Want to become a SONA independent agent?

A message from SONA CEO
Ryan O'Leary

In 2004 I made the decision to leave the retail industry and ‘start again’. It was daunting and a decision I didn’t make lightly. My sons were young at the time and depended on me and I knew absolutely nothing about the payments industry. Besides knowing I would pass my debit or credit card over to a friendly cashier at the gas station and it would either say ‘approved’ or ‘declined’ (hopefully approved), that was it. What I knew was I was ready for a change, and I wanted to be challenged with something new. While the learning curve was tough, I was rewarded by having taken the risk. I gained ‘autonomy’ in a work from home environment which I craved, the flexibility which I never had and the ability to earn an exceptional income working for a worldwide company. So fast forward to 2016. Here I am making a great income, in a very autonomous role working for a very respected global financial institution, and I have gained lots of experience in an industry that I grew to understand and now have the security I craved.

So why take the risk to start all over again and forge a new path and start SONA with nothing more than an idea? Every business owner, including you, has a ‘Why’. I can’t tell you yours, but I can tell you mine. For me, it was the relationships I had built over the years in the payments industry which were so important to me. I wanted my employer to value those relationships as much as I did and when I realized they didn’t, and had ‘lost their way’, I saw an opportunity to build something new. A commitment to each client that the promises we make, we will keep. If I didn’t know the answer, I would find out and get back to them. If I provided a rate, I would keep that rate consistent. If there was a problem to be fixed, I would be accountable to help them get a resolution. When I spoke to one of my new or existing clients, I would get back to them. Simple stuff, but it seemed that the ‘simple’ things for me were getting harder for others.

After 6 months of doing this on my own and gaining traction, I began to think that this is not a ‘me’ thing. Business owners all over North America want the same thing from everyone they work with. A fair and consistent price. Accountability and support when it’s not all ‘sunshine and daisies’. An organization who simply ‘has their back’ and doesn’t ‘pass the buck’...

Companies are often defined by these things not through their name and reputations alone but more often by the people who represent them. Our agent program was developed to provide the ability for others to follow the same path as I did. A commitment to build a business of your own by supporting your community and helping the businesses in it. Not for ‘you’ but for ‘them’. Your commitment to those businesses to serve their needs first will give you and them something they don’t have today. Trust. For your client, a relationship that they have always seen as simply a ‘cost of doing business’. For you, a crucial role in helping a business owner with an aspect of their business that often represents the lifeblood of their business: their receivables.

SONA would have gone nowhere without the people I love and respect so much behind us... The incredible agents across the country who have also taken the ‘leap of faith’. My stepfather John, my business partner and wife Kristin. The entire support and admin team at the SONA office. SONA is a family. We are a family of people who have shared values and shared vision to do the right thing in an industry no one is watching. I invite you to join our family at SONA!