Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in finance but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jonathan Lewis, President and Founding Partner of Eastport Financial Group, located in Halifax, NS, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We offer unique service standards in wealth management, tax and estate planning, and actuarial insurance service, helping steward your wealth for your best possible social and monetary return.
Tell us about yourself
In the 80s and 90s, my father, Wayne Lewis, used the name Eastport for his construction, development, and distribution businesses – all of which embodied the vision of a unified, cross-border Atlantic Region with shared values and opportunities.
My father died when I was just 15 years old. In a tribute to his legacy, I took steps to hold on to the Eastport name, hoping to revive it one day. During my college years, I did just that, setting up Eastport Landscaping in 1997. By 2004 I was the Manager of Financial Planning with a large firm. Myself and three of my best staff formed the Eastport Financial Group, building a truly limitless, creative, client-centered team from the ground up. Today, we've grown from our original Halifax office to three more locations in Mahone Bay and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and Toronto. Our staff is just as committed to our original mission as our founders were seventeen years ago: to help others extend their legacy as the Lewis family has.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Survival. Learning to be a servant leader and serve my employees and my clients.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Keeping all the plates spinning.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Make sure you know your uno corsa, your one thing, as Jim Collin's puts in Good to Great. There's a Venn diagram for every one of us where we can do something better than anyone in this world that we love what we do, and we can make money doing it. And when those three circles intercept, that's your uno corsa, your one thing.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
I like to serve people, and the way I serve people is by sharing my faith openly. And really trying to improve the lives of the people I interact with. My priorities have been and will continue to be my relationship with God, my wife, my kids, my employees, and then my clients and friends.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.eastportfinancialgroup.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan__lewis__/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-lewis-67617911/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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