Craig Skauge, President of Olympia Trust Company, Returns to Discuss How Small to Medium Size Businesses can Raise Money Through RRSPs

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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_02: It's Calgary's podcast on the Canada's podcast network.
[00:15] SPEAKER_01: Hello, this is Mario time of music coming to you today with Calgary's podcast, a member
[00:20] SPEAKER_01: of Canada's podcast network where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen
[00:26] SPEAKER_01: in Calgary, Alberta, so you can listen, discover and engage.
[00:32] SPEAKER_02: Today's guest is Craig Skog, president and CEO of Olympia Trust Company.
[00:38] SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the show Craig and thanks for taking the time to be here for our listeners.
[00:42] SPEAKER_02: Thanks for having me.
[00:43] SPEAKER_02: Let's talk a little bit first about Olympia.
[00:46] SPEAKER_02: Tell me what Olympia, its history and how it came to be and what you guys do.
[00:51] SPEAKER_00: Olympia is a family business that's wholly owned by a closely help public company.
[00:57] SPEAKER_00: My father started coming up on 25 years ago and really it's a financial institution that's built around serving the small and medium business community in Canada through a number of different avenues.
[01:12] SPEAKER_02: Now did you get involved with this simply from the beginning in terms of your career?
[01:18] SPEAKER_00: No, I started, well it was my first job out of university, I was working here in a marketing role, we were quite a small company then.
[01:28] SPEAKER_00: We were probably five or six years into it and then I started and we had about 20 employees then and now we have over 200.
[01:39] SPEAKER_02: Tell me a little bit about the scope of the company right now in terms of the business that you do.
[01:45] SPEAKER_00: Well we serve as small business community in a number of ways.
[01:50] SPEAKER_00: We have registered plans, RRSPs and tax resavings accounts, those hold alternative investments.
[01:57] SPEAKER_00: So they don't typically hold mutual funds, public securities, they hold shares in private companies, they hold what are called exam market securities, they hold mortgages, private investment mortgages, anything that's kind of outside the realms of the bank.
[02:11] SPEAKER_00: That's our largest division, we have about 90,000 customers there.
[02:15] SPEAKER_00: We do foreign exchange services for large personal transactions and then for corporate transactions, kind of a personalized touch there.
[02:25] SPEAKER_00: And we do corporate and shareholder services for public companies.
[02:28] SPEAKER_00: We manage their investor databases, their annual meetings and so forth.
[02:33] SPEAKER_00: So that's one of the trust company. Under the public company we have two other businesses, one being a Fintech offshoot that does software.
[02:40] SPEAKER_00: For investment advisors and another one being kind of our founding division, which used to be on the trust company, but isn't now, which implies employee benefits for small and medium businesses.
[02:54] SPEAKER_00: What's your vision for the company going forward just to be the best in breeding the most well known service provider for the entrepreneurial community in Canada.
[03:04] SPEAKER_00: You know the entrepreneurial community oftentimes gets left behind by the larger financial institutions are a little more risk at first, but there's, you know, that's a large community that still needs to support services as a financial world.
[03:18] SPEAKER_00: And I think we're in a good position to be that.
[03:21] SPEAKER_02: Now you are a national company, but you're based in Calgary. Tell me a little bit about the benefits that you see of being a business in Calgary these days.
[03:31] SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, we have a national footprint, but we're not licensed national. I should probably clarify that we're licensed every problem is except Ontario.
[03:39] SPEAKER_00: So we promote our services and every problem is except there.
[03:43] SPEAKER_00: Being Calgary based, it's a double-edged sort.
[03:49] SPEAKER_00: You know, we've obviously benefited from the fact that we've supported the Alberta business community. So they support us.
[03:57] SPEAKER_00: You know, we've lived through the Boomin Basso, the Ongas economy, where it's been hard to retain employees at times and easy to get them at others and hear office space costs or higher load depending on the price of oil.
