Agnes Miranda reflects on her 75th year milestone: ‘Success comes with sacrifices’

Agnes Miranda reflects on her 75th year milestone: ‘Success comes with sacrifices’

Agnes Miranda at her WFG office

By Michelle Chermaine Ramos
The Philippine Reporter

Community leader and businesswoman Agnes Miranda has much to celebrate reaching her milestone 75th birthday and 35 years in the financial industry in Canada.

Some of her achievements in her impressive career include being the first Filipino Canadian National Sales Director of A.L. Williams in the late 80s and then becoming one of the top 25 female leaders which broke the glass ceiling in a time when there were very few women of color in positions of leadership in that era.

She eventually co-founded World Marketing Alliance in November 1992, which was eventually purchased by Aegon and renamed as World Financial Group of Canada which she still personally leads today and was awarded their Legacy Award in September this year.

In 2017, she was named as one of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants by RBC.

Miranda immigrated to Toronto from the Philippines at the age of 20 and has witnessed the massive growth of the Filipino population in Canada over the last 55 years. As a community leader, she has sponsored and produced numerous events to promote Filipino culture in Canada and has shown no signs of slowing down.

When asked about what keeps her going in the competitive financial services industry and the secret to her staying power, Miranda emphasized the importance of having a mission and vision. “We’ve had several businesses here before I went into the financial industry from a grocery store to a travel agency, a recruiting agency and I’ve seen that you put in a lot of hours and our competition with the grocery stores swallowed us. The same thing with the restaurant business.”

She realized the need to find a business that did not require a lot of capital while enabling her to earn passive income. “There was a lack of literacy in this financial field and I saw the need for it. I’ve seen with my own two eyes where I badly needed it and how others also needed to be taught about how money works,” Miranda explained.

When asked about her reflections on her 75-year journey in life so far, she shares, “There’s no success without sacrifices. Enjoy your sacrifices because sacrifices are always part of success. When you have that passion, you will still enjoy the process.” When Miranda immigrated to Toronto alone in 1966, she knew nobody and built her life in Canada from scratch before she eventually brought her family here. “We were approximately only 1,500, not even 2,000 Filipinos here in Toronto. I became active in the Filipino Canadian community because when you don’t have your family with you, your friends, officemates, and neighbours become your family. I’ve seen one Filipino association grow into hundreds and hundreds of associations. I’ve enjoyed every bit of the journey because as they say, even if you struggle, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. If you have a dream of putting up your business, it’s better to fail than to not try at all.”

Miranda emphasized the need to have a coach or mentor and still has one till this day. She also attributes her success to nurturing her spiritual health. “Of course, the biggest mentor in terms of spirituality and even business, is the Bible,” she explained. “I always pray for wisdom because I deal with human nature. I always pray to the Lord for wisdom so I can make the right decisions. It’s important to believe and trust in Him.” When asked about her greatest personal achievement, it’s family first. “Marrying my late husband Manny, having two beautiful children and having two grandchildren. The legacy we have given them which my parents have given us, which is raising them with the right foundation, teaching them respect and unconditional love, because when you have unconditional love, everything follows,” says Miranda. “Also, in a quiet way, through my business, being able to help those in need and being able to serve the community. I’m just so grateful and thankful that I have my family, friends, acquaintances, our team. We’re family.”

Now focusing on legacy building, Miranda has several passions. One is to help Filipino Canadian youth understand and appreciate Filipino culture. She plans to take her two grandchildren to the Philippines after the pandemic is over. Besides teaching financial literacy, she also sees the need to help seniors retire with dignity by educating them on their options as early as possible. Another one of her goals is to empower Filipino women. “When I first arrived here, as much as Canada is a good country, I still felt that some people would look at you as a woman of colour. You have to work harder in order to be recognized.” In the 80s, a fellow Filipina told her that they could not do the recruitment presentations because a Caucasian presenter would be more effective. Miranda decided to shatter that self-limiting belief by example. “Some still tend to believe less in themselves and I did not accept that. I became the first Filipino national sales director of A.L. Williams because I believed that if they can do it, so can we,” she explained.

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Michelle Chermaine Ramos is a multidisciplinary artist and multimedia journalist focusing on arts, culture, spirituality, martial arts and news that impact Filipino-Canadians. She has profiled prominent entrepreneurs and trailblazers in the diaspora. E-mail chermainereports@gmail.com for news tips or book recommendations.