Building a brokerage can seem like a daunting prospect, but with the right fundamentals, you’re well-positioned for success. We sat down with Ben Livera, recently crowned Mentor of the Year at the 2025 Australian Broking Awards and the national broker success manager and state manager for South Australia/the Northern Territory at Mortgage Choice, and broker Terence Hammond from Mortgage Choice Colebee to uncover what it takes to build a thriving brokerage from the ground up
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Q. What does success look like when you first start out in your first 12 months?
Terence Hammond (TH): The first thing I did was something I actually tell my clients when they’re starting out is create a budget. So, I started looking at my household expenses to figure out, “Well, how much do I actually need, how much do I need to set aside, how much do I need to make?” And that really helped me form my goals for the year.
So my goal for that first year was to hit $25 million because that would replace my corporate income. But I needed to make sure I hit at least $10 million to cover my expenses. And so before, once I’d got those numbers, then I went and took out some equity out of my mortgage before I left Macquarie. And I put that money aside because I didn’t want my family to be impacted by me starting a business and not earning money. It gave me that comfort.
Q. Ben, what areas should brokers prioritise during their first 12 months?
Ben Livera (BL): Moving from a PAYG role to running a business has a steep learning curve. We coach our new brokers to focus on five key areas in their first 12 months, so they can lay a strong foundation and set themselves up for long-term success. These areas are credit, marketing, technology, business, and sales, and they’re all equally important.
New brokers understandably prioritise learning about credit. But if you don’t have a strong marketing plan, how will you source customers to write loans for?
It’s equally important to focus on sales strategy, so you know how to convert the leads you do generate. You can go and talk to lots of people and then wonder why those conversations aren’t turning into settlements. That’s where a sales strategy comes in. You’ll also want to nail down the tech and tools you’re using, so you can support your marketing and sales process.
Longer-term is the business side of things.
Q. Why did you choose Mortgage Choice, Terence?
TH: I went and spoke to a few different aggregators when I was looking to start my broking business, and I felt the most comfortable with Mortgage Choice. I spoke to a number of brokers in the Mortgage Choice network before I joined and found they were very forthcoming with sharing information.
I actually attended my first PD day before I even started my training. And when I told brokers I met for the first time, “I’m new, I’m just about to start, I’m just about to go to training.” People would say: “Take my number down, give me a call when you start. I’m happy to help you out.”
Q. What benefits come from working as part of a national brand?
BL: When customers are looking for a home loan, it’s a moment in time. So, you always have to be present and continuously invest in your brand. When it’s the right time for them, the brand awareness we’ve built through our national brand activity will encourage them to reach out to their local broker. For a broker like Terence, running his own Mortgage Choice business, he benefits from that national brand and the marketing assets and support that our team provides to build his personal brand in his local community.
Q. What’s an example of the tools and tech Mortgage Choice provides?
TH: What Mortgage Choice has done is give my team and I secure access to Google’s Gemini Pro. It integrates with my Google Drive, so all my information is in one system.
That’s been super powerful.
They’ve also created Gems for brokers to use, which have been really valuable.
Q. And how do aggregators support brokers at the early stages of their journeys?
BL: I think the value that an aggregator can provide in this space is priceless.
At Mortgage Choice, we have our national conference, we’ve also got our PD days, we actually also do mini sort of owner forums, peer-to-peer sessions. Everything that we live and breathe is working out how we bring our brokers closer together.
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[Related: In Focus: Laying the foundations for a successful broking business]