[04:10] SPEAKER_00: I mean, this is where my family is from and that's why we're here.
[04:15] SPEAKER_00: We have good government here and you know, a business friendly environment.
[04:21] SPEAKER_00: So it's an entrepreneurial community and that works really well for a company that lives to serve entrepreneurs.
[04:28] SPEAKER_02: You obviously deal with a lot of entrepreneurs are in touch with a lot of entrepreneurs in the city these days.
[04:34] SPEAKER_02: What's their mood like right now?
[04:37] SPEAKER_00: I would say it's cautiously optimistic, you know, the conservative government's only been back in power for a short period of time.
[04:45] SPEAKER_00: And I think everybody's very aware that there's not going to be an immediately or a call and turn around in the economy here, but there's optimism that things will become more friendly for the business community under the new government.
[04:59] SPEAKER_00: But it's still a tough slog for a lot of businesses.
[05:04] SPEAKER_00: You know, we don't have a pipeline.
[05:07] SPEAKER_00: We have promises of a pipeline, but we don't have the pipeline.
[05:12] SPEAKER_00: And that really ties into the sentiment of the business community throughout Calgary and Alberta because those of us who even are in that business are affected by that business.
[05:23] SPEAKER_00: So everybody's hopeful that the next couple of years will bring sunshine back to the province, but it's a bit of a wait and see attitude right now and obviously somewhat contingent on the federal election in the fall.
[05:36] SPEAKER_02: What's the best piece of advice for being an entrepreneur that you've ever received, something that's resonated and stuck with you?
[05:44] SPEAKER_00: Really that you don't have, you're not on your own if you're an entrepreneur, you know, I mean, if you're an entrepreneur who are obviously trying something different and you're taking some risks and you're trying to stand off from the crowd, but that doesn't mean you can't have mentors.
[05:59] SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean there aren't entrepreneurs who've been down similar paths to you before face struggles had victories, had had defeats and really leveraging the experience of those who have come before you.
[06:12] SPEAKER_00: It is the best thing that you can do. There's certain sense that certain entrepreneurs have that during this vacuum where it's just them against the world and engaging with the entrepreneurial community, finding mentors, finding peers, working through challenges together is probably the best chance you have at success.
[06:33] SPEAKER_02: When you look at your career as an entrepreneur and as a business person, if you weren't doing what you are doing today, any thoughts of what kind of a job you might have?
[06:47] SPEAKER_00: You know, I admittedly probably scuba dived a little late in life and fell in love with the underwater world when I was fresh out of university and one year into work.
[06:59] SPEAKER_00: Had I learned to dive when I was a teenager, I might be a marine biologist, but that wasn't very good at science.
[07:05] SPEAKER_00: It's hard to say, I do love what I'm doing now, so it's hard to imagine doing anything different.
[07:11] SPEAKER_00: But the world's changing, there's a lot of interesting opportunities and challenges out there that the world's facing.
[07:16] SPEAKER_00: So I found my comfort zone and I'm good in it, but yeah, probably something with nature, how I got a little more involved with that world before I got into the business world.
[07:27] SPEAKER_02: You know, obviously you're quite busy as all entrepreneurs and business people are these days.
[07:33] SPEAKER_02: What do you do to disconnect from your business world and maybe to get recharged?
[07:41] SPEAKER_00: You know, with my kids, I have a pretty good work personal life balance.
[07:47] SPEAKER_00: It's always been very important to me and I've got two young children and hanging out with them.
[07:52] SPEAKER_00: It's hard when you get to the point that you're running a relatively large company that fully disconnect when you're the president.
[07:59] SPEAKER_00: You can disconnect for moments in time, but it's hard to completely disconnect.
[08:04] SPEAKER_00: I like playing hockey, still have a beer league veteran, and I like to get away even though I might be still working because I still have my phone and my laptop with me.
[08:14] SPEAKER_00: Doing it from a beach is what from Disneyland with my kids is pretty enjoyable, but I'm very family oriented.
