Holy smokes it has been a while since I last put a post up here! I think it is about time that I start getting my act together. And what better of a reason than for some big, big, BIG news for me? Ready blog world?
Drum roll please........
I know you're doing one in your head.......
I'm finally allowed to tell you guys what has been consuming my brain for the last month or so. I managed to land myself a new position! I landed myself a position as a Financial Services Representative at the Riverbend Square branch and just found out a couple days ago that I will be transferring over in the middle of September! What does that mean for me? WELL! I actually get to use my schooling to give financial advice and to start gathering a client base! I'll be able to handle applications for loans and mortgages, open any accounts including RSPs, mutual funds etc and in general be able to help people with their finances. I'm so excited! I will be training for around two or three months initially and then I will begin to take personal clients.
I'll miss Callingwood though. The people (both co-workers and clients), the atmosphere, the management etc. But with new opportunities come new experiences both positive and negative and I'm ready for that! It still hasn't properly set in, but the excitement grows more every day.
Progress feels great!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
The Most Frustrating Thing
The most frustrating thing that I have found thus far in my life?
Somebody who doesn't deserve what they have taking it for granted and then having zero consequences.
Seeing someone fantastic make the same mistake over and over and not being able to help them.
Coming so close to succeeding in something that you have tried to do for so long just to fall short.
Caring too much to stop but not being able to have the effect that you have been working so hard for.
Having someone not appreciate what you have tried to do for them
And to have them continually hurt you whether they know it or not.
Yes, this is a very different post from what I usually do, and yes it has been a while. But sometimes one just has to clear their head, ya know?
Somebody who doesn't deserve what they have taking it for granted and then having zero consequences.
Seeing someone fantastic make the same mistake over and over and not being able to help them.
Coming so close to succeeding in something that you have tried to do for so long just to fall short.
Caring too much to stop but not being able to have the effect that you have been working so hard for.
Having someone not appreciate what you have tried to do for them
And to have them continually hurt you whether they know it or not.
Yes, this is a very different post from what I usually do, and yes it has been a while. But sometimes one just has to clear their head, ya know?
Friday, June 1, 2012
Life: Five Things That Attract Me
I can say that I am a VERY picky date. I have very high expectations for myself and my actions, and I hold others to the same standards! Although I do not necessarily demand perfection (because lets face it, no one is perfect) I DO look for a few characteristics which are quite non-negotiable in a woman's character. SO here they are in no particular order!
1. Goal Oriented/ High Life Expectations
One thing that I find VERY attractive is when a woman has goals for her future life and plans to get there. Although life has its blind corners, I think it is very important to have a vision of what you want.
2. Hard-Working
I am the kind of person who will spend 12 hours per day working or doing other work-related activities (studying products, working on personal plans, etc.) and I like to be with someone who is willing to put in what it takes to be the best at what they do. Slacking is VERY unattractive to me, in pretty much any form.
3. Family Oriented
This is very much future based, but nothing is more attractive than a woman who appreciates family, is close with her family and understands the importance of having a family in their life. Again, sometimes these things are out of their control but it is just a very valuable commodity which seems quite common these days.
4. Common Sense of Courtesy
This is quite literally as simple as it sounds. If you are dating me, I don't want you to disappear for days on end with no word... going AWOL at random and then popping back up days later. I don't think it is THAT demanding to ask for a "hey, I'm going to be gone for a couple days without my phone... talk to you when I get back!" But if all of a sudden you don't answer me for a couple of days and then come back like nothing has changed? No thanks. Do what you want, but I'd rather not think that you have been abducted for a few days. (And yes, I have witnessed this!)
5. Open
I am a natural psychological thinker and I can tell when something is wrong, and I can often help people work through it. It seems like it is part of the female psyche to lock things away and act like there is nothing wrong... believe it or not guys are (usually) not brainless/emotionless... we can tell when something is up! If I care about someone I will do ANYTHING to help them get past what is bothering them. Just say something!!!!
Well, there we go. Five traits which I find VERY attractive, some of which are very underestimated in my opinion. I would love to see some comments on what you find attractive, specifically not physical traits. I may not post over the weekend but expect a new addition to the blog on Monday.... New Music Mondays! I'll share a band I love, maybe even some words with/from them if I can manage it.
