Collaborate and Plan Your Finances Judiciously with Jamie Madigan

I enjoy talking to people, I enjoy educating people, this is what I do best, I don't want to be doing all the paperwork admin work, I can get other people that love doing that are good at that. So I can focus on doing this. So the first thing was coming together with business partners. So there's now four of us working together so that we can serve different markets, different needs, different age groups, different people, then further to that was getting admin support. And that includes administrative support, social media support, website support, marketing support, because again, we are experts at what we do, I don't want to know everything there is to know about a website and updates. And I want another expert to manage that for me.

Hey, it's Chuck here. And I'm so glad that you're listening to this episode. And I just want to take this quick moment right now to let you know about our free collaborators toolkit. And this episode is all about partnership and collaboration. And our guests share many resources, tools, and things that you can use to make collaboration and partnership easier in your business. So if you're looking for better ways to grow, and scale your business, through collaborations, and strategic partnerships, this free collaborators toolkit is going to contain the best resources from our workshops, as well as contributions from our guests. And these tools could be the missing link that you've been looking for. And they're going to help you to solve every day business challenges, and access, highly effective ideas that can help and grow your business exponentially. I know they've helped me and I know they're going to help you as well. And the best part about these tools is that they're completely free. And our gift to you for being a valued member of our community, and a subscriber to the show. So you can get access to all of the resources contained inside the collaborators toolkit today by visiting the website at WWW.collaboratorsunite.com/toolkit. That address again is www.collaboratorsunite.com/toolkit. Go ahead and register today get access to all the resources, and I'm gonna see you on the inside. Now. Here's the episode.

Hello, everybody. And welcome back to the show, Chuck Anderson here. And I am thrilled to bring you yet another episode. And I have another amazing guest that's going to help you on your journey to build an amazing business and to and that journey of growing and taking your your business idea out into the world and making it as big of impact as you possibly can. And so please join me in welcoming Jamie Madigan to the show, Jamie, welcome to the Creative Collaboration Show.

Thanks for having me, Chuck. Great to be here.

And, you know, I know we were just chatting here before the episode and you're telling me a little about, about what you do fellow Canadian, all of that. And but you know, I am not going to try to repeat everything you said. Because nobody tells your story better than you. So Jamie, I think a great place to start is introduce yourself to the folks who you are what you do. And we'll take it from there.

Sure. Sounds good. So, at a high level Chuck, I am a Certified Financial Planner based out of Toronto, Canada. And I've created what I call the legacy insights model. And that is really to help people with three key things, the first being what I call monetary proficiency. And that's really getting your money working harder for you. The second is what I call personal legacy direction. And that's really getting crystal clear on what do you want your legacy to be? How do you want to be remembered. And then the third is what I call legacy support network. That's ensuring that we've got the right resources in place to ensure that we accomplished number two, which is your legacy and how you want to be remembered.

Well, I think those are three really important parts of business and, you know, in the early part of my entrepreneurial journey, I used to always say to people that look I'm good at making money I'm not really good at keeping it and and so that that whole structuring and you know, how do we really move the money around in our company and how do we invest it properly? How do we make it work for us? was definitely not natural and still is a constant pursuit of perfection if that's that is achievable. Love the legacy part as well, because so much of it speaks to, you know, the vision and the mission, and you know, the impact that we want to make Presidents Day. But, you know, Legacy really speaks to, you know, does this thing have that perpetual momentum that is bigger than myself that can go on and make an even bigger impact even when I'm not the one doing it or when I'm not no longer here. And I think those are really important things to think about. So I can't wait to sort of dive in and, and unpack some of this thing today, because we want to help our guests with their visions, and so many of our audience right now. They're running businesses with big ideas and big dreams. And they want to make a big lasting impression on the world. So you're definitely in the right place for for this. So. So, Jamie, how did you get started in this? What's your origin story? How did you come to be doing this kind of work?

