all in the family
42 | winter 2017 cmba-achc.ca CMB MAGAZINE
ave you noticed how many
people in the Canadian mortgage
brokerage community are related
to each other? Brokers and agents
oen work with parents, spouses
or siblings – or all of the above!
Talk about the ultimate in job security, not to
mention contributing to a family legacy.
So, how do those people keep a healthy
working and personal relationship? We asked
two pairs of relatives to talk about the highs
and lows of working with family, and to share
some advice for those considering it.
From Nova Mortgage
Company in Halifax, we spoke
to "the Wheelers boys": dad
Roger and his son, Matt.
MORTGAGE BROKER: For how long
have you been in the business?
ROGER: I spent 25 years in the financial
industry, working at the former TD Bank as a
branch manager around the Atlantic. Banking
was fun back then, but it's changed a lot. I
remember the day I came home and told my
wife I wanted to start a mortgage company. She
said, "I don't care what you do, as long as you're
happy." I wanted to work for myself. So, in 2002,
I founded the Nova Mortgage Company.
MATT: Aer graduation, I took a job in Las
Vegas to work with the state's leading mortgage
brokerage. But in 2006, I came home and
joined my dad at Nova.
Do each of you have different roles
within the organization, so no one
steps on each other's toes?
MATT:We do have some division of
responsibilities and we have our own sets of
clients. I do a lot more of the marketing and IT
stuff. [Roger] asks things like, "Do I really need
an email address?" "Yes, you need an email
address." So, I've taken on all the tech, and he's
learning it. It's great because we both know each
other's strengths. I also want to take on more
responsibility for running things and looking
towards the future of the business. But he's not in
retirement mode by any means. We look at each
other as partners. I know he wants what's best for
me and he challenges me. He's all for my ideas,
and there is no ego or need to be in control.
Joining a family brokerage can be a
dream or a nightmare, depending on how
you handle roles and expectations
BY SHERI-LYNNE LJUCOVIC
Keeping
Family
it in the
H
