Meet Jacqueline Dillon

I grew up in Greenock and have lived in the Inverclyde area all my life. Andrew and I are married and business partner too, we have two, now grown up children, Emma and Katie. I have had various jobs throughout my career, including working for the Civil Service when I left school, moving on to Insurance and Pensions for many years, then into banking. Prior to becoming a self-employed mortgage broker, I was a Mortgage Manager in Clydesdale Bank, managing a team of advisers. From my experience across the financial services industry, I could see a real need for the type of holistic business we have steadily been growing. It was in 2020 I took the leap and decided to become self-employed as an adviser and formed Dillon Mortgages Ltd with my husband. After working as an AR for other Networks, we set up Contemporary Financial Solutions and became Directly Authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in September 2022. This gives us the most flexibility to run our business our way, plus able to expand which led us to employ our daughter, Katie. It feels especially rewarding being part of family business.

I have spent my whole working life working for large corporate UK companies, mainly in people management roles, which were in the main very demanding, especially when working full time and trying to raise a family (in those days managers weren’t permitted part time working hours). A pattern began to develop, I would work hard for which I was rewarded with promotions, then after several years a company restructure the job would no longer be there, meaning I had to find a new position. Being self-employed appealed to me as I would finally be in control of my own work and became my own boss. I felt this was the first time in my career I had this option. After many years in financial services, we identified a gap in the market for the very tailored, personalised, and supportive service we now offer to our clients and advisers. Similarly we were aware that, similar to many local areas, lacked a modernised vision of providing help, support and advice, plus prepared to work around clients’ needs. Helping people achieve their goals and get themselves onto the property ladder is a major inspiration and the way I approach this is exactly how I would want my own children and family to be looked after by a Financial Adviser or professional.

A big challenge in my career was the setbacks from redundancies, having to start and ultimately never feeling fully secure in a position, this made me realise working for myself would truly create the drive and motivation to create something of my own, setting my own standards and goals. By starting the business and becoming my own boss I have assured my own freedom in the way I work and am empowered to make the decisions to help the business grow and thrive, while providing a superior service to our clients.

No day is the same as the next in this career, but most importantly every day I make sure I am present and available for my clients. Making sure everyone has access to the support needed to make the decisions for their financial goals. Checking in on my cases so they are managed and kept up to date all the way through to seeing someone move into their dream home, striving to make it as seamless and stress free as possible for them. The nicest compliment is when a client comments on how straight forward the process was from their point of view, even though sometimes in the background things aren’t always straight forward. When I leave work though I am focussed on relaxing and spending quality time with my family and friends.

The work we do helps people make the biggest financial decision of their lives therefore being open and honest with them is a major value, so they understand every aspect of the decision they are making and the reality of their financial situation. Having empathy for those that are struggling financially as these drives me to do my absolute best for them, to hopefully offer them some relief. Dedication and commitment are also important, as sometimes it can take years from an initial conversation for a client to reach the position to be able to buy a home.

Making the decision to go self-employed, it was a little scary at first thinking it could have potentially negatively affected my financial future security, but I am extremely grateful for where the journey has taken me. Just working hard every day for my business, providing the best possible outcomes for my clients, plus of course my family.

In my free time I like to spend time with friends and family and walking my daughter’s dog. I also enjoy travelling on various holidays with my husband, this is important so when we get a chance to get away, we do really try to take every opportunity to relax to ensure we are fully energised for our return.

Knowing you helped someone, and their family buy their dream home and knowing they received the best possible advice in their circumstances and are fully protected makes the job so fulfilling.

The role requires continual hard work for both your clients and the growth of your business. Make sure your focus is on how your client feels and be prepared to offer whatever support is required for them all throughout the journey.

We will continue to grow the business and create our legacy for our family. My goal is always to keep working in the best way for my ever-growing book of clients.

Having worked in financial services for over 30 years I have experience in most areas of Insurance and banking. It was in the later years of employment, whilst working for a Bank that I became involved in the intermediary side of the business, which was completely different to anywhere I worked before. Although it could be challenging, I enjoyed working with Mortgage and Protection Brokers and getting an understanding of what they did. I then passed the relevant financial exams to allow me to move to retail mortgages and had the opportunity to manage my own team of Mortgage and Protection Advisers for the remainder of my time in the bank. The bank then took the decision to cut their number of mortgage advisers and redundancy was offered and I left the bank at the beginning of 2020.

Andrew’s career path led him to become a Broker several years before, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to become a self-employed adviser, so we formed Dillon Mortgages.

Customer Service has played an essential part in every job I ever had, quite simply I provide the best service possible for each one of my clients. I am not always in control of what the banks do or the service they provide but being there for clients every step of the journey making the experience as simple and as stress free as possible for them.

It is also essential that I offer the best possible and correct advice based on their individual circumstances.

This means many of the clients I help go on to recommend my services to other people they may know.

The circumstances of every customer and mortgage are different, but in general I really enjoy working with first time buyers as the whole experience is new for them and I work closely with them, keeping them informed and updated throughout the whole process. On many occasions we can be working together for months while they are trying to find their dream home and it’s so lovely to see the excitement and happiness once they get to the end of the journey.

Many people come to us for help, sometimes their confidence is low as they do not believe they will be able to get a mortgage, perhaps due to a credit issue in the past or even worried they can’t afford a mortgage, some have been told by their own bank that they are not mortgage worthy. As I have access to almost all of the banks in the UK, I can normally provide the correct solution for them in their circumstances. If an immediate solution is not available, I will spend the time helping the client create a plan as how to achieve their goal in the short or long-term future. I can help immediately most of the time and it’s so lovely to see how happy and more confident they become knowing the can get a mortgage.

It is essential that I am continuously update and refresh my knowledge through CPD to ensure the best possible customer outcomes. Reading provider updates, meetings and contact with lenders and insurance providers is also important in keeping my knowledge up to date and relevant. A general understanding of mortgage markets via all online sources also keeps us up to date and ready to provide the correct advice for my clients.

If your customer is central to everything you do and in every decision, you make, this will stand you in good stead for future growth of your business.

The world is a very different place before Covid as it is now, although we would never have welcomed Covid if we had the chance, it has changed how we are able to communicate with clients on a daily basis.  Communications technology is now used being used more freely with most people. This allows me to communicate by whatever means suits my clients best, whether that be by telephone, Zoom, screen sharing and still face to face with clients at a time which suits my clients whether that be during the day, in the evening or weekends

Although technology is majorly important in all businesses these days, it is there as a tool to help us work smarter and more efficiently so I more than happy to embrace any changes or development in technology is it does that. Ultimately though my business is about my customers and only works well with continually interaction with people, so working closely with my clients and acting in their best interest at all times is my priority.

It is not easy to achieve the perfect work life balance as my customers are so important to me but it is also important that I am at my best when helping them an this can only be achieved if I focus on other elements of my life too. Spending time with my family and getting away from the business whether that be relaxing at home or on holiday really recharges the batteries.

I can’t imagine doing anything else as I really love what I do, helping people every day in so many different ways is extremely rewarding and satisfying. Also watching the company continue to develop and grow over the last few years makes me very proud of what we all do in the business.