Clay Bremer loves adventure; he has jumped out of planes and swum in the deepest part of the ocean. Now this former airforce engineer has embraced a new challenge as an Aussie mortgage broker and franchise owner.
In fact he’s almost come full circle, returning to his youthful interests. At school in New Zealand he studied economics and marketing and had a future in business mapped out. But Clay was dazzled by a New Zealand Air Force ad, and decided “doing something crazy” would get him out in the world.
Clay spent 13 years as an air force engineer, sometimes on overseas deployments for months on end.
After one big trip, he confessed to his wife Michelle, “I don’t like engineering, I enjoy working with numbers and people. I want to have a crack at something different”.
Three years ago, after some world travel to support Michelle’s Iron Man competition ambitions, and becoming parents, the time was right for Clay to jump into his own business.
Aussie broking delivers for ambitious franchisee
So why did he pick the Aussie brand?
“I did some research and saw it is a good aggregator with systems in place to help me learn. Lots of brands are hungry for brokers with experience but I needed that support and the ability to learn as I go.
“I had to put a lot of effort in because it was a new industry for me so there were a lot of late nights that turned into early mornings,” Clay says.
His commitment and hard work paid off; Clay was named the top Aussie mobile broker in Queensland two years in a row.
Scaling the business
Now he has taken advantage of the Aussie model to scale his business from a mobile to retail base. He is pumped about the future and keen to build a brilliant team culture with his new venture, the Aussie office at Trewantin on the Sunshine Coast.
“I’m really excited, I was way too busy for one person working from home with our pet dogs, now I have three other brokers working with me. Our staffies don’t get that excited about securing a home loan!” he jokes.
“Aussie has plenty of tools to help, like centralised admin teams which brokers can rely on for processing and paperwork. This means my brokers can be more productive, and I’m giving them the best tools to succeed.”
Clay is keen to collaborate with his team and bounce around ideas. He is also networking with local complementary businesses, like real estate agents. He focuses on connecting with those who are in the same stage of business development.
“The more people there are, the more knowledge is shared, the stronger the business. Power and knowledge lies in the collective,” he says.
Clay loves the flexibility of his new career, and the opportunity to build on his success so far.
He’s already engaging with local community through beach life saving club sponsorship, and hopes to do more.
Following rules and regulations
Clay found it easy to transition to a franchise network after his experience with the air force.
“I used to read a lot of manuals, now I read a lot of bank policies. It’s very similar; an aircraft manual tells you the operating temperature – it’s there in black and white, there’s no leeway to try it one degree hotter or one degree colder.
“When you repair an aircraft the manual provides step-by-step instructions. It is surprisingly similar to mortgage broking. We have a list of documents, and the manual tells you what you can and can’t do,” Clay points out.
What is different is the high level of support and back-up available. For starters, Aussie provides support in document preparation and handling home loan settlements.
“It’s like having a PA for each broker. Aussie provides the tools for success, from AI to client solutions to admin,” he says.
“Here everyone is so nice and helpful. It’s amazing how much Aussie wants you to succeed; the team is there to back you and match your effort.
“Aussie’s got some really big goals. They are putting systems in place to help people like me. When we combine efforts it’s a real opportunity to scale the business.
“If I have more stores one day, all great. Ultimately I want to be happy, a good dad, and for my team to be happy in their job.”
Aussie broking delivers job satisfaction
While he concedes mortgage broking can be a demanding role, it doesn’t compare to the pressure of his previous career.
“Replacing a wing on a plane is high level stress,” he says. “In my role now, if you have customers’ interests in mind, people appreciate the effort you put in for them.”
And mortgage broking brings a high level of job satisfaction, he says.
“It’s awesome. I thought I would enjoy it, but being an Aussie broker is way better than I expected. I’m doing better financially than I predicted, but the best thing is I’m genuinely helping people. When I get clients a better interest rate, consolidate debt, or help them buy their first property, these are really cool things,” he says.