You do not need a client list, but you do need people. A profession, a community or a network to start from shortens the first year more than anything else.
Nobody arrives with a client database. What the successful new brokers arrive with is people: a profession they came from, a community they belong to, a sport, a faith, a language, a former employer, a spouse's industry. A book is built by turning people who already know you into clients and referrers, then adding the professionals who meet buyers first.
If you are starting with a small network, it can still work, but you should know it before you start and plan a longer runway. The brokers who struggle are the ones who expected the brokerage or a lead vendor to supply the people.
Build the database from the first week: everyone you speak to goes into a CRM you own, with their consent recorded, whether or not they need a mortgage today. Two years later that list is the business. The self assessment guide asks the question directly: is there a book somewhere in your life already?
We onboard licensed brokers only and do not sponsor initial licensing. There is no formal ninety day programme and no named mentor guarantee. There is a team chat where new and experienced brokers answer questions around the clock, a Deal Desk for the file you cannot place, and head office carrying processing and compliance so your first ninety days are spent on conversations. We do not hand out leads.
The full guide, with the detail and the numbers.
Should you become a mortgage broker? A self assessmentUpgrade from Level 1 to Level 2 in Ontario: 12 months licensed, the Private Mortgages Course, no FSRA fee, and what Level 2 lets you do.
Step by step: the course, exam and sponsoring brokerage you need to become a mortgage broker in Ontario, BC or Alberta, plus the cost and timeline.
What mortgage agent and broker jobs in Canada actually are: commission not salary, licensed through a brokerage, and what to compare before you join one.
Bring your questions to a discovery call and a broker owner will answer them directly.