Broker profile: 'a naturally entrepreneurial mindset'

Brisbane-based Clear Insurance’s award-winning MD Lisa Carter is a self-starter who left school and knocked on doors until she found her tribe in broking, establishing her business in 2010 after 11 years at Aon.

What was your pathway to broking?

School was boring to me – just the rules and the structure. I left part-way through grade 11. When you’re an entrepreneurial spirit, and like exploring possibilities, too many regulations forced upon you is frustrating. It just goes against your nature.

Someone with a naturally entrepreneurial mindset always looks for opportunities and ways to try new things.

I started as a receptionist at a small, specialist Sunshine Coast brokerage. That’s how I landed in insurance. I couldn’t find work. I’d been door-knocking from office to office, trying to find a job. That would have been in the mid-1990s.

If I hadn’t entered the workforce, I wouldn’t have been able to progress my career as quickly as I did. By the time I was 25, I was an authorised representative and I was earning a six-figure commission-based salary by 27. I think there’s something to be said for starting young. I didn’t have a massive HECS debt – zero. I didn’t go to university. Formal education is important but it’s not for everyone.

I worked for suburban brokers in southern Sydney for a couple of years but missed my family in Queensland. I wanted to return home, so I applied for a job with Aon in Brisbane. I was with Aon for 11 years and it was a great training ground.

My clients are complex businesses that require very structured bespoke insurance programs for multiple businesses and activities. We focus on the hospitality, construction and medical industries, but mostly hospitality. We look after many large venues, RSL clubs, leagues, clubs and nightclubs.

I’m passionate about servicing my clients, and I love the relationships we build. The long-term clients become friends. I enjoy educating clients on insurance and helping them to understand risk. When they’ve got the right cover in place, it brings positive outcomes – the claims, the good news stories, and the feeling of helping people.

Why did you become a sole trader?

The biggest clincher was life/work balance because I was pregnant with my second child and wanted to work from home. It was a time before remote working was a possibility. I’d have to put client files in a suitcase and wheel them on the train.

I asked if I could access the system remotely, but it just wasn’t done in those days, so I decided to look at other options and joined Insurance Advisernet because of their software.

As a broker, it gave me more freedom when representing my clients, and Insurance Advisernet’s software offer was market-leading at the time. No one else had that. Now, of course, everyone can do it.

The corporate brokers work slightly differently in that you must abide by their preferred placement arrangements. It’s not necessarily right or wrong; it’s just that you’re very governed in the way that you operate as a broker.

How have you juggled running a brokerage and home life?

I have three young daughters and I’ve been running my business for 11 years now. I have plenty of family support as a solo, working parent. I am proud of my great team of staff, who are mostly working mothers too. We’re at eight and looking to really grow the business. We attract and support women – working mums, mums returning to the workforce, and mature-age women looking for better work-life balance.

I’m an avid live music fan, and I love going to concerts – all my children and dogs are named after bands. I also love hockey. I’m chair of the Women’s Committee at Commercial Hockey Club. I coach two under 11 girl’s teams and operate the women’s side of the club. We’re one of the most successful hockey clubs in Brisbane with over 600 members; it’s a high-performance club.

I’m using my operations and strategy skills to help improve the club’s success; it’s going well. It’s challenging, but on the plus side, it’s improving my interpersonal and people management skills. I’m enjoying it.

I’m also a Queensland Executive Committee Member for Women Chiefs of Enterprises International. The culture is beautiful – no tall poppy syndrome. It’s a group of elite businesswomen that completely support one another. We have a variety of events where we get together to form relationships and support one another and our business ventures.