0:35

So hi, everyone.

0:35

Welcome to the next episode of

2:44

the Bay Street Capital Holdings

2:44

podcast titled How'd You Do It &

2:47

Why Should I Care? This series

2:47

aims to highlight women doing

2:50

amazing work in various

2:50

industries. So today, we are so

2:53

lucky to be joined by Shweta

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Bhalla, who is a financial

2:56

volunteer and Amplo Global

2:56

Incorporated, and a volunteer

2:59

consultant at Cass Consulting.

2:59

Hi, Shweta. lovely to have you

3:02

on the show.

3:03

Hey, Laila, same

3:03

here. Thank you.

3:06

So let's start off

3:06

with an introduction as to who

3:09

you are, and a main answer to

3:09

the question, which is how do

3:11

you do it and why should I care?

3:14

Okay, so, I am

3:14

Shweta Bhalla. I'm MBA finance

3:17

and CFA charter holder with 11

3:17

years of experience in financial

3:22

services industry that

3:22

encompasses areas like retail

3:26

banking, corporate banking, as

3:26

well as the volunteering

3:31

assignments, like filing

3:31

individual taxes and consulting

3:35

for the nonprofit boards and

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researching various crypto

3:39

projects in the social impact.

3:39

On the personal front, I'm a mom

3:44

of two wonderful kids, I left my

3:44

full time corporate job to be

3:49

with my kids for the formative

3:49

years of their life. Because

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that is something I didn't want

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it to miss at all, and not to

3:58

regret it in future. So I took

3:58

my time off from the full time

4:03

job, but I kept myself busy with

4:03

volunteering assignments and

4:07

learning new things like us

4:07

taxation, I learned about crypto

4:12

projects, I learned a lot about

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the consulting field, which was

4:17

entirely new to me, the

4:17

consulting the nonprofits,

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nonprofit boards. It's a

4:20

wonderful feeling. It's good to

4:25

do something for the community

4:25

and give it back.

4:29

Awesome. So my next

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question would be What inspired

4:33

you to join the financial

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services industry? Was it

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something like something you

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studied at school or was it a

4:39

combination of experiences?

4:39

Okay, so uh, yeah, so

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I always had a

4:43

love for numbers from the very

4:47

beginning since childhood

4:47

mathematics was has always been

4:51

my favorite subject. And I used

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to help my parents also in the,

4:58

with the with the financial

4:58

matters. with their financial

5:00

matters, like banking, and any

5:00

anything, any sort of financial

5:04

things they were into. So that

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that is something that piqued my

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interest. And I always love love

5:09

to work in a fast paced,

5:15

challenging industry. So I get I

5:15

get bored easily. So, so I

5:21

needed something to challenge me

5:21

on a daily basis, something very

5:25

challenging, exciting and

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constantly evolving. So that is

5:32

why I joined finance sector. And

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that's what I think that comes

5:37

as a natural fit.

5:39

Awesome. So you

5:39

mentioned that, you know, you

5:41

had love for numbers from the

5:41

beginning, but I'm curious, what

5:43

were the best resources that

5:43

helped you along in your journey

5:46

in the finance industry?

5:48

Okay, so the best

5:48

resources I would say is, I got

5:54

to work with the best teachers,

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best mentors in the, in my

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career or in my college, who

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gave me good, correct guidance.

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So, let me start from the, from

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the, from my master's degree

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from there, I so in MBA, you,

6:11

you have to select your

6:16

specialization, right? So I got

6:16

the right, right, right,

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guidance from the teachers and

6:22

professors. And I could choose

6:28

confidently make a choice of

6:28

finance. Then, once I entered a

6:34

banking industry, I got very

6:34

good mentors, seniors, who, who,

6:40

who helped me a lot to learn

6:40

about the banking industry. So

6:46

all these all these things you

6:46

can say, these are the best

6:49

resources, so people are the

6:49

best resources. And once I was

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into the corporate job, I

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realized that it is, I would

6:57

still like to add on some

6:57

certifications. So that is the

7:01

time I decided to pursue my CFA.

