My story is not an unusual one… I grew up on a farm outside of a very small country town in central South Western Queensland. Having been born in the late 60s we had been through some turbulent financial Times.
I remember having second-hand clothing as a kid and taking on part-time work were I could to earn pocket money, but even with all of that, I had a fantastic childhood.
I left home just after my 15th birthday as I got a good job, working for the railway in a different town. This was an exciting move for me as it gave me the independence I so desperately craved. I moved to Gladstone and shared a house with a family friend. This didn’t last long though, and soon enough I was renting a room from an elderly couple.
They took me in and looked after me, it was almost like being at home, except I had to pay for everything! This wasn’t so bad because I still had my freedom.
I worked for the railway for a couple of years but my attitude was getting in my way. I quit that job and went home to live with mum. I had a series of jobs while I was trying to find myself. But life was still good.
I had a serious motorcycle accident and this pulled me up for a while. But like anything that happens, there is normally a hidden opportunity somewhere. The motorcycle accident led to working with my Uncle Fred back on the farm again. This allowed me to recuperate and learns new skills. This then led to a new job in Gayndah were I learned a lot about life. I moved in with my girlfriend and life was fantastic! Angela, if you’re out there I’ll never forget those times!
Effectively, I began my sales career shortly after. I was working at a roadhouse and I met a lady that worked for the Don Pancho Beach Resort. She mentioned they were looking for salespeople so instantly, I applied. Much better than pumping gas! I got the job and next thing you know, I’m dressed in shorts and a T-shirt and wearing white deck shoes, showing people around the resort. It was a buzz! I learnt a lot about sales at that job.
That job was fun but I still wasn’t satisfied so I continued to try and find myself with door-to-door selling, being the trainee assistant manager at a high profile motel, duty manager at a country pub, real estate salesperson, Foreman at a security manufacturing firm, security guard, selling land on an island (that was interesting), and then I got into selling advertising on radio, working to Channel 10 as an advertising rep and got involved in graphic design
It’s at this point that I started in business for myself. My interest in graphic design led me to start a promotional company, and I was even fortunate enough to win a contract to supply work for McDonald’s. This is also unfortunately, where things started to come unstuck. Like many other salespeople, I was good at talking, but not so good at the paperwork. This led me to bring in a mate who was good at paperwork .
Neil had run many companies himself and seemed successful. He successfully relieved me of $135,000 over a four-month period. All things considered, it is my fault. I gave him the opportunity, and he took it. Most of the money he relieved me of was borrowed funds for expansion. This of course means I had repayments to make with no money to make them.
I sought legal advice and was told my only option was to declare bankruptcy. I took the advice and declared bankruptcy only to find a few months later (not being happy with being bankrupt), when I received new advice from a different lawyer, and he suggested strongly that I didn’t need to be bankrupt after all. After to-ing and fro-ing with the authorities, I found that I was stuck in the bankruptcy until the end of the term (three years). Feel with me now, here I am, bankrupt and Now knowing I didn’t need to be bankrupt. Let me just say, I was not happy.
I declared bankruptcy on 1 September 2000 and was discharged from bankruptcy on 2 September 2003. I learnt a lot whilst I was bankrupt. One of the main things I learnt, was that there was no one out there to help. Or at least no one I could find.
I retrained and became a mortgage broker and quite a successful one.
On 1 October 2003, with the assistance of a close friend. I started the company called Mortgage Power International Pty LTD.. By February 2004. I was informed of a trademark violation, and I promptly changed the name to Mortgage Now. Over the next five years, Mortgage Now has grown to be known as the largest exclusively nonconforming mortgage brokerage in Australia. During this time, I have extended my reach into a variety of other fields and have had the pleasure of working with a large number of very interesting people. Today, I have interests in helping other small business owners, Federal Government, a direct debit service firm,was appointed the Chairman of The Now Foundation, Non legal director of Law firms MyCRA Lawyers & Armstrong Doessel Stevenson lawyers and most recently, launched Visa Easy and Trailu Travel.
I’m enjoying life at the moment and it’s great to be able to give back!
I can be contacted any time through this website or by phoning my office (AUST) 1300 667 218.
for more information about Graham Doessel, Please click HERE