Trevor Barrett09 August 2024

How to Scale to a Billion Ft. Trevor Barrett

0Frameworks

9Insights

Insights & moments

The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.

Explainer· 1

Explainer20:30

The real challenge of scaling a mortgage company across 49 states

Barrett explains that with over 1,600 team members, his biggest operational challenges are management scale and multi-state regulatory compliance. He describes navigating conflicting requirements from different state auditors and the new SES multi-state exam process meant to standardize oversight.

Barrett Financial has over 1,600 employees across 49 states
Hiring qualified managers is key to handling scale
Different state auditors sometimes give contradictory compliance requirements
New SES multi-state exams run five states simultaneously and are more comprehensive
Barrett sees SES as painful short-term but ultimately a path to consistency across states

“We're really big on compliance, and when we have an exam, an auditor comes in, we always have flying colors.”
Trevor Barrett · 21:00

#compliance#scaling#mortgage-industry

Story· 5

Story03:30

From bank teller to founding a billion-dollar mortgage shop

Trevor Barrett traces his path from a Wells Fargo teller in 1993 to a mortgage broker in 1998 to founding Barrett Financial in February 2002. He describes taking a leap of faith into a broker's office with just a desk and a phone, owing an $1,800 desk fee against a $700 house payment.

Started as a bank teller at Wells Fargo (then First Interstate Bank) in 1993
Moved to the broker side in 1998 after a brief stint at AmeriQuest Mortgage
Founded Barrett Financial in February 2002
First desk fee was $1,800/month versus a $700 house payment
Took the leap because he had little to lose at the time

“I got to pay an $1,800 bill here. But I was like, I got to make this happen.”
Trevor Barrett · 16:00

#entrepreneurship#mortgage-industry#career-origin

Story05:00

Why Barrett Financial killed the desk fee model

Barrett recalls paying a punishing $1,800 monthly desk fee as a young broker in the 1990s for nothing more than a desk and a phone. When he started his own company in 2002, he built it explicitly without desk fees, a decision he says shaped how loan officers viewed joining the firm.

Desk fees in the 1990s could exceed a broker's own mortgage payment
Barrett founded his company on a no-desk-fee model in 2002
New loan officers were surprised there was no desk fee
He notes desk fees are now rarer in mortgage than in real estate

“We're not going to do desk fees.”
Trevor Barrett · 05:30

#business-model#mortgage-industry#recruiting

Story07:30

How Trevor Barrett instills grit in his six kids despite their abundance

Barrett describes requiring all six of his kids to work through high school, and a memorable moment where his wife fired hired landscapers so their sons would do yard work themselves. He reflects on the challenge of passing on hustle to children raised in more comfort than he had growing up.

All six kids required to get jobs in high school for extra spending money
Wife fired hired landscapers so the boys would do the yardwork instead
Kids must work a year elsewhere before being allowed to join the family business
Barrett started earning money at age 11 cleaning ashtrays at his mom's real estate office
He argues kids remember working alongside a parent more than lavish vacations

“My sons literally, my wife literally went out, paid them the money, and then fired them. Says, no, my sons and my husband will be…”
Trevor Barrett · 09:30

#parenting#work-ethic#family

Story32:30

Barrett Gives Back: paying off school lunch debt and packing meals

Barrett describes his company's giving-back program, which includes paying off entire school districts' lunch debt and organizing employee volunteer events like Feed My Starving Children. He frames the program as a legacy that will outlast the company itself.

Program is called "Barrett Gives Back"
Company has paid off a school district's outstanding lunch debt
Employees regularly volunteer at Feed My Starving Children meal-packing events
New hires are asked in interviews what they currently do for their community
Barrett frames the giving program as the thing he most wants the company remembered for

“It's going to outlive you for generations and generations and it'll probably be the only thing you're remembered for.”
Joe (host) · 34:00

#philanthropy#company-culture#faith

Story27:30

Going from strict parent to endlessly patient grandparent

Barrett reflects on how much more patient he became with his first grandchild compared to raising his own six kids, no longer caring about ruined shirts or minor messes. He looks forward to coaching grandkids in sports and being present for their milestones.

First grandchild is 3 months old; a second grandchild is on the way
Barrett says he has far more patience now than when his own kids were young
He no longer worries about spoiled clothing or minor messes
At 52, he considers himself a young grandfather relative to his peer group
Looking forward to attending and coaching grandkids' sports

“I have a lot more patience now than I did when I had my first kids or when my kids were a lot younger.”
Trevor Barrett · 28:00

#family#parenting#life-perspective

Q&A· 1

Q&A18:00

The best advice Trevor Barrett ever got: save big in the good years

Barrett shares the single piece of advice he calls the most valuable of his career, given by a multimillionaire construction company owner in his late 20s: in the mortgage business, the highs will be higher and the lows will be lower, so save aggressively in good years and stay out of debt to survive the bad ones.

Advice came from Greg Olsen, a successful Arizona construction company owner
Core message: save during high-earning years, don't spend it
Second core message: stay out of debt
Barrett says this let him survive the inevitable down cycles in mortgage
He wishes he had saved more and invested rather than taking frequent trips in his 20s

“The highs will be higher, and the lows will be lower.”
Greg Olsen (via Trevor Barrett) · 18:30

“It's a lot easier to get through the bad times when you've saved up during the good times.”
Trevor Barrett · 19:00

#financial-advice#mentorship#risk-management

Tool· 2

Tool23:30

Inside Barrett Financial's "Money Making Mondays" training call

Barrett describes a weekly Monday training session where he brings in top CEOs from other major mortgage companies to share what made them successful, followed by live Q&A for his loan officers. He treats it as a recurring engine for keeping originators motivated and informed.

Weekly Monday call called "Money Making Mondays", run at 11am Pacific
Features guest CEOs from other large mortgage companies
Ends with an open Q&A session for loan officers
Timed at 11am to suit both West Coast and East Coast loan officers
Positioned as a way to keep independent originators engaged and showing up

“We make sure that we're bringing like top people that are successful to give the tidbits of what made them great so we can get…”
Trevor Barrett · 24:00

#training#team-culture#mortgage-industry

Tool37:30

How Barrett Financial tracks company goals with weekly huddles

Barrett outlines the concrete metrics his company tracks, including growing to 3,000 loan officers, closing loans in under 15 calendar days, and clearing the warehouse line within 4 days. Teams review progress in monthly meetings and weekly huddles modeled on a practice borrowed from UWM.

Company goal: grow from ~1,500 to 3,000 loan officers
Target: close loans in under 15 calendar days (currently averaging 13)
Target: clear the warehouse line within 4 days (currently averaging 3.5)
Weekly huddles on goals borrowed directly from UWM's practice
When a goal is hit, the team immediately sets a new, higher one

“Everyone at my company has a goal... and if we're not [hitting it], how do we get there? And if we've already met it, oh…”
Trevor Barrett · 38:30

#goal-setting#operations#team-management