In L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz the overwhelming power of banking oligopolie and the culture of debt is satirised and the Tin Man, representing the industrial worker, the Scarecrow the farmer realise their true mettle on the Yellow Brick Road.
Mark Bouris, the head of Yellow Brick Road has always taken on the banks. If you are looking for the migrant rags to riches story then Bouris’ story is a quintessential one.
Bouris is best known as the founder of Wizard Home Loans, a leading Australian non-bank mortgage lender founded in 1996, which was sold in 2004 for $500 million.
When pushed to highlight the key elements of his success, he points to his love and knowledge of financial services.
And the fact that he never accepted the establishment saying, “I chose to compete against the financial oligopoly.”
Bouris never loses sight of his immigrant roots in Sydney’s west.
“People like me, the son of a migrant, never feel part of the establishment, never.
“Not that I felt shunned, but also growing up in the western suburbs of Sydney, I knew that I was not an invited guest.”
So, the only option for Bouris was “to operate on the other side.”
He was keen to take on the establishment and as he underscores “playing them at their own game.”
It’s not a migrant “chip on the shoulder” that many of us have, which drives Bouris “I was never dark on anyone, it’s not because of a chip on the shoulder… not because of a hatred of the establishment; its basic, it’s what you have to do.
“You either sink or swim, and part of my family’s values is that you swim.”
Bouris believes that hard work, respect for people, doing your best and never giving up were critical lessons his parents taught him.
More than anything he is staunch believer in not expecting too much.
“My parents said, ‘Mark don’t expect a job in the bank, don’t expect a Porsche. You want it, you work hard and get it.'”
His philosophy is simple and understandable; if you have low expectations then you face fewer disappointments.
“The people who fall over, who give up, are the people who during their lives have had expectations in their life about what they deserve and what they are entitled to.”
Bouris doesn’t expect anything, “I never did, and that comes down to the fact that when my family came to this nation we had nothing.”
He cautions Greek Australians of his generation about melding the great love of our children and great expectations.
“We as migrants and as Greeks mix our great love for our children with too many expectations for the ones we never had, and that can be a mistake.”
Making our children expect too much can be setting them up for a fall, as far as Bouris is concerned.
“You need to remind them that this does not come as a right in a sense of society, no one owes you anything.”
So why the gilded notion of Yellow Brick Road Bouris’ new financial services franchise?
He noticed that people in his area and new migrants, once Greek and Italians now Chinese, Lebanese and Indians, grew up thinking they “did not deserve anything”
“As immigrants and children of immigrants we believe we are not entitled to anything, so we work our arses off to prove that we deserve something.”
Financial advice is something that Bouris believes we all deserve and we need it from people that understand our locality and our culture.
“What I am trying to do is take advice to everyone where they live.”
Yellow Brick Road is unique in offering access in the locality and area where one lives.
Bouris is setting up branches in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and is aiming to franchise across Australia.
“I want people to join my business that believe in what I believe in. I want them to believe in the Socratic method.”
Socrates looms large in Bouris’ mind, “He was the greatest philosopher that ever lived and his style was to ask questions, and today its still an extraordinarily great thing.”
Yellow Brick Road are Socratic financial advisors; “They understand our reality, be it our migrant background, or local Aussies when you come into our office. We will ask you the right questions and then we’ll find the right person on our organisation and over time we’ll work out with you what you are trying to achieve.”
Yellow Brick Road provides advice on finances, on retirement, on a marketing strategy for your business, or a financial plan for your retirement.
“We’ll be a friend, a mentor and with no pressure, ” says Bouris.
For Bouris the most important thing in life is securing the right financial advice; “It’s important to have your own home and to retire well, it is the most important thing, especially for Greeks, they love to retire well.”
Bouris, the Tin Man, the Lion and the Scarecrow, all sought something down the Yellow Brick Road, which they already had in them, “they were looking for their true characteristics and they found through the journey what they always had.”
For more information go to www.ybr.com.au
