Get to know your Regional Business Partner, Nicky Dunkin
Tell us a bit about your journey in the insurance industry to where you are at CBN today…
It’s really hard to answer this question with only a short few sentences! I have been in the insurance industry since 1993, in fact it is all I have ever known. I commenced my insurance career with a local SA family owned business and what an introduction to this amazing industry. After six years , I moved across to a national broking house and after a short period of working for them in SA, I was asked to transfer to the Perth office. It was in WA that I had the biggest learning curve of my life, developing from a Broker Assistant to a Senior Broker during my time there. My move to WA coincided with the start of the mining boom so clients were growing exponentially. It was a really exciting time to be in this industry. I lived in WA for 10 years before moving back to SA. I again joined a local family owned brokerage, and when the Director decided to retire, he sold and we were merged with my original employer from when I was 17! I had come full circle. As a Senior Broker and part of the management team I personally looked after large Commercial and Corporate clients while managing 12 SME Team staff members.
From there, I came to CBN, originally as a contractor and then a full time employee, moving into the SA/NT/ACT Regional Manager role. My role has changed and expanded over the past four years, and I still love the decision I made to join the CBN community.
How does CBN successfully empower authorised brokers to be their own boss?
One of the things I love about CBN is that we give our brokers autonomy whilst having the backing of a large network. Our authorised brokers have a passion and dedication to succeed, and CBN provide the back office, tools, resources and partnership to support their ambitions and goals.
How does CBN differ from other authorised networks?
CBN differs from other networks in sheer scale. We are a large network, but with a community feel. We also have the additional service offering of our Broker Partnering Team which is a real benefit when one of our brokers needs additional qualified broking support.
What are three top tips you can give to ARs about running their own business?
- Try to have realistic goals and expectations
- Know your clients, and your competition
- Surround yourself with good people
Three interesting facts about yourself?
- I love camping, caravanning and travel – anywhere, anytime!
- I spent 3 months volunteering in an AIDS clinic in Nepal whilst at the same time, living in an orphanage.
- I am also a small business owner
Share one of your favourite success stories
One of my favourite success stories would be the CBN Broker Circles. A virtual get together for our broker network where they can talk about their current issues, concerns, wins, etc. – with other network brokers on a regular basis. It provides an excellent platform for peer learning. They get to share their good new stories or their frustrations with others and in most cases, realise they aren’t alone. This has worked really well with our SA & NT brokers for well over a year now.
