Financial Planner Life Podcast
Welcome to The Financial Planner Life Podcast. We cover an intimate and honest account of what it’s really like to work in the financial planning profession.
Our guests share their stories of success, failures and learnings, as well as what to expect from a career in the financial planning profession! We host guests at various stages in their careers, as well as multiple roles to ensure that our audience has a variety each week.
Financial planners, business owners, paraplanners and back-office staff all have their own story to share, and The Financial Planner Life podcast is a platform for them to talk about their personal and professional journey. The podcast covers a multitude of topics, from mindset and motivation, health and wellbeing all the way to diversity and inclusion.
We approach each episode with the idea that it is going to educate and spark a conversation within the industry with topics that may not be openly discussed. So, if you are thinking of becoming a financial adviser, or you’re curious about learning more about this brilliant sector, we urge you to give the podcast a listen.
The Host: Sam Oakes is the host of The Financial Planner Life Podcast. since 2008 Sam has been supporting leading national and global financial planning firms in finding the best talent, he was the director of Recruit UK, a 7 figure turnover financial planning recruitment company that he successfully exited in 2024, Sam now works as the Head of Creative for Hoxton wealth, building out podcasts, YouTube and social content for this fast growing fee based international financial planning firm.
Sam has always had a passion for financial services, starting out as a trainer for leading product provider in the UK, he has been in the industry for over 20 years.
He sees himself as a partner to the industry and wants to contribute useful resources such as this podcast to educate those further who are seeking advice and help about how to push their careers forward in this amazing profession.
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Financial Planner Life Podcast
From Kyrgyzstan to UK Financial Planner: Cholpon Djanuzakova - Why Mindset And Hardwork, Always Wins!
"Imagine starting over in a new country, grappling with a new language, and breaking into a competitive industry. This is Cholpan Djanuzakova's reality.
Her journey from Kyrgyzstan to becoming a top financial adviser and business owner in the UK is a testament to the incredible things you can achieve when you turn your challenges into stepping stones. Tune in as Cholpan shares the secrets to her success and how she uses her cultural heritage to make unforgettable connections in the financial world.
Join host Sam Oakes as he and Cholpan delve into how embracing personal heritage and overcoming adversity can dramatically shape your professional path. Cholpan's story isn’t just about overcoming hurdles; it's about transforming them into opportunities to rise and stand out, especially in financial planning.
Learn about her early years in Kyrgyzstan, her adventurous move to the UK, and the challenges of language and cultural assimilation she faced. Discover how she uses the Komuz, a national instrument, at networking events to create lasting impressions and how this unique approach has carved a niche for her in the financial industry. Cholpan’s journey is a powerful reminder of the role of resilience and perseverance in achieving professional recognition and success.
Gain actionable insights on using your uniqueness to captivate and grow a client base, and get inspired by her innovative networking strategies that blend tradition with modern business practices to stand out.
Don’t miss out on more inspiring tales like Cholpan’s—subscribe now! Follow us on LinkedIn for updates and discussions on turning personal trials into professional triumphs. If Cholpan’s story has inspired you, or if you’re looking to make your own unique mark in your career, reach out to us; we’re always looking to spotlight unique journeys in financial planning."
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Hey everybody, welcome to the Financial Planner Live podcast. Today I'm joined by Jopan Janusakova. She is a financial planner and she's got a really interesting journey. She started in Kazakhstan. She plays like the national instrument and uses it in networking events. It's really quite interesting. But her story is wonderful. I mean, she came to the UK without any English, got herself a job in a bank and then has worked her way up to becoming a director within a financial planning business. She really does show that hard work, grit and determination will actually get you to the top. She surrounds herself with mega positive people, not negative people. I really really like her. I really like her journey. I really like her story and it was all about getting her on the Financial Planner Live podcast to show people that no matter what you're up against, you can become a financial planner. Enjoy, cholpan. Thank you so much for joining me today on the Financial Planner Life podcast. How are you?
Speaker 2:I'm very well, Sam. Thank you so much for joining me today on the Financial Planner Life podcast. How are you? I'm very well, Sam. Thank you so much for inviting me.