[08:22] SPEAKER_00: So if I'm not connected to work, I'm probably having a water gun fight with my kids.
[08:28] SPEAKER_00: What's your favorite place outside of obviously Calgary than that you'd like to go to?
[08:34] SPEAKER_00: You know, my wife and I traveled a lot to East Africa before we had kids.
[08:38] SPEAKER_00: Kenya holds a special place in my heart, and now it's pretty hard to beat the beaches and atmosphere there.
[08:48] SPEAKER_02: A lot of people these days obviously have a bucket list, a personal bucket list.
[08:53] SPEAKER_02: What sets a top-year bucket list these days?
[08:57] SPEAKER_00: Truth be told, I've been very fortunate for a lot of years, and I've had the pleasure of traveling to most ends of the earth, and almost people's bucket list sort of travel involved.
[09:09] SPEAKER_00: I've been from Antarctica to Africa to the Galapagos Islands, so I've checked a lot of those off really right now.
[09:16] SPEAKER_00: It's honestly my kids and watching them grow up and seeing the world through their eyes and seeing them check things off of their bucket list is simplistic as they may be.
[09:26] SPEAKER_00: That's really what gets me excited these days is doing things with them.
[09:31] SPEAKER_00: Be nice to miss a pass from Sydney Crosby once, and there's a chance that that could happen.
[09:37] SPEAKER_00: I'd like to have lunch with Jay-Z and see what gets him going, but those are probably not going to get checked off anytime soon.
[09:44] SPEAKER_00: I'm pretty simple when it comes to my desires right now, and it's really mostly family-based.
[09:51] SPEAKER_02: Now you mentioned your kids are obviously a lot. What do you think you learn from them?
[09:58] SPEAKER_00: Patients, humility, things aren't that complicated at their core, but really just how to calm down and be a little more.
[10:07] SPEAKER_00: I'm more patient because I'm very accustomed in the business world to getting things done my way, and that doesn't work with a three-year-old and a six-year-old.
[10:19] SPEAKER_00: You can't negotiate with them the same way that you can with another adult.
[10:24] SPEAKER_00: I've learned how to lose a little more graciously and don't begrudge it any time and happens.
[10:30] SPEAKER_00: Is there any book that you're currently reading?
[10:35] SPEAKER_00: I'm reading a billion-dollar whale, and it's a story about basically the Malaysian government being taken for billions of dollars on a sovereign wealth fund.
[10:48] SPEAKER_00: It's business, which I always like reading business, but it's also a very interesting personal element to the story about a guy who took a government for a lot of money and spent it on partying with the world.
[10:59] SPEAKER_00: Hollywood movie stars. So it's a really good read.
[11:04] SPEAKER_02: Now, when you look back, is there any book that you've read in the past that you may recommend to entrepreneurs or business people?
[11:14] SPEAKER_00: I think it depends on what you're into. I mean, Freakonomics is one of my favorite books, and it's a go-to that I've read time and time again.
[11:25] SPEAKER_00: It's an interesting read, but what I love about it is it just shows the interconnectivity between things that you don't necessarily think or connect it.
[11:33] SPEAKER_00: And once you recognize that, you start seeing that and very many other aspects of life and business.
[11:39] SPEAKER_00: Seeing that pulling one lever might cause an effect that you didn't think was necessarily correlated.
[11:45] SPEAKER_00: So it's obviously a well-known book, and it's one of my go-to's, but I've never been one who needs a motivational book to get up and going in the morning.
[11:56] SPEAKER_00: I've never needed a kick in the pants from a book telling me all I can be. So the traditional books that most people read, I've never really went down that path because I just have been motivated enough intrinsically.
[12:10] SPEAKER_02: Where creatures of routine in many ways do you have a daily routine that you don't deviate from and always do?
[12:19] SPEAKER_00: There's all, I'm fortunate that I have a lot of flexibility in my life, so there isn't anyone particularly routine.
