Full Transcript is Below:
– [Greg] Welcome into our top producer series for the month of September, 2022. I’m NFM TV’s Greg Sher. Can you believe it’s September already? We’re featuring Lindsay Poe this month, Division President of BluPrint Home Loans, a member of the NFM Family of Lenders. We’re heading out west. And when I say west I mean way west to San Diego, California. Lindsay thanks for being with us and agreeing to be our top producer for the month of September.
– [Lindsay] Hey Greg, thanks for having me.
– I had to twist your arm. We should tell everyone that I asked you to do this. I don’t know, three times, maybe four and each time until now you said I’m not gonna do it because BluPrint’s not about me. It’s about the people, and that’s so profound and a perfect backdrop to getting into what you’re building there at BluPrint. It’s super impressive. And I look forward to this conversation with you. You’ve been in the business 23 years. That’s an awful long time, and you’ve been the President of BluPrint Home Loans for nearly three years. So let’s talk about those people who do great work. Let’s talk about the culture of BluPrint Home Loans. Tell us all about it.
– [Lindsay] I feel incredibly to have great team around me. It’s exciting when you know we’re always going to have the challenges come with being in the mortgage business but, when we can get rid of the noise and create a culture of collaboration where people feel like they’re heard, where they have a seat at the table, magic happens.
– Well, I heard a rumor that somehow two plus two equals 10. And I guess in the BluPrint world, that’s correct. Right. Please explain.
– [Lindsay] Absolutely! It’s definitely about having the right people on the bus first, so identifying the right talent and the right leaders, and then really empowering them the tools and resources that they need to do the best in their roles and positions where they can own it and come to work happy and excited about the role that they play in the success of the loan process.
– You’ve been working with a lot of the people at BluPrint for several years. Talk about how proud you are of those people and the opportunity that you’re able to present for those to never reach a ceiling to get as high as they’re intended to be.
– Yeah. I don’t want people to feel like they have to leave BluPrint to elevate their career. And I think that it’s important that if someone has the right attitude and eager to want to learn, it can be as fun in this ever changing business we should be able to to provide them that platform. The same way with the originators it’s awesome to take an originator who might fund a couple loans a month and really help them readjust their business to the current market conditions and help them either build a team underneath them or maybe they just would be a coach and building their branch more horizontally.
– You’re an originator at heart, is that safe to say?
– I am.
– So you were in the countrywide family for some time and when the financial crisis hit, it was kind of an epiphany for you that set you on this trajectory to kind of calling your own shots and creating your own thing. Give us a window into that
– [Lindsay] In the mortgage banking side where we control the underwriting, the processing the closing. We’re able to hire people that are like minded who can think outside the box, yet make great decisions to keep us safe so we continue to build long term platform. To continue to succeed at this height.
– I’m curious to know the divisional model where you are the president and you are running kind of your own brand and culture. What were the advantages that you saw in grabbing that opportunity and how has it helped to propel BluPrint?
– It was really smart of NFM to create the divisional model where it allowed you guys to identify great market leader that you can trust to build a company. And you guys could at the same time, grow your volume yet empower us with pure autonomy to be able to build our businesses as we saw fit, depending upon market that we’re serving
– In a time when the business is contracting you are blowing up, you’re expanding across the country by asking leaders, what kind of support do you need to be all that you can be? It’s simple, but at the same time, it’s brilliant. Tell us about that strategy and how it’s paying off.
– [Lindsay] Yeah, I think that we’re all made differently and I think that all us can be successful in different ways and so instead of looking at how we want to force a square peg into a round pool. It’s exciting to be able to sit down with originators and really understand their business. understand what their strengths are, what their vision is and be able to build around them so that they can grow their business and their reputation in the markets that they serve.
– These are challenging times. It’s not a big secret that we had the best of times in the mortgage industry. And we won’t call these the worst of times right but they’re certainly more challenging. And it’s always more challenging when you come off of a period of time where things are so easy. So how are you keeping the morale up? What kind of things do you turn to ensure that everyone remains focused?
