Jennifer Dooley knows that buying a home is about more than the numbers. A mum and mortgage adviser at Guardian Smith with a background in central banking, she helps families make sense of their options and feel more confident about their next move. Through her work, she brings a personal approach, plain-English explanations and an understanding of the juggling act that comes with family life. Here, she talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the passion behind what she does, her biggest breakthrough, the challenges she has overcome along the way, and her hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I spent almost ten years at the Reserve Bank here, mostly working with the lending data the banks report, so I knew a lot about mortgages on paper.
When we bought our own home, I found parts of it stressful, even with everything I knew. There’s a lot of jargon and a lot of waiting, and you don’t always know who to ask. It made me think about how it must feel for people who have never looked at a mortgage before.
Since becoming a mum, I’ve seen how much bigger these decisions feel when you have little ones. You’re thinking about space, about schools, about whether the budget still works if one of you is home for a while. I wanted to help families with that and to help them get set up well financially.
A home isn’t just a financial decision. It’s where your little ones take their first steps, where you have birthday parties and messy dinners and all the everyday stuff that makes a family. I think families deserve someone in their corner who takes the time to explain things, doesn’t mind answering the same question twice, works around busy schedules and actually picks up the phone.
I really enjoy explaining things in plain English and in a way people can relate to. It’s such a great feeling helping other families into a home.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
I left my job at the Reserve Bank, joined Guardian Smith and started with no clients at all.
The first few months were a big learning curve. Every lender has its own policies and its own way of doing things, and I spent a lot of evenings getting my head around it all. Understanding the data side was a great head start, but walking a real family through an application is a whole different thing.
I set up most things myself, like my website and my Instagram. After 12 years as a central banker working with data, the marketing side was all new to me and I learned a lot of it as I went.
My first few clients were people I knew, or people they sent my way. I still remember how nervous I was on those first calls. I wanted to get every little detail right for them. What kept me going was seeing those first families get their keys. That made all the early hard work feel worth it.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Getting on camera. I avoided it for ages. I’m not a natural performer and the first few videos took a lot of takes! I just tried to explain things the way I would to a friend over a cuppa. When I started posting short videos about things like deposits and the First Home Loan, people started messaging me with questions and some of them became clients.
A lot of those questions come from parents. Can we still buy while I’m on parental leave? How do childcare costs affect what we can borrow? Do we have to sell before we can move somewhere bigger?
Those are the conversations I really enjoy, because there’s rarely a one-size-fits-all answer. A big part of my job is understanding each family’s situation and where it fits best.
Recently, I helped a family buy a home while one of them was on parental leave. A lot of people assume that isn’t an option, so they hold off. Seeing them so happy in their new home was really special, and it’s a big part of why I do this.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
Not perfectly! Working for myself means I can plan my week around family, which I really value. Some days that means calls while my little one naps, or in the evening once everyone’s in bed. My husband helps a lot and we share the load.
I’m also more organised than I used to be. I do admin in set blocks instead of checking things all day. We aim to have quality family time every day, like having dinner together and going for a stroll afterwards. I also try to look after myself by doing some yoga in the mornings when I can and going to the gym a few times a week. Some weeks that all goes well and some weeks it doesn’t!
I’d be lying if I said it was always calm. There are days when the laptop is open on the kitchen bench and the washing is piling up. But I’d much rather have a full, busy life with my family at the centre of it.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Leaving a secure job was the big one. Going from a regular salary to starting from nothing was quite scary and I questioned it more than once. In the early days, you don’t know where your next client is coming from, and that takes some getting used to.
Social media didn’t come naturally either. I’m much more comfortable with a spreadsheet than filming myself. Putting your face online for anyone to see is a strange feeling at first. But people have been so kind, and it does get easier.
Doing all of this with a little person also means I’m a lot stricter about how I spend my time, and I try to be present when I’m with her.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The pros of being self-employed are that I get to decide how I work and I can be there for my family when I need to be.
I also love the people side of it: chatting with families, getting to know what matters to them, and helping them through the process from the beginning right through to them getting their keys and beyond. I stay in touch after settlement too, so when it’s time to refix or they need more space down the track, I’m there.
The cons, I guess, are that it’s hard to switch off. I do everything myself, from marketing to admin, and the income isn’t steady like a salary. That took some getting used to. It can be a bit lonely at times working on your own, so I’m lucky to have great colleagues at Guardian Smith I can bounce things off.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
For now, I want to keep doing what I’m doing and do it well. I want to provide a great service to every family I work with and let things grow from there.
I’d love to reach more parents who feel buying a home, or moving to something bigger, is out of reach. A lot of the time they just need someone to sit down with them and help them get clear on where they stand.
More than anything, I’d love my business to grow through word of mouth – families recommending me to their friends, their siblings and the other parents at playgroup because they had a good experience. That would mean the world to me.
Visit jenniferdooley.co.nz to find out more about the services she offers. You can also connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.
