AHS Financial

Tell us about your role in the business and how you started.

My name is Andrew Hollow, I started with AHS financial way back in 2003. Originally, we’re called TFG Financial and, Heidi Schwegler, the other financial planner, joined about 12 years ago. I'll get that wrong and I'll get in trouble, but that's okay. And, a little bit after that, we changed the name to AHS Financial, which is Andrew Hollow and Heidi Schwegler. And if you look at the "H" very closely, there's a little shadow there to indicate two "Hs." So that's how we started all those years ago. And I, I was working in a stockbroking firm, providing financial planning advice to stockbrokers and their clients around Australia, prior to that.

What was the trigger or catalyst that made you decide to hire your first VA?

We had a staff member leave. This was four years ago, I think. I'm not 100% sure. Not good with dates. And, we went through the process of hiring someone in Australia. A lot longer process than hiring someone in Cebu. And, that person started, had their first day, and then at 12 a.m. the next morning, sent us an email to say, they won't be going ahead. So, after all that effort, the person lasted one day. Whether that's me or Heidi or we were too scary, we’re not sure, but, given the process and the time in Australia, we just thought, now it's time to look elsewhere. And, that's when we had some contact with someone who or we knew somebody who was already working at VA Platinum as an original contact.

What were your fears or apprehensions when you were starting VA Platinum?

Part of the fear was actually not knowing exactly what went on, how the process worked, what VA Platinum could offer, what, what we had to do, what we didn't have to do. So, it was very much a learning curve as far as seeing what the options were out in the marketplace, whether that be Cebu, India, Sri Lanka, or different parts of the world. So, it was the fear of the unknown within reason. But pretty quickly most of those fears were relayed. And it was a pretty simple decision to try and see how we go. And, we haven't looked back.

What’s an area of the business that you feel needs improvement where your VAs are involved in driving or helping?

Well, the VAs would actually say, every part of my business needs improvement. And, as they get more comfortable with being VAs and telling us what to do, they will help drive efficiencies, improvements in every aspect of our business. So, we want them to be fully involved in everything that we do. So, they will be slowly learning to drive a lot of that. And this is as much as telling them what to do and assisting them as they will be telling us what to do.

What would you give as a tip to a new client who’s just starting their journey with their VAs?

You've got to commit to the process. Very much use the resources that are here, whether it be the para planning team, the managers that every client receives or has. Ours is currently SM Danna, and she's sitting quietly in the background. I bet you she's smiling now. She's been named. So, use all the resources that are here. Be involved as much as you can. Try and get your VA not to be Filipino. So, by that, I mean get them to ask as many questions as they can so they learn as quickly as they can from your own experience as an advisor, and as a business owner. So, the quicker you can upskill them, the more benefit it is for everybody, the more involved they are. And hopefully the more enjoyable the job is. So, and equally a weekly meeting. We have hours on a Friday morning. The meeting goes for 45 minutes. I think there's about three minutes of work. And the rest is seeing what they're doing and, and how they're coping with things. And, generally having a catch up.

How’s your overall Cebu trip?

This is my third trip to Cebu. This one has been pretty special. So, I went to the island of Boracay for a couple of days beforehand, and I brought the typhoon with me to Boracay, and I've brought the rain with me to Cebu. So, every day so far-and I've been here for five days-it's rained, or it's been windy. So, when everybody at VA Platinum tells you to come in not in the rainy season, take their advice. It's a smart move. Listen to all the tips you get. They're very, very helpful. And getting around Cebu is easy with taxis and everything else like that from the airport. You get a very warm welcome at the airport and, yeah, I have no problems with Cebu.

Any feedback - good or not for the VA Platinum team in terms of your visit?

Every visit I've had, every person has gone out of the way to make me feel welcome, make it as enjoyable trip as I can. So, from my perspective, I've got no problems at all. The only thing I'd suggest is, don’t eat too much before you come here. Because I'm always going after dinner, I'm always going out for lunch, and, it's a very friendly and welcoming place. So, from that perspective, yeah, look to go back to Australia with a couple of kilos heavier.