Talk to you soon, lovelies!
1. Goal Oriented/ High Life Expectations
One thing that I find VERY attractive is when a woman has goals for her future life and plans to get there. Although life has its blind corners, I think it is very important to have a vision of what you want.
2. Hard-Working
I am the kind of person who will spend 12 hours per day working or doing other work-related activities (studying products, working on personal plans, etc.) and I like to be with someone who is willing to put in what it takes to be the best at what they do. Slacking is VERY unattractive to me, in pretty much any form.
3. Family Oriented
This is very much future based, but nothing is more attractive than a woman who appreciates family, is close with her family and understands the importance of having a family in their life. Again, sometimes these things are out of their control but it is just a very valuable commodity which seems quite common these days.
4. Common Sense of Courtesy
This is quite literally as simple as it sounds. If you are dating me, I don't want you to disappear for days on end with no word... going AWOL at random and then popping back up days later. I don't think it is THAT demanding to ask for a "hey, I'm going to be gone for a couple days without my phone... talk to you when I get back!" But if all of a sudden you don't answer me for a couple of days and then come back like nothing has changed? No thanks. Do what you want, but I'd rather not think that you have been abducted for a few days. (And yes, I have witnessed this!)
5. Open
I am a natural psychological thinker and I can tell when something is wrong, and I can often help people work through it. It seems like it is part of the female psyche to lock things away and act like there is nothing wrong... believe it or not guys are (usually) not brainless/emotionless... we can tell when something is up! If I care about someone I will do ANYTHING to help them get past what is bothering them. Just say something!!!!
Well, there we go. Five traits which I find VERY attractive, some of which are very underestimated in my opinion. I would love to see some comments on what you find attractive, specifically not physical traits. I may not post over the weekend but expect a new addition to the blog on Monday.... New Music Mondays! I'll share a band I love, maybe even some words with/from them if I can manage it.
Talk to you soon, lovelies!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
An Explanation: "Major Banks" vs. ING Direct
A post this morning by my friend Janine (@apenny4athought) got me thinking about something that I seem to be finding myself explaining more and more often at work, and in my (very bland apparently) personal life. It comes as no surprise that it is banking related, and it pertains to growing competition and comparison for the "Big Five" banks in Canada (CIBC, Scotia, TD, RBC and BMO). I get asked regularly "why do we get charged bank fees, when ING Direct has none?" The answer is actually quite simple.
Overhead. (And a very good business model).
ING has created a whole new market for itself by staying as an "online" bank rather than caving and trying to funnel more people into branches. The cost of running a branch, let alone constructing it is not cheap and a great sum of money would be needed in order to properly maintain and care for the branches. Due to the size of the large banks and the number of clients coming through their doors, the staffing needs also require a lot of money in order to be able to run them as there must be adequate staff at all of the branches to cover the customers seen on a daily basis and to maintain a quality experience for them all.
Lets do a case study for a major bank. TD Canada Trust has 11 million customers who bank at over 1,100 branches across Canada. Worldwide they have nearly 100,000 employees, with a large portion of that being in Canada. TD holds approx. $686.36B in assets.
Now lets do ING. They have 1.7 million customers in Canada who are served at 5 branches in the major hubs of the country and have approximately 1,000 employees. In 2011 they held approx. $37.6B in assets.
So you're probably wondering "Hey Keegan, where's this going? What the hell are you saying?"
What I'm trying to enforce here is that ING is running a very different business model than the major banks. In fact they are only really comparable in that they both deal with customer deposits and investments. The "Big Five" have astronomically higher costs in the number of accounts open, number of branches open and having around 100x more staff than ING. What that leads to is COSTS, and unfortunately for both sides that money does not grow on trees or come sprouting out of the government whenever needed. No, a business with tens of millions of customers putting hundreds of billions of dollars into it has to make some money in order to exist.
So how can I summarize all of this? Both work but are on very different scales! What I use as a reference is comparing green apples to red apples. They have similarities in what they fundamentally are, but they have different flavors and appearances, both of which have fans and critics. What we may be seeing the start of is an evolution in thinking that, yes, maybe one day the big banks will have to adapt to a more ING approach. But as of right now, people still don't want to trust their money to an online entity. There is a definite increase in willingness coming from my (young adult) demographic, but until the tens of millions decide they don't want to walk into a branch around the corner and have face-to-face interaction with staff there will be no change. It is nice to see a new player emerge to help evolve banking into a digital era, but there is still a long way to go until"no fees" "low expense" banking becomes the norm.
