October 30, 2025 • 36 mins
Julie's brand new Big Gorgeous Goals: Official Workbook can be ordered now! Grab your copy.
Tracey Lundell shares her journey from banking to entrepreneurship, revealing how she built a wealth management company that breaks industry norms while providing better client service.
With 30+ years of expertise in finance strategy, Tracey helps women investors and entrepreneurs navigate the complex world of wealth by building smart future-proof portfolios.
Women often face unique challenges when it comes to finance and Tracey, with her tailored strategies that go beyond numbers, works closely with them to help align their investments with their entrepreneurial ambitions, life goals, and family legacies — whether it’s women who are newly widowed, divorced, or suddenly in charge of managing an inheritance or severance.
Currently a Senior Investment Advisor at Harbourfront Wealth Management, Tracey’s approach to investment planning is deeply Canadian — fair, transparent, and sensitive to clients who need an extra layer of attention. She is industry-certified as a Chartered Investment Manager.
Tracey is a passionate advocate of empowering women’s financial futures and was recognized as one of the Top 50 Leading Women in Wealth in 2023. She has also been a consecutive Excellence Awardee for the Wealth Professional Advisor of the Year (2021-2024).
You can connect with Tracey on her website or LinkedIn.
You can connect with Julie on LinkedIn or Instagram.
Find Julie's writing at her blog or by ordering her book Big Gorgeous Goals and the brand new official companion workbook!
What did you think of this conversation? We'd love if you'd rate or review our show!
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FIGURE 8 UPDATE
Hello listeners, thank you for your continued support and interest in my show. You may have noticed that Figure 8 is on a little hiatus right now, please enjoy the catalogue of episodes we have built up for you!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Julie (00:04):
Welcome to Figure 8, where we feature inspiring
stories of women entrepreneurswho have grown their businesses
to seven and eight figuresrevenue.
If you're in the mix of growinga bigger business, these
stories are for you.
Join us as we explore where thetough spots are, how to
overcome them and how to prepareyourself for the next portion
(00:27):
of the climb.
I'm your host, Julie Ellis.
I'm an author, entrepreneur anda growth and leadership coach
who co-founded, grew and exitedan eight-figure business.
This led me to exploring whysome women achieve great things,
and that led to my book BigGorgeous Goals.
(00:47):
Let's explore the systems,processes and people that help
us grow our businesses to newheights.
If you're interested in growingyour business, this podcast
will help.
Now let's get going.
Hello and welcome to thisepisode of Figure 8.
Today, I am in conversationwith Tracey Lundell, and Tracey
(01:11):
is an expert in financialstrategy and she works with
women investors andentrepreneurs to navigate the
complicated world of wealth andto build future-proof portfolios
, which I think we all know intoday's world is something
that's really important.
And, Tracey, I'm veryinterested in our chat today.
We have similar stories in howwe got started, in that banks
(01:37):
lured us into managementtraining programs when we
finished university and,although our paths have been
different here, we are bothentrepreneurs and I'm so
interested in talking to youtoday about your journey.
Tracey (01:49):
Awesome, I'm excited too .
Thank you for having me today.
Julie (01:52):
Welcome, Welcome.
And so had you worked at a bankat all when you got lured into.
Lured I call it, but I meaninvited.
It was probably a greatopportunity.
It was for me.
Tracey (02:11):
So I'm out west here in British Columbia and I went to
the University of BC and uh, tohelp afford my life while I was
at school.
I worked part-time at CanadaTrust back then.
So it was a great, uh, becauseour hours were so long.
It was perfect for a studentLike we.
I was able to work after schoolshifts and so I'd worked in.
I started when I was 17,.
(02:32):
Actually, my mom had to sign myemployment contract because I
was not of legal age.
Julie (02:37):
No way, oh, that's interesting.
Tracey (02:39):
It is interesting, exactly.
So I basically started in firstyear and then worked part-time,
right?
Julie (02:45):
right, and so our stories are really very similar,
because I was also 17 when Istarted working part-time and
put myself through university.
It was a great job, it paidreally well at that time and,
yeah, I mean, who knew that thatwould be the beginning of
something that would lead you towhere you are now?
Tracey (03:01):
well, and I went to school to become a diplomat, I
thought that I lead you to whereyou are now.
Well, and I went to school tobecome a diplomat, I thought
that I was going to join theforeign service and see the
world, and you know all theromantic aspects of that role,
which is a much more complex?
Julie (03:14):
Do you speak multiple languages?
Tracey (03:16):
I did then, like I, I spoke French quite, quite nicely
, and some Spanish and English,and those were enough.
But but honestly, it's been solong now that I can barely I
mean I can barely hold aconversation anymore in French.
Enough time has passed.
I can read it pretty well, butuh, yeah, conversationally it's.
(03:37):
It's definitely gone downhill.
But I was ready.
I was ready to join the foreignservice, but the year I
graduated they put a five-yearfreeze on the entrance exam and
I was like, oh, I guess I needto find something else to do.
Julie (03:49):
Right, and so there you were, already working for a bank
and got invited to work fulltime, and it seemed like a great
opportunity.
Tracey (03:58):
Well, it was good because I got to join the
management training program andthat's where I took my first
step into the whole leadershipside of things and loved it.
So I love it still.
So it's not past tense.
I still love it.
Julie (04:12):
And so what was the journey that took you from sort
of that post-university jobinvite great training, becoming
a leader of people to theinvestment side, and learning
that you love to help peoplebuild wealth.
Tracey (04:28):
Right.
So I mean I think in a bank youcan have lots of different
careers under that same umbrella, which is an amazing
opportunity.
So I'd had the chance to workfor the retail bank, the
insurance part of the bank, tdsecurities at one point, which
was awesome because it was likethe fixed income foreign
exchange part of the business.
And then I worked at thecommercial bank as well.
(04:50):
So it was a good breadth ofexperience and I was leading
most of the time.
Sometimes it was hands on withclients, but most of the time I
was leading teams.
And I just got to a point whereI was actually leading teams
for a different institution.
It was on the wealth side of thebusiness, so all the licensing
(05:11):
and all of that had to all getrefreshed and I just realized
how much I missed the hands-onadvising piece, like it was a
lot of putting out fires and andthat sort of thing.
It's funny because I love thehands on piece and then I was
starting to miss the leadershippiece when I was doing the hands
on, like helping clients andall of that I do love that a lot
(05:32):
too, and all of it's aboutrelationship at the end of the
day, no matter who it is thatyou're helping.
But this is perfect.
This, this job I do now it'snot even a job really.
It's this world that I live innow.
I get to both help peopledirectly, but I also get to lead
(05:53):
a team, which is so it's likethe best of all the worlds.
It's not two worlds really,it's so many worlds all
colliding, but it's the best ofall of them.
Julie (05:58):
That's so good.
And how did you get to here, towhere you are today?
Tracey (06:08):
Yeah, so when I was leading teams of wealth advisors
, I was like man, if it were me,I would do this differently.
If it were just me, I would dothis differently.
And then, um, my partner that Istarted our company with felt
the same way, and she and Iworked out of the same location.
So when everybody like we werethere before anybody and we were
there long after anybody leftat the end of the day, and we
would just talk about that, oh,you know, if we could do it our
(06:31):
own way, we would do blank.
And then finally we're likewait a minute, why aren't we
trying?
Why don't we?
Yeah, so, and that's that'skind of how it all started, and
it was.
I mean, it's a huge leap offaith to jump from a salary job
into one that isn't into kind ofentrepreneurship, but it was.
I'm comfortable with that.
(06:51):
I grew up in an entrepreneurialfamily and I kind of
experienced that growing up.
So we took that leap of faithand everybody else says in
retrospect, I wish I'd done itearlier.
And I do too.
I wish I'd done it earlier.
It was.
It's great, like the autonomypart of it appeals greatly to me
and my personality, and for heras well.
