Herd Mentality

I traded my career in finance to raise goats. Now I plan to have flocks across the country

- IAN MATTHEWS

GOATS ARE a regular part of life in Jamaica, where I was born. Most households have as many animals as their land allows, and often you'll see goats grazing in someone’s yard or wandering down the street.

When I was seven, my grandmother took me to visit our family’s sugar cane and mango farm, which had a huge herd of goats. As soon as I laid eyes on them, I begged her to let me take one home. I named her Brownie, and she was my pet for the next 10 years.

Eventually, I was more interested in hanging out with girls than herding goats, and I left home to study accounting. I had family in Canada—my father had moved here in 1966—and when I was 25, I opted to immigrate as well. I moved into an apartment in Brampton with my then-girlfriend, and we got married the following year.

After about a decade working as an accountant, I started to crave more freedom in my professional life, and I decided to become a mortgage broker. It took a year to get licensed, but I had the financial background and was good with people, so it was an easy transition. The work went well, and I was able to afford a cushy lifestyle for my family. By this time, my wife and I had two daughters, and they both went to private school. We vacationed back home in Jamaica every year.