How some friendly advice and an industry event changed the career path of one broker
Last year, as the AIME Fuse event approached, Melissa Rifai was considering making a huge career move. She was thinking about leaving the banking world to become a mortgage broker. However, she was undecided until Julie Yarbrough, founding partner of Empire Home Loans, offered her some advice.
“Last year at Fuse, I actually was still a banker,” Rifai told Mortgage Professional America. “I wasn't even a broker. I was exploring the idea of becoming a broker. I was like, ‘Well, I don't know if I should do this or not.’ And Julie Yarbrough said, ‘Okay, you've got to go to Fuse, and trust me, go VIP. And I did those two things. And I was blown away.
“And then, as I'm hanging out with her, I said, ‘I’m going to speak on that stage next year.’ And then fast forward a year later. AIME said, ‘Hey, we're going to do some breakout sessions from the membership, apply if you want to do it, and I was so excited, maybe more than most.”
A year later, Rifai (pictured top) will speak during a breakout session at the Nashville event in October. It’s fitting that her topic will be about unlocking success by facing fears.
However, she also hopes to offer guidance to individuals considering a transition into the broker space, drawing on her experience as someone who spent 15 years on the retail side before becoming a broker.
School of hard knocks
Rifai started as a universal banker at a retail depository. At the time, she was taking mortgage applications, but had not yet learned what the rest of the mortgage process entailed.
“I could do auto loans and home equities, but then they also had me learn to take mortgage applications,” she said. “It was really funny, because I would take them and then really just pass them on. I don't think I really understood the depth of what a mortgage process was until I moved to a credit union. And then it was really the school of hard knocks. I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh, all this stuff is involved.’”
It wasn’t until she moved into a position that included a commission for the first time that she got her first taste of what being a broker might be like.
“I think that was my progression of transition into a broker,” Rifai said. “Because I went from a regular bank salary job to one where I had some salary plus commission. But I had the protection of branch referrals.”
After eventually moving into a retail position that offered full commission with no referrals, she began to consider what the transition to broker could look like. She knew it would be a significant change.
“They're a great company, but I was like, ‘Okay, I need to do my own thing’ and have a little bit more freedom and flexibility,” she said. “And it is a scary thing. When you have always known retail, and you've always known one way of doing things. I won't have an underwriter who works for my company. I won't necessarily have all of these tools and layers of management that you get in retail.
“But the flip side of that is, I have more loan options. I can help more people, less overlays, more control, in the sense of who I'm working with. What I tell everybody is why I'm obsessed with AIME because I did go to that Fuse event, and it's the reason I feel like I'm able to become a successful broker.”
Advice for potential brokers
Rifai opened her brokerage in January. She is the incoming president of the Nashville Mortgage Bankers Association. She still has fond memories of her banking days, which she feels makes her a good resource for those considering the move to broker.
“It's hard for me, because I've got love for both sides,” she said. “So I don't want to say anything of ill will of the other side, but I will say that the banking community is nothing like the broker community. The broker community is there for each other. They support their competitors in a way that I've never seen on the banking side. That’s why this is where I need to be.”
Laura Brandao, CEO of Lighthouse Advisors, shows how purpose—freedom of time, relationships, and future—fuels stronger client connections and career fulfillment.https://t.co/8HalbRTHgA
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) September 24, 2025
For others considering a move from retail to broker, she said it is crucial to attend industry events and speak with people to discover the positives and negatives of the transition.
“I will just say what was said to me,” Rifai said. “Number one, go to Fuse. You have to talk to the people who are doing it differently from you before you decide that this is no longer for you. Because there's a whole different world out there that you can explore. But you have to put yourself in the room with the people who are doing it differently. Talk to them and see if it's for you.
“The retail bank side is for some people, and the broker side is for some people. But if somebody's even feeling like maybe this side isn't for me. Go to Fuse, get in the room, talk to people, call me. I will talk to anybody, anytime, about my experience, because I've been on both sides. I'm a straight shooter. I will tell you the good, the bad and the ugly, and then you can decide.”
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