The wealth creator

 He was very quiet to start with. Some investment by my father brought him over. Then he sensed that I could be his client.

There was no small talk. The few things he said could all be called shop-talk. We had known him when we were young. He used to cultivate sarcasm then. Now it was a bland face he showed us.

However, he was very humble in spite of his well- off background. He would go to visit clients at their homes and he was very punctual. He remained focused throughout the conversation and never forgot any promises he made. He would systematically follow them through. That and his punctuality were impressive. We used to meet in restaurants and he would never forget to get my signature on the dotted line. He brought gifts too: diaries, coffee packets. It was a mixture of family linkage with business.

He helped me fructify my idea of an add-on course for students on his line of work. I made contact with his contacts; he helped me with the course syllabus and suggested guest speakers. The course was a success. He took personal interest in the course and looked upon the students as his potential clients. The course was off to a great start.

His son joined him in business and he was relieved. Succession was not a problem now. It is the bane of nary a small business.

The son naturally had different ideas. He persuaded his father to open an office and expected clients to visit them in it. Going to clients soon became a privilege for older, wealthier clients. The new generation is quite rude in talking to clients, he told me once. He bought an SUV for the son.

One of the faculty members at our add-on course told the students never to make clients of relatives as it invariably led to souring of relations."I beg to differ" he said but did not elaborate. He had approached only relatives in the beginning. The clients start wondering if the advisor actually has, always, their best interests in mind or does the advisor shuffle the portfolio unnecessarily to earn more income. "If you do not trust us, there is no point in continuing." the son would loftily inform the clients.