The world of business has fundamentally changed. The 21st century product is no longer a thing we make, produce or deliver. We strive to do work that matters for people that care. This is our new calling, our why.

But what do we make? If the physical product is no longer the final goal, what is? More than ever, in this new simultaneously connected and disconnected world, what we make or what we create are stories; we make a difference, we seek to produce change.

The mistake of the past and what has brought us to this point was this incredible urge to reach absolutely everyone. Globalization is so important it seems to have blinded us from the truth. And the truth is if you want to reach everyone, you need to offer something to everyone. On the surface this seems all fine and logical but if you dig a little deeper, you come to one inevitable fact: by creating something for everyone, you have also created nothing for anyone. Average products that give average results, quick and cheap. This has forced a race to the bottom. It leads to an uninspired work force and a lot of garbage for sale, a dollar store mentality on a global level.

The old model is simply not functional anymore, it was derived from the industrial and post-industrial age of more, more and more. Henry Ford might have been a genius but since then we have just doubled down over and over and over again. So, what do we do? What is the solution?

Well to begin, we can start to understand that stories are important. They create a feeling. When you sell a story, you sell a feeling, you sell a difference, you sell change. Focus must now be aimed at the smallest viable market possible and no longer on the largest or greatest. Products will move away from nothing to everything as humans reconnect authentically on a global scale:

Tinder vs Dating

Spam vs Building relationships

Different people want to be treated differently and that is the basis of great work. What are we doing to make a difference for you? With the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, it’s important for us to reflect on what we want to be for you, our client. This reflection has brought us to the following realizations and finally our new promise for 2019.

Over the last 12 years we have done mortgages differently. We have chosen to truly look at each client individually and provide unique advice on mortgage conditions, the economy, product choice and structure. This seems simple but it was quite revolutionary when we started, as most mortgage brokers were satisfied just giving the clients what they requested at a low rate, sacrificing what the client really needed most of the time. Again, trying to be something for everyone instead of something for the individual client, the smallest viable market. I am very proud to have driven the market in another direction. Today a great number of mortgage brokers in the field work towards these goals and perhaps this is because of the work we began or perhaps it is not, there is really no way to know for sure. In any case, it does not matter, as long as it was for the greater good of our field and of our customers. It’s good news and it makes us very proud of our industry here in Quebec.

So now what? To be honest, our reflection about our work over the last twelve years has made us realize it was incomplete. For this we would like to apologize. Mortgages we do are only one piece of a complete financial plan. Debt management, financial investments, insurance planning, real estate acquisition and estate planning: all of these must be done together in order to genuinely make a difference in our clients’ lives. In this aspect we have not hit the mark. We may have offered you more than what you came for, but we could have given you so much more. 

This will now change. Over the last 12 years we have created unbelievable partnerships with Financial Planners, Insurance Specialists, Fiscalists, Accountants, Notaries, Realtors and much more. We have sometimes missed opportunities to educate clients consistently on all mortgage structures and strategies that exist and can significantly improve their lives (Smith Manoeuvre, Cash Damming, Smart Structures, TFSA strategies, debt swaps and more); this will no longer be the case.

With the partnerships that we have developed we are now committed to offer clients complete and full advice that will change every financial situation for the better and exponentially improve debt management. We will work with each client’s existing professionals and offer amazing partners if a client is missing a key advisor in any of the above categories. Our goal is simple: to revolutionize financial planning and debt management with a case per case approach built from the ground up for every client.

This may not be what every client wants and that is ok. We can’t be something for everyone but we can be everything for a few. A small community that will experience true results that will be undeniable. Only when we find the wisdom to accept that this will not be for everyone, can we start to do work that truly matters. This is our mission, this is our goal. We invite you as 2019 begins to embark on this journey and experience this change together with us, experience this new story, experience the difference.

From the entire RLH Mortgage Team we wish you the best 2019 possible and look forward to beginning down this new path together.

Ryan La Haye