Shape the Future: Join the Movement and Become a Broker Mentor Today!

Hello, welcome everyone. We are live here with our LinkedIn event. Welcome to today's event. My name is Conso Tadas. I'm very, very privileged today to be joined by Debbie Hutchins from Refs Australia. Today we're doing a bit of a special broadcast. Deb is on the hunt. She's on the hunt for some mentors for Refs Australia. So we're going to hear to talk about Refs Australia in general and how you, as an experienced mortgage broker or finance industry expert, can get involved and be part of Deb's exciting team going forward. forward. So I'll do a bit of an intro first. So Deb, tell us a bit about yourself and who you are and what REFS Australia does.

Righty-o, thanks, Con. So REFS Australia stands for Real Estate Finance Solutions. We are accredited MFAA and FBAA mentors, and we host quite a large group of mentors mentees across our business that are in various stages of their mentoring journey. So they've either been identified by their industry body or their aggregator as requiring mandatory mentoring services. And we're one of those providers that was recommended potentially by the aggregator and most likely under the preferred mentor list of the industry body, again, MFAA or FBAA. So that's us. Um, we are quite a big family of mentors as well, so we have 3, but we need more. We're busy.

That's good. So I've just put up the website there so people can see the website. So it's repsaustralia.com. You can always go there and find out more information about Deb and the other mentors and the work they do, the great work they do. So thanks for that, Deb. And what I'll do also, I'll put up, uh, there's Debbie's LinkedIn profile. So if you want to join and connect with Debbie too, personally connect with her. And also there's that email— sorry, the web address for REFS Australia. Okay, so let's get into it, Deb, and we'll start off by, um, talking a bit about— you told about who REFS Australia is, so let's go on to the next one. What are you looking for in a potential mentor?

What am I looking for? I guess the ideal model of person that I'm looking for is an experienced broker, because the bench benchmark is minimum 4 years to become an accredited mentor anyway through the eyes of MFAA or FBAA.

Okay.

Um, I'm looking for someone that's, you know, kind of really been there, done that in terms of successfully running their business and may like to transition to something different, but still in the industry, capturing all of their years of knowledge and experience to potentially give back to the industry and help others coming through their initial journey, um, and the start of their journey mostly. So, um, maybe it's a twilighter, Con, coming close to their, you know, what they would call their 50 to 60 year age group, um, is, is a likely demographic age for a person that might like to twilight out of mentoring— sorry, out of broking and into mentoring. Yeah. So they've captured years of experience and knowledge and they might like to just pass on to the industry that potentially has served them well anyway.

So, Deb, can they continue to have their little— their own business on the side and be a mentor? Is that sort of— can they have a dual role or totally exclusively with reps?

Look, one thing we really pride ourselves on is we are full-time mentors. We're not part-time brokers or full-time brokers and then we're mentors. We are mentors first, but we are also either prior or currently, I guess, you know, moving or transitioning out of broking, or still holding, you know, an accreditation of sorts to do the odd loan to keep, you know, your finger on the pulse and keep in the industry that way. So, you know, that's something that we can determine and talk about. But again, our motivation really is that full-time mentor that can dedicate their time to growing a good solid portfolio almost in another way of growing a business successfully themselves. Good, good.

So it probably takes me to my next question. So, so what is involved in being a mentor? So can you just sort of guide us through sort of the process? If from the time they make an inquiry, if they're suitable, what's the process from then onwards?

Yeah, so I, I guess, you know, reaching out is the first initial step, um, talking to us about, you know, where you are now and where you've come from. and potentially what value you feel you can add to a, you know, a really good group of almost selected mentees or members coming in. These are relationships that we hold very close with our aggregators. So, you know, we're wanting to complement the great job they do to ensure that our members, you know, pop out the other side as well-qualified, you know, professionals in their industry. So Make the inquiry with me first. We talk about where you've come from. You know, we can talk about what the structure looks like in, you know, to be a mentor with RAPS Australia. And we're all under the same structure. It is more a subcontracting style of arrangement. So we can talk about the nitty-gritty of splits, etc., for you to grow a portfolio of really great individuals that you can bring through their mentoring.

So on that, what's the future like for mentors here in Australia? Is there, in relation to the mortgage broking industry and the finance industry, you say it's continuing to grow and get bigger?

Absolutely. It's never been busier. So right now, as it has done throughout COVID, post-COVID if you like, there's been a huge influx of potential brokers wanting to break into the industry and find their way. So find the right home in terms of aggregation and find the right mentor to bring on, um, and, you know, and hone in their skills to ensure that they're successful in the industry as well. They generally would start with their Cert IV and/or diploma, um, and then, you know, progress to make that inquiry through the industry bodies. and/or aggregators to determine what's the right fit for them. And I'm really about that, what's the right fit, because that can really determine their success in terms of who is supporting them and what their journey actually looks like.

So, Deb, I know we're talking about the mentors here, but just a little bit, let's touch on about the mentees. How do they come into this system? How do they come into the process? And how are they aligned then with the mentors?

Yep. So again, back to that industry body initial inquiry, you know, talking to MFAA and FBAA and finding out the steps to enter the industry, or perhaps they've already learned that through their Cert IV provider. They would give them some sort of roadmap as to what their next steps are once they've achieved their outcome of qualification under their cert or diploma. So perhaps that's the segue into the next steps— finding your aggregator, finding your mentor. Perhaps your aggregator has a relationship with several or one or more mentors that they would highly recommend that they reach out to to find out more information. It's very much a learning journey at the start, and, you know, it can get off course if they're not speaking to the right people. So knowledge is king at that point to ensure that they're educated themselves enough to know exactly what the next steps look like for them.