Speaker 1:You're welcome. You're welcome. We had a lovely conversation, probably about two months ago now, where you pretty much told me your whole life story and it was so interesting. I thought you know what We'll get you on the podcast and you've been so persistent with me, which I love. You know you been so persistent with me, which I love. You were really keen to come on the podcast, but you have got an interesting story as well and I think you've done incredibly well in your financial planning career. So I mean, let's get stuck into it. Tell us a little bit about where you're from first and how you got into the financial planning profession.
Speaker 2:So I am from Kyrgyzstan, which is one of the Central Asian countries. We used to be part of the Soviet Union for 70 years, but now every country is a separate country, so we have got some Russian history together. I speak Russian, which is widely spoken in Kyrgyzstan.
Speaker 1:Fantastic. So you're in Kyrgyzstan. You grew up in Kyrgyzstan. That was so. You're in Kyrgyzstan. You grew up in Kyrgyzstan. That was where you you live for the majority of your life. How did you end up in?
Speaker 2:in London. Then, yes, I lived in Kyrgyzstan up until age 26. Then I moved to Dubai. I lived there for five years, from 2006 till 2011, and in 2011 I arrived in the UK for the first time.
Speaker 1:Okay, so what brought you to the UK then?
Speaker 2:My ex-partner.
Speaker 1:We won't go there then.
Speaker 2:He's British yeah.
Speaker 1:He's British. Okay, how long. So you were in Dubai for a while. What were you doing in Dubai? Any financial services stuff?
Speaker 2:So in Dubai I lived at my sister's house, who is married to a local Emirati. That's how I ended up in Dubai. So my first job was in retail because I wanted to get my head around with very little English, very little Arabic. So that's where I managed to accumulate a list of wholesale buyers from Central Asia, and from just a shop girl I became one of the key people in the company, bringing lots and lots of revenue. Nice, how much revenue were you bringing in? I don't know how much, but my job was coming in the morning and my boss would say could you open that book of yours and see who is coming today? So then I would help them to choose styles, take them out for lunch, then send everything by cargo. So that was very enjoyable indeed.
Speaker 1:Ah, fantastic. So how did you end up? You know, you obviously came to the UK, but how did you end up becoming a financial planner then?
Speaker 2:So when I came to UK I spoke very little English. I could hardly understand what people were saying, so I had to teach myself how to speak, how to write, how to read. And then I did some accountancy exams with AAT only two levels. Then I tried to find a job in accountancy but I just couldn't. No would employ me. So then I applied for job at TSB the only job and interview I had and I got that one as a personal banker.
Speaker 1:Ah, so you started off in Lloyds TSB as a personal banker. So many people started in the personal banking side and when I very first got into, got into recruitment that was what I used to recruit for was personal bankers. I used to quite enjoy that. It was very fast paced and very quick and I used to be able to get communication with like the local area managers really easy and by doing that I used to fill their diary up with interviews before anybody else and I was known as the personal banking expert. So yeah, I used to love the personal bankers.
Speaker 1:I used to headhunt people from Carphone Warehouse and Phones For you and get them to work in the banks because obviously they had that face-to-face retail sales experience. That was kind of transferable really for somebody who's an entry-level role into a bank, into personal banking. So I used to headhunt them from phones for you or car phone warehouse and then get them into the banks. It was quite fun. Actually I remember head hunting somebody called Sam Oakes. I literally I was like what's your name, mate? And he was like Sam. I was like surname. He went Oakes. I was like pull the other one. I said my name's Sam Oakes. So there we go. I had I headhunted Sam Oakes the chances of that. So how long did you work in the bank for?
Speaker 2:It wasn't long. It wasn't long, but that's where I discovered financial planning, because I realized that there were a couple of nice ladies who had been there for the last 25 years and earning $25,000 a year and I didn't want to do that.
Speaker 2:So, I started my professional exams with CII, so every night from 9 till 1 o'clock in the morning I would study and it was super hard because books were so thick and big and everything. Terminology in English was such a challenging time, so I had my Oxford dictionary next to me, my notebook, so I had to write every word, how many meanings that word may have, and I had to put it into context in that sentence. Yeah, so that was really tough, but I managed to pass all of my exams. I failed more than once out of probably five exams out of six. I failed more than once because I just failed, because probably language barrier I than anything else. But I kept going and the last exam was a two-hour written exam which was super tough and I think I passed it either third or fourth time, but I did it Nice, very good, I did it without any hesitation.
