Setting up a broking business during the COVID-19 pandemic really reinforced to Trusted Financial Choice founders Varun and Tripti Goyal, the important role that brokers play in finding solutions that meet the financial needs of diverse customers.
After working 15 years in banking and being frustrated by the constraints of the policies and products of one lender, Varun established the brokerage in July 2021 with the aim of being able to provide a range of financial solutions for clients.
Being accredited with 40+ different lenders, means that Varun can shop around to find the best deal for customers, which was particularly important for his small business customers looking for cashflow solutions when COVID-19 enforced lockdowns crippled business demand.
“During COVID when many businesses struggled to keep their doors open or needed to access cash quickly, I knew I had to do more and could do more,” Varun said.
“Over the past 16 months, I am proud to say that I haven’t had to turn down any deal. No deal is refused as there is always a solution suited to every client, you just need to be willing to look for it.”
The husband-and-wife team run their broking business out of Monash, a culturally diverse community in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs. The business is primarily focussed on small to medium sized business owners and offers a complete spectrum of lending solutions.
Varun says that having access to diverse lending solutions is an important part of their commitment to empowering and educating clients to help directly improve their financial position and overall wellbeing.
Being able to embrace the diversity of customers and their financial needs is also an important value for Varun’s wife Tripti, who joined the business earlier this year to lead marketing and branding.
“Embracing diversity is extremely important to us because coming from non-English speaking backgrounds, we always felt like the out-castes, always trying so hard to fit in or feel accepted,” Tripti said.
“Diversity and inclusion are very important in our community if we want to continue to grow our broker community and attract brokers from all walks of life and from varied cultures and backgrounds.
“If individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds that are currently in the industry feel included and can see evidence of change happening, then those individuals will be advocates for our industry in the wider community.”
By being able to share their own experiences around diversity and by being more empathetic to others, Varun and Tripti have seen the benefits of both cultural and gender diversity within their own business.
“Since Tripti joined the business over nine months ago, it has impacted our business growth and journey in a positive way,” Varun said.
“Having a female presence in the office has helped tremendously, clients, especially those from ethnic backgrounds, have felt more comfortable to come into the office. We have welcomed parents with younger kids into the office and provided colouring pens and games to distract them while we worked with their parents on finalising their finance application.”
Tripti says that her and Varun’s different experiences and skillsets also add value to the overall service they provide customers which leads to ongoing growth in the business.
“I tend to connect with our clients in a different way and pay greater attention to different things than Varun, but we complement each other well in that way,” she said.
One of the other reasons why financial empowerment for their customers is so important to Tripti and Varun, is because financial stress is often a major contributing factor to marriage breakdowns, family separations and mental illness.
“Being in the industry for over 15 years, I’ve seen thousands of examples where marriages have broken down and various health issues have happened due to financial stress which can cause major mental health issues,” Varun said.
“Though as a society we have progressed in many ways, the talk of mental illness at a large is still very much a tabooed and sensitive subject matter across many cultures and it is very rarely spoken off,” Tripti added.
Therefore, they are both strong advocates for mental health awareness and earlier this year hosted a Mental Health matters event which raised $8,000 for Beyond Blue and included guest speakers such as Rae Bonney, Beyond Blue ambassador, Major General Andrew Botterall and business coach and mentor, Therese O’Neill.
“Our personal family experience and story drives a true passion and commitment to speak of and advocate for mental health awareness. So, in order to see the change, you need to be the change,” Tripti added.
Although Tripti and Varun see many positive efforts being made to make the mortgage and finance broking industry more diverse and inclusive, they believe one of the biggest enablers to greater diversity and inclusion in the industry is the willingness of brokers to share their knowledge and practices.
“Personally, we did face challenges when we set up our business, at times not knowing where to turn to discuss a client situation, which policy fits best, when to escalate so, having experienced this, we are always open to share ideas, resources, processes and our contacts, to existing and new brokers.”
Working hard, being flexible to meet their client’s schedules, having extensive industry experience and making the time to attend industry events to upskill themselves and stay across all the different products and services available to customers, is what Tripti and Varun credit as being their secret to success.
And after 15 years in banking and 16 months in business, what is their advice to their younger selves?
“Keep going, continue to work hard, believe in yourself and don’t give up even when times get hard, because in the end, things will turn out better than you thought,” Tripti concluded.
The Champions of Diversity series is an initiative of the MFAA Opportunities for Women Program. To read our reports and find out more about the program visit https://www.mfaa.com.au/professional-development/research/opportunitiesforwomen
