I run Hypothèque, a ‘Premium’ Mortgage Broking business based out of International Towers in Barangaroo in Sydney. Hypothèque (pronounced Hi-po-tek) is the French word for mortgage… in case you were pondering on the name!
We are a team of seven, two support staff and five brokers. I am also an active member of Business Networking International (BNI) – CBD Shine Chapter which not only gives me a great source of referrals but allows me to surround myself with a fantastic team of high-performing business people that I can draw on to inspire excellence, learn skills and gain knowledge in my business journey.
Our point of difference is very simple, we provide the best level of customer service we possibly can. That’s a ‘Rob jumped on a plane to Perth with mortgage documents in hand and returned on the red-eye just to get them signed for an urgent settlement’ level of customer service… nothing like a thirty hour work day in the same clothes to demonstrate one’s commitment to clients!
2019 has been a challenging time in the industry, and without thinking I stepped up and started a change.org petition to save our industry – so strongly did I feel we were wronged by the Royal Commission. We got 85,000 signatures and I was interviewed by media and met politicians in our quest to save the broking model. I was truly humbled by the support and encouragement not only from colleagues but from our wonderful clients who have always really appreciated the service we provide.
So how did a shy kid… an only child who loved Lego and riding trains get here?
Let me take you on a journey back through time…
The year was 1976… and an 11-year-old Rob was selling the Sydney afternoon papers to the workers at Custom Credit head office.
The entrepreneurial blood and customer service ethos quickly kicked in as I turned my daily paper round into a mobile ‘made to order’ newsagent-in-a-barrow selling all sorts of magazines and periodicals to the delighted punters… One and a half cents commission on a 12 cent ‘Daily Mirror’ became 5 cents commission on a 40 cent ‘TV Week’ and 10 cents on an 80c Women’s Weekly… you get the idea!!
This funded many a new Lego set!
Two years later - 1978 – Rob joins the Air Force Cadets – something which I attribute a lot of my success to – giving that shy kid confidence, self-discipline, teamwork and leadership skills. I stayed with the Cadets for the next 39 years, becoming an instructor and ultimately a member of the national senior leadership team.
The year is now 2000 – Rob the entrepreneur organises a Military History pilgrimage for 24 Air Force cadets and staff to Gallipoli, France and Belgium and the UK – raising $100,000 for the trip. One of my greatest life accomplishments to date.
2000 also sees Rob leave banking after 15 years. It was at the bank I learned many principles of ‘good customer service’ from older and very experienced bank staff… from a time when customer service mattered to the banks…
Well, fast forward to 2004 and finding myself on the job scrapheap at 39 (I saw that number written in a highlighted circle during an interview for a job for which I was well qualified but didn’t get). I was feeling despondent and depressed, however opportunity struck in the form of a few words on a website: “Interested in becoming a Mortgage Broker?”
So, against the advice of my accountant of the time, but with faith in my own ability, I started my Mortgage Broking business as a mobile consultant under a well-known brand. Armed with a laptop and a financial calculator, I got out on the road, trying to write home loans… after all, how hard could it be?
Always etched on my mind were my father’s words from 1975, when he started his own business: “When you work for yourself – no-one can tell you what to do and you are the master of your own destiny.”
After nine years of hard work, chasing leads, and just applying that simple principle of delivering the best customer service I could, and as a result getting great referrals, I founded my own brand ‘Hypothèque’ in 2013 and the rest – as they say – is history!!
