Millie Gormely, a certified financial planner at IG Wealth Management in Thunder Bay, Ont.Supplied
In the Behind the Advice series, Globe Advisor asks advisors about their relationship with money from a young age, lessons learned over the years and how their experiences influence the advice they give clients. Season 4 of the Behind the Advice podcast is coming out later this spring. You can find episodes from the first three seasons here.
Millie Gormely, a certified financial planner at IG Wealth Management Inc. in Thunder Bay, Ont., talks about the work ethic she developed growing up on a dairy farm, her foray into financial services after working as a local TV weather person, and why she thinks rocker Duff McKagan would make a good advisor.
Describe your upbringing and experience with money as a kid.
I grew up on a dairy farm near Thunder Bay, Ont., where I did my share of physical work – everything from hauling rocks to feeding calves to driving tractors. I didn’t get an allowance; the expectation was that you worked on the farm because the work needed to be done. If I wanted money for extras, I had to earn it through part-time work such as babysitting or, when I was old enough to drive, as a waitress and short-order cook at a truck stop. I learned that work was hard, but you got money that gave you the freedom to do things you wanted.
What did you want to be growing up and how did you get into financial services?
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be growing up; I just knew that I didn’t want to be a farmer. I studied broadcasting at Mohawk College in Hamilton. After a few years working in administrative roles across various industries, I got a job as the evening weather girl at a local TV station in Thunder Bay. I also worked as an insurance claims adjuster – everything from pothole damage to fatalities – before moving into financial planning. I realized I was more interested in helping people plan ahead than in cleaning up after the fact.
What is the biggest money mistake you’ve made and what did you learn from it?
It was difficult to launch my career as a financial planner. There weren’t a bunch of people waiting to do business with me, especially as many people just saw me as the weather girl. So, I worked my ass off to build my business. It’s just how I was raised: if something isn’t going well, you just have to work harder. It led to severe burnout and a medical crisis. I had two prolapsed discs in my back and had to have spinal surgery. I went back to work sooner than the doctors recommended and ended up having to get the surgery redone eight months later. What I (eventually) learned is that I need to take care of myself before I can have a sustainable business.
What’s the single most important move you made to build your business?
Getting clear on who I work best with – and who I don’t – has been a game-changer. I’ve been much more deliberate about how I’m building my practice, focusing on independent women who are single, widowed or divorced. It’s going really well. Also, I’m not working myself to the point of exhaustion just because it feels like the morally right thing to do.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received in your career?
That being an advisor is as much about people as it is about numbers. Communication and trust matter just as much as technical knowledge.
What advice do you wish had been shared with you early in your career?
You can’t be everything to everyone. Having a focus allows you to be so much more effective for the clients you work with.
How do you see your industry changing in the next few years?
The shift toward integrated, personalized, planning-first advice will continue. The do-it-yourselfers have more tools than ever at their disposal, but there’s still a place for advisors who are more than pure technicians. People still want advice and reassurance from actual human beings.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to enter your business?
It’s getting harder to join the business, so getting the right credentials is important. If you’re doing client-facing work, you also need to have a good bedside manner. You need to be genuinely interested in helping people improve their lives. Learn how to listen to people’s hopes and fears and help them understand the ‘why’ behind your recommendations. A 40-page, highly technical plan that no one reads isn’t going to get implemented.
Which famous person or fictional character would make a great financial advisor, and why?
I would love to see what Duff McKagan, the bassist of Guns N’ Roses, would do with clients. He was so motivated by the chaos of his finances that he studied finance to take charge of his own money. [He later set up his own wealth management firm for musicians.] As an advisor, I like it when clients want to learn more about what’s going on with their money.
This interview has been edited and condensed