(07:12):
So I think that it was anatural next step, but it does
take some courage.
Julie (07:16):
Yeah, yeah, for sure it does.
You gotta bet on yourself.
Tracey (07:20):
You do right.
You've got to absolutely trustthat you have everything you
need, or at least the ability tobe able to learn along the way
and to take those chances and tobe nimble and anyway.
So those were all the thingsthat you go through in your mind
.
You're just like, oh gosh, likeI'm giving up, like a benefits
plan and a pension plan and asalary, and I mean both of us
(07:44):
had moved up in our careers to apoint where we were very
comfortable, both the mainincome earners for our household
.
So it was a big.
It was a big development, itwas a big change.
Julie (07:55):
Yeah, and how do you think growing up in that
entrepreneurial environment infact impacted you and what did
you learn from it?
I think that it was.
There's an element ofcreativity.
Even though we're in thefinancial industry, I think
there's an element of creativitythat you have when you are
(08:16):
developing your own company andyou're trying to find your own
place, kind of, in the world andwhere you fit and how you can
best deliver what you have tooffer.
And I think that watching myparents go through that it
wasn't always easy and a lot ofthat was in the 80s, when
interest rates were like 21% formortgages and like all sorts of
(08:36):
it, was not an easy timefinancially for them to be
running a business.
So I heard the challenges aswell, but I think you could see
the creative energy on oh, weget to add to our team and oh,
we have this contract now, sowe're going to be able to do
this, this and this.
And I think that just listeningto how they grew their company,
(08:56):
you just kind of I mean I was achild, but you can learn it
through osmosis I mean I was ateenager for part of it too.
So so I remember thoseconversations and they would
include us in some of the thingsthat were that were age
appropriate.
So I think we just talked aboutthat kind of thing around the
dinner table and that washelpful.
(09:18):
It made it slightly less scarybecause I'd seen it in action
because I'd seen it in action
Yeah, yeah, which is interesting, right, because I
think it's, yeah, one of thosethings of you absorb almost
without realizing, in a lot ofways.
Tracey (09:42):
Yeah, but it is interesting because it creates
this money story I often talkabout, like what's people's
money story?
What are the things that happento them when they're younger,
that impacts their lives all theway through.
And for me it was like, oh, youknow what?
The security of a paycheck is areally awesome thing to have
(10:04):
two weeks you're going to get atleast like a set amount and
sometimes bonuses, and likethat's an amazing way and you
can take a lot of comfort inthat.
But then I was kind of missingthe creativity, autonomy of
being able to run your ownbusiness your own way.
So I think you just learn.
You just learn that there'sgive and take, so you give up
maybe some security in some ways, but then you can create it for
(10:25):
yourself eventually anyways,like I think you just have to
have enough faith in your ownabilities to be able to deliver
what you always were able to doall along.
It's just once.
It's just from pay structure,that's all right.
Julie (10:38):
Yeah, and do you feel like you ever looked back from
that moment where you made thatchoice to start your own
business and let go?
Tracey (10:48):
I think you can't help but look back, especially in the
early days.
Julie (10:52):
Yes, Because it's harder then.
Hard days, the lean days right,the lean days.
Tracey (10:56):
I mean I think you save and you prepare yourself for
that.
But when you're a person who Imean I would say I'm, I'm, I'm a
very fiscally responsibleperson, so like to make that
kind of decision, you secondguess yourself a little bit.
But I think you just have to,you have to go with it right.
You just have to like okay,this is what it is, now I know I
(11:16):
have the capacity to be able todo these things.
I know I have the knowledge.
It's you just say, yeah, youhave to take a chance on
yourself.
So did I second guess it alittle bit?
Probably.
I think it's natural at thevery beginning, but not much and
not for long.
Julie (11:31):
Yep, yes.
And what do you see in thekinds of clients that come and
want to work with you, or theclients even that you are
prospecting for the clients thatyou want to work with.
What do you see in them?
You know you work with a lot ofwomen, a lot of women
entrepreneurs.
What is that like?
Tracey (11:52):
So I think that I was lucky coming into
entrepreneurship with afinancial background and I think
that most people when they arestarting there are most women,
but all people when they'restarting their own business,
they know their business insideand out, but the overlay of the
financial aspect of it issometimes challenging, hard to
(12:13):
access.
They may not have hadexperience making some of those
financial decisions.
Like that part was not hard forus because we came from that
and I think that you can.
That gives a lot of confidenceand I think that when people are
really good at what they do,they can be fantastic.
But they don't necessarily havethe financial knowledge to get
(12:34):
themselves to that next leveland that's where we come in.
I think that that's the bestspot Like we can help fill that
gap.
So the knowledge that you don'thave, it's okay.
I there's a lot of things Idon't know and I build a team
around me to help figure thosethings out for me.
Um, like I think of technologyand all these.
Like there's other things thatI just I mean, I know a little
(12:55):
bit about, but I'm by no meansan expert, so I'll build a team
around me for that.
So I'm happy to be the part ofthe financial aspect of teams
that people professional teamsthat people build around them as
they grow their business andthen they can focus on what they
do best and they're confidentin.
So that's who we help and howwe help.
I would say we fill that gapfor a lot of people who don't
(13:16):
have that confidence kind ofbackground or knowledge.
Julie (13:20):
Well, and there's like a fine balance, I would say,
between working with somebodythat you trust and who will
advise you well and in educatingyourself enough to have you
know, to be able to kind of likehave that big level picture and
also kind of you knowunderstand on some level what's
(13:43):
happening with your money.
Tracey (13:45):
Oh for sure.
I think there's a bigeducational component that goes
along with it and even leads upto you even asking or asking for
assistance or building thatteam around you.
You have to know the rightquestions to ask, you have to
know the areas that you'restruggling in in your business.
So I think it's a veryrealistic kind of conversation.
It's like how do I, how do Itake my business to the next
(14:07):
level if I don't reallyunderstand all the different
elements in there?
But that's like the first stepis like okay, how do I find that
information, even if I don'tnecessarily know how to go
through it all and figure outwhat it all means in relation to
me.
But how do I even access itfirst off?
And how do I know whatquestions to ask to get the
(14:27):
right advice in the first place?
And you kind of learn along theway.
Like I think that it's alearning journey for everybody
and as you go through thatprocess it's handy to have a
guide, I suppose.
And then you, you, you justlearn.
I think that that's that's howit kind of comes along, and
everybody comes at it from adifferent level of experience
(14:49):
and knowledge right, so that'sthe other and trust is huge,
right, like that's the thing.
You have to be super open.
It's almost like therapy, likefinancial therapy to a certain
extent, right, and people needto understand what their history
is, and that's where that moneystory comes in Again.
Are you a spending person?
(15:09):
Are you a saving kind of person?
Are you do even think aboutthose things?
Are they like what?
What has been your experienceyour whole life?
Have you always been in yourown, like business for self?
Or have you earned a salary andnow you're jumping in own, like
business for self, or have youearned a salary and now you're
jumping in and it's scary?
And so I think that, like wherepeople come from and their
(15:29):
experience that they've had canreally guide where you start,
and then the journey after thatas well, the learning journey
just continues on.
Julie (15:37):
Yeah, well, and it's interesting too, because you
know, the more people educatethemselves, learn about their
money story, learn what theyreally want out of the
investments they're making, Ithink it evolves too over time.
Tracey (16:29):
ideally get ahead of things before they even happen,
but at least be in a position toreact if things happen that you
didn't expect.
Julie (16:37):
Yes, yes, and, and I mean I would venture to say things
happen always that you don'texpect.
yeah, that's you know whetherthey're big or they're small?
Yeah, you know that's life
Tracey (16:50):
yeah, it is, I mean, and it would be boring if it didn't
happen that way, but it addsstress for sure, I think, when
unforeseen things happen butunforeseen good things happen
too so both good and bad thingswill happen along the way, and
you want to be able to takeadvantage of both the good
opportunities but also putyourself in a situation where,
(17:11):
if something not good happensthat's unforeseen, you're okay.
