Early in her career, Shannon had a number of male mentors who gave her some sage advice. The first was: Be where you want to be for the rest of your career by age 47. As you enter your 50s, you don’t have as many career options and you’re not as hireable, she was told, so start your own business before that point.
Another key point emphasized the importance of having a significant amount of life savings in place before turning 50, so if you are still employed by others, it’s clear to them that you are working because you love to work, not because you have to. “This makes a big psychological difference for you and for those who employ you,” says Shannon. “You will be treated with more respect by those around you.” As for what constitutes a significant amount of savings, that’s a different figure for each individual, depending on lifestyle choices.
Circumstances have changed dramatically since Shannon cut her teeth in the male-dominated investment business. And while gender roles may not have changed all that dramatically, the role of technology has. In fact, it has changed the way the business functions — and on more than an just operational basis.
“The technology change throughout my career has been
phenomenal; remember, in the early 1980s PCs were just emerging,”
recalls Shannon. “In the 1950s and 1960s fund managers’
greatest challenge was gathering enough information to make
a decision. Today, it’s a whole different scale base.
Fund managers are flooded with too much irrelevant information
and the key skill is how to filter it down to what is relevant
to making a decision. Although knowing when you have enough
information still requires a certain je ne sais quoi
that can only be found in the human brain.”
Shannon values the ability to keep Sionna small and focused and she can do that because of technology. Technology is responsible for the world being more niche oriented, which fits what Sionna does perfectly. “Thirty years ago, a niche business like Sionna wouldn’t have been understood,” Shannon explains. “Today our 18 employees oversee $2.5 billion dollars, partly because of the psychology of niche marketing and partly because we can outsource our consultants and stay focused on the one thing we do and be the very best at it.”
Being her own boss has made Shannon philosophical. “I believe that your firm will only be as successful as your greatest personal limitation,” she says. “And in order for your firm to grow and everyone at firm to have fun, you will constantly face your greatest limitation. You need to put that limitation aside so your firm can be more successful, and you will keep finding new ones all the time. These are character-building experiences that ensure I will be continually growing.”
Another way Shannon grows is by giving back the community. She has always been a volunteer, from her days at University of Toronto, where she was a peer counsellor and helped start the sex education centre, to being President of the Toronto Society of Financial Analysts, sitting on the Accounting Standards Board Oversight Committee and being a member of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance. In her spare time, Shannon is also a Girl Guides leader. “I absolutely believe in giving back to community,” she says.
Ten years from now, Shannon hopes her unique approach to investment counselling will have made Sionna one of the top five independent firms in Canada. “We have a great track record, so there is no reason why we shouldn’t achieve this goal,” says Shannon. “There is a life cycle to investment counseling firms, but we are in it for the long haul.” |
