O’Connell-Campbell Wealth Management at RBC Dominion Securities Inc.

09/03/2026

Being exit-ready and being ready to exit are not the same thing.
This distinction could change your financial future.

Exit-ready means: clean financials. Documented systems. A leadership team that doesn't need you. You understand your value.

Being ready to exit means: you actually want to leave right now.

Jennifer Stewart tells her story … her business was “exit ready”. She was NOT ready to exit.

So when the offer came, she had a choice. Most founders don't.
Don't wait for an unsolicited offer to figure out which one you are.

Book a Wealth Gap Analysis. Reach out on LinkedIn or email me.


🎧 Listen here:
[https://apple.co/4r0LxFi

https://bit.ly/4x5aJvE

📺 Watch on YouTube: https://bit.ly/4qUKZk8

09/02/2026

4:30 a.m. starts. Working from the couch. Kids. Coffee. Repeat.
Jennifer Stewart didn't regret it. That wasn't sacrifice—that was necessary.
Her reframe: "It wasn't that I sacrificed myself. It's what I had to do to get to this season."
Now? Protected mornings until 10 a.m. A workout. A team that doesn't need her in every meeting. Time with her family that isn't fractured.
She moved from resentment to pride.
The burden of ownership isn't going away. Neither is the stress. But what changes is how you hold it. Not as punishment. As the price of financial success, freedom, and growth.
If you're in a grinding season and wondering if it's worth it, let's talk about what's on the other side.
Listen to Episode 354 for the full conversation.
🎧 Listen here:
[https://apple.co/4h4nTnH

https://bit.ly/3Uqwngl

📺 Watch on YouTube:
https://bit.ly/4qOK3xN

What if you got all the way to the finish line and chose not to sel...

09/01/2026

🎙️ Fun, Frank Advice from Jennifer Stewart: "Bet on yourself first." And on the sale process itself: "Give yourself some grace. Have a team around you that you trust. Trust your gut. And - this is a little crass - don't jump into bed with the first offer. Be intentional, take your time, and train your brain not to second-guess your worth. I went from 'oh gosh, someone wants to buy me and I could retire' to 'you know what, I'm worth it, and probably worth more. Let's see where I can take this.'"

Jennifer Stewart spent 17 years building her strategic communications firm from her own name and a phone book into a nationally recognized powerhouse.

Then an email arrived from a New York brokerage. Within two weeks of going to market she had an NDA signed and due diligence underway. Several other buyers surfaced within days.

One week from closing, she walked away.

What happened next: a Vancouver office. Deeper government work. A restructured team. Mornings protected until 10. And a completely different relationship with her own business - one where she reads her numbers as an asset, not just a P&L.

Self Made Nation, this is your reminder that being exit ready and being ready to exit are not the same thing. Jennifer was one and not the other.

🎧 Listen to Episode 354 of The Cash Rich Exit Podcast: [https://apple.co/45Wg51h

https://bit.ly/3SJHSPf

08/31/2026

One week before the closing, Jennifer Stewart's entire relationship with ownership shifted.

Not the numbers. Not the business. Her.

She went through the valuation process. Understood her value. Saw what her business could become. And realized the burden she was carrying—the stress, the decisions, the weight—wasn't punishment.

It was the price of financial success, freedom, and growth.

From resentful to proud. From overwhelmed to strategic. From naive to confident.
That reframe changes everything. How you show up. What you build next. How you lead your team.

Where are you still carrying resentment about ownership instead of pride?
Reach out on LinkedIn.




🎧 Listen here:
https://apple.co/4h1z5Bw

https://bit.ly/4zPGv2j

08/31/2026

Last Thursday (August 27th) at Queen's Smith School of Business, I had the privilege of joining the MBA Class of 2027 for a Women in Leadership fireside conversation.

A special thank you to Chelsea Bruno and Jaini Sritharan for the invitation, Jessica Stevens for her thoughtful moderation, and everyone who joined me afterward at Queen's Pub.

Interesting being on a uni campus... the palpable sense of anticipation as a new crop of undergrads arrives... along with the homestretch energy for this group of MBA students.

If one message resonated, I hope it was this:
Your greatest asset is your ability to generate an income. Nurture it. Protect it. Invest in it.