Yeah. So when they do come on and they've been qualified and been suitable and appropriate, you've got a process to train the mentors and make sure they're the right sort of people to go out there. So, yeah, but— so what I'm trying to get to is what's, like, the onboarding process like for a potential mentor?

So a bit of time with me, clearly, to help, you know, navigate the next steps as to how they bring on. We, as a company, myself and another administrator, we really look at the onboarding and keep our numbers very close to ensure that we're not overfilling our mentors, but we're complementing the right mentee type to the mentor that I believe believe would be the best fit. Now, that might be because of demographic, or it might be personality type.

Yeah.

Right? So, you know, trying to find the right match within our organization has worked really well for us. We just don't put them wherever; we think it out. And so the support to the mentor is purely by me, and helping them and supporting them through the initial phases, phases of bringing on their people.

Great. So I don't know if we have anyone watching or listening now, but we have a good question. So for those who are watching, listening, or even if you're watching this on a replay later on, we'd be keen to see what attracted you to this event today, what attracts you to, to being a mentor. So you can actually get in touch with Deb. Well, if anyone's watching now, you've got a question, please put in the chat and we'll, we'll bring it across. So while we're waiting for any questions to come through, Deb, is there anything more about being a mentor that you'd like to convey to the audience today? Anything we might have missed or anything we want to touch on?

Sure, I can advocate for the fact that we've been going through, you know, exponential growth, you know, for the past 3 years. There's a lot of recruitment going on currently. We have great relationships with our aggregator partners to be able to, you know, enable them to onboard and have the mentorship behind the member. So right now we're busy. Yeah. And, you know, it's an exciting space to be in because not only are we facilitating a great platform that's well-balanced, I feel, um, and really brings on a good member right from the start to the end of their journey, but we're also, um, you know, giving them a great start. So it's very rewarding. And, you know, I think it's, uh, it's the next phase of a potential business owner who may want to just transition or navigate out of their book and stay in the industry and do something that's different and exciting.

So do you have any particular need in demographic-wise, particular regions, or all regions are required, or is there a particular need in particular regions?

No, we're a national company anyway. So Sydney is probably— or New South Wales is our biggest. We're also supported in Victoria. And I'm up in Queensland. So we have members in WA and we're starting to now recruit in Adelaide. So, you know, it's national, but at the same time, you know, we can utilize the great advantages of online platforms and, you know, meet up hopefully a couple of times a year to ensure that we can, you know, meet people face to face rather than just be online all the time. But The journey itself for the mentee and the mentor is quite successful on an online platform. So we're not overly worried about that.

It's important to know that you are MFAA accredited and approved. So people that do come onto this program have got that assurance that it's been approved and accredited by the MFAA.

And FBAA for that matter as well.

Oh, great.

Both industry bodies.

So both industry bodies are great. That's great. Okay, so I think that covers it. Like I said to everyone, if you want to get in touch with Deb, here is Deb's email. So there it is there. Get in touch with Debbie, have a chat, and she'll get you on the blower, get you on the phone, have a more personal conversation and find out how you too can get involved in being a mentor with the Rest Australia. Like Debbie said, it is booming. They're busier than ever. Great opportunities there for you to get involved. Be part of this journey and also be part of RIFS Australia, one of the biggest and most reputable organizations in Australia when it comes to mentoring, sales development, business development of the finance industry professionals. So get involved, get in there. Great opportunity for those, like Debbie said, who are looking to, you know, move on maybe from a business they've got and looking to continue to be involved in industry. It's always great to see young people coming into industry and also getting that sort of light bulb moment where they're thinking, oh yes, great, thanks to this person for helping me, and to see them progress in their career is great. I'm assuming, Debbie, you keep in touch with the mentees and as they progress through their careers and see what progress they're making?

Absolutely. We celebrate it upon completion. So yeah, love to see where they end up and how successful, you know, they are.

Good, good. And in closing, I just want you to know also that Debbie's got a really good event coming up soon, which is on International Women's Day. There it is there. Uh, it's a women's only event, and I'll put the link in the— uh, just get the link up so people can see it. There it is there. It's an Eventbrite link. And again, I'll put all these in the comments later on as well so people can access them. So Debbie, want to tell us a little bit about this event that's coming up for International Women's Day? Just give it— give us a couple of minutes spill on what's going to be Sure, Con.

So this is a bit of fun for International Women's Day, and it really reaches out to the people that can't get to an event, that are busy. Brokers are busy all the time. So this is a great opportunity to have a bit of fun, have a good chat about a topic that I think we all need from time to time. You know, we can be just going through the motions and, you know, not extend ourselves or challenge ourselves to do something different. So Becoming contagiously confident is something that, you know, I've had to do in the past. I think we can all benefit in some way from learning more about that. Bringing a glass of champagne to International Women's Day next week. It's on at 11 o'clock, so hopefully an appropriate time for anyone.

Well, it's 5 o'clock somewhere in the world, isn't it? It's 5 o'clock in Chardonnay an hour somewhere in the world.

Somewhere, right? Yep, yep. You can even fill it with water. I'd never know.

Exactly right. Great. So there's that, that's an event coming up too. So tell your friends, tell your colleagues about that. It's gonna be a bit of fun, a bit of entertainment. Also, Debbie's got so much experience and knowledge in this space, and she'll be able to talk from her personal experience and how she's become contagiously confident, as you can all see. Magnificent. Thanks, Debbie. I really appreciate your time today.

Thank you.

Uh, that's what we've got for you all today. I'll just take that off so we don't have our faces here. And there we are. Thanks, everyone. Hope you enjoyed that. Uh, like I said, get involved. Details will be in the, the comments. Again, thank you, Debbie. Have a great afternoon, everyone, and we'll see you at the next one.

See you later.

Bye. Bye, guys.