Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Solutions. Read the original article for full details.
Ex-Primis' Hoare Joins Flavin for Broker Consultancy Venture
Neil Hoare, former sales director at Primis, has partnered with business consultant and former mortgage broker Paul Flavin to launch a business coaching programme for mortgage advice firm owners. The venture, known as The Owner's Room, aims to help brokers become better business owners through a structured community format.
Flavin already did similar work on a one-to-one basis but decided a community structure was needed. The two have known each other for over a decade, and the idea emerged after a dinner conversation in which Flavin discussed clients considering becoming directly authorised — questions Hoare realised a mortgage network could not accommodate.
Two Cohorts, Tiered Pricing
The programme separates mortgage advice firm owners into two cohorts: founders and owners, categorised by business needs. The Founder's Room will include up to 20 sole traders, priced at £99 for 12 months for the first 10 members and £149 thereafter. The Owner's Room, for up to 12 business owners who have already employed an adviser (targeting firms with 2-5 advisers), costs £249 for the year.
Firms will be expected to have hired at least one adviser by their second year and progress to the Owner's Room. The first 10 members of each room will also have a say on who else joins, to encourage collaboration and avoid animosity. Once rooms reach capacity, a waiting list will operate for the next year or if a member leaves.
Safe Space to Share Problems
Meetings will be held twice per month: one for coaching and one to resolve problems. Firms will be selected from different regions so direct competitors are not placed in the same group.
Hoare said the aim is to bring like-minded people with similar businesses together to learn from each other. He noted that brokers often struggle to discuss problems openly: they cannot tell their business partner, who may worry the business will collapse; their network, which may see them as a bigger risk; or their staff, who may fear job losses.
Flavin added that the "social media effect" amplifies the issue, with brokers comparing themselves to others and feeling like failures, while networking events can become "all about bravado". He recently piloted the programme with 12 business owners, who were "amazed at how common the problems they faced were".
Source: Mortgage Solutions