Julie (17:14):
Right, yeah, yeah.
So now in your own journey Imean you a time came when you
decided to take your practiceoutside of the bank confines and
, you know, into a more privatewealth management company
environment.
Um, what has that change meantfor you?
Tracey (17:35):
Oh, autonomy, like I'm going back to that word again
but the freedom to be able togrow our team the way we want to
, to really focus how we lookafter our clients.
It's just.
It's just that much morefreedom to be able to build the
(17:55):
way we want to and work with thepeople that we can help best.
It's kind of a less of a, it'sless broad and now we can be
much more focused.
But I think that that's helpfulbecause now we can be kind of
more experts in our fieldbecause, like we, we see a lot
and there's a lot of learningsthat can be had across different
(18:17):
clients.
Obviously, everything's private, but we still learn along the
way.
So I I think that has been huge,and the ability to be able to
grow our team kind oforganically as well.
So I, our industry is horriblefor onboarding.
Like it's not an ideal scenariofor someone to start earning
(18:38):
nothing and then be providingadvice but you still have to pay
your rent and put food on thetable, but you literally start
with zero as your salary
Julie (18:47):
Like is it a little bit sink or swim Like what would you
?
Tracey (18:51):
yeah it is, and I just don't think that's a healthy or
comfortable learning environment.
And so if you're learning andyou're stressed, and you're
financially stressed yourself,like how can you be in a
position to give good advicefinancially when you're just
doing your best and you're newin the industry?
(19:12):
So I think that that's justhard.
Um, so I have a big uh desire.
We like to bring people on.
They can kind of learn theropes, but they're on a salary,
so they don't have to worryabout the rent or the mortgage
payment or the food on theirtable or their other expenses
while they learn.
(19:33):
And then they're getting thementorship of all of us more
senior, because now there's a,there's a few of us, it's not
just me and my partner anymorebut they get that mentorship and
they get that support and then,when they're ready, then they
can kind of launch and they canstart building before they come
off that salary.
And that's a great successionplanning tool for us too.
(19:54):
So we have employees in their30s, we have employees in their
40s Me and my partner we're inour 50s, right.
So I think that it's nice tohave that kind of succession
planning.
Not that we're ready to exitsoon,
Julie (20:07):
but no, but you know you will exit
Tracey (20:10):
yeah, one day we will.
And we know now that we've gotall these people that we trust
and we know exactly what theybring to the table.
Um, so that freedom we got whenwe made that big move
Julie (20:21):
Well, and it just strikes me that you know it's the kind
of business where people arelike oh well, you know that's
fine that you have a great team,Tracey, but I work with you
right like there is a successionum concern, I think, because
people feel like it is a verytight relationship and it's very
(20:41):
it's got a lot of trust
Tracey (20:43):
Pretty intimate, like really
Julie (20:44):
Very intimate.
Tracey (20:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and so it is hard, but they get to
learn.
So the way we structure it inour team because now we have the
privilege of being able to doit this way I guess is everybody
has certain things that they'rereally great at and all of us
can do all the things, but thatdoesn't mean that we're all
really great at all the things.
So my partner loves to do theplanning, so she'll do all the
(21:11):
input and all the numbercrunching and all the scenario
running the 30 page reports.
It's not what I love, but sheloves it.
So she gets to focus on that.
And then we've got anotheradvisor that does all the
portfolio management and we shegets to focus on that.
And then we've got anotheradvisor that does all the
portfolio management and we havethe same licensing.
I could do it too.
I don't love it.
I don't love.
I mean I that's not the piecethat I love the most.
(21:32):
And then we've got anotherperson who's more on the risk
management side of things, so hereally understands all the
insurance elements and all ofthat.
Again, I'm licensed for that.
It doesn't mean that I couldn'tdo it, but it's not my forte.
Like I'm, I do a lot of the bigpicture strategy, tax planning
kind of stuff, especially whenthere's corporate structures
involved or likemulti-generations involved.
Like I, that's the stuff Ireally love and I love the team
(21:55):
building, so I get to take thaton for the team and it's so
everybody eventually will get toknow everybody and that's, I
think, going to be helpful oneday, like 10-15 years down the
road, because they're going toknow everyone.
So and that's really the beautyof being able to build a bigger
business yes, right, itabsolutely is, and it's
(22:18):
definitely a long-termperspective, like I think you
have to build it.
It's a culture buildingperspective too, like I'm not
just going to grow the team forthe sake of it.
Then it needs to be the rightpeople that are involved in the
mix, because there is a hugetrust element for each of us
relying on each other, for ourclients to be able to rely on
everybody there, like that's thepart I love.
I love the team building andthe culture building and the
(22:41):
like, even just within our ownsmaller team yep, yeah, you are
happy to let other people dothings well, I'm getting, I'm
learning.
That is a journey for me.
I'm way better at it now.
If you'd asked me five yearsago, I was not a good delegator,
not even delegating.
I just had to.
I think that's a hard thing tolet go of when you start your
own business and you've doneeverything.
Julie (23:02):
Yeah, tell me a little more about that.
Tracey (23:06):
So I was very I mean, I was very capable and had a very
full schedule and I would justdo the things.
And now that we've got othermembers of the team that could
do those things much better thanme, it was a trust.
It's a trust thing for me too.
It's like okay, I know you cando this, I know you're capable
of it.
You're going to do it betterthan I can and probably faster.
So, but I had to learn that Ihad a hard time letting go.
(23:28):
I mean, I'm a I'm a controlfreak, of course.
Julie (23:33):
I think that comes with the territory of being an
entrepreneur and then layer ontop.
Like you're, you work in ahighly regulated industry, so
you know those two thingsplaying together.
Uh, I think it makes sense thatyou would be.
How did you, how did you knowthat you needed to delegate what
started happening in thebusiness?
Tracey (23:53):
um, I, I got stretched way too thin and I let myself
get stretched way too thin.
My, my calendar is still busy,but four or five years ago that
thing was crazy, it was real, itwas hard, a hard, a hard thing
to manage for sure, and it wasback to back and then I just
(24:13):
didn't feel like I was like Ithink my clients were getting
everything they needed.
I certainly wasn't gettingeverything I needed.
I didn't have a lot of downtimefor me to take care of.
I was exhausted.
Julie (24:25):
Yes, I was going to say that's where you'd start to like
head down the lane towardburnout and and all of the
things, and and I think theother thing that happens too,
though, is you become the blockin the yeah, and everybody's
waiting for Tracy and waiting,and waiting, and waiting,
because you, you, just I don'twant to be that yeah, so you.
Tracey (24:45):
It doesn't take long to realize it, but those are habits
that are hard to change, so youjust have to keep reminding
yourself, and and people willmake mistakes along the way, as
they're learning, of coursethat's totally okay.
Julie (24:59):
Like I think that's what you think.
Like that's how that's how.
Like that's how I learnedthings.
That's how you learned thingsexactly.
We don't want to let otherpeople make the mistakes.
We worry about the risk to usof them making mistakes well,
and reputationally too.
Tracey (25:13):
When you built your own business, it's your baby like
you have, that's it's.
I think it's hard as a mom aswell, to let your baby grow up
and go out into the world andnot have her mummy.
Julie (25:24):
Yeah, yeah and your business is a lot like that.
Right, it is a lot like thatyeah, yeah, yeah.
Tracey (25:31):
so I would say that was I was my biggest hurdle.
Julie (25:34):
Yes, that's where I think , though, that that ultimately
starts to like, collide and rubup against the culture piece,
because, in order to kind ofcreate the culture that you
really want, where people aresuper engaged and feel like they
have ownership and want to cometo work every day, that kind of
culture does not fit with thelack of, you know, delegation
(25:57):
and the control.