[12:25] SPEAKER_00: I mean, obviously typical work days, I like to get up and have a bit of time with my kids that gets me energized for the day,
[12:32] SPEAKER_00: get to work generally, reserve some time, just be messing with my colleagues and seeing what's going on.
[12:39] SPEAKER_00: Doesn't have to always be formalized meetings. I make sure that I have a lunch meeting every single day, because that's obviously very important hours in the middle of the day that can be used for work.
[12:49] SPEAKER_00: And I like to try and do something active every single day as well, and then get home and finish off a little time with my kids before settling down to have a drink with my wife.
[13:01] SPEAKER_00: Before we crash and do it all over again the next day.
[13:04] SPEAKER_02: Okay, I'm going to present to you a little different scenario here, so bear with me.
[13:10] SPEAKER_02: So just imagine a small beautiful tropical island in the middle of the ocean with only one foam booth and no internet.
[13:17] SPEAKER_02: We're going to drop you off there with no technology at all.
[13:21] SPEAKER_02: At any time you can use the foam booth on the island to call the boat to come pick you up.
[13:27] SPEAKER_02: Now how long do you think you would last there and what do you think you would be doing while you were there?
[13:34] SPEAKER_00: I'm by myself.
[13:36] SPEAKER_00: Yes.
[13:36] SPEAKER_00: But I can use tools and I have a scoop of equipment available.
[13:40] SPEAKER_00: There you go.
[13:41] SPEAKER_00: Well, I'd go for a couple of dives and probably have a couple of beers.
[13:46] SPEAKER_00: I might read a book.
[13:48] SPEAKER_00: I last maybe a day or two, and then I'd probably want to go home and see my family.
[13:53] SPEAKER_00: You find without the internet other than the fact that I would probably spend the last hour or two trying to remember phone numbers.
[14:01] SPEAKER_00: Because nobody remembers phone numbers anymore.
[14:04] SPEAKER_00: So I normally just touch on my wife's name and it calls her.
[14:08] SPEAKER_00: So I probably would, I know for a number, but that probably lasts a day maybe two.
[14:15] SPEAKER_00: I try and make a point of it if I'm gone for business, it's only been gone for a day or two.
[14:19] SPEAKER_00: So I'm not at the point where I need a lot more time than that to myself.
[14:24] SPEAKER_02: Is there anything you'd like to add Craig before you leave us today?
[14:28] SPEAKER_00: I think that Canada is at an inflection point.
[14:33] SPEAKER_00: You know, I see it in business, I see it personal.
[14:37] SPEAKER_00: The next six months are going to be very interesting to see where things go.
[14:42] SPEAKER_00: Certain portions of the country feel an isolation from others that have never felt that way before.
[14:46] SPEAKER_00: I'm certainly optimistic that things at Canada will be the Canada, the world sees, you know, in the next couple of years.
[14:54] SPEAKER_00: And we can kind of get back on a unification path.
[14:57] SPEAKER_00: Our hope is that we can help the small business community in whatever problems they're in.
[15:05] SPEAKER_00: We don't see ourselves as being strictly out there.
[15:09] SPEAKER_00: You know, as I said, we like to help any businesses that come to us.
[15:13] SPEAKER_00: I'm optimistic, I'm cautiously optimistic like most Albertans, that things are going to get better.
[15:19] SPEAKER_00: And hopefully people will see things for what they are and see through some of the bad things that are going on now.
[15:25] SPEAKER_00: And we'll be a brighter future in the near future.
[15:29] SPEAKER_02: Okay, thanks for joining us today, Craig.
[15:33] SPEAKER_01: Hey there, thanks for taking the time today to listen to Calgary's podcast on Canada's podcast network.
[15:40] SPEAKER_01: We hope you enjoyed the show today.
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[15:56] SPEAKER_01: You can also check out what other entrepreneurs are doing across the country.
[16:01] SPEAKER_01: See you next time.