In this episode, Dien talks to Maria Tomlinson (Owner of Complete Conveyancing Solutions) about her journey from working for a someone else in a Law Firm to taking the plunge to starting up her own conveyancing business. Being 2020, no one expected a Pandemic but then again when is there a good time to start a business? Luckily the process has been largely digitised which allows Maria to operate as normal.

 We also discuss the conveyancing process and where a client should look to engage a Conveyancer as part of their home buying journey. 

An award-winning property investor, mentor and mortgage broker. When it comes to buying property, there’s a lot to know. Just as the State of Victoria was going down into lock down for the first time in March of 2020, Dien talks to Garry about his journey and his approach with his clients to that help them to understand what’s possible and how to focus on keeping balance when it comes to building property investment portfolios.

Highly successful broker, Finance Industry Council Member and Vinnies Soup Van Volunteer. Have a listen to this wonderful human's journey since coming to Australia in 2006.

St Vinnies runs many initiatives around Victoria (and Australia wide), one of which I am involved with which is the famous "Soup Van". Every night the Vans go out no matter what the weather to feed the less fortunate on the streets, in the boarding houses and in some housing commission flats.  There are multiple teams across the state servicing different designated areas/regions. What many do not see (or are aware of) is the army behind the scenes prepping the food for the van teams, keeping records and ordering the stocks and run the organisation itself like a well organised machine.  However, like many charities, it not only relies on the volunteers to provide the human resources, it also relies on money either by way of donations, charity events or via its retail arm.

Winter is a time where many people may buy wood for their log burner to keep warm. St Vinnies has come up with a novel way to not only sell a product that keeps you warm from re-purposing wood off cuts, but also help it run its various programs around Victoria from profits made. 

Completely natural - made from Radiata Pine and Victorian Ash Hardwood waste timber that would otherwise end up in landfills, saving trees from unnecessary felling

In this episode I talk to Jason Hulbert (VIC BDM of St Vinnies) about what this initiative is and why you too should consider buying Wood for Good.

Also the promo link attached…

“Sorry mate, not good news.”

And with those 5 words, my twenty year career in Stockbroking came to an end. 

When the GFC hit.  Almost overnight, the industry collapsed.  Stockbroking firms were hit hard, and good workers, with lots of long-term experience were being made redundant.

I was at the crossroads, my son Alex was 18 months old and my 6 figure salary disappeared.  My Stockbroking skills couldn’t be quickly transferred anywhere else, and I had no idea what I could possibly do next.  Stressful times.

I somehow stumbled across a Mortgage Broking post on LinkedIn for Masters Broker Group. The rest is history.