He Hit His $1 Billion Goal, Then Realized It Meant Nothing

Quinton Chambers was 19 and still in university when people in their 50s and 60s started coming to him for advice on their money. Today, Quinton is a Wealth Advisor at Scotia Wealth Management. In this episode of Careers Under Construction, Quinton shares: How a bank teller job at 18 turned into his career Why foundations matter more than hot stocks The biggest lie people tell themselves about money What to look for in a financial advisor Why he thinks real estate is a headache How his mom shaped the advisor he is today

Ace Burpee was writing radio commercials at CJOB when his boss stopped him in the hall and asked, “Is this how you talk all the time?” This is how a kid from Cooks Creek, a town with two churches and no stores, became one of Winnipeg’s best-known voices. Ace hosts mornings on 103.1 Virgin Radio, creates the annual Top 100 Fascinating Manitobans list and is a member of the Order of Manitoba. In this episode of Careers Under Construction, Ace shares: How a hotel booking for a Jets game turned Dave into Ace Why his first talk show was horrible and what it taught him The weather sign-off that showed his boss who he really was The Dragons’ Den moment with Kevin O’Leary that he says never made it to TV How much money his inventions have made Why a number one show and a number seven show feel exactly the same How the Top 100 Fascinating Manitobans list started and how long it takes to put together His race in the 50 metres at the Canadian Masters in Toronto

Stan Higgins was working in executive search when he saw an ad on Kijiji for a helical pile dealership. He had no background in construction. He bought the dealership anyway and started VersaPile in 2011. In this episode of Careers Under Construction, Stan talks about: Why his mom started her own search firm out of her house in 1999 How he tested the competition before buying in Why he handed his phone to his first salesperson What 5 dealers talked about that the other 95 didn’t Why the owner can become the bottleneck in the early years Why he eventually walked away from two-thirds of his business What his wife’s RCMP career taught him about leadership What companies get wrong when working with Indigenous communities What he saw at a psychedelic retreat that he can’t unsee The eating struggle he kept secret for years How he and his wife worked through a planned separation The pipe bag an elder handed him, saying, “I’m being told this belongs to you,” and how it survived his mom’s house fire

After 14 years in government, Sandra Hodzic realized she couldn’t do it anymore and it was time to go. Today, she runs Sorella Strategies, a government relations firm that helps organizations understand government decisions and policies and prepare for what’s ahead. In this episode, Sandra talks about: Why she left government twice and what finally made it stick

Ryan Behie had just come off his best year yet. Then, on a Tuesday morning right after the August long weekend, the phone rang: 60 days’ notice. No cause. No explanation. He’d been with the company 11 years. He opened their Winnipeg office himself — first and only person there on day one. At home: a wife, a mortgage and a first-born who wasn’t a year old yet. He told his team himself. Then he called his clients. One of them stopped him mid-sentence. They hired Ryan, they said. Not the company he worked for. Two or three weeks later, he was filing the paperwork for his own brokerage. A year after that, on his own, he sold a major shopping centre — representing both sides of the deal and helping the out-of-province buyer line up financing and property management. In this episode, Ryan talks about starting out on a draw against commission, photocopying the Yellow Pages to find tenants on Pembina Highway, earning his CCIM designation, and why he still skateboards. If you’re buying, selling or leasing commercial space in Manitoba, connect with Ryan at Behie Real Estate Inc.