Bendigo-based broker Nathan Newlan has gone from strength to strength, transitioning from banking to become a broker writing 135 loans a year. The Better Business Awards Editor’s Choice winner for Victoria/Tasmania unpacks his journey so far, reveals what broking in the regions is really like, and explains the importance of strong community networks.
Q. You began your career at a major bank. What prompted the move into broking?
The job itself wasn’t bad. I just didn’t love it. And I sort of went, “This can’t be what the rest of my life ends up being.” I feel like with a lot of roles like that, people might end up working there for their life, and they have a really good career and love it. But it wasn’t for me…
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I liked finance. I really liked the money side of things. I loved talking to people. That’s the best part of the job now. So, I started applying for jobs. There was one that popped up at a Mortgage Choice franchise. It was only 20 hours a week, but I needed work and wanted to stay in finance. It was just like a bit of a processor role, and luckily enough, I snagged it.
Q. Before long, you started working as a broker. What made you want to branch out and become a franchise owner?
I was bringing in almost all my own deals. A lot of brokers get commission or bonuses, all that kind of stuff. I was just getting a wage. That’s what it was. There was also no room to move with regards to getting involved in that business. It was either go somewhere else or start working for somebody else. But I thought, “I’m already doing what I’m doing. I’ll just go do it by myself.”
Q. What did the structure of your initial business look like?
It was just me for seven or eight months. I was getting hammered. I was working long days, weekends. It was all right because I liked it, and a lot of the people that I was doing deals for were friends or family of friends or friends of friends. And I liked doing it.
But it got to a point where I needed help. It was a good learning curve. A lot of brokers tell you to hire before you need it. I didn’t do that. The reason why I didn’t is because the business was in its infancy, and I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of work and cash behind me.
I now have an assistant. His name’s Senna. We play football together. He’s 20, so hopefully in the coming years, he ends up pulling deals when all his mates are buying houses.
It’s the two of us at the moment. He acts as a processor, and it’s working really well.
Q. What types of loans are you writing now?
It’s a good spread – a lot of first home buyers and upgraders because of my age demographic.
Plenty of people were selling their first home because they have kids, and they want to get a bigger space. There was also a fair bit of investing before the rate hikes and the budget.
Q. How do you find your clients?
I’ve lived in Bendigo my whole life, gone to school there, played footy at a few different clubs, and done a whole bunch of different social circles and sort of community circles.
That has helped so much being a broker. I know so many people and have good relationships with so many people. I had a deal come through, which was just a cold call. Answer that call. And, as always, I like to ask how they heard of me? This client’s sister referred her to me – I went to school with her when we were 17 or 18. I hadn’t spoken to her for 12 or 13 years.
Q. What advice would you offer to someone who’s new to the industry?
Having a really clear-cut process is important. It has to be really smooth. Smooth is fast. That’s probably my number one tip for anyone that’s going to be broking because a lot of the time you’re managing your own clients and all that kind of thing. Having a really clear process helps.
Something else that I wish I had probably thought about more when I first started was everyone’s going to make mistakes, and it is just how it is. I read something recently, and it was – and I’m probably going to get this wrong, so if there’s any astrophysicists listening to this, please don’t pull me up on this – if you made a mistake yesterday, since then the Earth has moved 19 million kilometres, that mistake is now 19 million kilometres behind you.
Tune in to hear more!
Find out more about how Nathan Newlan has scaled his franchise in the Elite Broker podcast episode, ‘How this Bendigo broker established a successful regional business’, here or listen to the interview below:
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