Nicole Cannon of Pink Finance on how her business assists home buyers and the women’s sector
Pink Finance, as the name suggests, is infused with the positivity that its director and senior finance broker, Nicole Cannon, brings to her work and client relationships. In this interview with MPA’s Priscilla Dickinson, Cannon – one of the publication’s Elite Women for 2022 – shares her enthusiasm with her audience, including women who want to pursue a career similar to hers.
Cannon recalls how an unpleasant experience with a mortgage broker 20 years ago made her curious about the brokerage process and prompted her to get into the business. Her past work experience in sales had given her the knowledge needed to assist clients, from the enquiry to the settlement stage.
“[I] applied those passions of mine to the mortgage broking business that really helped to educate and break down the overwhelming process, especially for first home buyers and for people who are busy and who just don’t have the time to really get their head around what is required for the home loan,” she said.
What makes Pink Finance stand out in the market is its reputation for maintaining “exceptional customer service standards and really helping any customer that is quite distressed to make sure that they do understand what loans they are getting into, what their repayments are, so that they’ve got confidence and clarity of their actual home loan”.
Moreover, Pink Finance proudly supports women, particularly those who face stumbling blocks in their broking careers.
“Women like to have security. And I think the perception of many mortgage brokers is that we’re [a commission-only business] and that becomes quite a barrier for women,” said Cannon. However, she emphasized that the industry brings advantages, especially to working mothers, by providing flexibility in fulfilling duties such as school drop-offs and pick-ups. That’s on top of the security and income that the profession brings to women and their families.
For women who want to work in this industry, Cannon’s advice is to tackle challenges, think critically, and solve problems quickly.
“It’s being able to manage a few different curveballs that may be thrown at you all in one time. So, I think there is a certain personality type that is very much suited to broking,” she said. “But also, you don’t have to start this self-employed. You can start [in a PAYG arrangement] and there are many options there, so it is about finding the model that suits you and works for you.”
In addition to performing robustly as an enterprise, Pink Finance contributes to the women’s sector through its relationship with the McGrath Foundation. Being a corporate friend of the Foundation involves raising funds for breast care nurses in rural and regional Australia and for breast health awareness in general.
