“The reason I choose to work with women is because when my Mom was 54-years-old, my Dad passed away suddenly,” says Rice. “My Mom was a housewife and Dad was a truck driver. There was no big life insurance payout, no big bank accounts or RRSPs. Mom was responsible for my brother and I and we watched her struggle to find work and when she did she worked long hours at multiple jobs just to make ends meet.”

When Rice began work as a financial advisor in 1994, he decided to help other women avoid his mother’s situation. He set out to educate women through wealth seminars on how to create a sound financial plan to protect themselves and their families.

Since then, Rice’s reputation as a reliable and trusted advisor among many women business owners and others, has steadily grown. He continues to grow his business by providing customized investment solutions to women business owners. His efforts have earned him distinctions such as an Ottawa Business Journal Forty under 40 award.

Rice credits his success to several best practices applicable to any business seeking to establish itself:

• Identify a clearly defined market that you can dominate.
• Engage with prospective customers in that market to understand their needs and tailor what you have to offer accordingly
• Seek out or create venues that allow you to demonstrate your expertise and provide something of value to your target audience to encourage their interest in becoming clients/customers

“Word of mouth, networking and my charity work have been critical to securing a stable client base,” Rice says. “But building long-term client relationships and earning referrals depends solely on the level of service you provide. In my business, I’m known for my ability to listen carefully, and fully understand the client’s needs, concerns and goals. I create investment plans that are easy to understand and simple to follow. Busy people like it when an advisor makes it easy for them.”

The marketing techniques Rice has used to capture this niche market fall into three areas:

1) Develop a Website. Rice understood that business owners are very busy and wear many hats. His web presence allows a new client to go online and do her own research about himself and Raymond James Ltd. so that when he sits down with the client to talk about her personal financial situation, she is already comfortable working with him and the Raymond James organization.

2) Be Involved in the Community. Getting out in the community and being involved in the issues and causes that he cares about has been a great way for Rice to network and meet people.

3) Create Your Own Community. Rice created in 2004 the Women in Business Owners IDEX (Ideas Exchange Forum). A guest speaker will address a small gathering of six to 14 other women to share her experiences and teach at least one relevant skill in a relaxed atmosphere that encourages networking. Topics have ranged from how to dress for success, time management, to proper networking and etiquette techniques.

Rice says his exclusive focus on women business owners has been very rewarding in more ways than money and business.

“Strong relationships, friendships and loyal clients have developed as a result and added more meaning to my life … My business is more holistic now because I help people to grow their businesses through networking and referral AND I grow their investments so they can focus their energy on business and other more important things like family and community work.”