Cameron Perry, director of Perry Finance and CEO of Melbourne Finance & Equity Group, ranked as one of the top commercial brokers in 2022. Here, he shares his story, the secrets of his success and his advice for other brokers looking to succeed in the market.
Kylie: [00:00:21] Welcome to MPA TV. Today I'm talking to Cameron Perry, the CEO of brokerage Perry Finance. Cameron has been named one of the top 20 commercial brokers for 2022. Congratulations and thanks for joining us today, Cameron.
Cameron: [00:00:37] Thank you very much for having me.
Kylie: [00:00:39] I'd like to start by asking you about your role at Perry Finance, what the company does and your career with them to date.
Cameron: [00:00:48] Perry Finance has been operating since approximately 2004. We are a boutique broking business located in Melbourne. We specialize in providing finance solutions to commercial property investors and small business owners. And also we have a an associated company called Melbourne Finance and Equity Group that specializes in solutions for property developers. And my role at the company is director and CEO and I have a support team around me to assist.
Kylie: [00:01:32] Being named one of the top 20 commercial brokers for 2022 is an outstanding achievement. What does it mean to you personally and your team that supports you?
Cameron: [00:01:43] Look it is a great achievement and a great reward for the hard work over the last 12 months, particularly for my team. And it's great to get some recognition as a small business for the hard work that we have done over the last 12 months. And hopefully it does give the other members of my team a bit of a boost and incentive to keep going.
Kylie: [00:02:10] What are the secrets to success and what advice do you have for brokers working in commercial finance?
Cameron: [00:02:18] The most important things that I can say that have worked over the years, I mean, number one is building your knowledge base around what you're doing so that you are providing a valuable service and providing valuable advice to your clients. Number two would be building a good team around you. It's a very complicated area and it has a lot of moving parts and it's impossible to do by yourself. You need good people around you to be able to successfully work in this space. I believe I'm a big believer in that. And I think also managing your time, I think it is quite easy to get dragged into certain areas that take you away from your primary focus, which is assisting clients and and writing transactions. And I think you do have to be very careful to manage your time in this space.
Kylie: [00:03:20] There's a growing demand for commercial finance for small business clients. What's driving this and where do you see the market heading?
Cameron: [00:03:28] I think with more and more business being conducted online and a lot more and I think with a lot of freelancing and also the the introduction of outsource of more and more outsourcing, both internationally and and locally, it enables. Small businesses to operate a lot more above their their punching weight, so to speak. So I think for ambitious business owners, it gives them that opportunity to grow. And of course, as part of that, they generally need funding to to grow. So it does open up a lot of opportunities in the finance space. I think the way that the global economy is moving and it does obviously there's there's a lot more opportunities for small business owners out there.
Kylie: [00:04:30] How can commercial finance brokers demonstrate their value proposition in a period where we have rising interest rates, supply chain issues and higher inflation?
Cameron: [00:04:41] I think they need to be across the broader economic environment and be able to at least provide some. Obviously, not being an expert in that field necessarily, but provide some context to the pricing of commercial loans. And I think also. I mentioned before being knowledgeable in the space that includes how the loans are priced and also being knowledge about the various banks products. So you can point them in the right direction and put together the right funding packages for the client.
Kylie: [00:05:22] Thanks, Cameron. And finally, what are your goals for the next 12 months?
Cameron: [00:05:28] Obviously a very challenging environment, so the goals are often shifting. With the environment that we're working in. But my main goal is to build the team around me to a point that it is less and less reliant on me building up the skills with the team that I've got, got a really good team there, working hard and getting the most out of them and, and building on that to, to build a sustainable business that runs itself, which I think just about every small business owners goal at the end of the day.
Kylie: [00:06:07] Well, thanks so much once again for your time today.
Cameron: [00:06:10] Cameron, it's been a pleasure. Same to you.
Kylie: [00:06:13] And thank you to our viewers for watching the latest edition of MPA TV. We look forward to seeing you again soon.
