Celebrating 15 years in the industry, founder and mentor Nancy Youssef shares her career highlights and goals
Q: What’s one of your recent career highlights?
A: Most recently, my biggest highlight has been finishing my book. I’ve always wanted to be an author, and after 15 years in this industry, facing many fears, reaching many milestones and learning countless lessons along the way, I have finally done it.
Q: What is your business philosophy and what inspired it?
A: I’ve got two businesses, Classic Finance and Classic Mentoring. My philosophy has always been anchored to my underlying message, which is education. Having been an investor who jumped into my first property not knowing anything, I’m passionate about giving people and small business owners the educational support they need to succeed, so I’ve built my whole business model around an abundance of education.
My business philosophy has always been very high-touch – relationships are key; they are the core of everything. My goal to empower people to take charge of their financial future has a really wide reach, too. Whether it’s eliminating debt and therefore eliminating stress, helping someone get into their dream home or assisting them in building wealth by investing in property, my business exists to help people make positive and proactive financial decisions. This also extends to my philanthropic work in Africa with the Human Kind Project.
Q: What is one piece of advice you often give your mentee brokers?
A: I think it comes back to this: don’t let fear stop you. Always surround yourself with people who you aspire to be like, who can help you on your journey. And don’t be afraid to ask for help, because there’s a lot of it out there.
What are your top three career goals for this year?
A: Firstly, writing my book! I’ll be releasing it to coincide with our 15-year anniversary in November, which is my second goal. Surviving and thriving for 15 years in this competitive, challenging, volatile and rewarding industry is a huge achievement. We’re going through a massive change as an industry, but as Classic Finance we’re doing our bit to remain relevant, consistent and agile, to move with changing market conditions and inspire new-to-industry brokers. I’m also midway through organising our fourth gala event this September, which exists solely to raise money for the Human Kind Project.
