Written By: Karen Deis (an interview with Gary & Jamie Lau)
In most sectors of the economy, business is down; unemployment is high; the fear of losing a job due to the economy is real.
I keep hearing this comment, "My husband lost his job and I am thinking of asking him to work in my mortgage business with me!" Or, "My wife is thinking of getting back into the job market and I think the mortgage business would be a perfect fit for her!"
Not so fast! While you and your spouse may be the perfect couple, it takes a lot more than love to team up and work together.
Read this article with Jamie & Gary Lau, West America Mortgage, a mortgage couple who teamed up in 1998 and have created a successful family-managed mortgage practiced together.
Karen: How did you two end up working together?
Gary: My mother was a loan officer, living in Arizona, and we lived in Chicago. I was in the food products industry, but my mom would periodically call me and ask me to come to work with her because the market was doing great and she needed help. I quit my job in 1993 and that was my first taste of "family" working together (even though it was my mom). My mom is semi-retired but still taking loan applications and my sister works for my company's corporate office near Chicago.
Jamie: I was in the health care industry doing training and performance reviews before I got laid off in 1998. Gary had the opportunity to run a mortgage branch in Phoenix and we have worked together ever since.
Karen: When you made the decision to work together, how did you go about defining your job descriptions?
Jamie: Gary's job is working with customers and Realtors® face-to-face, knowing the products, rates, pre-quals and applications. My job is to handle the database, follow-up on new prospects, newsletters and anything marketing related. We also did a DISC profile test. I was more Dominant (and Social) and Gary was more Social (and Analytical).
Karen: Do you have a niche market?
Gary: Over 50% of my clients are Hispanic and I have a guy who translates for me. A majority of our business is the purchase market and working with Realtors®.
Karen: What database system do you use?
Jamie: We use ACT! and a template for the mortgage industry created by Cindy Douglas. Our database has 1,300 clients in it.
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