FR: Having helped launch the self-employed division at Just Mortgages, how does it feel to have recently celebrated its tenth anniversary?
It feels great. It’s incredible to think that a decade on from launching with three advisers, our next big milestone will be 500 self-employed advisers. Our goal from the outset was to create a launching pad for ambitious advisers to head out on their own and start their own advice business – safe in the knowledge that Just Mortgages is there when needed to provide mentoring, training and support. A decade on, it’s still very much our mission statement.
It’s been a privilege to watch the division grow and to really build out that support structure around our advisers, providing them with the tools and support to not just launch and operate, but to really succeed. We’ve continued to add real-world experience to our management team for advisers to tap in to and we’ve strengthened ties with both the learning and development team and with our financial advice arm, Just Wealth, to increase growth and referral opportunities. We’ve also expanded our recruitment function to help those experienced advisers in establishing their own teams. There’s plenty to be proud of but also plenty of work still to do as more advisers explore the opportunity.
FR: What has been the biggest change you’ve seen in the last ten years?
It’s definitely the change in mindset. Increasingly, we are seeing advisers transition from one-man-bands and to full-scale advice operations. Once advisers answer those early motives of income potential, autonomy and flexibility, they look onto that next phase of career development and explore leadership, recruitment and scale.
For many business principals, that has come in multiple forms, whether it’s recruiting additional mortgage advisers and admin staff or adding dedicated wealth and protection advisers to their teams. In fact, 60% of our recruitment last year was self-employed advisers joining principal firms. In the first half of this year, that trend has continued.
It’s not an overnight transition. It does require the right support structure to help successful solo advisers become fully fledged business principals. Alongside dedicated training and support to facilitate that transition from adviser to business leader and team mentor, there’s the recruitment support that’s required to identify the necessary talent. It is an important and growing part of what we offer as a brokerage – enabling our principals to scale.
FR: Given the changes in the market in the last decade and more specifically in recent years, is going self-employed still a viable career path for advisers?
Absolutely. While the move to self-employed may take more of a leap of faith than it did a decade ago, the opportunities still remain considerable. We’ve been really encouraged by the fact that even with the challenges in the market in recent years, interest and demand to go self-employed has not waned.
In fact, new applicants continue to be a mix of new entrants, existing brokers going self-employed and those that are already self-employed, but are looking to step away from more corporate structures or access a greater level of background support.
As an industry, it is up to us to assist ambitious advisers in making that transition – providing the ongoing mentoring and support required to ensure any move is sustainable and successful. The first question any prospective adviser should ask of a brokerage or network is 'what support structure is in place to help me succeed?'.
Things to look for include support with leads and lead generation, while the likes of a commission advance scheme can be a great way to mitigate any financial worries in those early months. Once up and running, specialist training, assistance with marketing and licencing and recruitment support can help new business owners really focus on developing and scaling their operations. Crucially, while advisers may operate on their own, they should never feel alone.
FR: What’s next for self-employed?
I think the future for the self-employed model is incredibly bright, particularly as the opportunities for holistic advice only increase. From our perspective, we want to see our capacity double and reach closer to 1,000 advisers. More importantly, we want to continue helping ambitious advisers reach their full potential and achieve success – whatever that means for them and their businesses.
For some, that will be a greater control over their career and earning potential, for others it could be establishing their own brand, becoming a business principal and building out a diverse team of advisers around them. Some will want more hands-on support, while others just want to know that it’s there if they need it. The most successful self-employed models will be those that can flex to the needs of their advisers, giving them the freedom to build their business in the way that works for them, with the support and infrastructure to help them achieve their ambitions.