In a world increasingly shaped by AI, the skills that matter most are timeless: critical thinking, genuine curiosity, and the ability to collaborate meaningfully with others.

And so, be mindful of what you consume because what you consume will eventually consume you. Your ideas, information, social media, the people around you, the stories you tell yourself. Choose carefully.

Thank you to the Women in Leadership for creating this space, to the MBA Class of 2027 for showing up with thoughtful questions, and for the beautiful journal {a perfect gift for someone who practices daily gratitude, reflection, and writing}.

The best conversations leave you with more to think about than you arrived with. This was one of them.

08/31/2026

Why do advisors like me pay attention to firms like Dimensional?

Because their philosophy is grounded in research, not stock-picking hunches:
- Broad, global diversification
- Systematic exposure to known drivers of returns
- A focus on implementation, not prediction

"Tune Out the Noise" traces how these ideas moved from University of Chicago classrooms into real client portfolios.

If you’ve heard the term "evidence-based investing" and wondered what it actually means in practice, this film is a great primer.

🎬Watch the full film here: https://bit.ly/4xqS7qP

After you watch, if you’re curious how this philosophy could show up in your own plan, reach out for a conversation.

Read David Booth's "Stay Calm," a book about embracing uncertainty ...

08/30/2026

We're entering a massive wave of business transitions.

Roughly half of Canadian businesses are owned by baby boomers. An enormous number of those companies will change hands over the next decade.

Most conversations focus on the founder's exit. The valuation. The financial outcome.

But there's another conversation that matters: Who buys these businesses after they're sold?

Most of them will be acquired by people like acquisition entrepreneurs. People looking to build something. People willing to work. People who see value in a profitable, established business.

If that's your potential buyer, your business looks different. The dependencies that scare off institutional buyers become workable. The margins that matter change. The timeline for transition matters more.

With access to the right marketplace, founders and acquisition entrepreneurs can find each other.

That's good news for both sides. Founders get genuine buyers who value what they've built. Acquisition entrepreneurs get a path into business ownership that skips years of startup risk.



Read more 📖
https://bit.ly/4wVmbK8
📺 Watch here: https://bit.ly/4chhOBL

🎧 Listen here:
https://bit.ly/4gZai14

https://apple.co/4wSURfz

08/29/2026

What Aaron Schroeder built with BrightSpot and the EOT isn't theoretical. It's real.
A founder who believed that people who built the company should share in its rewards. Values. A mechanism. A sequenced plan. And now, a business that's employee-owned while preserving its mission.

This is what values-aligned succession looks like in Canada and why the EOT may be one of the most important tools founders have been given.

If you're building something worth passing on, let's talk about what that could look like for you.

🎧 Listen here:
https://bit.ly/45Xo1iJ

https://apple.co/46tUr4q



📺 Subscribe on YouTube:
https://bit.ly/4gGBfFw

08/28/2026

You are invited!

CEO/Founder/Co-Founder/Business Owners

If you're thinking about selling your business in the next 5 to 10 years, let's make sure your strategy is as solid as it can be.

I'm offering a complimentary one-on-one wealth gap analysis, a crucial step for anyone planning a future-proof exit. This analysis could be the key to unlocking the full potential of your exit strategy.

Reach out to me on LinkedIn or send me an email. Together, we'll dive deep into your unique situation and lay out a plan that bridges your wealth gaps and sets you up for the CASH-RICH EXIT you have earned.

Remember, the best time to start planning is now!

08/27/2026

"You're failing as a business owner if you're in every decision point."
Jennifer Stewart's hard lesson: letting go.
She went from micromanaging everything (her name was on it, after all) to a fully empowered team. Not overnight.
Intentionally.
Here's what shifted:
• Hire slow. Fire fast.
• Train your team like little entrepreneurs.
• Stop funneling every decision upward.
• Build the bench. Trust the bench.
The result? A business that runs without her. More profit. Better decisions. And the freedom to actually think strategically instead of drowning in ex*****on.
That's not just scalable. That's sellable. That's sustainable.
If you're stuck in every decision, let's talk about what's actually holding you back.
Reach out on LinkedIn.

🎧 Listen here:
https://apple.co/4gTPyI2

https://bit.ly/4wWKQOD