What is great is that for the first time in the financial system, there IS an alternative for those who want it. It's an exciting time to be in the banking world as both a consumer or as an employee and it will be very interesting to see where it goes from here.
Overhead. (And a very good business model).
ING has created a whole new market for itself by staying as an "online" bank rather than caving and trying to funnel more people into branches. The cost of running a branch, let alone constructing it is not cheap and a great sum of money would be needed in order to properly maintain and care for the branches. Due to the size of the large banks and the number of clients coming through their doors, the staffing needs also require a lot of money in order to be able to run them as there must be adequate staff at all of the branches to cover the customers seen on a daily basis and to maintain a quality experience for them all.
Lets do a case study for a major bank. TD Canada Trust has 11 million customers who bank at over 1,100 branches across Canada. Worldwide they have nearly 100,000 employees, with a large portion of that being in Canada. TD holds approx. $686.36B in assets.
Now lets do ING. They have 1.7 million customers in Canada who are served at 5 branches in the major hubs of the country and have approximately 1,000 employees. In 2011 they held approx. $37.6B in assets.
So you're probably wondering "Hey Keegan, where's this going? What the hell are you saying?"
What I'm trying to enforce here is that ING is running a very different business model than the major banks. In fact they are only really comparable in that they both deal with customer deposits and investments. The "Big Five" have astronomically higher costs in the number of accounts open, number of branches open and having around 100x more staff than ING. What that leads to is COSTS, and unfortunately for both sides that money does not grow on trees or come sprouting out of the government whenever needed. No, a business with tens of millions of customers putting hundreds of billions of dollars into it has to make some money in order to exist.
So how can I summarize all of this? Both work but are on very different scales! What I use as a reference is comparing green apples to red apples. They have similarities in what they fundamentally are, but they have different flavors and appearances, both of which have fans and critics. What we may be seeing the start of is an evolution in thinking that, yes, maybe one day the big banks will have to adapt to a more ING approach. But as of right now, people still don't want to trust their money to an online entity. There is a definite increase in willingness coming from my (young adult) demographic, but until the tens of millions decide they don't want to walk into a branch around the corner and have face-to-face interaction with staff there will be no change. It is nice to see a new player emerge to help evolve banking into a digital era, but there is still a long way to go until
What is great is that for the first time in the financial system, there IS an alternative for those who want it. It's an exciting time to be in the banking world as both a consumer or as an employee and it will be very interesting to see where it goes from here.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
New Read: "Onward" By Howard Schultz
Hello all! I'm finally back at it, after a couple busy weeks at the lake/working/living. While at the lake for the May long weekend I managed to make it through a new book, which I haven't gotten to do in quite some time. I figured I would take a quick stab at reviewing it for you!
The book I conquered over the weekend was "Onward" written by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. When I bought the book it was a Chapter's staff member pick and I thought "what the hell, why not?" I somewhat figured that it would just be a massive marketing ploy, meant to increase our love for a little beverage company that I hear some people kinda enjoy. Instead what I got was a well written book by a savvy businessman, which educates on the importance of trial by error, social responsibility and foremost how to get a consumer based business make it through a recession. The insight into how a massive companygrew exploded (some would say too quickly) and then had to deal with going public/answering to investors through a tough stretch was amazing. The coverage of many topics in the history of the company, historic moments and a lot of very interesting information on how the company is run gave me a whole new respect for Schultz and his team of executives.
I would say that although the book wasn't much of a "marketing ploy," it had the same effect on me. I now find myself more drawn to the company because of how it is run, rather than the product itself. If you're a Starbucks lover OR doubter, I highly recommend "Onward." It is also a fantastic read for those intrigued by corporate finance (such as myself... we are few and far between.)
Talk to you soon, lovelies. Stay awesome.
