March sees the third of our ‘Women In Business’ series, focusing on Suzanne Bungard, our own mortgage and protection adviser at Resolve Financial Solutions.
Suzanne has been a mortgage and protection adviser for 15 years now with the last four years being with Resolve Financial Solutions. She also recently qualified as an equity release specialist. “I never imagined that I would have left the corporate world and be working at Resolve with such a great team. Making the switch to become self-employed was extremely scary but it was the best decision I ever made,” says Suzanne.
It has become apparent after speaking with a selection of Women In Business, that other individuals have inspired them during their career. Suzanne talks of a Manager that inspired her at the beginning of her career:
“When I first started as a mortgage advisor 15 years ago, I was very lucky to have Claire as my Manager. She took me under her wing and gave me the confidence I needed to succeed. She was a very hardworking adviser, who was loved by her clients and this has definitely shaped the type of adviser I am today and how I work.”
We were interested in learning how Suzanne manages the work/life balance especially because she is self-employed, “I’ve been working on this ever since joining Resolve four years ago! Being self-employed and mainly working from home has given me the flexibility to work the hours that suit my family and my clients. I do work most evenings but this allows me to be around when my children come home from school and I never have to miss the nativity at Christmas!” Having a flexible working environment for staff is important to Resolve Financial Solutions. When Suzanne is giving mortgage advice, she can be found at a boxing class or walking the dogs. She lives near to the South Downs so has a number of walks available to her every day. “My husband and children are football mad so most weekends are spent watching training!”
Challenges and Rewards
Like any woman, Suzanne has faced challenges in business, “The financial services industry is very male-orientated which was a little daunting 15 years ago. However, I think this is gradually changing and this is a massive benefit as a lot of my clients can relate to a working mum like myself.” Building relationships with her clients is very important to Suzanne and is one of the main reasons she finds her job so rewarding.
“I love working with clients in the equity release market. They are often a little nervous and confused and it’s very rewarding to be able to look after them and take away their money worries. I also enjoy helping first-time buyers through the whole process of buying a house and it’s really special to me to see them grow as a family over the years knowing I helped them buy their first property together.”
Suzanne’s key piece of advice…
“Speak to a mortgage advisor as soon as possible in the process. I often speak to clients months even years before they start planning to buy a property and it can really help with sorting out any credit issues and also help to build that rapport with someone ahead of time.”
If you would like to speak to Suzanne Bungard, regarding your mortgage or protection, please get in touch with her via email.
If you would like to feature in our Women in Business Series, then please get in touch.
Read our other Women in Business interviews here: Cat Archer Underwood, Terrie Hounsome, Lizzie Smith, Dipalee Jukes.