Career shift kicks goals
FROM ASPIRING RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER TO MECHANIC, THEN FINALLY FINANCIAL ADVISER, PAUL FOWLER HAS RUN THE GAMUT OF INDUSTRIES AND UNEXPECTEDLY FOUND HIS NICHE IN THE FAMILY BUSINESS.
ALL Paul Fowler wanted to do when he left school was play rugby league.
And play it he did.
From the age of 17, the Cairns boy played for the Gold Coast Seagulls for two years and then returned home to join the Cairns Cyclones club for another six years.
After completing his apprenticeship as a mechanic – the 44-year-old father of four admits he was a “bloody awful” one – Mr Fowler was ready to go out on his own.
“My dad (Bob) had started Fowler’s Group, a financial planning business, but there was no way I was going to do that,” the younger Fowler recalled.
“Dad tells the story really well – I thought I’d go out and work for myself, and Dad asked me to work for him.
“I said, ‘I’m not going to be a shiny arse and sit inside, I’m going to get myself a lawnmower and do that’.
“But I came around and started in 2001.
“Dad started working at MLC in Brisbane doing superannuation and insurance. A lot has changed in the industry over the past 20 years, especially from the point of view of the way businesses are operated.
“We used to be licensed through MLC, but we broke away from that in the late 1990s.
“We got away from a large financial institution and that gave us ability to decide what products we could use for clients. Other than that compliance has been the biggest change.”
Mr Fowler looks at the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry with mixed views.
“It’s like any massive change when you’re in the middle of it, it’s hard to see it’ll be any good. A lot of the changes they brought in we already had in terms of disclosure, fee for service,” he explained.
“At the end of the day, we work for our clients so some of the things that come in don’t make it any better for clients, but it is what it is.
“It’s a bit like the situation now. When you’re in the thick of it, it’s hard to see the other side. The situation just changes every day.
“Cairns as a whole will definitely come out the other side. There are local businesses that are going to struggle, tourism and hospitality is going to struggle, then the offshoots of that we don’t know about.
“We are a resilient mob up here, the best we can do is as
WE GOT AWAY FROM A LARGE FINANCIAL INSTITUTION AND THAT
GAVE US ABILITY TO DECIDE WHAT PRODUCTS WE COULD USE FOR CLIENTS PAUL FOWLER
sist where we can. Some are going to need a shoulder to cry on and a hug – in terms of the financial side it’s going to hurt a lot more than other crises we’ve had.”
Brother Jason also works at Fowler’s Group, as well as Paul Horn, who went to the same school as the Fowler boys and is as “close to family as you can get”.
The camaraderie of the city is something that has sustained the business and the family and Mr Fowler, who is on the board of Brothers Leagues Club, said he was overcome when he heard in the past few days of employees there taking less hours or leave so their colleagues could get a decent paycheck.
“It makes you feel proud of the human race,” he said.
“We’re a people-based business, the interaction with our clients is what we enjoy. I don’t necessarily like getting stuck behind the desk doing paperwork. We’ve been through this before, it’s not new. The coronavirus is new but this happened 12 years ago in the GFC.
“Most of the lessons I’ve learnt have come from the old man in terms of how he conducts himself. He always said to put yourself around positive people and people who are successful, and people whose minds you like and admire.
“The business is almost 50. We wrote a book when we turned 40, now we’ll have to add a few more chapters.
“We’ve been pretty lucky in a small town. Obviously we’re doing something right.”
With such an affinity to league, it is a surprise that Mr Fowler’s three daughters all play netball and his son, the youngest, plays soccer.
“Outside of work, well we’re not doing much the next few months, but we’ll be chasing the kids around. Mum and dad did plenty for us so it’s our turn,” Mr Fowler said.
“All the girls are netballers – my wife Mellanie and a friend set up the Leprachauns, so the girls had no choice.”
CAIRNS AS A WHOLE WILL DEFINITELY COME OUT THE OTHER SIDE … WE ARE A RESILIENT MOB UP HERE, THE BEST WE CAN DO IS ASSIST WHERE WE CAN. PAUL FOWLER