George Karam established BF Money all the way back in 1999. Over 21 years the business in Parramatta, NSW has evolved.
“I was working in accounting and liked numbers, but not how it was backward looking. So I went into banking, which I enjoyed and found my passion.”
“My boss was leaving to start a brokerage and invited me to come along. Since then, I haven’t looked back,” explains George.
“We are a mostly property brokerage, with a small highly skilled team and high net worth clients. We advise and arrange their commercial and residential property finance.”
“My clients are all aspirational and have ambitions that they need help setting up. They are exciting.”
“My team are incredibly experienced in a variety of areas. Diversity of backgrounds and life experience is what I look for. They all desire to be part of achieving great outcomes.”
George won both the NSW/ACT state and national Commercial Finance Broker Award at the MFAA Excellence Awards in 2021.
“It’s an incredible honour to win an MFAA award as you are then recognised by the vast majority of brokers,” he says.
In his spare time, George likes to garden and spend time on the boat with his family.
Business challenges
George says that legitimacy used to be his biggest business challenge, but now it is regulation.
“The biggest challenge when we started the business was legitimacy in the eyes of lenders and clients,” he explains.
“Now that the value proposition of brokers is understood, the biggest challenge is to find new ways of adding value and exceeding clients’ expectations.”
“The industry has a long way to go in professionalising. The residential broking space is much more unregulated than the commercial finance.”
“The next challenge will be for the industry to agree on standards to self-regulate and I think these should be set higher than they are at the moment.”
“I want to break through the glass ceiling and show the value of commercial brokers. To gain respect and get people’s attention.”
Networking tactics
George’s networking advice is to work with the people within the system.
“You need to be relevant to and known by the key influencers in the decision making process of a loan,” explains George.
“That way you can be part of the ecosystem and be seen as a part of the project delivery team. Then people will call you.”
“I’m an effective networker and I work hard to find solutions for my clients.”
Industry trends
“I think the future of commercial broking is bright,” says George.
“I hope the industry can come together to raise the bar in education and professionalise, so we can deliver best customer outcomes.”
Advice to young brokers
A mentor is the most important thing a young broker can have in George’s experience.
“My advice to young brokers is to find a good mentor that teaches not only the path, but the ethics of broking and the soft skills of talking to people,” he explains.
“I was lucky enough to have two great mentors who taught me these things.”
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