Speaker 1:Good on you and obviously not being able to speak English not being your first language, and having to self-teach yourself it and then go through those books themselves and actually understand them, that was tough right, that was tricky.
Speaker 2:Yes, it was. It was Because some of the words are not even in dictionary, like raining cats and dogs and you know, is it wine and dine? Yeah, things like that. So I had to pick up those kind of languages. And my husband actually has got my sayings yeah, he keeps them in the note because I keep saying them wrong way around. For example, I say right and left, and he said no, it's left and right, yeah. Or wine and dine. And I say no, it's dine and wine. You have to eat first and then drink, yeah. But he said no, saying is opposite so you got your qualifications then.
Speaker 1:That was obviously tough, but you, you pushed through that. Congratulations on that one. When you got through that, what did you then do? What did you instantly walk into a financial planning job, or what was the next stage for you?
Speaker 2:so halfway through of my exams I think I probably passed three of them I started applying for actual jobs and first, entry level. In the financial planning you can either be an admin person or a paraplanner. So I wasn't quite ready to do paraplanning so I thought I would just start as a kind of admin person. So that's where I started applying for jobs Again. I had only one interview out of five offers and I got the job. I got the job as an admin stroke paraplanner. So I was totally new to this industry in financial planning. So I worked hard again. I took shorter lunches, longer hours, so I just wanted to understand how does this all work?
Speaker 2:yeah, so you took shorter hours I mean shorter breaks and longer hours, yeah, so everyone would leave at 5 o'clock and I would just stay on till six and seven because I wanted to understand. Because it was even more challenging for me to understand financial planning, where it's not my first language, so I had to really really push myself there.
Speaker 1:Really invest your time and energy into the job itself. Extra study, extra time Out of interest. What do you think of the kind of approach to work and work ethic in the UK? Do you think we're tough, hard workers, or what do you think?
Speaker 2:I think it depends you know where you end up working, for example, when I was at TSB. It's a corporate world. Yeah, work ethics are a little bit different, but at the moment I'm working in a private company. Things are less corporate. I would say Decisions can be taken just like that, without going through the bureaucracy. So that is the difference. I would say.
Speaker 1:Are you somebody who likes to move quite quickly? Are you quite an agile, free thinker? You like to get ahead quickly.
Speaker 2:Yes yes, yes, I would like to be proactive rather than reactive.
Speaker 1:So in your job role at the moment then. So you were power planning, admin power planning, and now you're financial planning. Where are you now in your career?
Speaker 2:At the moment, I am a director of the financial planning firm as well. I'm one of the directors, and yesterday I became top-rated financial advisor fourth year in a row. So I had an email confirmation from Vouch4.
Speaker 1:And I have more ambitious plans than just being a financial planner. Well, I think, fantastic, you know, kazakhstan to Dubai, to the UK, not speaking any English, getting turned away from accountancy firms to now becoming a director within a financial planning company and a vouch for top advisor, I think hats off to you. You know it's when people saying it's difficult, it's hard to get a job in this country, and you're showing them. Well, actually it's not, because if you work hard and put your mind to it, you can achieve absolutely anything, and that's, I think, that's, what I'm impressed with the most is the fact that you have just put your head down, driven through and got the result that you were looking for just sheer grit and determination. Are you a very ambitious type individual, cholpan.
Speaker 2:I don't think so, but I'm grateful for every hardship I faced in my life cycle, because all those hardships made me resilient. If I didn't have them, I wouldn't be who I am today. So I am very grateful for all of my hardships once again, because that's how I became determined and resilient and probably ambitious as well. I thought why not? What is stopping me? Who is stopping me? The only limit in this life is only yourself. No one else, not your husband, not your parents, not your friends. You just create that limit for yourself.
Speaker 1:So what do you do when you get those feelings of doubt that come over? You have you got a process that you go through to eliminate doubt. Well, how do you manage self-doubt and imposter syndrome? Isn't it that you hear a lot people suffer from the syndrome? What do you do to manage that self-doubt, imposter syndrome that sometimes we can get? We can be full of fear, can't't we? And worried sometimes. What do you?
