Successful businesswoman Monica Bradley is the founder and owner of MB Associates, an award-winning mortgage brokers based in Surrey. She talks about her success and why she loves what she does.
Who is Monica Bradley?
That’s a broad question! On a business level, I’m an experienced mortgage broker based in Cheam, Surrey, where I run my own business, MB Associates. I advise clients on mortgages and have a team of advisers who also help clients with mortgages and protection insurance such as life cover, critical illness and income protection. I’ve been in the financial services sector for over 30 years and still love what I do. I enjoy giving my clients advice on how to be financially secure and take control of their money. I like to think I do more than just find them the right mortgage. I try to empower them to be financially savvy.
On a personal level, I’m a lady who likes to exercise, keep fit, socialise with friends (which I’ve really missed, like everyone else over this past year) and travel. I particularly like visiting hot countries like Dubai and Morocco and learning more about the local culture.
How did your upbringing help to shape who you are today?
My parents were supportive even though my mum worried about me when I visited strangers’ homes to discuss financial matters in the evenings as a young girl. They must have had concerns about my safety, but they never discouraged me from succeeding in business. From an early age, I knew I wanted to work for myself and I went self-employed from the age of 22, working for Legal & General as an adviser on a self-employed basis. That was the start of building up a client base. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my working life having someone telling me what time I could take my lunch break and what time I could go home. I wanted to craft my own working routine and own my day.
When did you get to start your business?
I started my company over 20 years ago, but I have been working in finance for over 30 years. Despite having been in the business for so long, I still really enjoy it, and it’s definitely my passion.
What’s most fulfilling to you about running MB Associates?
So many things. I’m a friendly person and love dealing with clients and getting to know them. My business is built on reputation. Most of our new clients come from referrals. We have great relationships with our clients, and I’m often able to help three generations of families with their mortgages and financial protection. It’s gratifying to help families and see them recommend our business to other relatives and friends.
I also enjoy working with my team as they are all so dynamic and self-motivated, which motivates me. They have a lot of energy and care about the work they do. It’s often said that if you want to do well in life, then find your passion. It makes my work so much easier.
I enjoy helping people move into their dream home and take control of their finances. I get a lot of satisfaction from that.
You moved from employment to self-employment quite early in life; what was your biggest fear?
I’m very a positive person, so I didn’t dwell on what could go wrong. I focused on what I wanted to achieve. I knew what I wanted to do, and while I appreciate it sounds straightforward, I just got on with it. I’m not one to overthink situations… I’d rather just get stuck in and do my best to succeed. In my early days, I learned as much as I could from other people who were doing well and asked lots of questions. Asking questions and listening is a great way to learn.
MB Associates is in financial services, which is a male-dominated Industry; how have you been able to ensure presence and, most of all, excel?
I honestly haven’t given my gender much thought over the years. I’ve always focused on what I wanted to achieve and learned as much about my industry as I could in the beginning. I just do what I do; I work hard, talk to my clients regularly and do my very best to provide a fantastic service. If you serve your clients well, they will come back to you repeatedly and recommend you to friends and family.
Have you always been a risk-taker?
I’ve always been ambitious, and if that means taking some calculated and intelligent risks from time to time, then yes. You have to take some risks to grow and develop in life. Otherwise, you just stand still.
How has the pandemic affected your business? And how have you dealt with it?
We have fared very well during the pandemic. When the first lockdown started in March 2020, we communicated more frequently with our clients. We immediately contacted everyone and invited them to get in touch with any questions or concerns, whether it was about a current property purchase or fears about paying their mortgage. We increased the amount of news content we published on our website to keep people informed about what was going on in the property market and increased our monthly newsletter to fortnightly. We wanted people to feel sure that we were there for them during these uncertain times.
As with many other businesses, my team had to adjust to working from home without any time to prepare for it and cope with the challenges of childcare in many cases. It was a test for us as much as everyone else, but we pulled together as a team and thrived.
As for the business, 2020 was very busy for us mainly due to pent-up demand for properties due to the stamp duty holiday. Many people decided to move after spending so much time at home and deciding that their current property didn’t necessarily meet their needs. So it was a busy year, and the property market continues to remain active.
MB Associates has won numerous awards. How have you managed to ensure high service and value-based delivery?
We go the extra mile for our clients. I know that may sound like a cliché, but when I’m advising clients on mortgages or financial protection, I put myself in their shoes and think about every possible way in which I can meet their needs. I encourage my advisers to do the same. The client comes first. I have also hired a great team. It’s not enough to just find skilled advisers.