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And it was a tough decision

7:07

because you require in the sea,

7:07

in CFA, you require a commitment

7:12

of like four to five years of

7:12

rigorous study, as well as the

7:18

relevant work experience to

7:18

receive the charter. So it was a

7:23

very, very drastic commitment

7:23

that I made. And I'm very happy

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that I could complete it with

7:28

the support of my family, too.

7:32

In the middle, I got married.

7:32

And everything happened, life

7:37

happened. So yeah, it was a

7:37

wonderful feeling that after

7:41

receiving when I received the

7:41

charter, after clearing all the

7:45

three exams and relevant four

7:45

years experience required to

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receive the charter. It's a wonderful feeling

7:50

of Awesome, well,

7:50

congratulations. And you

7:53

obviously mentioned that people

7:53

were one of your best resources.

7:55

So I'm curious, what were the

7:55

best? What was it any lessons

7:58

that you wish you would have known before starting in the finance industry? Okay, so

8:03

yeah, so once I

8:03

entered finance industry, I

8:06

thought it's all about the

8:06

models that I learned in MBA,

8:09

finance, all about accounting,

8:09

all about numbers, statements,

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the book is all the books stuff.

8:14

But, but, but when I started the

8:21

industry, I actually realized

8:21

that it is more about

8:25

relationships with the client,

8:25

with the people and the trust

8:28

they hold in you. So it's, it's

8:28

not all numbers. It's a it's a

8:34

very challenging industry, with

8:34

a lot of human interaction and

8:37

communication. So that is what I

8:37

think somebody told me.

8:44

Yeah, I definitely

8:44

agree. And I would say it's a

8:46

very common myth about the

8:46

finance industry, that it's not

8:49

just all about numbers, it's all

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about the chips and the bonds

8:53

that you form with not only your

8:53

clients, but your colleagues as

8:55

well.

8:57

Mentors, so. So

8:57

that actually defines your

9:01

journey or the career in finance.

9:03

That's awesome. So

9:03

obviously, you've had a lot of

9:06

experience with your CFA and

9:06

then also in the finance

9:09

industry, but I'm curious as to

9:09

what was your biggest failure in

9:12

your career so far? And what did

9:12

you learn from it?

9:16

Okay, so your

9:16

biggest failure, I Okay. So, I

9:22

believe failure is nothing but

9:22

actually it is an opportunity to

9:25

learn and improve on upon

9:25

yourself. So there was a time

9:29

early in my career, I got my

9:29

first I got to do my first

9:33

credit appraisal of a company.

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And I thought that okay, this I

9:40

would be able to complete it in

9:40

like three or four days maximum.

9:45

But when I started doing it, I

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could realize that oh, okay, so

9:52

it's just not about numbers.

9:52

There is a lot of stuff

9:56

involved, which I never knew

9:56

that all these banks would also

10:00

make will be helpful in the

10:00

Credit Appraisal decision

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because that was my very first

10:04

proposal. So I went back to my

10:09

manager, talk to her. She was a

10:09

fantastic lady. So I talked to

10:15

her that okay, so I have, I

10:15

think I have underestimated the

10:19

deadline I and I am not, I

10:19

wouldn't be able to meet it

10:24

better. I think I will extend it

10:24

right now, I will do my best to

10:31

complete it as soon as possible.

10:31

So the best I could complete it

10:34

was in eight days, so

10:38

easy to complete the answer of let your manager know. And as you mentioned,

10:40

before, failures can be seen as

10:43

learning opportunities. And now

10:43

you know, sort of when or Yeah,

10:47

and then you

10:47

know, you can underestimate the

10:51

things and it finance is not

10:51

entirely about the numbers,

10:55

exactly. Only the financial

10:55

analysis, it requires a lot of

10:59

other stuff.

11:00

Exactly, exactly.

11:00

And following from that, that's

11:03

some great advice that you gave

11:03

there. But what would be one

11:06

piece of advice you would give

11:06

to somebody who is wanting to

11:08

pursue a career similar to yours?