Tracey (25:58):
Yeah, you have to trust your teammates.
Yeah, and I've been trying tobring this whole holacracy style
of leadership into our dynamic,where everybody can sit around
the table equally, no matterwhat role it is that you take,
because everybody's role.
(26:19):
You need everybody to beworking at their optimal, you
know best, in order for all ofus to be doing the best work
that we need to do.
And, yes, does the buck stopwith someone?
Of course it does.
It stopped mostly, mostly, withme.
That's my role on the team andbut, generally speaking, like
(26:39):
when we have team meetings, it'severybody is there, everybody
has an equal voice, because youneed to hear what's going on at
every level.
So that, I would say, is kindof the management style.
If that is even a man, I meanit is a management style.
But that's what we're trying tobring to the table.
I think they advisorsespecially.
(27:00):
It's a very hierarchicalindustry, so that is one other
way that we're very different interms of how we operate.
Julie (27:10):
Yeah, well, and I think I see I see a lot.
You know I've got I have awhole chapter in my book about
delegation and things that.
But it is the kind of thingthat nobody really ever sits you
down and teaches you no, andyou just get to a point where I
see one of two things I seeeither over control, like
(27:31):
holding on too, tightly,microman tightly, or delegation,
where you're like, oh, they'redoing a terrible job but you
actually haven't.
You know, you're checking in allthe way at the end when it's
already kind of destined to be adisaster, or or or you're in a
high risk situation because,like you said and I think it's
(27:51):
an interesting example like thebuck stops with you, yet you're
effectively delegating, lettingother people learn and grow,
make mistakes, within someconfines of you know what's
acceptable in the industry andyou know in your you know
oversight role.
But it is just that interestingpiece of like, finding the
(28:14):
right like spot between too muchcontrol and no oversight at all
.
Tracey (28:20):
Well, we have daily check ins because our people are
kind of spread out all over thelower mainland.
So every morning at 830, from830 to nine, we'll have a daily
check in, and if there's lotsgoing on, then that's a perfect
opportunity for us to figure outwho's going to be doing what
today, to figure out, like,which client needs which things
or, as a team, which things weneed Make sure nothing's falling
(28:42):
on the cracks.
Exactly right, like it's ourbest way to try and seal as many
cracks as we possibly can, sonothing falls through.
It's not a perfect world, sothings will fall through
sometimes, but I think wemanaged to do a lot of crack
filling in those morningappointments.
But most of the time, like someof the time, we don't have all
(29:04):
of that stuff to talk about, andthen it can just be fun culture
building kind of conversationsand more about like, what do you
want to learn today?
Like what, what's next on yourlist?
Like what have you been seeingthat you would like to know more
about, and so it can be alittle more proactive too and
not just reactive.
So I think that how teams allcommunicate with one another
make everybody more effective,and that's kind of the main, and
(29:27):
I think that's also differentfor this industry.
I'm lucky to have had all ofthose years of leadership,
support and training in thisenvironment, because now I can
apply it.
Julie (29:39):
Yeah, yeah and, like you said earlier, find the best of
both worlds to fit togetheraround the leadership piece and
the relationship piece with yourclients exactly so I mean, and
do clients still usually call mefirst?
Tracey (29:52):
yeah, yeah, that's good, that's great.
And then they know, sometimesif it's an administrative thing
they'll just skip right over me,which is fine, because all I
would have done is asked someoneelse on the team probably to do
it, because I'm not usually ina position where I'm in front of
my computer to be able to makeit happen.
And they know now.
So it's a learning process, Ithink, for everybody, like the
(30:21):
team, for the clients but Ithink it's also much more
seamless when anybody goes onvacation.
Yes, right, like you actuallycan go on vacation and not worry
.
I've got a vacation coming upin October.
Most of my clients know aboutit because I'm super excited
about it and I I share what'sgoing on in my life too, and
like I'm not worried when I goaway.
There's more than enough peopleto take care of everything for
(30:42):
the two weeks that I'm going tobe gone, and that, like five
years ago, even wasn't the case.
There were just two of us andit was a lot for the other
person when one of the otherright.
I think it's a really, reallyimportant point, though, for us,
as entrepreneurs, to be able tobuild businesses that don't
need us that's the goal, isn'tit like, if that's the goal of
(31:06):
successful parenting, buteventually your kids launch and
can do like an adult and I thinkthat's also the role of a
successful business owner isthat one day you can exit, or
maybe not even exit, still lead,but you're not the one doing
all of the things all of thetime right Like.
I think that that is a sign youmake yourself redundant.
Julie (31:29):
Well, and ultimately, that's what makes your business,
you know, sellable really iswhen you are redundant, yep,
exactly.
Tracey (31:38):
Or when you create something that well, it's bigger
than you at the end of the day,like it's not about me or my
partner anymore.
Already it's bigger than us.
So that's kind of excitingactually that we're at that
stage now, yes, and now what'snext for you?
oh goodness, I think it's justcontinuing on this path, but
(31:59):
building in the right way.
So there's lots.
Uh, I think, because of how wedo business, we have a lot of
advisors that reach out askingabout joining our team yeah, so
it's finding the right peoplefor your culture and how you
want to work exactly, so theyhave to be the right.
And then if we're going to dothat, then we also have to have
the right supporting people inplace.
(32:21):
So I think it's not about doingeverything at a rapid pace just
because we could.
It's also about what's theright timing for everybody
that's here already alreadydoing the work for our own
clients and making sure that wecan build it in a scalable like
it does need to be scalable.
Sometimes it's process,sometimes it's just processes
(32:42):
that can be streamlined, thatmake that build capacity, but
eventually it's going to behaving more folks as well, all
kind of helping clients in thesame way.
So I that's that's what ourpath is over the next.
Over the next, I would say likeeven 10 years.
That's probably what the pathlooks like, but we don't want to
(33:02):
be so grow for the sake ofgrowing Right.
Julie (33:05):
No, you want to grow yeah .
Yeah, you want to grow with theright people and the right
culture and to be in service ofthe clients.
That will be part of the mix.
Tracey (33:17):
Yep, exactly.
So I think that's kind of themain that's, that's our main
path anyways, and then just likedo what we do already, but do
it better.
Julie (33:28):
Learn more.
Yeah, yeah.
Tracey (33:31):
I mean continuous improvement and and, and you
know, leveling up kind of amentality exactly, I mean, and
all of that will just lead togrowth of the of our group, too,
and our bottom line and ourability to be able to do new and
creative things.
So I think it's always puttingwhat like who are you serving?
(33:51):
And yes, we're servingourselves, because we need to
make a living and people need toprogress in their careers, and
we're also serving our clients.
So I mean, I think, as long asyou have these touch points
where you're like okay, thisnext big decision that we're
going to make, who does it serve?
Julie (34:09):
yes, are we.
Are we serving one at thedetriment of the other, or can
we find the balance that we needto make it be the right choice?
Tracey (34:18):
Or it really needs to serve both or it can't happen.
Yeah, so it's that.
I think it's those kinds ofstrategic decisions.
But we enjoy having thoseconversations around the table
too with the team and everybodyhas a different perspective.
Like we don't hire people justbecause they think the same way
would not be great actually.
We want diversity of opinionaround the table.
(34:39):
So it's uh, it's fun.
It's fun, we're at that.
I think we're at that like thisis my happy spot where we get
to.
We're still taking care ofclients really well, but we're
still we're also kind ofexpanding um and bringing all
these like new people into thebusiness, but in a very
supportive kind of way, asopposed to the scary sink or
(35:00):
swim, which is what thisindustry is kind of known for.
Julie (35:05):
Yeah, Good Well, I look forward to seeing how you
continue to reinvent things andbuild a great team and do things
the way you want to do them, soyou have the right culture and
the right people and you serveyour clients in the best way you
can.
Tracey (35:20):
Yeah, me too.