Speaker 2:do so? Best thing for me is probably exercise. I hit the gym and I just leave it. I let it be. I feel that the feelings of doubting, because you have to go through the process, yeah, you can't just straightaway say I'm strong, I can be X, y and Z. Yeah, you have to feel the pain and then let it settle. But in the meantime if you do some kind of physical activity it will bring this happy adrenaline. And then suddenly things seem to be not that challenging. You suddenly start seeing the light in the tunnel and then you pick yourself up again. You bring yourself up again together in one piece and you say to yourself I have to double my efforts now. When you face a challenge, this is not the time to be weak. Yeah, you let yourself maybe 24 hours to go through the pain. Yeah, and then you pick yourself up and then you go forward where do you think you built that mindset?
Speaker 1:you obviously mentioned resilience and you've obviously been very resilient in your in your adult life. You've moved around a lot, you've done different jobs. You've always pushed forward, you've always stepped up in your career. Where do you think think these hardships that you learn come from, and what experiences have you had that have kind of hardened you, if you like?
Speaker 2:I think my early experience of hardship was growing up as a child. I didn't have a stable childhood, I would say you probably already know we spoke about it some One of my parents my dad, was a lifetime alcoholic and it was hard to live with someone who was not stable. And when it happened I always thought that people were pointing at me and saying that it is an alcoholic's daughter, what can you expect from her. And that always stayed in my mind and I wanted to prove them wrong, that I will never be like him and I will be better than him. But looking back, I think probably no one even thought about me. It was just me making my own conclusions what people were or might be thinking about me. But that was a kind of first hardship I faced as a child and that always stayed in my mind.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's very tough having a parent who is a drinker or an alcoholic, because I can relate to that and it was very stressful and always second-guessing things and it makes you feel incredibly anxious and you're not quite sure whether or not you're coming or going half the time and it's amazing how much it stays with you throughout your life as well. You sort of develop this, um, this worry this feeling of feeling of unease, you know?
Speaker 1:um, yeah, I've, I've been there myself. So what? What else did you do to to keep yourself calm? Because you play a musical instrument as well, don't you?
Speaker 2:you're quite quite a popular musician, I believe yes, that actually was my kind of safe place when I was able to play on a national instrument of my country called kyrgyzstan, and the instrument is called komos. I attended music school for five years as a child and every time we had some kind of chaos happening in the house, I would just lock myself in the bedroom and play for a few hours, and that's how I got through the pain, I would say, in childhood. So music actually helped me to go through the hardship growing up as a child. And then I grew up, I became an adult and then I had family, children. Then I stopped playing for a few decades. I didn't touch my instrument because I was just busy living my life. I didn't touch my instrument because I was just busy living my life. And then recently I rediscovered myself and I started playing again. And now I not only play at home but I also perform publicly for a small group of people, and tomorrow I will be playing again in London in my own private event in.
Speaker 1:Mayfair Fantastic, that's amazing. So just talk us through the instrument then. What kind of instrument is it?
Speaker 2:So it is made out of apricot wood. It is smaller version of guitar, it has got three strings and it is kind of folk type dynamic melodies I play and tomorrow I also will be not just playing on the instrument but I will be wearing a national costume of Kyrgyzstan which is handmade, embroidered, bright outfit. So hopefully I will be able to share with you that video.
Speaker 1:Take a photo, do a video. I'd love to see that. Yes, that sounds really good. Do you have any of the music recorded?
Speaker 2:What do you mean?
Speaker 1:Do you, you know, have you got it on Spotify or anything like that?
Speaker 2:Oh, I haven't thought. Yeah, that's a good idea, Sam you should do it.
Speaker 1:Get it on Spotify.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, no, I haven't, I haven't. Yeah, I just started doing performances, not just in London, but for my local community as well. If there are some local events, I get invited to play.
Speaker 2:So yeah, some local events I get invited to play. So, yeah, I heard you're sold out. You're sold out in Mayfair, aren't you? Yes, we are fully booked for tomorrow. We are over subscribed. So hopefully tomorrow is going to be an amazing event, because I wanted to bring not just a standard networking where you turn up, you have a few drinks, you have a few chats and then you go home, but I wanted to bring some culture, some richness and some entertainment to networking Because, at the end of the day, as a human being, we all want to be entertained and if people like you, they will do business with you.
