COLUMNS • MY BUSINESS
Forward velocity for Ojala For Velocity Financial’s Brendon Ojala, it’s all about doing the very best for clients. That’s why he’s expanding the financial services his company provides. BY MIRIAM BELL
Eventually, I ran out of puff and, at the same time, I bumped into an old friend who had started Velocity Financial a couple of years earlier. He asked if I wanted to join him and I decided I did. That was 2004 and I’ve been in the industry ever since.
And how did you go about learning the business? How did you find the process? I was thrown straight into the deep end and, initially, I had no idea of what I was doing. I’d generously call those early years an apprenticeship and it was nerve wracking. It was like that story of teaching someone to play the violin but you’re teaching them what you have just learnt in the lesson you have just had. But I learnt on the job.
Tell us about your business and what motivates you as an adviser? What led you into the mortgage advice business initially? After studying finance/accounting at Otago University for four years, I ended up working for The Salvation Army as a youth and community worker for 10 years. 028
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Velocity Financial is made up of 10 people. We’re based in Wellington but also expanding in Tauranga. We want to offer a full range of financial services to clients. So we started as mortgage advisers, added risk and KiwiSaver and, during lockdown, we launched a Fire and
General business. We are now actively recruiting for a planner/investment adviser. What motivates me as an adviser is that I like providing assistance and support to my clients; I like the challenge of growing a business; and I like the people I work with. Also, I earn a good living so I can support my family and have some choices.
Do you approach business differently to other advisers? And, if so, how? I don’t really know how others do it so I don’t know if I go about business differently! I do make a point of saying what I am going to do and trying my absolute best to get a good outcome for my clients.
Is there any particular area that you specialise in? Lots of my work is with first home buyers and investors. When it comes to small business owners, I enjoy sitting in a room with my client, the accountant and the lawyer and coming up with good strategies. I find that working as a team and checking our egos at the door works well.