Julie (35:22):
Good Good Well.
Thank you so much for chattingwith me today.
I really appreciate it.
Tracey (35:27):
Thank you for having me.
It's been awesome.
Julie (35:31):
I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
Please remember to hitsubscribe on your favorite
podcast platform so you won'tmiss any episodes.
Figure 8 isn't just a podcast.
It's a way of seeing the big,gorgeous goals of women
entrepreneurs coming to life.
If you're interested inlearning more, you can find my
(35:52):
book Big Gorgeous Goals onAmazon, anywhere you might live.
For more about my growth andleadership training programs,
visit www.
julieellis.
ca to see how we might worktogether.
Read my blog or sign up to getyour free diagnostic.
Are you ready for growth?
(36:14):
Once again, that's www.
julieellis.
ca.
When we work together, we allwin.
See you again soon for anotherepisode of Figure 8.
Welcome to Figure 8, where we feature inspiring
stories of women entrepreneurswho have grown their businesses
to seven and eight figuresrevenue.
If you're in the mix of growinga bigger business, these
stories are for you.
Join us as we explore where thetough spots are, how to
overcome them and how to prepareyourself for the next portion
(00:27):
of the climb.
I'm your host, Julie Ellis.
I'm an author, entrepreneur anda growth and leadership coach
who co-founded, grew and exitedan eight-figure business.
This led me to exploring whysome women achieve great things,
and that led to my book BigGorgeous Goals.
(00:47):
Let's explore the systems,processes and people that help
us grow our businesses to newheights.
If you're interested in growingyour business, this podcast
will help.
Now let's get going.
Hello and welcome to thisepisode of Figure 8.
Today, I am in conversationwith Tracey Lundell, and Tracey
(01:11):
is an expert in financialstrategy and she works with
women investors andentrepreneurs to navigate the
complicated world of wealth andto build future-proof portfolios
, which I think we all know intoday's world is something
that's really important.
And, Tracey, I'm veryinterested in our chat today.
We have similar stories in howwe got started, in that banks
(01:37):
lured us into managementtraining programs when we
finished university and,although our paths have been
different here, we are bothentrepreneurs and I'm so
interested in talking to youtoday about your journey.
Tracey (01:49):
Awesome, I'm excited too .
Thank you for having me today.
Julie (01:52):
Welcome, Welcome.
And so had you worked at a bankat all when you got lured into.
Lured I call it, but I meaninvited.
It was probably a greatopportunity.
It was for me.
Tracey (02:11):
So I'm out west here in British Columbia and I went to
the University of BC and uh, tohelp afford my life while I was
at school.
I worked part-time at CanadaTrust back then.
So it was a great, uh, becauseour hours were so long.
It was perfect for a studentLike we.
I was able to work after schoolshifts and so I'd worked in.
I started when I was 17,.
(02:32):
Actually, my mom had to sign myemployment contract because I
was not of legal age.
Julie (02:37):
No way, oh, that's interesting.
Tracey (02:39):
It is interesting, exactly.
So I basically started in firstyear and then worked part-time,
right?
Julie (02:45):
right, and so our stories are really very similar,
because I was also 17 when Istarted working part-time and
put myself through university.
It was a great job, it paidreally well at that time and,
yeah, I mean, who knew that thatwould be the beginning of
something that would lead you towhere you are now?
Tracey (03:01):
well, and I went to school to become a diplomat, I
thought that I lead you to whereyou are now.
Well, and I went to school tobecome a diplomat, I thought
that I was going to join theforeign service and see the
world, and you know all theromantic aspects of that role,
which is a much more complex?
Julie (03:14):
Do you speak multiple languages?
Tracey (03:16):
I did then, like I, I spoke French quite, quite nicely
, and some Spanish and English,and those were enough.
But but honestly, it's been solong now that I can barely I
mean I can barely hold aconversation anymore in French.
Enough time has passed.
I can read it pretty well, butuh, yeah, conversationally it's.
(03:37):
It's definitely gone downhill.
But I was ready.
I was ready to join the foreignservice, but the year I
graduated they put a five-yearfreeze on the entrance exam and
I was like, oh, I guess I needto find something else to do.
Julie (03:49):
Right, and so there you were, already working for a bank
and got invited to work fulltime, and it seemed like a great
opportunity.
Tracey (03:58):
Well, it was good because I got to join the
management training program andthat's where I took my first
step into the whole leadershipside of things and loved it.
So I love it still.
So it's not past tense.
I still love it.
Julie (04:12):
And so what was the journey that took you from sort
of that post-university jobinvite great training, becoming
a leader of people to theinvestment side, and learning
that you love to help peoplebuild wealth.
Tracey (04:28):
Right.
So I mean I think in a bank youcan have lots of different
careers under that same umbrella, which is an amazing
opportunity.
So I'd had the chance to workfor the retail bank, the
insurance part of the bank, tdsecurities at one point, which
was awesome because it was likethe fixed income foreign
exchange part of the business.
And then I worked at thecommercial bank as well.
(04:50):
So it was a good breadth ofexperience and I was leading
most of the time.
Sometimes it was hands on withclients, but most of the time I
was leading teams.
And I just got to a point whereI was actually leading teams
for a different institution.
It was on the wealth side of thebusiness, so all the licensing
(05:11):
and all of that had to all getrefreshed and I just realized
how much I missed the hands-onadvising piece, like it was a
lot of putting out fires and andthat sort of thing.
It's funny because I love thehands on piece and then I was
starting to miss the leadershippiece when I was doing the hands
on, like helping clients andall of that I do love that a lot
(05:32):
too, and all of it's aboutrelationship at the end of the
day, no matter who it is thatyou're helping.
But this is perfect.
This, this job I do now it'snot even a job really.
It's this world that I live innow.
I get to both help peopledirectly, but I also get to lead
(05:53):
a team, which is so it's likethe best of all the worlds.
It's not two worlds really,it's so many worlds all
colliding, but it's the best ofall of them.
Julie (05:58):
That's so good.
And how did you get to here, towhere you are today?
Tracey (06:08):
Yeah, so when I was leading teams of wealth advisors
, I was like man, if it were me,I would do this differently.
If it were just me, I would dothis differently.
And then, um, my partner that Istarted our company with felt
the same way, and she and Iworked out of the same location.
So when everybody like we werethere before anybody and we were
there long after anybody leftat the end of the day, and we
would just talk about that, oh,you know, if we could do it our
(06:31):
own way, we would do blank.
And then finally we're likewait a minute, why aren't we
trying?
Why don't we?
Yeah, so, and that's that'skind of how it all started, and
it was.
I mean, it's a huge leap offaith to jump from a salary job
into one that isn't into kind ofentrepreneurship, but it was.
I'm comfortable with that.
(06:51):
I grew up in an entrepreneurialfamily and I kind of
experienced that growing up.
So we took that leap of faithand everybody else says in
retrospect, I wish I'd done itearlier.
And I do too.
I wish I'd done it earlier.
It was.
It's great, like the autonomypart of it appeals greatly to me
and my personality, and for heras well.
(07:12):
So I think that it was anatural next step, but it does
take some courage.
Julie (07:16):
Yeah, yeah, for sure it does.
You gotta bet on yourself.
Tracey (07:20):
You do right.
You've got to absolutely trustthat you have everything you
need, or at least the ability tobe able to learn along the way
and to take those chances and tobe nimble and anyway.
So those were all the thingsthat you go through in your mind
.
You're just like, oh gosh, likeI'm giving up, like a benefits
plan and a pension plan and asalary, and I mean both of us
(07:44):
had moved up in our careers to apoint where we were very
comfortable, both the mainincome earners for our household
.
So it was a big.
It was a big development, itwas a big change.
Julie (07:55):
Yeah, and how do you think growing up in that
entrepreneurial environment infact impacted you and what did
you learn from it?
I think that it was.
There's an element ofcreativity.
