Mortgage Broker Sydney’s managing director on how “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki brought on a ‘light bulb’ moment
Mortgage Broker Sydney’s managing director on how “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki brought on a ‘light bulb’ moment
Much like a lot of brokers out there, I started my career in retail banking; gradually coming up through the ranks from teller to management. In my last “proper job”, I was lucky enough to have worked with a particularly forward-thinking manager. One Christmas, all the line managers in my department received a gift from him, a book called “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki.
It took me some time before I started reading, although soon into the text, I got a light bulb moment brought on by one simple question: “how long could I afford to live without working?” The answer scared me, and I started my journey into the realm of being self-employed and mortgage broking seemed to offer an answer to this question – in the form of trailing income. I naively assumed the trail would mean I could eventually retire on it, although soon realised that trail is far from passive income!
Managing my client base became a full-time job in itself! I found myself regularly advising, refinancing, adjusting or consolidating existing client’s mortgages. I still enjoyed that aspect of my work but I was still working so I revisited the book and grasped a second concept I wasn’t ready to understand at first. I had become self-employed but there was another level I had to reach to achieve my goal of financial independence, I had to become a business owner. I won’t spoil the plot, Robert explains the difference between the various stages of financial being much better than I could, but mortgage broking can be a job with long hours. All those evening appointments followed by early mornings hassling banks, and never being able to take a holiday without bringing your laptop can wear you down. If you don’t have a succession plan, you need one. And these books, or others that tickle your fancy, are out there.
There are critics who call the book's self-help boilerplate, but they have helped me immensely. Not just because they encouraged me to take the leap from a safe job to working for myself, but I realised they only answered some of my questions. I needed to know more so I went on to read many different books on various relevant topics, such as customer service, business systems, and biographies of entrepreneurs I admire. We can’t know all the answers but there are plenty of great resources at the bookshop or online, use them and keep learning.
Marc Barlow has been mortgage broking for almost two decades, after prior employment with retail banks in Australia and the UK. Currently a mortgage broker at Mortgage Broker Sydney based on York Street in the Sydney CBD.
Our other story today:
No significant rises for interest rates, says CoreLogic
Much like a lot of brokers out there, I started my career in retail banking; gradually coming up through the ranks from teller to management. In my last “proper job”, I was lucky enough to have worked with a particularly forward-thinking manager. One Christmas, all the line managers in my department received a gift from him, a book called “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki.
It took me some time before I started reading, although soon into the text, I got a light bulb moment brought on by one simple question: “how long could I afford to live without working?” The answer scared me, and I started my journey into the realm of being self-employed and mortgage broking seemed to offer an answer to this question – in the form of trailing income. I naively assumed the trail would mean I could eventually retire on it, although soon realised that trail is far from passive income!
Managing my client base became a full-time job in itself! I found myself regularly advising, refinancing, adjusting or consolidating existing client’s mortgages. I still enjoyed that aspect of my work but I was still working so I revisited the book and grasped a second concept I wasn’t ready to understand at first. I had become self-employed but there was another level I had to reach to achieve my goal of financial independence, I had to become a business owner. I won’t spoil the plot, Robert explains the difference between the various stages of financial being much better than I could, but mortgage broking can be a job with long hours. All those evening appointments followed by early mornings hassling banks, and never being able to take a holiday without bringing your laptop can wear you down. If you don’t have a succession plan, you need one. And these books, or others that tickle your fancy, are out there.
There are critics who call the book's self-help boilerplate, but they have helped me immensely. Not just because they encouraged me to take the leap from a safe job to working for myself, but I realised they only answered some of my questions. I needed to know more so I went on to read many different books on various relevant topics, such as customer service, business systems, and biographies of entrepreneurs I admire. We can’t know all the answers but there are plenty of great resources at the bookshop or online, use them and keep learning.
Marc Barlow has been mortgage broking for almost two decades, after prior employment with retail banks in Australia and the UK. Currently a mortgage broker at Mortgage Broker Sydney based on York Street in the Sydney CBD.Our other story today:
No significant rises for interest rates, says CoreLogic
