After 20 years working in finance across banking, financial planning and mortgage brokering for other firms and businesses, Ben Gregory decided the time had come to steer his own ship.
Opening its doors in July 2020, Protego Finance started with Ben initially working as a one-man band from his home office in St Clair before employing ex-financial planner Joel Davis early the next year. With an emphasis on a slow, sustainable business growth, he has been steadily adding to his team over the 4-and-a-half-year lifespan with employees that complement each other and help the business offer more to potential clients. Protego Finance has now grown to a team of six with Parvesh and Jacqui joining the team as mortgage brokers in 2022 and 2023, Ross came onboard around the same time to provide commercial advice, and the team’s most recent addition Art joined six months ago. However, with growth comes inevitable change and how Protego Finance ended up calling Stretton Centre home in 2023 was what Ben describes as a ‘happy accident’.
Whilst on the road in the area with local appointments, Ben and Parvesh decided to kill time in the library downstairs in the Stretton Centre, however, with all spaces full, they innocently headed upstairs and took comfort in a level one meeting pod, not realising the co-working structure upstairs. After a quick chat with Stretton Centre staff and a quick explanation, they took a tour of the building and Ben realised it was the perfect solution for his growing business, and his own workspace needs.
‘We initially took up desks part-time and it worked out well as it gave us some transition time to get used to it and then we moved in full-time January this year,’ said Ben about the move to the Stretton Centre, ‘the setup, the location, it all just made sense to move in.’
With so much growth in the Playford region, the location of the Stretton Centre enables Protego Finance to better service their residential clients and particularly help first home buyers find their home within expanding developments such as Playford Alive, which are now right on their doorstep.
‘We have built a lot of connections and have been working this particular area since our inception five years ago. We do a lot of work with Playford Alive land agents and builders, through there and we have helped finance many houses and townhouses nearby for clients. So being here, it is nice and central,’ said Ben, ‘just the other day, sitting from my desk I could see the sold sign go up on a client’s home so it’s great, seeing little stuff like that.’
One of the biggest advantages of co-working for Protego Finance has been the networking and creation of close professional contacts that have become an extension of their own business.
‘We’ve definitely picked up a lot of networks here. Bec, Terance, Tracey, there’s plenty of connections we can work with here and have worked with,’ said Ben, ‘it is nice to be able to say to clients ‘I know a guy who can help you with that in this very room’, and as we deal with so many first home buyers, they often don’t know where to start but we can say don’t worry about it, we have someone local to help you.’
Having their own workspace as opposed to working from home has been beneficial for Ben and the team as well as their clients.
‘Home is now home where I relax, the office is where I work,’ said Ben, ‘and the coffees not bad! It is a small thing, but the clients do appreciate it. Also, you do not have to meet clients in a café with interview spaces here at the Stretton Centre, which has reduced our travel time significantly but is also much more private for them.’
Ben continues to be excited about the prospects for Protego Finance and with more growth and staff likely in the future, he knows his business can continue to expand at the Stretton Centre. He is also keen on the potential of other professionals making the shift to co-working as he sees it as a fantastic opportunity to become part of a one-stop-shop for small businesses in the Playford area so would recommend a shift for anyone interested in co-working.