Page 44 - INSIGHT MAGAZINE_Neat

MEMBER PROFILE

Passion is key to becoming a
successful entrepreneur, just
ask Tracy Valko.
For more than 25 years she has been
a driving force in the mortgage and
finance industry as well as a sought-after

motivational speaker and author who has
inspired countless others.
“I’m very grateful and honoured to be at
the place that I’m in but more importantly,
I’m honoured that I have helped so many
people,” says Tracy, taking a moment to
chat at Valko Financial Ltd.’s Riverbend
Drive location in Kitchener. “My passion
is helping people be the best version of
themselves, even if they were one per
cent better than they were yesterday, then
that’s a huge win for me. The mortgage is
secondary for me, it really is.”

Learning to understand their finances is
something Tracy says many people find a

daunting task but a necessary one in this
current economic climate.

"My passion is helping people"

- Tracy Valko, Founder Valko Financial Ltd.

“Eighty per cent of Canadians right now,
unfortunately, are in that lower tier of
living paycheque to paycheque, with no
savings,” she says, adding many feel they
don’t have the skill set to get them over
this ‘hump’. “People think if they don’t
understand it, they never will so let’s just
avoid it but it’s the elephant in the room
and at some point, it’s going to hit you in
your bank account.”
The world of finance is very familiar

territory for Tracy, having grown up in
Brampton watching her parents carve
out successful careers in the traditional
banking sector. Her late father travelled
the globe as an auditor for Scotiabank,
before becoming a mortgage manager
with Continental Bank (which closed in
1996) and later Bank of Montreal. Her
mother found great success as Bank of

Montreal’s first female branch manager
in Brampton, a notable achievement that
wasn’t lost on Tracy.

44 Winter 2024 www.cambridgechamber.com