Even though we're in thefinancial industry, I think
there's an element of creativitythat you have when you are
(08:16):
developing your own company andyou're trying to find your own
place, kind of, in the world andwhere you fit and how you can
best deliver what you have tooffer.
And I think that watching myparents go through that it
wasn't always easy and a lot ofthat was in the 80s, when
interest rates were like 21% formortgages and like all sorts of
(08:36):
it, was not an easy timefinancially for them to be
running a business.
So I heard the challenges aswell, but I think you could see
the creative energy on oh, weget to add to our team and oh,
we have this contract now, sowe're going to be able to do
this, this and this.
And I think that just listeningto how they grew their company,
(08:56):
you just kind of I mean I was achild, but you can learn it
through osmosis I mean I was ateenager for part of it too.
So so I remember thoseconversations and they would
include us in some of the thingsthat were that were age
appropriate.
So I think we just talked aboutthat kind of thing around the
dinner table and that washelpful.
(09:18):
It made it slightly less scarybecause I'd seen it in action
because I'd seen it in action
Yeah, yeah, which is interesting, right, because I
think it's, yeah, one of thosethings of you absorb almost
without realizing, in a lot ofways.
Tracey (09:42):
Yeah, but it is interesting because it creates
this money story I often talkabout, like what's people's
money story?
What are the things that happento them when they're younger,
that impacts their lives all theway through.
And for me it was like, oh, youknow what?
The security of a paycheck is areally awesome thing to have
(10:04):
two weeks you're going to get atleast like a set amount and
sometimes bonuses, and likethat's an amazing way and you
can take a lot of comfort inthat.
But then I was kind of missingthe creativity, autonomy of
being able to run your ownbusiness your own way.
So I think you just learn.
You just learn that there'sgive and take, so you give up
maybe some security in some ways, but then you can create it for
(10:25):
yourself eventually anyways,like I think you just have to
have enough faith in your ownabilities to be able to deliver
what you always were able to doall along.
It's just once.
It's just from pay structure,that's all right.
Julie (10:38):
Yeah, and do you feel like you ever looked back from
that moment where you made thatchoice to start your own
business and let go?
Tracey (10:48):
I think you can't help but look back, especially in the
early days.
Julie (10:52):
Yes, Because it's harder then.
Hard days, the lean days right,the lean days.
Tracey (10:56):
I mean I think you save and you prepare yourself for
that.
But when you're a person who Imean I would say I'm, I'm, I'm a
very fiscally responsibleperson, so like to make that
kind of decision, you secondguess yourself a little bit.
But I think you just have to,you have to go with it right.
You just have to like okay,this is what it is, now I know I
(11:16):
have the capacity to be able todo these things.
I know I have the knowledge.
It's you just say, yeah, youhave to take a chance on
yourself.
So did I second guess it alittle bit?
Probably.
I think it's natural at thevery beginning, but not much and
not for long.
Julie (11:31):
Yep, yes.
And what do you see in thekinds of clients that come and
want to work with you, or theclients even that you are
prospecting for the clients thatyou want to work with.
What do you see in them?
You know you work with a lot ofwomen, a lot of women
entrepreneurs.
What is that like?
Tracey (11:52):
So I think that I was lucky coming into
entrepreneurship with afinancial background and I think
that most people when they arestarting there are most women,
but all people when they'restarting their own business,
they know their business insideand out, but the overlay of the
financial aspect of it issometimes challenging, hard to
(12:13):
access.
They may not have hadexperience making some of those
financial decisions.
Like that part was not hard forus because we came from that
and I think that you can.
That gives a lot of confidenceand I think that when people are
really good at what they do,they can be fantastic.
But they don't necessarily havethe financial knowledge to get
(12:34):
themselves to that next leveland that's where we come in.
I think that that's the bestspot Like we can help fill that
gap.
So the knowledge that you don'thave, it's okay.
I there's a lot of things Idon't know and I build a team
around me to help figure thosethings out for me.
Um, like I think of technologyand all these.
Like there's other things thatI just I mean, I know a little
(12:55):
bit about, but I'm by no meansan expert, so I'll build a team
around me for that.
So I'm happy to be the part ofthe financial aspect of teams
that people professional teamsthat people build around them as
they grow their business andthen they can focus on what they
do best and they're confidentin.
So that's who we help and howwe help.
I would say we fill that gapfor a lot of people who don't
(13:16):
have that confidence kind ofbackground or knowledge.
Julie (13:20):
Well, and there's like a fine balance, I would say,
between working with somebodythat you trust and who will
advise you well and in educatingyourself enough to have you
know, to be able to kind of likehave that big level picture and
also kind of you knowunderstand on some level what's
(13:43):
happening with your money.
Tracey (13:45):
Oh for sure.
I think there's a bigeducational component that goes
along with it and even leads upto you even asking or asking for
assistance or building thatteam around you.
You have to know the rightquestions to ask, you have to
know the areas that you'restruggling in in your business.
So I think it's a veryrealistic kind of conversation.
It's like how do I, how do Itake my business to the next
(14:07):
level if I don't reallyunderstand all the different
elements in there?
But that's like the first stepis like okay, how do I find that
information, even if I don'tnecessarily know how to go
through it all and figure outwhat it all means in relation to
me.
But how do I even access itfirst off?
And how do I know whatquestions to ask to get the
(14:27):
right advice in the first place?
And you kind of learn along theway.
Like I think that it's alearning journey for everybody
and as you go through thatprocess it's handy to have a
guide, I suppose.
And then you, you, you justlearn.
I think that that's that's howit kind of comes along, and
everybody comes at it from adifferent level of experience
(14:49):
and knowledge right, so that'sthe other and trust is huge,
right, like that's the thing.
You have to be super open.
It's almost like therapy, likefinancial therapy to a certain
extent, right, and people needto understand what their history
is, and that's where that moneystory comes in Again.
Are you a spending person?
(15:09):
Are you a saving kind of person?
Are you do even think aboutthose things?
Are they like what?
What has been your experienceyour whole life?
Have you always been in yourown, like business for self?
Or have you earned a salary andnow you're jumping in own, like
business for self, or have youearned a salary and now you're
jumping in and it's scary?
And so I think that, like wherepeople come from and their
(15:29):
experience that they've had canreally guide where you start,
and then the journey after thatas well, the learning journey
just continues on.
Julie (15:37):
Yeah, well, and it's interesting too, because you
know, the more people educatethemselves, learn about their
money story, learn what theyreally want out of the
investments they're making, Ithink it evolves too over time.
Tracey (16:29):
ideally get ahead of things before they even happen,
but at least be in a position toreact if things happen that you
didn't expect.
Julie (16:37):
Yes, yes, and, and I mean I would venture to say things
happen always that you don'texpect.
yeah, that's you know whetherthey're big or they're small?
Yeah, you know that's life
Tracey (16:50):
yeah, it is, I mean, and it would be boring if it didn't
happen that way, but it addsstress for sure, I think, when
unforeseen things happen butunforeseen good things happen
too so both good and bad thingswill happen along the way, and
you want to be able to takeadvantage of both the good
opportunities but also putyourself in a situation where,
(17:11):
if something not good happensthat's unforeseen, you're okay.
Julie (17:14):
Right, yeah, yeah.
So now in your own journey Imean you a time came when you
decided to take your practiceoutside of the bank confines and
, you know, into a more privatewealth management company
environment.
Um, what has that change meantfor you?
Tracey (17:35):
Oh, autonomy, like I'm going back to that word again
but the freedom to be able togrow our team the way we want to
, to really focus how we lookafter our clients.
It's just.
It's just that much morefreedom to be able to build the
(17:55):
way we want to and work with thepeople that we can help best.
It's kind of a less of a, it'sless broad and now we can be
much more focused.
But I think that that's helpfulbecause now we can be kind of
more experts in our fieldbecause, like we, we see a lot
and there's a lot of learningsthat can be had across different
(18:17):
clients.
