Industry Spotlight - Noelle Wheeler

Noelle Wheeler, Nationwide Mortgage

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Noelle Wheeler

President, Nationwide Mortgage

A Canadian native, Noelle attended Ryerson Polytechnic Institute in Toronto where she obtained a Bachelor of Technology in Architectural Science.In 1990 she moved to Southern California and got her start in the mortgage industry. In 1994 she obtained her Mortgage Broker License and in 1997 started Nationwide Mortgage.Since then she has been operating the company with the assistance of exceptional people with aligned objectives of providing exceptional service. Since its inception Nationwide has funded over $4 billion in mortgage loans. Historically the company has focused on conventional, FHA, and VA loans. After years of running her company Noelle realized there was a need to provide funding to borrowers that were outside of the standard conventional lending guidelines. At that point Noelle expanded Nationwide to add a Private Lending division that focuses primarily on funding loans for investors. In her spare time she enjoys playing the piano, yoga, and snowboarding.

Q: What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

A: I am a firm believer in the idea, “Strong body, strong mind.” Therefore, in order to maximize my exercise routine, I have a few rules that I try to live by: 1. When I get up, I get dressed in my workout clothes. 2. I am not allowed to sit at my desk. Because if I do, even for a moment, I may get too engrossed in my day and decide not exercise. 3. Run 2 miles, or walk part of it if I am feeling lazy. Or take a yoga class. 4. Have my butt in my chair, ready to work by 9 AM!

Q: How have you seen Nationwide Mortgage grow and expand in the last few years?

A: The last year we haven’t expanded, we’ve actually contracted. We’ve cut our expenses, removed or replaced unproductive team players, and now we have seen one of our biggest year-over-year bottom line increases. Sometimes you must go smaller and smarter to go bigger.

Q: What has been one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career?

A: Evolving, and staying one step ahead of the technology pack. Have you ever been in a canoe paddling upstream, and felt like you were going at an amazing pace? So smug and confident, only to look at the shore and realize you are farther back than when you started. This is the challenge with technology. From when I personally made our first website with HTML coding, and spent months customized our CRM, to outsourcing, and incorporating the best talent and technology… we are always trying to paddle faster than the stream.

Q: How has your company vision evolved from Day 1 to Today?

A: The vision for the company on Day 1 was to be the operational support for loan officers that would generate their own leads. That formula worked well for years as this model was based on the premise that most people are either good at sales or operations. I felt my skills tended towards operations more than sales. But over time I’ve had to evolve to learn marketing and generate leads myself. This has given us more control over revenue. Also, when I started I was focused on consumer loans. But over the past 5 years we have developed our hard money mortgage offering. Now we are a one-stop shop for consumer and hard money loans.

Q: What advice would you give your younger self?

A: I have two adult daughters, and if you see and hear them you would say they are younger versions of myself. So the advice I have often given them is to avoid “Analysis Paralysis”. When you are trying to make a career or business decision, trust your gut, and take the leap of faith. And the true success will only come after years of grit and effort. But if I am honest with myself, I realize that my daughters aren’t me. And I must let them make their own decisions and mistakes. But the advice I would give my younger self would be the same. Trust your gut, and dive in. It’s a long bumpy journey, so buckle up, and enjoy the ride.

Q: What is something that most people don’t know about you?

A: Since I moved to the US in 1990 I have sponsored a female child from India, non-stop, every month through Children International. Granted these girls keep growing up and moving on, and then they assign me a new one. But looking back, I guess the motivation for this may have been because my Dad was from India. I could have been born in a third world country and possibly not had much opportunity to be educated. Even my mother who was from Switzerland didn’t get much opportunity to be educated. What would it have meant to me if one person reached out and helped me? For the cost of a coffee a day I can be that person.

Q: How do you define success?

A: About 25 years ago I was working for Coast Federal Bank as an underwriter in Woodland Hills. I remember overhearing a coworker asking if she could take time off to see her daughter’s ballet recital. The manager at the time, Janice, said, “yes”. And I thought to myself, what if she had said, “no!” If I have a kid and want to go to their ballet recital, I wouldn’t want to have to ask anyone’s permission to go. Of course, like any other self-employed person, the reality is that I work 10 hours a day to avoid working 8 hours a day for someone else, but it’s worth it to me.

Honestly, I think Enrique, the self-employed custodian that cleans our building and does odd jobs for us, said it best. When asked if he was okay and if he had enough business after I ran out of odd jobs to give him, he said “ I am happy in my heart.” It may sound cliché, but it’s not about the size of your home, or bank account. It’s about what makes you happy in your heart, and that is how I would define success.

Q: What is a recent trend in the private lending industry that excites you?

A: The trend that has excited me most in the private lending industry is woman rising; in prominence, power positions and numbers.

A couple decades back you wouldn’t have seen a man pushing a stroller or carrying a baby on his chest in a carrier. Society would have ridiculed him. Now that men feel more encouraged to be involved in their babies’ lives it frees up more women to spend the time and energy they want in their career. That’s good for everyone.

Q: What is one book that you’d recommend other industry professionals should read, and why?

A: In work, as in life in general, there are so many things that pull and push us in so many different directions. How do you make those daily decisions, and how do you decide where to put your energy? The one book I would recommend to other industry professionals is:

Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, by Stephen Mitchell. It is referred to as:

“the classic manual on the art of living” .. It “gives advice that imparts balance and perspective. This book is about wisdom in action. It teaches how to work for the good with the effortless skill that comes from being in accord with …the basic principle of the universe.”

It may sound hokey when the light that guides your decisions comes from basic principles of the universe. It’s not based on any religions. It’s an easy read of 80 pages of quotes, and it was a game changer for me.

Q: What is your favorite quote?

A: “A leader is best when people barely know (s)he exists, of a good leader, who talks litle, when (her)his work is done, (her)his aim fulfilled, they will say, "We did this ourselves."

― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

CONTACT: noelle@nw-mortgage.com | nw-mortgage.com