My advisers and case managers are very skilled at what they do. I also look for personal qualities like self-motivation, energy and focus, and people who can interact well with other people. Hiring good people with a positive attitude is the bedrock of any successful business.
What are your future plans for MB Associates?
We’d like to continue to grow. I’d like to hire more mortgage advisers in the long term and ensure that the business continues to provide outstanding service while we expand.
What is the critical principle you would share with anyone starting a business today?
Several vital things: find your passion as work doesn’t feel like work if you genuinely enjoy it, and most importantly, if you care about what you do, you’ll do it well. Focus on pleasing your customer. Know who your customer is and what drives them. What are their pain points, and what can you do to help them? If you serve your customers really well, everything else will fall into place.
At what point in your life did you become an architect of your life? And how did you figure this out?
I’ve always been someone who likes to be in control of my life. I’ve always tried to make things happen for me rather than letting life happen to me. I’ve always wanted to take control, plan and set myself ambitious goals.
Self-confidence is key to success, and you demonstrate it with ease. Have you always been self-confident? What tips can you gladly share with a woman looking to cultivate a culture of believing in themselves?
Self-confidence comes from taking action and achieving goals. You can set yourself small goals to begin with or break down one big goal into separate chunks so that it doesn’t seem too daunting. You wouldn’t go out and try to run a marathon in one go without doing any training and building up your stamina, and it’s the same with other goals in life.
The important thing is to just make a start and feel like you’re making progress. When you take action and move forward, even if you change things as you go along, you’ll start to feel good about what you’re doing and that will boost your confidence.
Even if you don’t achieve a goal, don’t beat yourself up if you fail and remember that you may be able to find another way to get what you want. If something didn’t work out then you will have still learned something from that experience and what you have learned could be invaluable information for the future. It’s OK to fail and learn. So long as you don’t give up completely. Sometimes you need to find a different way or try lots of different things to find out what’s working and when you do, you can just do more of the same.
How important is working and spending time with likeminded people?
I have a lot of energy and I do like being around positive and dynamic people. At the same time, I speak to a diverse range of clients and know lots of different people from many different backgrounds, and I enjoy the diversity of those conversations and friendships. Not everyone has to be ambitious of course, but I do like to meet and spend time with good people and find out what makes them tick.
Women still find it challenging taking charge of their finances. What, in your opinion, is the reason for this?
This may be a generalisation, but some women don’t always give themselves the credit they deserve. Many women lack confidence in their abilities and are capable of so much more than they realise.
It could also depend on age and upbringing. For instance, an older woman may have been raised to think that the man is the breadwinner and manages the money. My parents’ generation was like that, and that’s how things were back then. A study in 2015 from Fidelity Investments found that only 47 per cent of women feel confident talking about finances with a professional.
We’re all capable of taking charge of our finances and learning to be independent and smarter with our money.
Do you work out? What’s your workout schedule like?
Yes, I train every day before work, and it sets me up for the day. A healthy body has so many benefits, not just in terms of physical wellbeing but also for mental energy and resilience. Before the pandemic started, I could be found at 7 am in the local gym lifting weights and working hard on the cross-trainer. Over the last year, I have kept up my weight-training routine at home – I follow a consistent routine and enjoy it. I also do yoga and danced as a child, so I like to feel flexible and supple.
How do you unwind?
I enjoy socialising with friends or my partner Rob. I used to enjoy hosting dinner parties and having friends over for summer barbecues, and hopefully, we can all look forward to resuming those activities again later in the year.
What would you love to add to your life to make you feel more like a Stellar woman?
I am always keen to keep learning and improving. However experienced you are in life, there’s still more to do and learn. We never stop growing.
What advice do you have for any woman who aspires to be a Stellar woman?
You don’t have to come from a privileged background or be an academic genius to be excellent and outstanding – find your passion and pursue it. Don’t let anyone else sway you from doing the things you want to do. Life is short – sadly, I know this only too well from the number of critical illness cases I deal with in my business – grab it with both hands, find what you enjoy and do it to the best of your ability.
For more information
MB Associates is an award-winning mortgage broker based in Cheam, Surrey, offering mortgages and financial protection for clients nationwide. For a free, no-obligation chat with Monica about mortgages or protection, please call 020 8652 5240 or visit https://www.mbassociates.net/ or you can email her at monica@mbassociates.net