Goulburn-based broker Ashleigh Pakis of Panache Financial was named Australia’s Regional Broker of the Year 2023 at the Australian Broking Awards earlier this year. She sat down with The Adviser to discuss her journey and how she’s delighting her clients.
In this Q&A we find out how Ashleigh Pakis became a broker, how and why she chose the name Panache Financial, the challenges she has faced in her broking career and her top tips for other brokers looking to start their own business.
How and why did you become a broker?
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I’ve been a broker for about nine years and have had Panache for approximately six.
I began my broking career at a RAMS franchise in Canberra. I went to Canberra to see a girlfriend and she had just married this guy who had this RAMS franchise. I was actually going to work at LJ Hooker, but I didn’t really want to go back to real estate and do weekend work and try to build another portfolio … so he said how about I come and work for them!
I didn’t know what the job was and I had no idea what he actually did. But I fell into it and I loved it!
What led you to start your own business?
I was at RAMS for nearly three years and was made redundant when they [my friend and her husband] didn’t renew their franchise agreement.
At that time, I was commuting from Canberra to Goulburn because my partner was in Goulburn. So, I just thought to myself, how about I just give this a go myself? What have I got to lose? I had knowledge of real estate and accounting and motel management, so I knew how to do customer service and I knew how to work out numbers, so it was relatively easy for me.
I just flourished from there. Right time, right place! So that was a win-win for me.
I started Panache and my aim was to write $2 million a month; literally just one or two loans. I managed to achieve it, but it involved a lot of reaching out to people within the industry.
How did you choose the name Panache for your brokerage?
Panache means flair. I’m quite a bold, loud person, and I was looking at words that were expressive.
It actually came from a product line that I created in design school, which was called Panache. I pulled out a bag when I was moving and it said Panache on it and I thought I wanted to create a business that created some difference and was not just a stereotypical, boring mortgage broker. I wanted it to resemble who I am, so that’s how Panache came about!
What challenges have you faced being a broker in a regional area?
I’ve wanted to enhance the education of regional people because they didn’t understand what a broker was and what we can actually achieve for them.
I think a big point was educating regional people that you don’t need to see a bank to get a loan and that other lenders out there have a better policy that might fit your criteria.
How do you manage your wellbeing?
I actually reached burnout, but I just wasn’t aware of it. I have Crohn’s and I hadn’t gone to the doctors in 12 months because I supposedly didn’t have time ... I did have time, I just didn’t make time. I was vomiting up blood, I was not in a good way, I just kept saying yes to everybody.
Burnout looked like for me: “You need to go to hospital you need to have a few weeks off”. I couldn’t work because I was unwell mentally. If I saw an email or if I talked to a client I just couldn’t process it, I was so physically and mentally exhausted.
We all don’t think about how much health and exercise really helps our mental health as well. Now I know if I don’t get up, take myself to the gym every morning, my mental load is completely different to whether I just go straight to the kitchen bench, have breakfast and go straight to my computer.
What are your top tips for other brokers looking to start their own broking business?
I think getting a mentor is really, really important. You need a mentor to be a brand-new broker anyway, but I [think you need] a business mentor, not just a broker mentor. They are completely different and bring different elements that will allow you to scale your business a lot quicker.
If you’d like to find out more about Ashleigh Pakis and Panache Financial, tune in to the Elite Broker episode, How Australia’s Regional Broker of the Year overcame burnout, below:
[Related: How Australia’s Regional Broker of the Year overcame burnout]