Speaker 2:No point doing long, boring presentations here. You can do five, ten minutes to the point presentation who you are, what you do, who is it for, and then give plenty of entertainment. For example, once a presentation is done, I will be performing, and then we have got prizes as well for best dressed man and best dressed woman as well. Yeah, sounds really fun. They are preparing their outfits for tomorrow. Yeah, it's not going to be, you know, just an event. It's going to be, you know, christmas drinks. People make an effort to dress up because it's important to look nice. Yeah, when you look well, you feel confidence. Yeah, what you're wearing is very important, because that will set the tone Are you agree, sam?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think so, I think so. Are you a dress to impress type girl? Are you agree some? Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2:I think so. Are you dressed to impress type type girl? Are you? Uh? I have a fashion, uh, passion, yeah, where I choose my own outfits. So because I never had a lot of money in the past, I always would look for bargains here. For example, even this blazer is actually from Ralph Lauren, but I bought it in Tiki Max for a fraction of price yeah, and the same.
Speaker 2:My shirt is also Ralph Lauren, but I paid very little for this, yeah, so I always wanted to look smart, you know. Look accurate. Yeah, so you are a tidy person. Yeah, looking well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2:Because it's a first impression, isn't it?
Speaker 1:It's always about first impressions, 100% yeah, it's always about first impressions. I try to look past first impressions because you can sort of err on the side of almost judgment, can't you, by judging somebody if they don't look a certain way or wear a certain outfit. That yeah. I kind of feel sometimes I need to look. I look past that because I've met some incredibly, incredibly interesting people and you would never have thought in a million years, by looking at them, they would have done what they've done, and some of the wealthiest people I've ever met and the most successful people I've ever met usually a bit like scruff bags, you know as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's true as well. But at the end of the day, some everyone decides how to look, what to do, what to eat. You know what I mean yeah, 100, you choose yeah yeah, my capacity is to look smart, I would say I love it, fantastic.
Speaker 1:So you use this networking event. You're singing, you'll be, you know you're playing your instrument, sorry. You use that as an opportunity to actually network yourself, then entertain, get people together and then from that do you, you sort of generate new client relationships and new introducer relationships and people within the networking event get to know each other, meet each other and do business. Is that a type of thing?
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yes. We strongly believe that building meaningful relationships and trust these people are paramount in our profession, in finance. So, by organizing this, networking events are the great opportunity for people to connect, to give them opportunity to meet each other. And there is always an upside, because people appreciate if you are hosting and you know making them feel good, they would remember you and not just doing, not just doing networking events, but if you are doing something different than everybody else, then they will remember you because of that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because no one plays in Komus in the United Kingdom in any networking events. So this is not piano, this is not violin, and I can be bold and you know, open-minded, yeah, about it. So that's what I love about organizing these events. And, of course, people need people. Yeah, we are all human being, we are all social animals. We need human interactions. We need, you know, sharing our thinking process, our ideas. Yes, that's how everything starts. Every business, every idea, every new things come from human interaction. So, that's the reason behind arranging these events.
Speaker 1:I think it's fantastic. I think you're absolutely right. It's highly unique. There isn't any other events like yours going on, is there? People are always going to remember you and they remember you. They recommend you, don't they? You know, yes, lots and lots of referrals. You know you have. You have to meet chalpan. She's fantastic. Go to one of her events, it's a real laugh. You know, she's amazing. On on what's the? What's it called? Again, the instrument, uh, comus, comus comus.
Speaker 2:I should have brought it today and I would have played a little bit. Yeah, done me a little song.
Speaker 1:So is that the only way you go out and win business as a financial planner? Tell me a little bit about other things that you do to generate clients, because that's one of the hardest things that people are experiencing really. When they get into the financial planning profession, they get their qualifications, they a lot of people find that relatively easy, but actually being able to go out and build a client book, generate clients this seems to be a bit of a struggle for a few, so what kind of advice would you give for somebody? What do you do that generates clients outside of musical instruments and networking events?
Speaker 2:so I would say that you have to be out and about, meet people in other events so you can build that relationship. Because building relationship is not just instant, it takes time and you just have to be yourself. You don't have to be anyone else, because if you are authentic to be anyone else, because if you are authentic, then people will be drawn to you. So, definitely, if you have to generate new business, you have to be out and about. You have to meet people. You have to see who is out there. Yeah, are they suitable for you? How can you, you know, generate business? But also it's not just being out and about, but also social media presence. For example, writing blogs about the finance staff, doing social media posts.
