I stepped out of a banking career after 14 years. During that time, I worked across Retail, Small Business, Business Banking and Corporate & Commercial, so my experience was quite broad, although across only three lenders.
When starting my own mortgage broking business, my priority was compliance and reputation. I’ve always believed strong compliance is your seat at the table. It’s the minimum standard to operate. I really liked that Astute was selective with the brokers they brought on, and I still see that as a great quality control measure that helps differentiate Astute brokers in a growing industry. Reputation, both my own and the brand’s, was critical to me. The last thing I wanted was to have my business’s brand tarnished by the poor ethics, compliance or behaviour of another office under the same group.
What I like about the Astute Group is how accommodating all the brokers are when it comes to sharing advice around business growth and transactions, such as lender appetite, responsiveness and industry specialisation. Astute encourages those relationships within the network and supports them through several events during the year to bring like-minded operators together.
They also continue to suggest growth opportunities and show what is possible through examples of other operators who have executed them successfully. As someone still early in the journey, now in my fifth year, that is really exciting to see. Astute also maintains a high benchmark when it comes to compliance, reputation and people, which is fantastic.
When I stepped into my broking business, the original plan was to grow a portfolio of around 30 to 40 clients and operate independently with no staff. But after speaking with more established Astute operators early on, I saw what was possible and the benefits of growth and scale. That shifted my mindset early, and it’s something I continue to work on.
Diversification is now a key focus for me, helping me offer a more comprehensive service to clients. While every business is different, the open communication and collaboration across the group means I can cherry-pick the approaches that resonate most and apply them to Astute Wooloowin.