Sure. So I've been in financial services, some aspect of it my whole career 23 years now. But I was actually recruited into financial planning in 2009. So it was something that I'd never really considered. And just fortunate enough to have a good upbringing. And by that, I mean, my father got us started investing at a young age. My brother's sister and I all started RRSPs were their first jobs was we father first taxes, saved up good down payments for our first homes, made it through college university debt free. And with the exception of mortgages now, which is good debt to have, we are all debt free. And I realized that that was something I was really interested in, and a lot of other people that I knew, friends colleagues didn't have that upbringing. So as I got recruited into this, fell in love with it became more interested in it, I realized there's a huge opportunity to teach other Canadians about how to get started, what they should be doing a why. So oddly enough, I fell into it, but then realized how passionate I was about it, and that I could teach others what I've kind of learned through my upbringing.

Sounds like you had some really good mentoring early on in life. You said that your your was it your dad that got you investing really, really early? Would you say that that was a big part of that really kind of got you pointed in the right direction? And in where you kind of developed your passion for doing this kind of work?

Yeah, I would definitely say so. Chuck, there was two key things that my parents did for us. The first was, they made us my brother and I had paper routes at a young age, both Toronto Star and Toronto Sun. And they made us put money away, even from those first jobs and save it. So we couldn't touch it couldn't spend it. And that was great, because we learned from a young age the importance of taking money from every paycheck to save. And then part two was and we didn't necessarily do everything right. I joke about this all the time. My dad thought diversification was given a little bit of money to every bank. I said it's corrected that and showed him how we can diversify with one institution. But it was a good exercise. We learned as we went, we corrected where we went wrong. And as I learned more, helped at the family. See, I was really getting started, and then applying the lessons learned to do things better properly, and diversify.

Wow, amazing. Well, that's like the opposite of my upbringing, being a farm boy in southern Alberta. And, you know, none of the people I was surrounded with were masters of money, or investing or anything. And we, we lived month by month and year by year. And so I always like to ask the upbringing story, because I just think upbringing is such a big factor in terms of who we ultimately become and what we ended up doing. And, and, and it's just interesting to hear the different perspectives and who was taught what, and by WHO, and parents obviously, being a big influence. And here you are. Now, this is the type of work that you do. And, you know, you know, let's bring into the theme of our show, which is all about partnership and collaboration. And nobody really builds a business alone like you hear sometimes, oh, I'm a self made person. Or, you know, I started this myself. I did this. I'm like, really? Did you really do it yourself? And, you know, I am a do it yourselfer on the farm, my dad and my grandfather used to always say if you want something done, right, you have to do it yourself. But we never did it ourselves. There was always a team effort. There was always other people involved. So how is partnerships with others or collab durations, how have they played a role in your business?

Yeah, that's a great question. Chuck , I'll give you two examples of where it's really played a role and had a really positive impact for me and my business. And the first is, yes, I started as a solopreneur, entrepreneur in the business, doing everything to myself, to your point. Funny enough, my dad was born and raised on a farm as well. So that mentality goes back there to that if you want it done, right, do it yourself, son. And I quickly realized that, well, no, this is what I enjoy, I enjoy talking to people, I enjoy educating people, this is what I do best, I don't want to be doing all the paperwork admin work, I can get other people that love doing that are good at that. So I can focus on doing this. So the first thing was coming together with business partners. So there's now four of us working together so that we can serve different markets, different needs, different age groups, different people, then further to that was getting admin support. And that includes administrative support, social media support, website support, marketing support, because again, we are experts at what we do, I don't want to know, everything there is to know about a website and updates. And I want another expert to manage that for me. So on the business I that's really helped me. And then on the collaboration piece, that's also helped me to kind of take it to the next level. So prior to COVID, I was doing a lot of in person seminars, I quickly pivoted in March 2020, right away on to zoom, because I knew we were going to be here for a while, didn't think it was going to be this long. But then I realized the value of doing joint webinars, and having multiple speakers, so I could expose them to my network, they could be a great value add resource to me. And then they could expose me to their networks, and I was getting exposed to a whole new audience not having to do it myself.

