved following the little rivers of icy water running down the streets as they peeked out from under the melting snowbanks. It was so exciting to follow the flow of water. I could try and stop it, but it always found a way around my foot or stick or block of snow; whatever I happened to put in its path didn’t phase it, it just kept on going. Water is amazing that way.
I haven’t always loved new beginnings. Sometimes they’re wonderful; full of excitement and possibilities! But sometimes new beginnings are forced upon us. Sometimes they are the result of very difficult or sometimes painful decisions.
New Beginnings
In my early career, this Ottawa Valley girl found herself smack in the middle of downtown Toronto working for an independent financial services firm. It was so exciting!! Huge buildings, so many people, and so many different foods to try! So much possibility it felt like I’d stepped into a dream. My first role at the company was as the receptionist. You’d think my job was to answer phones, make coffee and smile, and it was! But it was also to know exactly where everyone was and what everyone was doing all of the time. I got very good at organization and multitasking.
Always a learner, I took as many courses as I could and obtained my securities license at the age of 22. I worked directly with the owner who was also a Financial Advisor. I was his administrative services manager (similar to Jingling’s role on our team) for the next 10 years. I worked hard and took more courses, but my favourite part was getting to know the clients and being a part of their lives, and loving how wonderful it felt to help them along their journey.
Unfortunately at home, trouble was brewing. Try as I might, and despite my knowledge, expertise, and understanding of money management, I lacked the confidence to stand up for my values on a personal level. And it had dire consequences. By the time I did, a major decision needed to be made, and it was not an easy one.
Starting Over
At the age of 34, I decided to get myself out of the mess I was in and start again.
I separated from my husband, left the home we’d built together and went home to the Ottawa Valley. At the time my daughter was 9 months old and my son was due in the spring. All our worldly possessions fit in a few cardboard boxes. I was embarrassed, disappointed, sad and angry at just about everything.
Not a new beginning I ever expected or wanted to have; however, I knew it was the only way to have a better future for myself and my little ones
Nevertheless, here I was with two children to raise on my own. The good news was I was back to my roots, back to my family, and back to my values. I could breathe deeply once again.
For the next ten years, I enjoyed raising my two babies (who are not babies anymore), working in accounting and operations for two local agricultural companies, and volunteering for the local fair board. After sacrificing so much of myself, I also spent a lot of time reconnecting with who I am and why I’m here.
Accounting was fun. I was learning again, this time it was online college courses to get a certificate in bookkeeping. I was managing inventory and payroll, learning about the inner workings of business from the inside instead of the outside.
And agriculture! Talk about risk vs reward. I have absolute respect for farmers and our entire Ag community. Again, I spent time getting to know the customers, hearing about their lives and their businesses every day. Celebrating when the weather is good, and the crops are plentiful, and coming together as a community to mourn the loss when an accident happens.
I enjoyed my time working in accounting. But all the while, something was calling me back. I missed sitting at kitchen tables talking about dreams for the future. I missed the fast-paced, always-learning environment. I missed helping people. But even so, when I thought about returning to financial services, there was one thing that I just couldn’t puzzle out.
No place for the likes of me
All the while I was in the city, I just couldn’t get over how much money was circulating. The financial services industry is MASSIVE. Economies are MASSIVE. Toronto is MASSIVE. So much money is moving back and forth every day, all of the time. I remember just looking up at the buildings and thinking about all of the people in all of the offices who are just moving money around and making a living. Something about it just didn’t seem right to me.
And then, when I was back in the Valley working in accounting it hit me. Maybe it was being closer to nature, maybe it was working in agriculture, maybe I was just staring out the window at the lake nearby and thinking about playing in streams as a kid, I don’t know. But suddenly it struck me. I had this moment of understanding.
It occurred to me that just like water, money flows in and out of everything. We exchange our time and energy for it, we get it, and we give it. It’s all around us. Just like that stream in the spring, we can’t really stop it, but we can choose where we direct it. All that money that all those people are moving around, a lot of it originates with people like you and me, saving for our hopes and dreams of the future.
It occurred to me then that where we save, spend, and invest our money is where the real impact happens. Then I thought, what if we could teach everyone that they could make a difference? What if we could not just teach them, but actually EMPOWER them to do it?
But darn, there’s no place for thinking like that in financial services! In a system that’s designed to be inaccessible, that’s not how it works! Financial advisors don’t ask about what money MEANS. They just invest it!
*Sigh* I decided that it just wasn’t the career for me.
A new path
So, I stayed in accounting, but I just couldn’t let go of the idea of empowering people around money. I knew from personal experience that all the knowledge in the world doesn’t mean a thing if we don’t feel that we have the POWER to do anything about it. So I started again (again) and opened my own business. I had noticed in my accounting career that business owners (particularly women) were suffering the same lack of confidence that I had experienced. So I started a program called Financial Empowerment for Women Entrepreneurs. I mixed teaching bookkeeping and money management skills with confidence-building exercises. It was pretty amazing, and I was feeling pretty good about my path.
And then the universe led me to Betty-Anne.
Well, actually it was Maggie who, upon hearing my passionate views on empowering women around money matters at a random networking event in Ottawa said. “You have to meet my wife”. We realized pretty quickly that we had A LOT in common. We both want to empower women around financial literacy, we both are frustrated with the way the financial services industry traditionally works, we are both passionate about giving back to our communities, and we both put compassion first when working with clients.
I could not believe the universe had gifted me with a living-breathing example of financial planning done differently. I heard her talk about “the meaning behind the money” and knew I had found a kindred spirit. And as luck would have it, she happened to have a job opening.
That was nearly two years ago now, and we haven’t looked back. In that time I’ve jumped back in with both feet. I honestly can’t think of a better career in the world than helping people discover the hope that comes with knowing impact is possible. Change is possible. A better future is possible. We just have to believe that we can.
Betty-Anne believes it. And so do I.
What she wrote in last month’s blog about the Inner Development Goals says it all:
“Inner Development Goal: Being. This is about our inner compass and having a deeply felt sense of responsibility and commitment to the values and purpose of humanity. While everyone has an internal compass, many people within the financial services sector still ignore what is good for everybody in favor of what is suitable for themselves. While this is sad, we can rectify this by having more meaningful conversations about money and its social purpose in our lives and in the world around us.”
Beautiful.
It is my honour and privilege to be a part of Betty-Anne’s legacy, and it is a responsibility that I take very seriously. Her dedication to people, her passion to ignite change, and her devotion to compassionate financial planning is an inspiration to many, and I look forward to learning from her and sharing this journey with you.
Here’s to new beginnings, to turning our faces to the sun, breathing deeply, and making the world a little bit better, one meaningful conversation at a time.
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