Rusty Tweed, the president and owner of Tweed Financial Services, first entered the financial services industry close to 25 years ago. In the time since, Mr. Tweed has demonstrated a deep commitment to the idea that every client deserves access to a comprehensive, detail-oriented approach to financial planning that ultimately leads to a secure financial future aligned with the personal financial goals and objectives expressed by the client. As the president and owner of Tweed Financial Services, Mr. Tweed has repeatedly gone above and beyond in order to live up to the ideals upon which his company was founded almost a quarter of a century ago.
Mr. Tweed is also engaged in a number of other endeavors in addition to his role with Tweed Financial Services. The longtime resident of the Greater Los Angeles Area is the president and CEO of TFS Properties, Inc., and he is also the owner of Mold Zero. As the owner of Mold Zero, Mr. Tweed has been instrumental in making available a mold elimination process that is both non-toxic and non-demolition. As the president and CEO of TFS Properties, Inc., Mr. Tweed has helped clients take advantage of favorable market conditions by locating and brokering off-market properties featuring cap rates and cash flow well above the national average.
Rusty Tweed studied Mechanical Engineering in his home town in Waterloo, Ontario at the local University of Waterloo. Mr. Tweed continues to run Tweed Economics, a digital publication focusing on economic issues and trends. The financial services and estate planning expert also hosts a number of educational courses and seminars concerning a litany of subjects relating to financial planning and investing, mainly focused on real estate. Despite the busy schedule inherent in his involvement with so many diverse pursuits, Mr. Tweed is also a dedicated volunteer who supports a wide range causes through financial donations as well as donations of his time and energy.
1.What was your best/favorite subject in school?
Mechanical engineering, math, economics, and statistics were always among my favorite subjects.
2. What was your first job?
As a teenager I grew up on a horse farm. I had lots of work to do there, but my first real job was working as a lifeguard at the local public pool. I had trained to be a camp counselor for the YMCA, so getting certified to life guard was easy. In the winter I made a deal with my father and used our tractor for snow removal. During high school I would carefully pay attention to the weather, when it snowed I was up at 5 in the morning clearing driveways for our neighbors before school. It was a great entrepreneurial experience for me and taught me early on what it took to run a successful business. Hard work and some smarts!
3. Where and how did you first get into the industry you currently work in?
Entrepreneurship held a unique appeal to me, so I made a commitment to building a business from the ground up. That business ultimately became Tweed Financial Services.
4. How have those jobs prepared you for what you do now?
As much as I studied in preparation for running my own business, there was quite a bit I had to learn through experience. But in today’s work you have to constantly be studying and paying attention to what’s going on in the markets and business work, things are changing faster than ever.
5. Describe the best day of work you’ve ever had.
In the early days of Tweed Financial Services, there was a moment in which I came to the realization that I had created a company that was truly built to last. That momentary epiphany brought me a great deal of joy and instilled in me a deep sense of pride and accomplishment.
6. How do you keep yourself motivated?
Financial planning is complicated, especially when you consider how frequently markets and other factors shift — sometimes quite dramatically. Knowing that so many clients rely on my advice and expertise is a potent motivational tool.
7. What kind of business ideas excite you most?
I’m excited by ideas that address complex problems with simple, practical solutions.
8. Have you ever tried any unorthodox techniques to attract attention to your business?
Nothing stands out in my mind as being anything approaching unorthodox, but our goal is to provide practical services despite the inherent complexity of our industry. Continual marketing and keeping abreast of the business world around be are most important
9. What personal achievement are you most proud of?
A sense of long-term financial security makes so many other things possible, so I’m most proud that my company is responsible for helping so many clients achieve the kind of financial security that opens up so many new possibilities.
10. What wisdom you would have liked to share with yourself when you first started out?
There is a lot I could go back and do differently, but I benefited so much from the lessons made possible by my early entrepreneurial experiences that it would probably be a mistake to offer any kind of advice that would result in avoiding those valuable experiences, regardless of how difficult they may have been at the time.