Speaker 2:So people, before they come to you, they will look you up online. They will literally type your name and then it will come up. For example, for me it will come up as top rated financial advisor in the uk. I did charity runs, for example. It will give my giving page links how much I raised, what was it for? Then it will come up my linkedin profile and then youtube might be. You know it very well. Yeah, so that's how it's, like a window shop. Yeah, they will. They might visit your website, see what's happening there and then, once they have done that, they will contact you. Yeah, but the general speaking, generally speaking, best referrals are from existing clients. If they already experienced your service, they are likely to recommend to others, so that's also one of the ways to get more clients. So there are several ways you can attract new clients, gain new clients. Attract new clients.
Speaker 1:So your financial planning and your company is also tax experts.
Speaker 2:Right, I think it's the name of the company Wealth and Tax Management. We are not tax experts, but we know quite a lot about tax because, at the end of the day, we try to save tax in the ways which are legitimate. So, especially now, I think a lot of people would love to save tax, whether it could be capital gains tax or inheritance tax or income tax. So inevitably, solutions we provide will save them tax.
Speaker 1:No, absolutely so. Outside of financial planning, what else do you do within the business?
Speaker 2:So we also have a sister company called Manerva Money Management, which is a fund management company. I am also director of Z company as well. We have got our own intelligent wealth fund, which is a UK-based fund. We also have an interest from overseas investors. That's why we are in the process of setting up a Luxembourg fund, which will accept the international investors.
Speaker 2:So for that fund management side I also had to take some exams and I actually passed them all. So I have got qualifications as well for fund management side of the business. But also I am responsible for the business development and marketing. I absolutely love creativity side of marketing, for example, and I also represent the brand image of Minerva Money Management which I created myself from A to Z what the image should look like depending on the aims of the fund. So I'm really proud for that opportunity.
Speaker 1:Fantastic. So creativity, you're very creative. Then Do you get a lot of time to do that?
Speaker 2:I try to do as much as I can, because even in my day-to-day job, you probably know yourself that you have to make constant decisions about things. Yeah, and then you will be faced with challenges inevitably. And then how you handle that challenge, yeah, and a lot of times my creativity helps me to find a solution, because as a leader, as a director of two financial companies, you have to have that skills to be able to find solutions for every everyday challenges in business yeah, 100.
Speaker 1:I enjoy problem solving myself, to be honest with you in business, like if something comes up and I can't help but get in there and the way my brain works, I have to kind of try and work something out. It works in the other way as well. And the fact I'm always trying to create new opportunities. I'm always trying to create something new because I get you know, really I get really energetic and enthusiastic. If I see something that needs fixing or something that needs creating, I jump on it as quickly as I can, and sometimes I don't really have an off switch, I just next thing I know I'm starting a brand new project that's taken up all my time and energy and I'm like, oh my god, I've got six or seven projects on the go right now and it causes me an absolute huge amount of stress. What do you do around that then? To kind of stop yourself from just getting too creative and getting too stuck into new projects, because you've got quite a few projects on the go, haven't you?
Speaker 2:so I think having a right team around is very important. You have to have superstars in your team who also finds solutions. So some of the time I have to delegate some of the tasks. I give them general idea what I want to see the end product to look like or, even better way, I ask them what do you think? Can you come up with something? I haven't got time for this, yeah. So I give them the responsibility and opportunity to shine as well, not just telling them what to do, because otherwise they will never learn.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's good to give them guidance and encouragement so they can also shine and do you enjoy, do you employ those people or do you outsource those, those, those tasks, to somebody outsourced, or a bit both?
Speaker 2:yes, yes, we employ in-house and usually our recruitment is very simple. We have got a very good relationship with universities in the UK. A good friend of mine, professor Lian Liu, sends us bright students who need work experience so we provide them an opportunity to come and experience what it's like to work in financial services an opportunity to come and experience what it's like to work in financial services. And then out of those students, we pick the best ones and at the moment we have two who came that way. Yeah, so that's how we sort our recruitment problem, if you know what I mean, because it's not just recruitment but also it's a retention, isn't it? It's about giving them what they want but at the same time, recruiting the best talents who go extra mile, who have got their own creativity and own approach to high standard of work ethic. So that's a key thing when you employ people. These are the qualities I usually look for, because I ultimately believe that you hire the talent, but you can teach the skill.