That's amazing. And, you know, the I think the the pandemic has changed the way so many of us do our businesses. And I'd like to say that we pivoted right away, but we were kind of like, so hopeful that so much of what we were doing was at live events and conferences, and so many of them in San Diego where we're, you know, it's my favorite place to travel. And that just stopped and we're like, okay, you know, we'll for a few months, we won't go and then they'll open up again. But soon you have the realization like and this is this is going to be a while. So I'd like to say we did the jump to virtual right away as well. But we had plans, we had a two year business plan that we had just finished writing in the end of 2019. And, and we were committed to it. Until Until we weren't right until the by July 2020. It's like, okay, we can't put this on hold indefinitely. So, you know, what was there? Now, you mentioned that again, you know, the whole Do It Yourself piece? And what was the turning point for you and your business where you realized, you know what, I'm not good at these things, or I don't really enjoy doing this and that I'm going to partner or collaborate with others, you know, to do this.

Yeah, it was really probably in and around my third year in business track where the opportunities were piling up, business was going really good, the income was good. And then the to do this was just massive, kept growing, growing, growing. And I quickly realized, okay, dad, and grandpa or grandpa more so is not right. I can't be doing everything myself, or I'm never gonna be able to talk to new people. If I'm not consistently talking to new people, I'm not opening up new sales opportunities. And if I'm not getting new sales opportunities, guess what, I'm not going to be paid in a few weeks once the current funnel runs dry. So I need some help. And I need to change things quickly. So that I can focus on what I do best. Find some other experts that are good in the areas that I'm not best at or don't want to do it delegate that.

So wise and did you find any resistance to the first time you were delegating? Did you find any resistance the first few times that you're doing it? I see the smile? And I asked this question because I know because so many people are like yeah, I want to hire someone but I don't have the money or I don't know what to do or I don't know what, how to where to look for them or anything. What's your story with that?

Oh, yeah, I see. I knew I had to let it even still to this day. Okay, myself, like Jamie, you said you were going to delegate this, you've got something to do, what are you doing? Delegate it, I've got a team in place for a reason. I trust them to experts. They're amazing at what they do. Don't stop wasting time. So yeah, it was hard, let it go at first. But then as I built that support team, that team of experts. And now, as I said, I'm trying to catch myself sooner, Chuck, and just letting go. They are experts at what they do. There's a reason I'm working with them, I brought them on. So let them do what they do best. So I can focus on what I do best.

Exactly. Well, you know, that kind of echoes my journey and my realization as well. And it took a while, you know, it took a while to let others in, and to really embrace it. And the first time you try to delegate and it doesn't work out? Well. It's like, well, I'm never doing that, again, like, my grandparents were right. You have to do it all yourself. So but now thinking, yeah, exactly. And it's it, but But it's worth, you know, getting up and trying again, even if your first attempts don't work, because if it was natural, we'd already be doing it. So of course, there's going to be challenges along the way. And that's why I like to ask those questions and tell these stories, because I know our audience, you know, we attract a lot of do it yourselfers here, who are trying to get to the next level. And they know, they, you know, they're maxed out, like they're not going to be doing any more than they're already doing. And how are we going to get to the next level partnerships and collaborations, delegation, all of that. And so, so I appreciate you sharing, you know, your, your insights, and, and even that resistance story, you know, so much of this journey about building a business, and leaving a legacy. And all of that is is how we grow our businesses, but also how we grow ourselves. And you know, I know for me, there's been a lot of leaders who have been inspirational mentors that have been inspirational to me in my, in my life and my business. who's been there for you. Who have you learned the most from?

