Settling over $50m in just his fourth year of broking, Andy Drake knows what it takes to hit the ground running.
Settling over $50m in just his fourth year of broking, Andy Drake knows what it takes to hit the ground running in the mortgage industry.
In 2009, as an ex-landscape gardener knocking on the door of a mortgage broker friend and asking for a job, Drake was determined to show he had what it takes.
“I was trying to prove that I could do it and I never wanted to let anyone down, I was trying not to make a mistake.”
And prove himself he did, but Drake accepts he was blessed with some lucky circumstances.
“I’d done my research and I had a connection to get into the industry, but for other people it could be difficult, being a new broker at, say, 20 years old with no industry experience, I think it would be quite different.”
The pathways to becoming a broker are not necessarily clear or well-advertised to those outside of the industry, says Drake, and businesses do not always seem willing to take on new-to-industry brokers.
“It’s not always easy to find a company that will take you on and mentor you. I was very fortunate to have a colleague who I was positioned with when I started who trained me up, but that’s not always the case.”
Drake was taken on by Iconic Home Loans, and says the support he received, especially from owner James Pibworth, was key to his success.
He now works in a team leader role, mentoring a group of new-to-industry brokers, and says the system allows for Pibworth’s work ethic and values to be passed down throughout the whole team.
“We’re a very young team, and very talented now as well, we’ve got some great new guys coming in. It seems to be a good company structure and seems to create a lot of balance; we end up with some good brokers at the end of it.”
But even with a strong support network, Drake says the financial strain faced by new brokers can be off-putting, to say the least.
“I almost chucked it in at one stage. Even James said ‘How are you ever going to manage to do this?’ Because money had run out and I’d borrowed money to back myself, and when the money doesn’t come in you’re thinking, ‘Oh God, should I just go and work for a bank or get a stable income?’”
Offering a small retainer, that can be repaid once new brokers start earning decent commission, would help to relieve this stress, suggests Drake.
But the onus is not all on the employer. Drake stresses that providing the right support and encouragement is crucial, but irrelevant if the broker does not have enough drive.
“Work ethic is huge. When I started I was doing ridiculous hours, and the bosses are saying ‘You’re doing too much, you can’t sustain it’, but you know you can. And if you work hard the rewards do come, and I can absolutely vouch for that.”