Speaker 1:And how do you determine whether or not they're the right fit? What are you looking for? Because these are all the things we want, but how do you determine whether or not somebody has the desired work? Ethic and attitude and mindset.
Speaker 2:For example, our latest addition, arlene. She came through Professor Lien Liu. She spent with us two weeks and during the two weeks she was such a pleasure to deal with. She is very polite, very attentive and has got a great attitude. She has got I can do attitude. So then I thought we don't really have the job for her, but I don't really want to let her go. What are we going to do? Because I didn't want her to go. So I sat her in this room and I told her look, I really like you, I want you to stay with us, but we don't have a vacancy for you, so I think what I'm going to do is I'm going to create one for you. So we sat down and we created a few job descriptions and then she was hired and she's brilliant.
Speaker 1:Oh, fantastic. And what does she do in the business?
Speaker 2:She helps me with marketing. She has got a great attitude in terms of learning. She's a quick learner. I just have to tell her approximately how I want things to look like and she goes and studies and learns just like that. So I love that attitude. I love working with her Because, also, it's a positive energy.
Speaker 2:She carries positive aura and positive energy, because I believe in law of attraction. If you surround yourself with positive people, things will be positive as well, things will progress in the correct direction. But if you surround yourself with negative people even if they are super skilled, you know super technical and super amazing people if they are negative, then it's a no-no to me because I don't want to carry negative energy in my life. Life is too short, you know. I only want to surround myself with people I want to be surrounded by, so I can decide who I want to talk, who I want to interact.
Speaker 2:And it goes with my team as well, because I tell them we spend eight hours every day and it's very important we are nice to each other, because I don't want you to force yourself to come to my office because you need a salary. I want you to come to my office because you want to be part of the team, you want to be part of the family, because we are not a big corporate firm. Yeah, it's important that we are nice to each other. You know you might as well be nice, otherwise here is the door off. You go. You know we don't. We don't need unwanted people. Who doesn't want to come to our office? As simple as that. So I know my team really well. I treat them like part of family. I know their pains and all the things they want, so I try to fulfill those things and in return, they go extra mile.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they do things beyond your expectations, for example, so you mentioned that you know, you know their pains and you know their struggles, typically like how do you, how do you establish what those? How do you build that relationship with them where they actually are honest and trustworthy enough to talk to you, and do you encourage that? It's something that you feel you need to understand and need to know yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 2:For example, my business manager has got a daughter who is the same age as my daughter, 13 years old and I know sometimes she has to do school runs here. So I tell her you can do school runs and finish off at home. So offer flexibility, right? The other two guys, they don't need to do school runs, so they are happy to come to the office. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:So you just, you know, observe, you know and you know, use your common sense and you know, and you know, use your common sense and you know, apply it, because no point forcing her to stay nine till five if she has got a need to do school run. You know what I mean. So that's why you just or sometimes, if they have plumbers coming into their house, I said work from home on that day, don't bother to come to the office. So just being flexible and then knowing their needs, and also, I think very important, is to be open and transparent with your team. You just ask questions, yeah, you say tell me. If you see they're not in a good mood, you just pull them in and say what's going on, tell me, tell me, I want to know. And then they open up and then we find a solution together and because I say there is no point, you know, keeping it to yourself you are part of the family and we want to help you if we can open honesty.
Speaker 1:I think open honesty and trust is a good thing in any business. Yes, can be quite difficult sometimes being that way. I think we worry about what bosses and whatnot you know know about us and our, our, lives. We worry that it will, I don't know, cast judgment on us sometimes. I think I feel like employees can often feel that way. I've ran a business for 16 years with 25 people in it. I was always into promoting mental health and mental well-being and openness and probably towards the end of a little bit like too much. Really, it was too chilled, it was too relaxed, we had four-day work weeks and all sorts of things going on. It was a bit too kind of loose and a bit too relaxed and sometimes that can cause problems. You know, yes, of course.
Speaker 1:Because you get a bit resentful. So I do think you know boundaries and things like that and rules and business rules. You know they're key. They're key to a busy and productive team as well. If you start giving too much autonomy, it becomes a problem, I think.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yes, absolutely. I 100% agree. There should be a boundary, like in everything else, like with your children, for example. Yeah, it's exactly the same. If we had no boundaries, it would be chaos, right. 100%, so like a win-win situation. I like win-win situation. Yeah, I don't like one-sided relationships. So even with you, sam, I think I told you earlier that I believe in law of attraction and I think you and I were attracted to each other because we had similar experiences with our parents and then for me to reach you out on LinkedIn is totally impossible.