That's a great question. Definitely. My parents have been great supporters from day one. And even when I was breaking out of the corporate model, Dad was 25 years with IBM. And when I left IBM after 10 years and became an entrepreneur's I owe 100% commissions, and what are you doing? This is not what we're raised to do. So parents have always been very supportive. And I don't really have one big name or follower, for me, where I've always at the most value add is talking with other entrepreneurs and business owners, because I'm always curious to hear their story. How did they get to where they are at today? What challenges did they have? What obstacles did they have? How do they overcome those? What mistakes have they made? And that's where I get a lot of value, inspiration motivation? Because I'm listening to their story to say, okay, Jamie, what can you grab from them? What can you learn from them? Is there something you can adapt to your business? Is there a mistake, you can avoid doing where you think you could do that yourself and just scrap it or do it differently better? So for me, it's definitely other entrepreneurs, successful entrepreneurs and business owners that I love to learn from,

I get a lot from that as well. It's one of the reasons why I do this show, because I get to have amazing conversations with fellow entrepreneurs. And, and, you know, and, and I get to learn from your story. And hopefully, people are learning our audience is learning from your story, and the things I have to share as well. And so really, you know, it's a big part of it. Another big part of the growth journey has been books. I mean, you know, it seems like anytime anyone has figured something out, it instantly goes into a book, I have so many books that I can't even count that I have purchased and read. And it's been a big part of my journey. What's been the most inspirational or impactful book that that's made a difference to you that you recommend that our listeners read?

Great credit. I've got three different ones for three different purposes just based on my life stages right now. The first is Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and that's to align with my business. And the reason I love that book is because it's great. It's a great educational book, in terms of explaining financial literacy, how to get started, where to get started, what does a poor dad look like? What does a rich dad look like? And it's great training in terms of how to get stuff already, my second book for entrepreneurs or business owners would be The One Big Thing. And I love that book, I read it early last year quickly adopted, or adapted my schedule to that. And it's really all about how we schedule our days and time blocking, and making sure that we carve it the time of were most productive every day, to get our one big thing done for that day. Whether it's driving an opportunity forward and introduction, closing a sale, whatever you need to get that done that day scheduled, when you're most productive, get that done, and then get on to your the rest of your to do this. And then third would be The China Study. And this is more a personal interest story for me right now. Because I was diagnosed with cancer in November last year. And I've since switched my diet. And it's now plant based and vegan. So that's a great book at a personal interest, because it goes through how really we are what we eat, and everything that we put in our body affects us somehow.

Wow, those are three really great recommendations. And two of them I have not read. So I'm gonna doubt those are now going on my list. And that's why that selfishly, that's why I asked these questions, because, like, what should I read next is a very, you know, big question that I get and or that I asked myself, and so now I have two more books to add to the list. So I'm gonna check those out. And, you know, Rich Dad, very, very near and dear to me. Robert was one of my mentors when I was very early on in my career and got to tour with the rich dad seminars for a while. And so life changing, life changing book, right, and how we change that perspective. And I definitely, you know, in the farm world, we definitely grew up in the poor dad way of thinking, and it has taken a long time to really embrace and continual lifetime learning to adapt to the rich dad way of things. So, so huge there. So we're gonna list out all of those books right there. In in the show notes, those are great recommendations. So Jamie, thank you for sharing your story and your recommendations there. And I hopefully our audience has been inspired by the things that you've had to share. Let everyone know where they can get a hold of you. How do they contact you and find out more about how you can help them in their business?

Sure, they can search me out on my website, which is www.beaconpoint.ca I just like it sounds and social media, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, you can find me @JamieMadiganfinancialplanner.

Fantastic. And we'll make sure we put all those links in here. So you make it nice and easy to connect with Jamie. Once again, Jamie, thank you so much for being on the show. And if you're going to leave our audience with just one final tip or words of wisdom, what would you say to them?

I would say check, figure out what you are best at what are you the expert at and then build up an expert team to help you with the tasks or things you don't like doing that you never get to and delegate that off to them.

I've fantastic words. I think that's a great place to end it. Jamie again, thank you so much. And to our listeners. Thank you so much for tuning in. And if anything that Jamie has said here today is resonated with you. Please don't hesitate his links, all his contacts are right there in the show notes. Go ahead, give it a click contact him. You'll be glad that you did. Jamie, thank you so much. And to our listeners. Thank you. And as we sign off, keep moving forward and keep on building that dream and that business and bringing that idea out into the world. The world needs it. We'll see you here on the next one. Thanks, everybody.