– Yeah, I think actually it’s a blessing in disguise. I think it’s given us an opportunity to take a breath take a break, I think it’s important to cross train your team. You now a lot of our people can process loans but they can also help out on the loan officers assistance side. They might know how to disclose not to do it all the time but being able to bend and flex depending on your volume is so you can keep the turn times and the pipeline moving. But without having to hire additional bodies or additional expenses is really important.
– So leadership is challenging and you are the Division President of BluPrint Home Loans. There are a lot of valleys. There are a lot of peaks. Certainly we are experiencing a lot of valleys these days. How do you get through those days? What are those like? And what do you draw on to get strength?
– Sometimes tough decisions have to made. I’m not afraid to make them. I think that I’m adamant about transparency, and ensuring that constantly communicating with the team, what our challenges are but also then including them and what should the solutions be. And so then, regardless of whether it’s something positive and exciting, like a new program or something you now that might be a little bit tougher to address at least we’re all in it together.
– What do you think you’ll close this year? How many families do you think you’re gonna help this year?
– Well, we’re getting busier, which is exciting. I mean, we’re still, our goal is to be at a billion by the end of the year. So we have some work to do, but we also have some really awesome talent that comes the table.
– [Greg] That was a billion that’s with a B, right?
– [Lindsay] It’s with a B.
– [Greg] That’s amazing. We’ve talked a lot about what makes BluPrint great when it comes to closing loans and kind of the culture within those walls. But when you leave those walls and you go out into the community, you’re also going to great lengths to kind of pay it forward and keep it fun. Tell us all about that.
– Yeah. We definitely believe in giving back and it’s not on a big corporate structure, it’s allowing the local branches to identify a non profit that their passionate about. and being about to be part of the community. So in Long Beach, we’re part of Precious Lamb, which is a preschool for children that are homeless. We’ve done Habitat for Humanity. We’re getting ready this November to build homes for Veterans. So that’s just as important you know for us and to have fun outside of work and also give back.
– I wanna talk about your rock and you’ve got the family at BluPrint, but then you have the family at home. You’ve got four beautiful children. Go ahead and talk about your family for a moment and what they mean to you?
– [Lindsay] I mean, my family is everything. I think if that’s 1,000% my why. I’m truly thankful to have a partner, you know we met at in the business so he was an originator when I was an originator. So I always joke that he knows the crazy that he married, but it’s nice to be able to have the flexibility to be a mom. I support incredible children, two boys, two girls. It’s super exciting. And I think it just changes your mindset about what life’s all about
– Is that hard for you to balance that out to know that you’ve got this growing family on this side and then you’re trying to build this other side as a mom and a parent. What’s that paradox like for you?
– [Lindsay] I mean, BluPrint my fifth kid. I think you definitely make sure that your time blocking. So, I show up to all the important parts right, you don’t to miss those. None of us are going to look back in life and wish that we spent more time behind a computer. At the same token, I take it very seriously everything that we’re building and the people that do trust us with their careers and feeding their families. And it’s important that we deliver on our end and that’s super gratifying as well.
– So how about a couple of takeaways before we wrap this up about leadership, about what you’ve learned in this role as the Division President of BluPrint, because it’s one thing to aspire to have all these pieces to build something spectacular. It’s another thing to find yourself in there in the heat of the moment. So what are a few takeaways that you’ve learned?
– I think I’ve learned how to be a really good listener and I’ve learned how to be a really good delegator. So for somebody who is more of an A type personality you want to control every aspect. When you finally find the right people that you can trust to do the job the way that you would want to do it. And that they’re going to a great one is awesome but, what’s even more gratifying is that when they do take on a strategic project and they succeed and just the gratitude and confidence that they have is awesome.
– Lindsay Poe, thank you very much. Congratulations on all your success. Can’t wait to see you continue to grow this thing.
– Thanks Greg. Always a pleasure.
– That’s Lindsay Poe, Division President of BluPrint Home Loans, a member of the NFM Family of Lenders. I’m Greg Sher from NFM TV. We’ll see you next time.