Obviously, everything's private, but we still learn along the
way.
So I I think that has been huge,and the ability to be able to
grow our team kind oforganically as well.
So I, our industry is horriblefor onboarding.
Like it's not an ideal scenariofor someone to start earning
(18:38):
nothing and then be providingadvice but you still have to pay
your rent and put food on thetable, but you literally start
with zero as your salary
Julie (18:47):
Like is it a little bit sink or swim Like what would you
?
Tracey (18:51):
yeah it is, and I just don't think that's a healthy or
comfortable learning environment.
And so if you're learning andyou're stressed, and you're
financially stressed yourself,like how can you be in a
position to give good advicefinancially when you're just
doing your best and you're newin the industry?
(19:12):
So I think that that's justhard.
Um, so I have a big uh desire.
We like to bring people on.
They can kind of learn theropes, but they're on a salary,
so they don't have to worryabout the rent or the mortgage
payment or the food on theirtable or their other expenses
while they learn.
(19:33):
And then they're getting thementorship of all of us more
senior, because now there's a,there's a few of us, it's not
just me and my partner anymorebut they get that mentorship and
they get that support and then,when they're ready, then they
can kind of launch and they canstart building before they come
off that salary.
And that's a great successionplanning tool for us too.
(19:54):
So we have employees in their30s, we have employees in their
40s Me and my partner we're inour 50s, right.
So I think that it's nice tohave that kind of succession
planning.
Not that we're ready to exitsoon,
Julie (20:07):
but no, but you know you will exit
Tracey (20:10):
yeah, one day we will.
And we know now that we've gotall these people that we trust
and we know exactly what theybring to the table.
Um, so that freedom we got whenwe made that big move
Julie (20:21):
Well, and it just strikes me that you know it's the kind
of business where people arelike oh well, you know that's
fine that you have a great team,Tracey, but I work with you
right like there is a successionum concern, I think, because
people feel like it is a verytight relationship and it's very
(20:41):
it's got a lot of trust
Tracey (20:43):
Pretty intimate, like really
Julie (20:44):
Very intimate.
Tracey (20:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and so it is hard, but they get to
learn.
So the way we structure it inour team because now we have the
privilege of being able to doit this way I guess is everybody
has certain things that they'rereally great at and all of us
can do all the things, but thatdoesn't mean that we're all
really great at all the things.
So my partner loves to do theplanning, so she'll do all the
(21:11):
input and all the numbercrunching and all the scenario
running the 30 page reports.
It's not what I love, but sheloves it.
So she gets to focus on that.
And then we've got anotheradvisor that does all the
portfolio management and we shegets to focus on that.
And then we've got anotheradvisor that does all the
portfolio management and we havethe same licensing.
I could do it too.
I don't love it.
I don't love.
I mean I that's not the piecethat I love the most.
(21:32):
And then we've got anotherperson who's more on the risk
management side of things, so hereally understands all the
insurance elements and all ofthat.
Again, I'm licensed for that.
It doesn't mean that I couldn'tdo it, but it's not my forte.
Like I'm, I do a lot of the bigpicture strategy, tax planning
kind of stuff, especially whenthere's corporate structures
involved or likemulti-generations involved.
Like I, that's the stuff Ireally love and I love the team
(21:55):
building, so I get to take thaton for the team and it's so
everybody eventually will get toknow everybody and that's, I
think, going to be helpful oneday, like 10-15 years down the
road, because they're going toknow everyone.
So and that's really the beautyof being able to build a bigger
business yes, right, itabsolutely is, and it's
(22:18):
definitely a long-termperspective, like I think you
have to build it.
It's a culture buildingperspective too, like I'm not
just going to grow the team forthe sake of it.
Then it needs to be the rightpeople that are involved in the
mix, because there is a hugetrust element for each of us
relying on each other, for ourclients to be able to rely on
everybody there, like that's thepart I love.
I love the team building andthe culture building and the
(22:41):
like, even just within our ownsmaller team yep, yeah, you are
happy to let other people dothings well, I'm getting, I'm
learning.
That is a journey for me.
I'm way better at it now.
If you'd asked me five yearsago, I was not a good delegator,
not even delegating.
I just had to.
I think that's a hard thing tolet go of when you start your
own business and you've doneeverything.
Julie (23:02):
Yeah, tell me a little more about that.
Tracey (23:06):
So I was very I mean, I was very capable and had a very
full schedule and I would justdo the things.
And now that we've got othermembers of the team that could
do those things much better thanme, it was a trust.
It's a trust thing for me too.
It's like okay, I know you cando this, I know you're capable
of it.
You're going to do it betterthan I can and probably faster.
So, but I had to learn that Ihad a hard time letting go.
(23:28):
I mean, I'm a I'm a controlfreak, of course.
Julie (23:33):
I think that comes with the territory of being an
entrepreneur and then layer ontop.
Like you're, you work in ahighly regulated industry, so
you know those two thingsplaying together.
Uh, I think it makes sense thatyou would be.
How did you, how did you knowthat you needed to delegate what
started happening in thebusiness?
Tracey (23:53):
um, I, I got stretched way too thin and I let myself
get stretched way too thin.
My, my calendar is still busy,but four or five years ago that
thing was crazy, it was real, itwas hard, a hard, a hard thing
to manage for sure, and it wasback to back and then I just
(24:13):
didn't feel like I was like Ithink my clients were getting
everything they needed.
I certainly wasn't gettingeverything I needed.
I didn't have a lot of downtimefor me to take care of.
I was exhausted.
Julie (24:25):
Yes, I was going to say that's where you'd start to like
head down the lane towardburnout and and all of the
things, and and I think theother thing that happens too,
though, is you become the blockin the yeah, and everybody's
waiting for Tracy and waiting,and waiting, and waiting,
because you, you, just I don'twant to be that yeah, so you.
Tracey (24:45):
It doesn't take long to realize it, but those are habits
that are hard to change, so youjust have to keep reminding
yourself, and and people willmake mistakes along the way, as
they're learning, of coursethat's totally okay.
Julie (24:59):
Like I think that's what you think.
Like that's how that's how.
Like that's how I learnedthings.
That's how you learned thingsexactly.
We don't want to let otherpeople make the mistakes.
We worry about the risk to usof them making mistakes well,
and reputationally too.
Tracey (25:13):
When you built your own business, it's your baby like
you have, that's it's.
I think it's hard as a mom aswell, to let your baby grow up
and go out into the world andnot have her mummy.
Julie (25:24):
Yeah, yeah and your business is a lot like that.
Right, it is a lot like thatyeah, yeah, yeah.
Tracey (25:31):
so I would say that was I was my biggest hurdle.
Julie (25:34):
Yes, that's where I think , though, that that ultimately
starts to like, collide and rubup against the culture piece,
because, in order to kind ofcreate the culture that you
really want, where people aresuper engaged and feel like they
have ownership and want to cometo work every day, that kind of
culture does not fit with thelack of, you know, delegation
(25:57):
and the control.
Tracey (25:58):
Yeah, you have to trust your teammates.
Yeah, and I've been trying tobring this whole holacracy style
of leadership into our dynamic,where everybody can sit around
the table equally, no matterwhat role it is that you take,
because everybody's role.
(26:19):
You need everybody to beworking at their optimal, you
know best, in order for all ofus to be doing the best work
that we need to do.
And, yes, does the buck stopwith someone?
Of course it does.
It stopped mostly, mostly, withme.
That's my role on the team andbut, generally speaking, like
(26:39):
when we have team meetings, it'severybody is there, everybody
has an equal voice, because youneed to hear what's going on at
every level.
So that, I would say, is kindof the management style.
If that is even a man, I meanit is a management style.
But that's what we're trying tobring to the table.
I think they advisorsespecially.
(27:00):
It's a very hierarchicalindustry, so that is one other
way that we're very different interms of how we operate.
