Being a mortgage broker is an exciting and rewarding career.
It can also be a convoluted and unnecessarily difficult one if you don’t choose the right aggregator. This is even more true if you’re entering the industry for the first time. So, launching your broking career can be a life-changing experience — for better or worse.
It’s not as simple as just making a logo, choosing an aggregator, and signing a few papers. Your broking career will be full of unexpected twists and turns from the beginning, and you’ll need to learn to adapt to an ever-evolving industry. The good news is: help is as hand.
But, before we even get into what it takes to have a long and prosperous mortgage broking career or business, let’s wind back to the very start. Because honestly, a lot of keen, intelligent men and women who step into the world of mortgage broking quickly step out of it. The challenges you’ll face as you enter the industry can’t be underestimated.
Typical barriers.
Usually, barriers to entry into the mortgage broking industry are very high. There are a range of challenges you’ll come up against, but here are three we commonly see.
1. High mentoring costs (and sometimes, the mentoring isn’t that good…).
Once you’ve completed your Cert IV or Diploma, high mentoring costs and a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching, means budding mortgage brokers are left fending for themselves from day one. In other words, when you can afford a mentor, you might discover that their advice doesn’t work for you. Or more likely, their teaching methods don’t align with how you learn best.
2. Difficulty establishing a client base.
It’s very difficult to establish a client base — even experienced brokers have challenges growing theirs. When you have limited experience, and don’t have a proven track record you can show to new enquiries, establishing your expertise and building trust is a tough slog. You’ll have to work hard and smarter than your competitors — working out how to do that is another challenge in itself…
3. Inefficient business practices.
To make matters more interesting, you’re likely to be finding your feet and probably haven’t made your workflows and admin processes efficient yet. This means everything generally takes longer, and you may miss out on opportunities because of poor business practices. This is something that will naturally improve over time as you become familiar with the industry, but that doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating in the short term!
Purple Circle program for new mortgage brokers.
At Purple Circle Financial Services, we made it our mission to ensure the journey for new brokers is a positive one. As experienced brokers ourselves, we noticed that many new brokers were handed a “throw them in the deep end and see if they float” pathway to the industry (and they weren’t floating). We looked at that and said, “we can do better.”
We created Purple Pathway Academy — an initiative of Purple Circle — specifically to support new brokers. Purple Pathway Academy is a comprehensive training and guidance program that not only provides the necessary industry knowledge, but also provides business advice, practical support, tools, teaching, software, resources and mentoring along the way. It’s the best way to get a head start in your new career.
Scholarship entry.
If you’re awarded a scholarship, your Academy experience is on the house — pay $0 per month until completion. No cost for CRM software and compliance for the first 12 months (standard fees apply thereafter).
Standard entry.
As a low-barrier Academy, we keep costs as low as possible. Standard entry is only $100 + GST per month until completion, as well as standard fees for CRM software and compliance apply.
Ready to kick-start your career?
With so many challenges ahead of you, it’s important to choose the right partner to guide and support you on the broker journey — from the beginning. Read up on the full Purple Pathway Academy experience, or get in touch now to talk about enrolment and scholarship opportunities. We’d love to welcome you to our network and provide you with the best possible start to your career.