Bigger is not always better: Perth broker talks about how downsizing has transformed his business
Broker in Focus is a dedicated series that highlights the unique journeys of mortgage brokers, providing them with a platform to share their experiences, insights, and expertise. Through compelling personal stories and professional reflections, each featured broker recounts the key moments that have shaped their careers, delves into the challenges and opportunities facing the industry today, and shares the valuable wisdom they have gained along the way.
MPA spoke with Brodie Brown (pictured top), managing broker at BH Brown Mortgage Brokers, who has experienced the highs and lows of the mortgage industry first-hand. After building his business from the ground up, Brown saw his team of nine reduced to just one in a matter of months – a challenging period that ultimately reshaped his perspective on success.
Reflecting on the experience, Brown shared that “bigger is not always better,” emphasising that a leaner, more focused team has allowed him to achieve greater profitability, autonomy, and job satisfaction. His journey highlights the importance of adaptability and the value of putting client relationships and business sustainability ahead of simply growing in size.
Full name: Brodie Brown
Job title: Managing broker
Company: BH Brown Mortgage Brokers
Number of years in the industry: 7.5
Location: Perth
How and when did you become a mortgage broker?
In 2018, I was working in property advice and referring clients to mortgage brokers. The brokers would always feed back to me that the client needed to "get themselves organised" before they were ready to invest (plus, clients seemed to rave about the brokers, whereas I was just the real estate sales guy). I started to think that people didn’t really need property advice – they needed mortgage advice! I did a fast-track course to get my qualifications, worked in property and mortgages at the same time, and decided that being a mortgage adviser and broker was far more fulfilling.
In your opinion, what has been the most positive development in broking?
The reduction in paperwork has been the most positive development. I was close to quitting at one point because I was literally about to burn out – working seven days a week, ridiculous hours, and unable to afford staff at the beginning. Now, with improvements in ID verification, bank statements, credit reporting/open banking, and the banks finally making things easier for us (and themselves), it’s terrific. I’m excited to see where AI takes us – our job should be to guide, advise, and counsel clients, not spend hours and hours on paperwork. That’s what clients want more of: advice and guidance.
What challenges do you see currently facing the industry, and what solutions would you propose?
There must be standardisation of remuneration across the board to reduce preferential recommendations for certain banks. I strongly believe we should adopt the same system as the US and Canada, where brokers are paid 1.5%-2% up front and that’s it. That’s plenty of payment for us—we’ve done our job, and it shouldn’t be up to us to pay in the event of a “failed transaction”.
For example, if the deal is $1 million, we get $6,500; if after a year the client refinances, we lose $3,250 (and half of our trail too), but the bank would have taken at least $60,000 in interest. Why is it that we’ve done all the work, introduced the client to the bank, but we cop the penalty and the bank wins? It’s patently unfair and breeds contempt between banks and brokers. There would need to be a system in place to prevent churn, but in my experience, it’s usually the client who initiates the move, not us.
Can you share a memorable or challenging experience from your career as a broker and the lessons you gained from it?
Last year, I went from a team of nine to a team of one in three months – totally out of my control. A broker left the industry after being given an ultimatum by his wife; I had to retire my offshore support, who was a close friend of all five offshore team members. That made the rest of the team jumpy. Then my onshore credit assistant gave me notice she was leaving. My onshore assistant had helped me recruit the offshore team. Basically, it was a domino effect – they held me to ransom, asking for bonuses and more money without any correlating improvement in their skills.
After two to three years of training by me, they found work outside my company and pretty much left at the same time. So, after years of building the business and all that value, it collapsed around me in a few short months. It was soul-destroying. It took me three months of grinding to rebuild, but, magically, the right people just arrived. Now we have a tight, small team of three. I make more money in much less time, with less hassle and headache, and enjoy the work much more.
The lessons were manifold, but to summarise: bigger is not always better; profit trumps everything. We’ve structured our business to remain autonomous and independent. In our experience, larger teams create more overhead and personal complications, which undermine that autonomy and reduce overall satisfaction. As soon as you’ve proven your thesis doesn’t work – i.e., to grow a brokerage in Perth where large brokerages don’t exist – don’t fight it anymore. Regroup and redirect your efforts to maintain a heading towards your original goal, whatever that may be.
Finally, it wasn’t until just a few months ago when I chased up a referrer on leads that she told me she’d stopped referring because the team was offshore – people do actually mind who is taking care of their loan; they do want to know it’s being handled by the person they were referred to; they do care about their information. Clients don’t want to speak to people from other countries. They come to a broker for their expertise – build the business to enable you to focus on the client relationship. We’ve had no loss of business and have consistently grown. This enables me to do more marketing, be more available for training the team and clients, and to have a life.
Could you share any valuable advice for individuals aspiring to become brokers or those new to broking?
If I had my time again, I’d go work at a bank or in a busy brokerage to learn the craft. Get an exceptional mentor or two. I went out alone from day one and it was a tough two years (plus the property market was terrible in Perth in 2018-2020) before I started to make progress.
Once you know what you’re talking about, you need to get out there, build your profile, and generate an excess of leads quickly. Tie yourself into an accounting firm, a real estate agency, both, and/or go direct to market with lead generation like we had to. Also understand that a lot of work and effort goes into the first three years – don’t expect to make a lot of money, be patient and keep at it.
Finally, as soon as you have cash or a few thousand in trail, get admin and support staff in place as soon as possible. I’d start with an offshore admin, then get a credit analyst/loan writer when you can afford someone experienced. From there, you can seriously level up, and around years four to five, all of a sudden you get your life back!
Broker in Focus is a weekly MPA feature spotlighting mortgage brokers from diverse firms and locations across Australia. Among those recently featured are Jason Brown of Home Loans Australia, Chris Bowers of Complete Home Loans, Jayden Pinto of Aussie Home Loans Geraldton, Larissa Barton of Mortgage Choice Coolum Beach and Noosaville, Kathy Dundas of No Fuss Home Loans, John Tindall of Accumulus Home Loans, Luke Serra of Loan & Finance Brokers, David Meadows of Meadows Advisory, Tom Gu of Aussie Home Loans Chatswood, and Tracie Palmer of Cornerstone Home Loans.
Are you a mortgage broker interested in being featured? Email the author with your details.
