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After leaving his last job as an electrician and entering the broker space just over two years ago, Tom Carmody has made a name for himself and his brokerage, Craft Financial.
Now after being named a finalist for New Broker of the Year at the Mortgage Business Awards 2023, Tom Carmody sat down with The Adviser for the New Broker podcast and we find out how and why he became a broker, why he went out on his own, his first deals and clients, and some top tips for other new brokers.
How long ago did you decide to become a broker and why?
It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while, to be honest. It was probably in the back of my mind for four or five years. A couple of friends of mine are brokers and bankers, so I’ve always been surrounded by the industry a little bit.
Finance and property were always something I’ve had a keen interest in, and seeing the lifestyle of my friends in the industry compared to my regimented construction lifestyle always stuck with me and I always admired that.
I bought my first home a few years ago and my interest ramped up again, so I then started to investigate the industry a little more before I made the jump.
Why did you decide to set up your own brokerage instead of joining a franchise?
I wanted to transition slowly and I knew if I went to say, Aussie or something like that, they’d just want you to jump straight in from what I know. My wife was pregnant at the time and I wanted to get everything properly set up while I had a full-time job and jump in once I built a bit of momentum.
That was my thinking initially. I hunted around and eventually found Masters Broker Group, which enabled me to do that and I made the switch to full-time.
What was your first deal?
It was a refinance of an owner-occupied property and an investment with a cashout component for a friend of mine who ended up buying a place mid-refinance over the Christmas period with a 30-day settlement.
It was a good introduction into how to get things done quickly and it was an unconditional sale, too.
How did you find your clients?
I definitely went through friends and family, I pretty much just pulled up my Facebook list and called everyone that I thought would answer. It was a slow start.
It’s only in the last six months that most of my friends have started to come across. I think at the very beginning, people just want to make sure you know what you’re doing and that you can do a good job.
It was a slow burn and a little disheartening because when you go out and do projections you think “my friend’s got this loan and that loan” but they don’t all just come, unfortunately.
What sort of challenges did you face in the beginning?
The first few months were pretty intense for me because I had a one-year-old at home and a five-week-old. I was trying to work out of a home office, so it was noisy and a bit chaotic and I think just trying to structure my day without distractions was the first hurdle.
Then it was coming up with a strategy on how to find business and how to find the time to create new business and write loans.
I found that very challenging because you go through ups and downs. You could do a lot of marketing one month and then that’ll come into fruition in two, three months down the track and that’s when you get really busy writing loans. And then after all that, it gets quiet again, so I find trying to balance that out is an issue.
What do you enjoy most about being a broker?
There’s a couple of things, one being the freedom. You get to plan your own day, which isn’t something I was used to coming from working in construction. Every day’s different, every loan is different, and so is every client’s situation.
I don’t think it’s an industry I’ll get bored of any time soon, which I love because I hate boredom and repetition. I know some of my friends wouldn’t like that, all the paperwork and whatnot, but I love it.
What top tips do you have for other aspiring brokers?
Obviously, finding the right aggregator and mentor would be number one. Then, it’s deciding whether or not you want to go down the Mortgage Choice path or the Aussie path because it does make it a little bit easier when you’re getting some leads given to you that can help propel your business.
But for me, it was about taking it nice and steady and backing myself in. Once I committed, I knew in the back of my head that I had two kids and a home to provide for and that I needed to make it work because I didn’t want to end up back in construction.
You can find out more about Tom Carmody and Craft Financial by listening to the episode New Broker: Tom Carmody, Craft Financial below:
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