The TK Advisor -TK Financial Group Ottawa Blog about Life Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance, Wealth Management and Estate Planning

What do you stand for ?

All our lives we have experiences that are both good and bad . I see and know many people and the ones that I resonate to are those that have principals as well as know what they stand for . When I was 21 I thought I had it all figured out and then real life came along beyond being a football player and university student . I had principals that have stayed with me for life which have been my guiding light . I now am working to pass some of these to my son as well as people I mentor . Honesty , compassion , seeing things from other person's eyes , take care of people the way I want to be taken care of and controlling my ego . Also belief in God has pulled me from some very difficult situations and dropping to my knees to pray is a good thing . What do you stand for ?

Living in Canada is wonderful !

I am a Canadian who once was a immigrant . We came to a new country with suitcases full of clothes and no money . My parents both got jobs and my father worked two jobs to give us a good home . We are so fortunate here in Ottawa and if you just open the TV it should be clear that this is a great place . If any person wants to work they can make something of themselves . I came from a country where in school I was not allowed to say to my fellow students in grade 2 that I saw my teacher in church . As immigrants we need to keep our culture but also honor our new adopted country . We are blessed to be able to enjoy freedoms and build a great life . If anyone thinks they are above the laws of Canada as well as do not integrate into the ways of this country they should keep looking for another place to settle . Long live Canada !

Professional advisors : insurance , investments , legal , accounting ,banking

So many of us get into a business because we believe we can deliver better value and control our destiny by being self employed .Often business owners as well as professionals forget the big picture planning as they focus on generating revenue . I also find that too many people acquire services on a stand alone basis with very little coordinated planning and often they do not know where to turn for obtaining professional advice . In order for you to gain maximum value , your advisors need to work as a team with sole purpose of taking care of you . At TK Financial we put the pieces together as your quarterback by bringing your advisors into a team and you gain maximum value . While I am licensed to sell financial services this does not define what I actually do . When you want to eliminate risk and want nothing left to chance give us a call .

Fund raising in Ottawa is very appreciated !

We in Ottawa are fortunate that we have people who on a regular basis take it upon themselves to get involved in fund raising activities on any given night of the week . The efforts of these people should somehow be rewarded beyond recognition . There should be some kind of a tax incentive or credit given as recognition of their never ending commitment to our community . We are lucky to enjoy the benefits from all the money which is raised and used in our community . Thank you volunteers !

FamIly business is a great business if .......

Beauty of owning a small business is that you get to call your own shots and the bad part of the same opportunity is that often you are often left alone to make hard decisions . Our economy is dependent on family businesses thriving and surviving . Often the business owners find themselves involved in the business that they do not take time to work on the business . A board of advisors is a excellent way to gain valuable much needed assistance to any business . That board has to be objective and look out for the best interest of the organization . Good legal and accounting advice should be the foundation for every family business . Insurance should be a planned event and not a sales exercise . Investment advisor to a family business is a must as often all the money gets plowed back into the business with no diversification . Team approach is best so make sure you have your advisors working together . We are either the quarterback in creating client's plans or simply one of the valuable members of their professional advisory team .

Banking regulations and sales of insurance as well as other products !

A quiet change continues to come about with regulatory aspects of what banks can and can not do . I believe that allowing banks to offer products to their clients is not a bad thing at the first glance . However , allowing banks to "convince " their clients to change their services from elsewhere to them on a basis of securing things like a loan is a problem . Also where a bank investment advisor tells his or her client that they will reduce their investment administration fees if they buy things like life insurance from them is not what I would consider fair practice . Fair competition is good for consumer and when a consumer is aware of what is available from professionals who operate independently from the bank I say bring it on ! I know what we provide to clients is unique and testimonials on our web tell the story , www.tkfg.ca .

Building a team at work is like building a football team !

As a former coach , I was always challenged to build teams from a group of athletes that showed up to first practice each season . Some of these athletes were known to me while others were new rookies . My objective was to establish their athletic ability and if they were coachable . Coachable athletes can become superstars the same way employees can become stars at work . We can test employees for basic skills which are important but only a part of the requirement to be great . Are they team players ? Do they want to work hard ? Do they have a burning desire to get better ? Will they go the extra mile to provide exceptional service ? Are they willing to practice things to perfect their skill ? Legendary football coach Tom Landry said "are they contenders or pretenders ?". Pretenders may look the same as contenders except that with contenders you win because they come to play every game !

Can you get enough courage to say no to a sales person ?

I have been a sales professional in the financial industry for over 30 years and some things never changed . There are still people out there that can not say no when they are not interested in obtaining a service or a product . By saying no they are allowing us who are suppliers of services to move un to someone else that needs or wants our offering . Tell a person you are not interested and save everyone time . No matter how much I am motivated to create a safety net around you it is a waste of my time if you are not interested . I call it courtesy , some call it honesty !

How do you motivate people ?

Over the years I have always wondered how people get motivated or have lack of motivation . Is it fear ? Is it a desire for success ? Is it just a never give up attitude ? Is it just accepting you are where you are ? Is it because of your parents did not motivate you ? Is it because you were given everything ? We are all motivated by different things and I really feel that the simple solution is to find out what motivate you to get up in the morning to get into the game .