The book I conquered over the weekend was "Onward" written by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. When I bought the book it was a Chapter's staff member pick and I thought "what the hell, why not?" I somewhat figured that it would just be a massive marketing ploy, meant to increase our love for a little beverage company that I hear some people kinda enjoy. Instead what I got was a well written book by a savvy businessman, which educates on the importance of trial by error, social responsibility and foremost how to get a consumer based business make it through a recession. The insight into how a massive company
I would say that although the book wasn't much of a "marketing ploy," it had the same effect on me. I now find myself more drawn to the company because of how it is run, rather than the product itself. If you're a Starbucks lover OR doubter, I highly recommend "Onward." It is also a fantastic read for those intrigued by corporate finance (such as myself... we are few and far between.)
Talk to you soon, lovelies. Stay awesome.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Futures Collide?? What does that mean?
Well blog world, I am finally done school, so I can start writing on a regular basis. I'm looking forward to a summer of working hard, living the cottage lifestyle and playing lots of soccer and golf. I had my first round of the year yesterday and did NOT play well at all. But I guess that is just a starting point, right? Stupid awesome sport, golf is.
In other exciting news, my dad found out last week that he has been given an early chance to get his hip replaced earlier than expected... next week in fact! This is very exciting, as he has been suffering and waiting for years now to have it done. I can't wait for him to be able to walk properly again.
Now... for the real purpose of this post! I realized that I didn't explain where the name Futures Collide came from. I am TERRIBLE at coming up with blog names, so I had to think long and hard about this one. I ended up choosing a lyric from one of my favorite bands, and good friends of mine The Red Threat. They write inspirational songs with fantastic lyrics and I took a listen through all of their released songs before choosing Futures Collide as the name of this blog. Here is the new single that the lyric came from, Burning Hearts.
I am constantly reminded how lucky I am to have so many talented people in my life, and Ty, Evan, Quinn and Tyson are definitely a fantastic example of that.
So I guess that is that. I'm looking forward to talking to you all more soon, and we have a great summer ahead of learning more about the wonders of finance, the NHL draft/predicting the season and telling you about more of my escapades and exciting things going on!
Stay wonderful.
More TRT Links!
Facebook
Twitter
In other exciting news, my dad found out last week that he has been given an early chance to get his hip replaced earlier than expected... next week in fact! This is very exciting, as he has been suffering and waiting for years now to have it done. I can't wait for him to be able to walk properly again.
Now... for the real purpose of this post! I realized that I didn't explain where the name Futures Collide came from. I am TERRIBLE at coming up with blog names, so I had to think long and hard about this one. I ended up choosing a lyric from one of my favorite bands, and good friends of mine The Red Threat. They write inspirational songs with fantastic lyrics and I took a listen through all of their released songs before choosing Futures Collide as the name of this blog. Here is the new single that the lyric came from, Burning Hearts.
I am constantly reminded how lucky I am to have so many talented people in my life, and Ty, Evan, Quinn and Tyson are definitely a fantastic example of that.
So I guess that is that. I'm looking forward to talking to you all more soon, and we have a great summer ahead of learning more about the wonders of finance, the NHL draft/predicting the season and telling you about more of my escapades and exciting things going on!
Stay wonderful.
More TRT Links!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Welcome to ME
Hello internet!
This post is reminiscent to me of standing on top of a desolate mountain and yelling "hello world!" I hope someone is hearing me, but I guess I will see.
I have been trying to get myself to start a blog for quite a while now and have just never gotten around to it. So when better than when I should be studying? The best time to do anything seems to be when I'm procrastinating doing something else.
Anyways, this is just the start. What is to come? Business, sports, food, fitness and pretty much everything about me. Okay, maybe not everything. What I want to do is to write about what YOU want me to, so by all means send me an email and I will write a blog post on your topic! My email can be found on my About Me page, along with a much better description of myself and what I'm here for.
Above all, I want to connect with those I know, and those who are unknown up to this point. So. Lets get this started!
This post is reminiscent to me of standing on top of a desolate mountain and yelling "hello world!" I hope someone is hearing me, but I guess I will see.
I have been trying to get myself to start a blog for quite a while now and have just never gotten around to it. So when better than when I should be studying? The best time to do anything seems to be when I'm procrastinating doing something else.
Anyways, this is just the start. What is to come? Business, sports, food, fitness and pretty much
Above all, I want to connect with those I know, and those who are unknown up to this point. So. Lets get this started!
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