Christan Hiscock

Christan Hiscock is the CEO and co-founder of Kardia Financial Group, which was born from the desire to change the financial services industry through heart-centered services that focus on what’s truly important; the people. Based in Calgary, Kardia Financial Group believes that the financial services industry should not be solely focused on dollars, but on helping people truly get to the heart of their financial goals. Kardia Financial Group offers community building, real estate acquisitions, financial advising, accounting services, mortgages, credit solutions and more. www.kardiafinancialgroup.com

Where did the idea for Kardia Financial Group come from?

I started my journey in the financial services industry in 2007. During my training, I fell in love with the industry because I saw that it was possible to make an impact on the lives of so many families. For nearly a decade, I thought about ways to change the very transactional financial industry into more of a heart-centered and educationally focused industry. I then set out to make this dream a reality.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I don’t have a typical day! For me, I have a list of the things I need to accomplish and review. I have my calendar of who I need to talk to and connect with, and I see if I need to make any changes to the day. I think the whole idea of arranging a calendar or having set schedules is not necessarily the best fit for everyone. For example, I have ADD and a lot of different things I do in a day to keep my brain active. I am a little contrary to the steps of writing a list and having time blocked out for tasks. I’ve tried things like that and it never worked for me. In contrast, I have the intent of what I want to accomplish in a day and then I move along and not be hard on myself if I don’t get a million things done. In business, it is most important if you get a couple of things done in a day that are moving your business forward.

How do you bring ideas to life?

First off, I love ideas and big visions. Therefore, if something comes to me or I see an idea, I share it with my core brainstorming team. I share this idea with people who are not distracted by ideas but rather are really able to see where these ideas fit in the future and how to execute them. I also write my ideas down and categorize them so I can come back to them when the timing is right.

I’m a big team builder, so I find the right people who come up with ideas. For example, I was thinking about sending all of the mothers in our company flowers for the next Mother’s Day. I sent a message out to the people who could make that happen, and now that initiative is on the list for next year.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I love the trend of flexibility in the workplace! There is now the adaptability to be in an office or abroad, and many businesses have teams that can travel too. For example, some members of my team are in Calgary, a city in Alberta, and I am in British Columbia. I’ll sometimes fly my team members out to BC to work with me for a week. We all do various tasks and are still able to accomplish the many projects we have on our plates. I am really excited about this ability for businesses to be more transient.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

I encourage others in their business pursuits, which in turn motivates me to also strive for fulfillment in my company.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Dream extremely big and bring in executors early. I would encourage all entrepreneurs to do this, as it will help them expand their businesses much quicker.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

Success is meaningless without fulfillment. I wouldn’t say that people disagree with this, but I feel like not enough business leaders talk about it. They usually talk about achieving success and profits, but not about living a fulfilling life.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Experiential networking. I recommend all business owners to go and do things with other entrepreneurs and people that they want to learn from or mentor.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

I’ve always hired highly qualified people for my business. I then help them build a team underneath them way before it makes logical sense — it makes sense for the bigger vision. If you’re really committed to building something of significance, you need to build the infrastructure.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

I lost about $350K on a business venture once. It was brutal, but at one point as partners we needed to make the smart decision to cut our losses. We also decided to take it as a lesson of listening to our gut and making sure we don’t continue down the path of trying to make a business work when it just isn’t working. We could have saved ourselves a lot of time, money, and energy if we had done that early on in that venture. Never again.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

For a physical business, I would love it if there was an easy and efficient party/event concierge service for towns. For example, I live on a lake, and there are a lot of people who live by me who want to host events. This concierge could plan a barbecue and everything that goes into it, such as planning the liquor and setting everything up for the function. It would be like a catering + concierge business that organizes events for small towns. When you go to resorts, there are concierges who plan everything for you — what if we took this concept into tourist-driven locales and had people help plan weekends for visitors?

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

There’s this business called Rock Paper Books, which offers a notebook that is made from rock. I bought one of these notebooks and absolutely love it. The pages are waterproof and made from the smoothest, nicest paper you will ever write on.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

I use InfluencerSoft marketing automation software, which happens to be another company of mine. This software helps with my web and sales funnels, CRM, websites, and courses. It’s like an all-in-one solution for a business.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

There are so many good books, but if I had to go with one I would go with You 2: A High Velocity Formula for Multiplying Your Personal Effectiveness in Quantum Leaps. It’s a short book that is all about taking quantum leaps in your life’s endeavors. I named my company Leap Ventures as well, because it’s all about taking leaps to progress.

What is your favorite quote?

My favorite quote is:

‘Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best. – St. Jerome

I really like this quote, as it is all about getting better for yourself.”

Key Learnings:

• Success is meaningless without fulfillment
• Dream extremely big and bring in executors early.
• Spend time with other entrepreneurs and people that you want to learn from or mentor.
• Encourage others in their business pursuits, as it will motivate you to also strive for fulfillment in your company.