Making finance black and white

MPA 2018 Young Gun Peter Vassilis reveals how he surpassed the goal he set for himself within less than a year of launching Black and White Finance

It took a vacation to bring Peter Vassilis back on track to his true career path. Shortly after starting his career at an accounting firm, he had realised his passion lay in finance and property. But nothing came of it. As the years went by, he jumped from one banking position to another, forgetting about the career trajectory he and his mentor had designed years ago, which would culminate in Vassilis owning his own brokerage.

It wasn’t until one sunny day on a beach in Greece when all of those good intentions and ambitious plans returned. Vassilis and his wife, Jaimee, thought about what success would look like for their family in three to five years. They realised there was a piece missing.

“We envisioned a brokerage that would help simplify finance for people, make it black and white. And that’s when our business was born,” Vassilis says.

As simple as it can be

Transitioning from a secure full-time position to taking a huge risk by going out on his own became even more intimidating for the couple because of a newborn on the way. But Vassilis was all fired up to execute his ideas and realise his dream, and to finally create his own work standards.

The couple immersed themselves in research, spoke to key industry figures, and studied how brokerages contributed to the economy.

From the events they held at the local shopping centre and calls they made to local businesses and associates, the couple built a strong client base from which their business successfully took off.

They knew competition was strong in broking, but felt that their strategic approach and value proposition would resonate with customers.

To this day, their guiding principle is to help people find a long-term solution to creating wealth in a way that is simple, well planned and easy to understand.

“No matter how complex the lending scenario appears, the process should always be black and white,” Vassilis says. 

As Vassilis knows, not everything goes according to plan, so one should be flexible.

“You don’t have to prepare a perfect plan. It just needs to be something that can be executed,” Vassilis says about what he learned from the mistakes he made along the way. “Excessive planning can blind us to the situation at hand, causing us to miss opportunities.”

Surpassing the target

In their first 12 months of operation, Vassilis set a goal of $20m in settlements; and$30m if asked to be audacious. A month short of reaching its one year anniversary, the business was already on track to reach $40m. 

For a budding husband and wife team with only one broker at the helm, Black and White Finance has come a long way even though it only launched in 2017. 

“No matter how complex the lending scenario appears, the process should always be black and white” Peter Vassilis, Black and White Finance

And it didn’t take long before the industry took notice. Invitations for Vassilis to appear at various key industry events and speak on podcasts started pouring in.

Aim for the 5%

Black and White Finance aims to hire more staff in the next two years, either locally at its Sydney-based office or outsourced, to sustain and strengthen its service offerings.

Other than looking for more ways to engage in collaborative work with local businesses, the couple also puts effort into improving the business’s digital footprint by providing free seminars that feature field experts they have close relationships with.

“Black and White Finance is all about giving people valuable content, as opposed to monthly Black and White Finance updates,” Vassilis says.

He believes anyone can do a job in a specific industry, but to become successful one needs to be in the top 5% of that industry.

Vassilis says the key to getting there is “knowledge, the right people, a sustainable business model with a mission statement, values that are true to you, and some trade secrets”.

“And don’t forget to stay on your toes, and constantly seek feedback.”