Speaker 2:I don't do that kind of things, you know. But I came across with some of your posts and podcasts and I immediately said I like this guy, I want to talk to him. And then I reached you out, didn't I?
Speaker 1:I'll tell you what Chopin? I really want to see you play your musical instrument. So when I'm in London and if you've got an event going on, I definitely want to come along to that, absolutely.
Speaker 2:I think that would be really really good.
Speaker 1:I've actually got my podcast live. I think I'm going to be doing it. Well, it's happening. It's going to be going live a live event in February in London at the Barbican, you know the Barbican. Yes, yes, yes, yeah. So I'm going to be doing a podcast live event there. So that would be good, wouldn't it?
Speaker 2:When are you doing it? We'll have you in the reception playing your instrument. So when are you doing it?
Speaker 1:28th of February. So I'm going to put a post out about that, probably next week, with some tickets for sale and guest speakers and all of that kind of thing. So that'll all start going out and we'll start getting that booked in. So that'll be 28th of February.
Speaker 2:Yeah, tell me more, I'm interested.
Speaker 1:I don't want to say too much just yet. Yes, but I'm going to release it next week. So it'll be a podcast live event with three exceptional guests who have done exceptionally well within financial planning, and it's going to be able to build a personal brand and to become a key person of influence within a space and how. That helps me massively and now how I'm helping the financial planning profession in my head of creative role at Hoxton. So, yeah, we've got plenty of really, really insightful conversations.
Speaker 1:It's going to be like a podcast live training event. So we'll go on for about three hours and there will be loads of sponsors there as well. So loads of networking opportunities. Sponsors will be there with some products and services talking and hopefully we're going to have some live music and networking and food and all that kind of stuff as well, and I'm hoping it's going to be the first of many. It's my first one and I'm hoping to get about 200 people in there. It will all be filmed as well audio and filmed and it'll go out as well on YouTube and the camera crew will be going around and interviewing people and asking them those questions and stuff like that. So it should be a really fun event.
Speaker 2:Excellent, excellent. Let me know if you need any help with organising. I will be more than happy to assist you.
Speaker 1:Well, you're super organised, aren't you? So someone like you in my corner would be a massive help. Yeah, I appreciate that, chalpan. Well, chalpan, listen, it's been very nice chatting to you today and getting to know you, and and I really look forward to one day meeting you face to face, because I do think that we will have a an interesting relationship, and I think that you know it's it's not just the the last time that I would speak to. I'm very keen to meet you. I'm definitely keen to hear your musical instrument and I think I want to learn a bit from you around your networking and your events, because you obviously do it exceptionally well there in London, in Mayfair. Maybe you have a podcast live in Mayfair next day.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yes. Before you know, it might be a networking event in Dubai, so just watch this space, yeah so just watch this space.
Speaker 1:That's the goal networking. I want to try and do three or four next year in the UK like a bit of a tour and then I definitely want to in about 12 months I definitely want to put one on in Dubai and we're talking about doing one on the beach because I've got a bit of. I've got a new project coming up which is all about expats and expat wealth and all the opportunities for expats around the world and especially Dubai. So we're keen to put on an event in Dubai around that. But, chopin, it's been fantastic talking to you, so thank you so much for your time. Thanks for coming on the Financial Plan of Life podcast and sharing your incredible journey. You know all the way from Kyrgyzstan all the way to the UK as a business owner within financial planning. I don't think you ever probably pictured that when you were a little girl, did you?
Speaker 2:No, no, I didn't, but my hardship helped me to get there, so hardship is good. Actually, that's my last words for the podcast.
Speaker 1:That's your advice. Hardship is good, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yes, hardship is good.
Speaker 1:I agree. Nothing sharpens the sword more than a bit of pain. Eh.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, without pain, no gain.
Speaker 1:yeah, that's it no pain, no gain, fantastic, excellent. Thank you so much, sam. Thank you.
Speaker 2:I'll speak to you soon.
Speaker 1:Speak to you soon.
