Work less, achieve more? Here are five ways to do just that.
Watch the cricket, spend more time with the kids, cope with stress, play golf – there are many reasons why brokers want to cut back their hours.
MPA has spoken to successful brokers about how to achieve a work-life balance as soon as possible.
Set your own hours
After realising he needed to work less hours to better his health, Rael Bricker, from House + Home Loans, was initially nervous about breaking the news to clients.
“From a business point of view, it was a relatively major change to have to have the confidence to turn around to clients and say: ‘Sorry, I can’t fit you in until next week’,” he says.
But these days, he has no trouble at all saying it.
“I tell them straight away that I can only see a limited number of people per day and I can get another team member to see you or you can wait … and I haven’t had anyone complain about that,” he says.
Broker and mother Marissa Schulze, from Rise High Financial Solutions, can relate all too well to Bricker’s circumstances.
“When I first started out I was probably a bit scared to tell a client that I couldn’t meet them at seven o’clock at night,” says Schulze. “I would pretty much just meet them whenever and wherever they wanted to meet.”
“But I’m getting better now at saying: ‘These are the hours that I work, these are the hours that I can meet you, and this is where I can meet you’.”
Switch off the phone
When Hank (Hoa) Hong, from Home Loan Experts, first became a broker he gave up two years of his life for his career, often working seven days a week and staying up to 11pm.
In recent times, he has been tackling the demands of the job by setting strict hours when he accessible by phone.
“I have two phones and the work one is switched off from 11am Saturday and turned on at 3pm Sunday,” says Hong.
Be more professional
For Rael Bricker, he lives and breathes by the mantra that in order to be a professional who keeps normal hours; first and foremost you must act like one.
“If you want to be seen in the same light as a lawyer or an accountant or a CPA, as the MFAA like to tell us, then you have to see yourself like that – and a CPA doesn’t go out to people’s houses at seven o’clock at night,” he says.
Build a strong client base early
As brokers build a solid client base and consequently, professional relationships, the customers will be more inclined to understand their commitments outside of work, says Marissa Schulze.
“When you’re first starting out you just need to take every deal and do every appointment,” says Schulze.
“I guess then as you build your confidence and client base you do get the confidence to be a little more selective with the hours that you’re going to work and the times that you’re going to meet clients.”
Hire a PA or two
If you want to know the benefits of delegating work to PAs, just ask Rael Bricker.
“I see a lot of brokers doing 80-hour weeks that don’t have personal assistants, just killing themselves to do the paperwork, get on top of things and see clients,” says Bricker.
“That $50,000 per year you pay for a PA is going to increase your turnover by $10-20m, while at the same time improving your lifestyle.”
Related:
Jeremy Fisher: ‘I had the worst work-life balance’
Tipping the balance: How to stop work taking over your life
How do you achieve a work-life balance? Share your thoughts below. Comments will appear on Monday morning.
MPA has spoken to successful brokers about how to achieve a work-life balance as soon as possible.
Set your own hours
After realising he needed to work less hours to better his health, Rael Bricker, from House + Home Loans, was initially nervous about breaking the news to clients.
“From a business point of view, it was a relatively major change to have to have the confidence to turn around to clients and say: ‘Sorry, I can’t fit you in until next week’,” he says.
But these days, he has no trouble at all saying it.
“I tell them straight away that I can only see a limited number of people per day and I can get another team member to see you or you can wait … and I haven’t had anyone complain about that,” he says.
Broker and mother Marissa Schulze, from Rise High Financial Solutions, can relate all too well to Bricker’s circumstances.
“When I first started out I was probably a bit scared to tell a client that I couldn’t meet them at seven o’clock at night,” says Schulze. “I would pretty much just meet them whenever and wherever they wanted to meet.”
“But I’m getting better now at saying: ‘These are the hours that I work, these are the hours that I can meet you, and this is where I can meet you’.”
Switch off the phone
When Hank (Hoa) Hong, from Home Loan Experts, first became a broker he gave up two years of his life for his career, often working seven days a week and staying up to 11pm.
In recent times, he has been tackling the demands of the job by setting strict hours when he accessible by phone.
“I have two phones and the work one is switched off from 11am Saturday and turned on at 3pm Sunday,” says Hong.
Be more professional
For Rael Bricker, he lives and breathes by the mantra that in order to be a professional who keeps normal hours; first and foremost you must act like one.
“If you want to be seen in the same light as a lawyer or an accountant or a CPA, as the MFAA like to tell us, then you have to see yourself like that – and a CPA doesn’t go out to people’s houses at seven o’clock at night,” he says.
Build a strong client base early
As brokers build a solid client base and consequently, professional relationships, the customers will be more inclined to understand their commitments outside of work, says Marissa Schulze.
“When you’re first starting out you just need to take every deal and do every appointment,” says Schulze.
“I guess then as you build your confidence and client base you do get the confidence to be a little more selective with the hours that you’re going to work and the times that you’re going to meet clients.”
Hire a PA or two
If you want to know the benefits of delegating work to PAs, just ask Rael Bricker.
“I see a lot of brokers doing 80-hour weeks that don’t have personal assistants, just killing themselves to do the paperwork, get on top of things and see clients,” says Bricker.
“That $50,000 per year you pay for a PA is going to increase your turnover by $10-20m, while at the same time improving your lifestyle.”
Related:
Jeremy Fisher: ‘I had the worst work-life balance’
Tipping the balance: How to stop work taking over your life
How do you achieve a work-life balance? Share your thoughts below. Comments will appear on Monday morning.
