Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Tewes.
Hi Brian, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story starts with the decision to attend the University of Central Florida. I moved up here from Ft. Lauderdale, spent four great years as a Knight, and graduated with a Bachelor’s Science in Business Administration. I then hopped around a few jobs before landing in the finance/banking industry. I spent three years working both on the retail and operations end of banks all the while pursuing my MBA in Management at Nova Southeastern University. My MBA then completed in ’16 while still being in the banking world. A year later, I left my safe, corporate, full-benefits job for an entrepreneurial adventure. I obtained my mortgage license and switched to becoming a full-time loan officer under my dad’s brokerage: Tewes Mortgage. My dad at the time had been in the industry for 23 years, so needless to say there was an endless amount of wisdom to bestow on me. I tried to soak it all in and after six months of doing so, I realized I needed to build a team. Two of my best friends coincidentally at the time were looking for career changes, to which I brought them on as mentees to learn the business. After they got their licenses, my dad ironically enough followed suit. Next thing you know, our two-man shop in 2017 has turned into a 10-person small business now in 2021. Though still small, Tewes Mortgage has gained a larger influence in its two major communities of central Florida and the Keys. Our plan is to continue to grow not so much in our staff but in the amount of lives we can impact in this challenging industry.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t. Every once in a blue moon, there’d be a sense of relaxation. And then a new challenge would come about. Truthfully though, I’ve welcomed it. I would much rather be given problems to solve to grow my career and personal self than let an employer dictate what I’m financially and educationally capable of. Some of the obstacles though were quite rough. Losing the first person from our company to a competitor was a pill I didn’t know how to swallow; let alone the person was my best friend. It initially felt like a long-term relationship breakup, though after a while you could see the growth that came from both me and him out of that. Another hard struggle was the first time letting go of an employee. It was anything but smooth as I was too scared to put the writing on the wall; this led to her being blindsided which had its verbal repercussions. And now, the more recent challenges have just been how to grow the business. When you’re working with family that’s been doing this forever, it’s tough to get new ideas to pass. Change is scary, especially to those in power. But as I say that, I have to state that my dad’s been great in listening and implementing. Our change has been slow, but it’s been steady, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
So my official title, if that’s even a thing, is Vice President of Tewes Mortgage. But what I really do is lead a team of loan officers, processors, and loan assistants to help people achieve the best mortgage for them. I specialize in advising & strategizing how to finance one of the largest purchases of people’s lives. What I’m most proud of is the impact I’m able to leave on people, referencing to both my immediate team and then clients. I try to be the best person I can be to rub off on others, and I think that’s what sets me apart. I don’t look at mortgages as transactions. Instead, I look at them as avenues to wealth-building, to which I’ve built my expertise & team to get people into the best financial spot for said wealth.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was all about doing things. Literally, anything. I wasn’t a homebody. In middle school, I was an ambassador showing future kids & their parents around the school. In high school, I got involved in tutoring, basketball leagues (recreation though, I wasn’t good enough to make the high school team), and eventually DJing. If I wasn’t doing any of that, I liked playing video games and watching movies with my friends. You could pretty much never catch me inside doing introverted activities unless it was homework-related. I guess what was really instilled in me from an early age was to get involved and enjoy life. There was so much to do and explore outside of the four walls of my home, and I was blessed to have a family that allowed me to do that. If you looked back at almost any photo of me growing up, it would be of me being active in one way or another.
Contact Info:
- Email: batewes@tewesmortgage.com
- Website: www.tewesmortgage.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/brithemortgageguy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCovnbYCCRdJZK8fCYar_DlA