11:11

Alright, so my

11:11

advice would be that, to pursue

11:18

a career in finance, you have to

11:18

be a keen learner learner all

11:23

your life, all through your

11:23

life. So it's, it's an ever

11:28

changing industry, it's the most

11:28

most, I believe that it's the

11:32

most challenging and the most

11:32

changing industry and it

11:38

requires continuous learning on

11:38

your part, whatever is happening

11:42

in the market, market research,

11:42

or maybe learning of picking up

11:46

a new language, because it is

11:46

globalized now, so you need to

11:50

communicate with the clients

11:50

effectively, knowing their local

11:54

language would definitely help.

11:54

I think that would be my My

12:01

piece of advice to

12:03

a great piece of

12:03

advice. And then following on

12:05

from that, I'm sure you're very

12:05

busy at the moment you obviously

12:07

raising a family and then

12:07

obviously working but what have

12:10

you read or listened to recently

12:10

that's really inspired you.

12:15

Yeah, so I love

12:15

reading books, I still read it.

12:20

Even though in a British view,

12:20

like I pick my time, I take my

12:24

time to read the books.

12:24

Recently, I read becoming by

12:29

Michelle Obama. It's a fantastic

12:29

book, I would recommend to

12:35

everyone that it's it's some,

12:35

it's not about Michelle Obama,

12:40

it's about Michelle Obama, but

12:40

it's actually about the life

12:43

learnings you get from the book.

12:43

So it inspired me in a way that

12:49

how a person who, who, who

12:49

doesn't know about politics at

12:56

all got into politics and

12:56

actually robbed it. So so there

13:01

is, there is always a hope that

13:01

you can succeed in a field,

13:07

maybe you never knew about, or

13:07

you never tried it. So. So I

13:13

would say just the gist of the

13:13

book was about evolution about

13:19

taking life as it comes,

13:19

embracing changes, and trusting

13:23

and growing yours, yourself. It

13:23

is actually about standing up

13:28

for what you believe in seeing

13:28

life as a progressive journey.

13:32

Awesome. I'll

13:32

definitely make sure to pick up

13:34

that book I've heard it's very

13:34

good. And then next of all, you

13:38

mentioned the power of people

13:38

and the power of your network.

13:41

So I'm curious, who are three

13:41

people in your life who have

13:43

been the most influential to you?

13:47

Okay, so the

13:47

three most influential people in

13:49

my life, I would say it would be

13:49

my mom, who always taught me to

13:56

be independent, and to follow my

13:56

dreams, and to do what what I

14:01

feel is right for me. The second

14:01

and most influential person was

14:08

my father, who actually taught

14:08

me to believe in myself rather

14:13

than read and he always, he

14:13

always taught me that you should

14:18

enjoy the journey of life, enjoy

14:18

the journey rather than the

14:22

reaching on the goal. Just

14:22

enjoy, enjoy your life and have

14:27

fun. Whatever you do will be so

14:27

good, you'll be successful. So

14:33

that faith actually helps a lot.

14:33

When somebody believes in you.

14:37

You tend to believe in you. Yes.

14:41

And then finally,

14:41

oh, sorry, to round off our

14:43

conversation. What is one piece

14:43

of advice that you wish you gave

14:47

yourself at any point in your life?

14:51

Okay, so I would

14:51

say trust yourself, but never be

14:59

too complex. center on things.

14:59

Because once you are complacent

15:04

and you just sit back and relax,

15:04

it's not a world where you can

15:08

be complacent and say okay, yes,

15:08

yeah, I know everything and I'm

15:13

good.

15:14

Yeah, that's a very

15:14

good piece of advice for anybody

15:17

no matter what, what, you know,

15:17

area or stage they are in their

15:21

career. But yeah, thank you so

15:21

much Shweta for taking the time

15:24

to speak with me today. It was

15:24

absolutely lovely to have a

15:27

conversation with you and all

15:27

the best for the future.

15:30

Thank you, Laila.

15:30

Thank you. Nice speaking to you.

15:33

Right then bye bye.