If Rose Wang has a guiding light, it is the glowing awareness of her good fortune.
At every turn, her life has been brightly rich in all the ways richness might be defined. She humbly appreciates the many blessings that have unfolded before her and wants to make certain she instills this deep sense of gratitude in her two young daughters, Madison and Kiki.
“I had a smooth life growing up,” she recalls. “I got married rather young and have always enjoyed an incredibly stable family life. I remind myself often how blessed I am in this way. With my children, I want them to appreciate the fortune in their home and to take nothing for granted. I will remind them that success comes with work, that life is not just fun and games.”
Until she was 14, Rose lived in Harbin, China, a popular winter destination famous for its cold winters, outdoor sports, ice sculptures and exotic architecture. Harbin was home, but it was not her entire world. Unlike many children growing up in China in the 1980s, Rose was fortunate to experience many cultures outside China at a young age.
Rose moved to Vancouver in 1994 and attended David Thompson High School before moving on to UBC and graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce specializing in urban land economics. While at UBC, she met her husband, Marcus Xu.
Rose and Marcus co-founded an asset management firm, M.Y. Capital Management, two weeks after their second daughter Kiki was born. For Rose, at this time, her focus and attention were split between career, family, and extracurriculars like actively volunteering at the girls’ school. After M.Y. Capital’s operation went on track, Rose opened her own commercial appraisal firm along with her business partner Philip Law.
Having worked as an appraiser for 16 years, Rose knew she had a solid client base that would follow her to the new business. What she did not know was how resoundingly successful LW Property Advisors would be right from the get-go.
“We did a budget and anticipated what would be a steady flow of business. When we had the grand opening party here at 1892 in the Terminal City Club, I was overwhelmed by how many people showed up. Right from the start, the support has been amazing. Since then, the business has taken off to the point we are expanding already.”
Rose and Marcus joined Terminal City Club in 2009, though they didn’t start using the facility with great avidity until the children could avail themselves of the amenities.
“My first impression of the Club was that it was very business oriented, and, at the time, I didn’t see a lot of use for the facilities. Then, when we had Madison, the club really opened up to us. We’d spend weekends there, in the pool at first. It was quickly becoming a second home. Now, it is such a fixture in our lives. Madison takes squash lessons, Kiki is swimming,and Marcus and I utilize it for business in so many different ways.”
Her profound appreciation for the TCC has been something of a blessing for the club, as well. Rose and Marcus have been nothing short of gold-plated ambassadors when it comes to referring new members.
“There is no specific elevator pitch we use,” she says. “Rather, it’s often as simple as ‘let’s go for drinks on the patio,’ and 95 per cent of the time that closes the deal. And why wouldn’t it? It’s the best patio in the city. The friends we refer eventually come to realize what we came to realize—that the Terminal City Club strikes a perfect balance in facilitating the most significant dimensions of our lives: business, personal and family.”
On the personal side, Rose has been thinking about the pool a lot lately. “Learning to swim is my next challenge. I can float, but that’s about it.”
Rose says challenges are important to her – they keep her focused and mindful. As a child, her parents kept her from sports and had her work at more genteel skills, like piano. But that was then. Now she’s a runner and a skier and, soon, a swimmer. “When I run, it’s the time for me to process a lot of thoughts on business or other things,” she says. “It is a quiet time to get a lot of thinking done.”
A quiet time to reflect, with immense gratitude, on a beautiful life.
—Wayne Moriarty
Click here to read the September 2019 Terminal City Times
