Mortgage adviser shares growth journey
Running a broking business can be the most beautiful experience, but it can also be the absolute worst—at least according to Nathan Miglani, founder of NZ Mortgages.
“The spectrum is wide, and the key to success lies in how you manage and run your business,” said Miglani (pictured centre).
“For me, the decision to work on the business rather than in the business helped me achieve the scale I wanted.”
Miglani recently shared his journey of scaling up with NZ Adviser, offering valuable advice to small business owners and new advisers entering the industry.
Over the past three years, he has focused on developing his team to lead from the sidelines and allow his team to take the reins.
“For example, I now pass 70% of my leads on to my team to help others grow and develop their client base,” he said.
The decision to scale
Miglani emphasised the importance of having clarity about the type of business you want to run.
“Do you want an efficient yet tiny one-man-band, or do you want to build a business with the intent to scale? It's very hard to scale a mortgage business,” he said.
Miglani began his journey to scale in 2020 when he hired Angela Wanoa (pictured left) as a mortgage adviser just after the level four lockdowns.
Understanding the pent-up demand his business was going to get after the lockdown, Miglani hired Wanoa on a salary to help with the level of enquiries.
“It worked beautifully, and it was an awesome opportunity for Angela too,” Miglani said.
NZ Mortgages also hired Elena Pridmore (pictured right), a banker-turned-broker with extensive experience working for ANZ, Kiwibank, and BNZ.
As the team grew in numbers and experience, Miglani began to focus more on the “big picture” and delegate responsibilities to his team.
The path to success
The strategy clearly worked.
Miglani successfully rebranded from Loan Market to NZ Mortgages and launched a sister company, NZ Insurances.
The team built an in-house client automation software system designed to streamline client applications and the NZ Mortgages mobile app, which allows clients to monitor live interest rates.
“Building our custom CRM was one of the most expensive exercises for the business, but I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve done,” Miglani said.
“It’s enhanced our speed and communication while allowing me to focus even more on working on the business.”
This all helped NZ Mortgages write over $1 billion in settled loans by 2023.
Today, NZ Mortgages boasts a dedicated team of nine mortgage advisers. However, Miglani insists he is still working in the business too.
“If we get 20 leads per week, 18 go to the team whereas I’ll keep one or two,” he said. “I’m still heavily involved in the business, mainly for my existing clients because they trusted me when I was a one-man band and growing the business.”
Growth and development
Miglani is happier than ever with the dynamic he has created.
“I’m really enjoying the management side of things, and I truly love coming to work,” he said. “It’s all about protecting the client, keeping them safe, and maintaining momentum.”
While Miglani’s ability to scale NZ Mortgages is now reaping the rewards, he recognises that any business hiring new advisers won’t immediately start generating leads.
"When they started with me as mortgage brokers, I was giving them 100% of their leads and my existing clients. Everything was given from the office,” Miglani said.
He encouraged his team to build their own connections, and over the last four years, they’ve started to gain significant traction themselves.
Encouraging independence
Wanoa and Pridmore, having learned the trade and established their networks, each launched their own businesses in 2024 under the NZ Mortgages brand.
“It was time to encourage both of them to spread their wings a little bit and go out on their own,” Miglani said. “Acknowledging the great work they’ve done in building up their own client bases, this also gives me the opportunity to help them further, both personally and financially, while working together as one happy, united team.”
Balancing growth and stability
For those considering hiring a broker within their small business, Miglani advises against hiring just to make the business look good.
“That's the worst decision you can make in a mortgage broking business because it becomes a high-maintenance operation,” he warns.
Instead, he advocates for a small team writing big volumes, with clarity on whether the new hire will focus on business development, existing clients, or work as part of the team.
Miglani believes in the importance of writing a substantial volume yourself before taking a step back.
“After five to seven years of being a mortgage broker, it's the right time to really analyse if you are happy with what you're doing. Many brokers, when they get really busy, lose their happiness,” he said.
However, if you plan accordingly, stepping back and scaling up can be the most rewarding experience of your career.
“Honestly, I've never been as happy in my role as I have been over the last couple of years. Every day is enjoyable because the team is connected. We have a small team of 20 people, but we are really connected with each other,” Miglani said.
“There’s no hierarchy in the office. I hate the term 'staff' or 'employees.' We all work together, and I come to work with the mindset that I work for them, not the other way around. It’s about the value I can bring to their lives and the value they can bring to mine. And together we bring the value in our clients’ lives as well.”