Julie (27:10):
Yeah, well, and I think I see I see a lot.
You know I've got I have awhole chapter in my book about
delegation and things that.
But it is the kind of thingthat nobody really ever sits you
down and teaches you no, andyou just get to a point where I
see one of two things I seeeither over control, like
(27:31):
holding on too, tightly,microman tightly, or delegation,
where you're like, oh, they'redoing a terrible job but you
actually haven't.
You know, you're checking in allthe way at the end when it's
already kind of destined to be adisaster, or or or you're in a
high risk situation because,like you said and I think it's
(27:51):
an interesting example like thebuck stops with you, yet you're
effectively delegating, lettingother people learn and grow,
make mistakes, within someconfines of you know what's
acceptable in the industry andyou know in your you know
oversight role.
But it is just that interestingpiece of like, finding the
(28:14):
right like spot between too muchcontrol and no oversight at all
.
Tracey (28:20):
Well, we have daily check ins because our people are
kind of spread out all over thelower mainland.
So every morning at 830, from830 to nine, we'll have a daily
check in, and if there's lotsgoing on, then that's a perfect
opportunity for us to figure outwho's going to be doing what
today, to figure out, like,which client needs which things
or, as a team, which things weneed Make sure nothing's falling
(28:42):
on the cracks.
Exactly right, like it's ourbest way to try and seal as many
cracks as we possibly can, sonothing falls through.
It's not a perfect world, sothings will fall through
sometimes, but I think wemanaged to do a lot of crack
filling in those morningappointments.
But most of the time, like someof the time, we don't have all
(29:04):
of that stuff to talk about, andthen it can just be fun culture
building kind of conversationsand more about like, what do you
want to learn today?
Like what, what's next on yourlist?
Like what have you been seeingthat you would like to know more
about, and so it can be alittle more proactive too and
not just reactive.
So I think that how teams allcommunicate with one another
make everybody more effective,and that's kind of the main, and
(29:27):
I think that's also differentfor this industry.
I'm lucky to have had all ofthose years of leadership,
support and training in thisenvironment, because now I can
apply it.
Julie (29:39):
Yeah, yeah and, like you said earlier, find the best of
both worlds to fit togetheraround the leadership piece and
the relationship piece with yourclients exactly so I mean, and
do clients still usually call mefirst?
Tracey (29:52):
yeah, yeah, that's good, that's great.
And then they know, sometimesif it's an administrative thing
they'll just skip right over me,which is fine, because all I
would have done is asked someoneelse on the team probably to do
it, because I'm not usually ina position where I'm in front of
my computer to be able to makeit happen.
And they know now.
So it's a learning process, Ithink, for everybody, like the
(30:21):
team, for the clients but Ithink it's also much more
seamless when anybody goes onvacation.
Yes, right, like you actuallycan go on vacation and not worry
.
I've got a vacation coming upin October.
Most of my clients know aboutit because I'm super excited
about it and I I share what'sgoing on in my life too, and
like I'm not worried when I goaway.
There's more than enough peopleto take care of everything for
(30:42):
the two weeks that I'm going tobe gone, and that, like five
years ago, even wasn't the case.
There were just two of us andit was a lot for the other
person when one of the otherright.
I think it's a really, reallyimportant point, though, for us,
as entrepreneurs, to be able tobuild businesses that don't
need us that's the goal, isn'tit like, if that's the goal of
(31:06):
successful parenting, buteventually your kids launch and
can do like an adult and I thinkthat's also the role of a
successful business owner isthat one day you can exit, or
maybe not even exit, still lead,but you're not the one doing
all of the things all of thetime right Like.
I think that that is a sign youmake yourself redundant.
Julie (31:29):
Well, and ultimately, that's what makes your business,
you know, sellable really iswhen you are redundant, yep,
exactly.
Tracey (31:38):
Or when you create something that well, it's bigger
than you at the end of the day,like it's not about me or my
partner anymore.
Already it's bigger than us.
So that's kind of excitingactually that we're at that
stage now, yes, and now what'snext for you?
oh goodness, I think it's justcontinuing on this path, but
(31:59):
building in the right way.
So there's lots.
Uh, I think, because of how wedo business, we have a lot of
advisors that reach out askingabout joining our team yeah, so
it's finding the right peoplefor your culture and how you
want to work exactly, so theyhave to be the right.
And then if we're going to dothat, then we also have to have
the right supporting people inplace.
(32:21):
So I think it's not about doingeverything at a rapid pace just
because we could.
It's also about what's theright timing for everybody
that's here already alreadydoing the work for our own
clients and making sure that wecan build it in a scalable like
it does need to be scalable.
Sometimes it's process,sometimes it's just processes
(32:42):
that can be streamlined, thatmake that build capacity, but
eventually it's going to behaving more folks as well, all
kind of helping clients in thesame way.
So I that's that's what ourpath is over the next.
Over the next, I would say likeeven 10 years.
That's probably what the pathlooks like, but we don't want to
(33:02):
be so grow for the sake ofgrowing Right.
Julie (33:05):
No, you want to grow yeah .
Yeah, you want to grow with theright people and the right
culture and to be in service ofthe clients.
That will be part of the mix.
Tracey (33:17):
Yep, exactly.
So I think that's kind of themain that's, that's our main
path anyways, and then just likedo what we do already, but do
it better.
Julie (33:28):
Learn more.
Yeah, yeah.
Tracey (33:31):
I mean continuous improvement and and, and you
know, leveling up kind of amentality exactly, I mean, and
all of that will just lead togrowth of the of our group, too,
and our bottom line and ourability to be able to do new and
creative things.
So I think it's always puttingwhat like who are you serving?
(33:51):
And yes, we're servingourselves, because we need to
make a living and people need toprogress in their careers, and
we're also serving our clients.
So I mean, I think, as long asyou have these touch points
where you're like okay, thisnext big decision that we're
going to make, who does it serve?
Julie (34:09):
yes, are we.
Are we serving one at thedetriment of the other, or can
we find the balance that we needto make it be the right choice?
Tracey (34:18):
Or it really needs to serve both or it can't happen.
Yeah, so it's that.
I think it's those kinds ofstrategic decisions.
But we enjoy having thoseconversations around the table
too with the team and everybodyhas a different perspective.
Like we don't hire people justbecause they think the same way
would not be great actually.
We want diversity of opinionaround the table.
(34:39):
So it's uh, it's fun.
It's fun, we're at that.
I think we're at that like thisis my happy spot where we get
to.
We're still taking care ofclients really well, but we're
still we're also kind ofexpanding um and bringing all
these like new people into thebusiness, but in a very
supportive kind of way, asopposed to the scary sink or
(35:00):
swim, which is what thisindustry is kind of known for.
Julie (35:05):
Yeah, Good Well, I look forward to seeing how you
continue to reinvent things andbuild a great team and do things
the way you want to do them, soyou have the right culture and
the right people and you serveyour clients in the best way you
can.
Tracey (35:20):
Yeah, me too.
Julie (35:22):
Good Good Well.
Thank you so much for chattingwith me today.
I really appreciate it.
Tracey (35:27):
Thank you for having me.
It's been awesome.
Julie (35:31):
I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
Please remember to hitsubscribe on your favorite
podcast platform so you won'tmiss any episodes.
Figure 8 isn't just a podcast.
It's a way of seeing the big,gorgeous goals of women
entrepreneurs coming to life.
If you're interested inlearning more, you can find my
(35:52):
book Big Gorgeous Goals onAmazon, anywhere you might live.
For more about my growth andleadership training programs,
visit www.
julieellis.
ca to see how we might worktogether.
Read my blog or sign up to getyour free diagnostic.
Are you ready for growth?
(36:14):
Once again, that's www.
julieellis.
ca.
When we work together, we allwin.
See you again soon for anotherepisode of Figure 8.
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