"When you have a job that you love, you never work a day in your life"
With a career spanning over two decades, Tom Ahles (pictured) isn’t just a seasoned mortgage broker but a mentor, the president of growth at the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), and the co-founder of Edge Home Finance.
Ahles’ journey is characterized by an unwavering commitment to fostering an environment of growth and collaboration. At AIME, his role transcends traditional executive responsibilities. Ahles is a mentor for brokers navigating the tumultuous waters of the mortgage industry.
“I’ve always been there to try to help. This probably comes from my early days as an originator,” he told Mortgage Professional America in an MPA Talk episode. “I was in a networking organization, and one of their main focuses is the ‘givers gain’, meaning when you give to others or help others, the world pays you back.
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“I’ve always felt that collaboration, helping others, whether through mentorship, sometimes it’s even just enough to listen to what’s going on, what problems are you having, where I can help people with clarity and outside perspective. I think it works for all of us, whether it’s in marriage, whether it’s in business, whether it’s in finance. I believe the vision was to have somebody who’s a team player, somebody who was not there to pillage the community and try to do things selfishly but to be able to help our community grow, and it stretches farther than just the independent originator.”
AIME, under Ahles’ watchful eye, is a platform laser-focused on aiding brokers. It’s a community where transactions are intertwined with relationships, where every broker, novice or veteran, finds a support system, a collective that understands the intricacies of their challenges and the nuances of their aspirations.
“Brokers are better together” is not just a slogan but the ethos of AIME, according to Ahles. Every broker and member is part of a larger story, one marked by mutual support and collaborative resilience.
“I meet with other broker-owners all the time to find ways to serve consumers better,” Ahles said. “If we can help our team members arrive and not only make it through a challenging market today but make sure that they’re planting seeds for tomorrow when the market does turn, that they’re positioned at a point where they are going to not only make it a career and not a job, but also know that they’re not alone.”
If you want more winning broker insights, you can listen to Ahles’ full MPA Talk interview here: The broker who switched from nightclubs to mortgages.
