WIBC2018 Interview with Jolene Hung
By Helena Guzmán
“Money is not everything, but without it you don’t have many options.” – Jolene Hung
Over the holidays, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jolene Hung, Investment Consultant with Investors Group (our Title Sponsor of the Women In Business Conference). Learn more about Jolene’s views on saving money and how to ‘Be Your Own Hero’ in order to gain financial freedom and independence.
What inspired you to get into the money game?
Even as a young child, at 7 or 8 years old growing up in Taiwan, I was very interested in Wall Street. My family was doing well, but then the situation changed… my father found himself facing devastating financial loss – all of the investments and savings were gone. This was a huge influence on me and it inspired me; it became my dream to be educated outside of my country and study abroad.
In 1992, my family and I immigrated to Canada and I decided to study Marine Biology and received a Science degree. However after having to go through all of the financial hardships, it became my vision to learn banking, mortgages and financial systems to see how they worked. Therefore, I decided to change my focus to finance and was accepted at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Fortunately, UBC had accepted me into their program even though I was one of only two people who could not speak English. So I ended up working part-time to finish graduate school, and had to learn English at the same time.
My life changed again after my son was born and was diagnosed with a disability. I had to reset my financial goals and provide care for my son, but found the healthcare system very difficult to navigate. I needed to have flexibility in my schedule in order to take care of my son, so I quit my job to become a financial advisor.
What is your most valued core value when working with clients?
I am fortunate to be able to share more than 20 years of experience, both personal and practical, with my clients. I share my weaknesses, as well as my strengths, which gives my clients the opportunity to take advantage of my disadvantages based on my past personal experiences.
As a parent of a special needs child, a woman, an immigrant and a member within the Chinese community, I am able to sympathize with my clients and speak from the heart. I am genuinely concerned for the well-being of my clients and I am able to give them that piece of mind and support.
When people work with you, what do they get?
I help individuals take responsibility of their finances in order to save money, enjoy life and maximize their financial resources, which allows them to empower themselves, as well as others in the community.
I educate individuals on how to create a legacy and help them develop a plan on how to give back. I also teach them how to manage their money so that they can not only save money, but pay off debt and have financial freedom.
I encourage all of my clients to ‘Be Your Own Hero’ in order to gain financial freedom and independence – “If I Can Do It, So Can You!”
Looking ahead… tell us what you see and what you’d like to accomplish?
I accept that change is constant, so I create a vision board every year to stay focused and motivated to achieve my goals — My goal this year is to do more motivational speaking and give back to the community.
Working alongside Sandra Tisiot at the Women In Business Conference has inspired me to share my story with others and I am looking forward to speaking in front of the 500 women at this year’s conference.
We hope to see you on Thursday, March 8th for the 10th Annual Women in Business Conference 2018 | International Women’s Day!
Finally, what piece of advice would you offer to entrepreneurs?
Make sure you HAVE FUN and LOVE WHAT YOU DO! I encourage all entrepreneurs to: Slow down – Set goals – Make a plan to execute those goals …and, Get to work!