Sunil Chugh

Most people believe that it is happiness that makes us grateful. But I believe it is the gratefulness that makes us happy.

 

Sunil Chugh has been a financial advisor for 30 years. He worked for Imperial Financial Services as an advisor and eventually a branch manager. For the first 10 years he realized that he enjoyed dealing directly with the client rather than managing a branch. He decided to venture out on his own forming his company in 2000. He is a family man who understands fully the requirements of people at different stages in their lives. He is well versed in financial products and up-to-date on current events and how they affect the market hence the clients’ portfolios. His number one priority is to help his clients attain their financial goals. His clientele is multigenerational, the elders of the family have been with him for 30 years. He enjoys their success and takes pride when his clients see results.

Where did the idea for your company come from?

The idea to start my own business developed during my career with Imperial Financial Services as a branch manager. As a manager, I was able to oversee the operations and the intricacies of the overall business management. I felt that my strengths were aligned with helping people solve their complex financial situations and objectives.

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

A typical day is meeting with clients in person, over the telephone or through emails regarding reviews, updates and changes in their lives. Based on these discussions; changes are recommended to help achieve their objectives.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Most of these ideas are to create continuous trust and confidence with the client. I bring new ideas to life by creating a plan, investing more time and delivering to clients what they need. By insisting on creating a plan, it always helps to organize what needs to be done, while also taking time to prioritize the ideas at the same time.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Technology trends excite me the most as it produces better research and quicker responses for our clients. Everyone is always searching for ways to get information out at a quicker rate and so are we! By continuing to adapt to cutting edge technology, is one of the valuable propositions we are able to offer to our clients.

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

What makes me more productive, is my ability to solve complicated situations with simple solutions for our clients. Also, through maintaining a good relationship with our clients to produce better results, by listening to their needs and taking care of them on a timely manner.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would tell the younger Sunil Chugh to plan your work every 90 days, then you just have to reference that plan for that duration of time. Also, to create a balance between family life and work through focus, free and buffer days. It is easy to get caught up with a busy schedule when it comes to work; so, having a good mix of personal and professional life is ideal for a happy life.

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

Most people believe that it is happiness that makes us grateful. But I believe it is the gratefulness that makes us happy.

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

As an entrepreneur, I believe that no problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking. I encourage others to think more from different perspectives, as it is one of the toughest skills to develop.

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

The strategy that helped me grow my business was the ability to have low staff turnover, as well as maintaining a CRM system. The new CRM system allowed me to stay in touch with my clients using a proper process and increased frequency. This resulted in continuous growth of the business.

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

The failure I had, was not being able to realize the need for adding additional associates to the business earlier on. This would have helped with the businesses growth years, which resulted in a lot of hard work and not enough delegation. I did realize this over time and was able to add staff and associates ahead of time to keep the business growing.

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

Business ideas that I have, and I am willing to share with my readers is to create a mobile application where you would be able to keep track of your net worth annually or semiannually. There is currently no application for mobile devices like this, and it is just a matter of time that someone develops this. Everyone should use this application to assess where they are financially every year.

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

The best $100 I spent on my business was additional storage space on a cloud as it keeps me more organized and information is accessible quickly and anywhere I am

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

Google Business Applications and most of their other web services including calendars and talk management keep me organized and prepared for all appointments, anytime and anywhere.

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

‘Poor Charlie’s Almanack’ is the one book everyone should read as it is full of wisdom and quotes that have survived the test of time. It is not a quick read but rather a book that requires time and a lot of sustained thinking.

What is your favorite quote?

One of my favourite quotes is by Charles Darwin “it is not the strongest of the species which survive, nor the most intelligent, but rather those who are most responsive to change.” Another one of my favourite quotes is by Albert Einstein “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.”

Key Learnings:

• Play to your strengths
• As an entrepreneur, be prepared to adapt!
• Listen to the advice of others but ultimately listen to yourself.