"If you've looked it and you've got a plan, take those risks. Some will go horrifically wrong! But as long as you've got the ability to get back up and graft through it, then you'll be successful."
The three outlined their career journey in financial services, how they weathered the 2007 financial crisis, and how the past 12 months has impacted their businesses.
Discussing the Covid pandemic, Andrew Milnes admitted that the past year had been a "really steep learning curve" and that at the start of the first lockdown "it really was like 'crikey, are we going to have a business to go back to?'". However, he added that "we've ridden that fairly well as an industry and certainly as a business we've ridden that well. I think the business is in a good place now and I'm quite optimistic about the future".
When discussing the key learning points from the pandemic, Andrew said that it was "embracing the technology, because it really helps. Embrace it and don't be frightened of it".
Discussing the positives of working from home, Jamie said that he "got to engage again", adding: "I had clients calling, I was on the phone line at home, and I didn't take it as a negative because that was the part of the business that I always loved - the people. And as it grows you become a bit more detached."
Rachel agreed with Andrew and Jamie that her business had been "blessed", explaining that since day one the team had always worked part-remotely.
She added: "For me the biggest think I've taken away is how, not just as a business but as an industry, we've worked together more so than ever. We actually recruited our heaviest in 2020 and as we go into 2021 we're doing the same, purely because we've found avenues where we were maybe touching on it, but because we were back to basics we really looked at the whole business and what we were doing. We found different ways that we could generate more income or change how we do things to retain more."
Rob then asked what their lowest point had been over the past year. Jamie said it was "probably May last year". He said: "It felt like it had gone back to that era of 2008-2009 where there were 'no's for no reason. Lenders just didn't feel like doing it and when you get a nailed on deal and you know it should be a 'yes' for a self-employed person, for example, it was blanket 'no's and it was almost flat declines."
Andrew agreed that as the market started to return from June and July, "some lenders didn't have the capacity to process and you were hitting problems that you shouldn't really hit", admitting that "there were some really dark days".
Rachel said she struggled most in early April, during the "realisation" period after making sure the team were okay and working from home processes were set up. She said: "I couldn't plan anything, I couldn't figure out what the next move was going to be."
On a different topic, the group was then asked whether they were pleased they made the decision to be a mortgage entrepreneur and what they would do differently if they had their time again.
Jamie said he thinks mistakes are important, saying "I've always believed that making mistakes are great, I love to learn". He added: "What I didn't learn is partnerships, I would have chosen my partnerships differently and I would relax a bit on the partnerships side - it's got to be the right one." Giving advice to any entrepreneurs starting out, Jamie stressed that it "takes graft, you've got to be all in. If you're not prepared for that, it will never work."
Rachel said she was "extremely cautious of failing in any way or making mistakes" when she set up her business, and as a result "started to grow a lot slower than I should have". She said: "Now I'm looking back going 'why didn't you bring up more brokers earlier in the process?' but when you're running a business you have this fear of it not working."
Giving advice to new starters, she said: "If you've looked it and you've got a plan, take those risks. Some will go horrifically wrong! But as long as you've got the ability to get back up and graft through it, then you'll be successful."
When asked what he would do differently, Andrew answered: "Not a lot, because I've learnt from everything I've gone through. There's been a lot of mistakes, don't get me wrong, I wrote off almost all of 2018 trying to write a partner out and it was a terrible time, but I got there with it and I look at this business now and it's such a different place. It does drive you forward and it does make you even more determined to succeed.
"The only single bit of learning I'd do, going back to 2001-2002, is I put all my eggs in one basket. I pinned all my hopes on one big estate agency introducer and it worked really well until 2007, and actually I should have diversified a bit earlier."
Finally, Rob asked what the three least like about the 2021 mortgage market and how they expect 2021 to play out for their businesses.
Rachel said: "I think it's going to be quite consistent this year, especially as the reliefs have been extended. It's been busy from day one for us and we can't see that changing. My fears are probably that, it's great that we're going back into 95% and that we've had the stamp duty extended, but in some cases it's prolonging the inevitable."
Jamie said: "The thing I hate the most is the same thing I've always hated which is 'no's. But for us, I think it's going to be great, it's positive and I think it's going to be a really good year."
Andrew said: "The biggest single bugbear I have around our industry is the control that surveyors have over the marketplace, and it's the lack of accountability. I am not questioning the surveyor's professional ability, I am questioning their ability to share the information they've used to make a decision.
"What have they got to hide? Why are they not sharing where there's comparables? Why are they asking us to produce three comparables of sales within the last three months within a mile's radius to challenge their decision if they can't share the comparables they've used. There's real clear unaccountability in that, and I think the lenders have got to take some of the flack for that, for signing up to these service standards. We've now got two or three large surveyor firms that are controlling the market and it's really concerning because if you take it to its nth degree, the surveyor - if a case doesn't proceed - is generally the only person who gets paid."
Additionally, Andrew said "the conveyancing process is still exactly the same as when I started, despite the fact that we've got all these advances".
He added: "There needs to be some improvement there and if anything, perhaps these cliff edges that we've just talked about, like stamp duty ending, might just highlight that and bring something good to the table. I'm positive, my headcount will increase by about 25% this year, and I'm really positive about the market we've got here this year."
To watch the full interview, visit https://vimeo.com/525526631.
