As an award winning Mortgage Choice franchisee, mum, wife and friend, Caroline Jean-Baptiste knows how hard it can be to achieve a good work-life balance.
But, the Fortitude Valley franchisee says she wouldn't have her life any other way.
We asked the award-winning Mortgage Choice franchisee to give us a glimpse into her life and what a typical day looks like, here's what she had to say:
5:00am: I typically wake up around this time and get the boys out of bed. I then prepare breakfast, pack the lunch boxes, and drop each of the kids off to school, kindy and day care. Fair to say I do a lot of running around in the morning!
8:30am: Once the hustle and bustle of the morning is over, I often try to find 10 minutes to relax with a coffee (and yes, some social media scrolling too) before walking rushing out the door.
8.45am: I am in the office. We have recently moved from my home office (where I ran my business for just over 10 years) into a new beautiful office in Fortitude Valley. Opening this new office has been a huge dream of mine, and one that would not have been possible without the support of my amazing family, clients and wonderful team of staff.
9:00am: I kick off the team meeting. I use this time to find out what everyone is working on, where certain deals are at, and what marketing and business building activities we have on the agenda for the upcoming week.
10:00am: I spend the next few hours working the phones, speaking to clients and touching base with existing customers to make sure their current loan product is still suitable for their needs. After I have made my phone calls, I spend an hour or so responding to and/or drafting important emails to customers, lenders, solicitors and real estate agents.
12:30pm: I usually take a half hour for lunch. It gives me a great chance to take a step back, think about my priorities for the rest of the day and re-charge myself for the afternoon.
1:00pm: I finish a loan application for a customer I met the night before. I like to spend my afternoons lodging any loan applications I have on my desk and/or meeting clients.
3:00pm: I am back in the car, picking up the boys from their schools and heading home to help them with their homework and then prepare dinner.
5:45pm: Dinner is ready. I feed my four sons and then get them bathed and ready for bed. As a general rule, I make sure I am available for client appointments two nights a week. On the other nights (like tonight), I make sure I am home to have dinner with my family and put the boys to bed. If I am to enjoy my time at home in the evenings, I make sure I do not check emails. Not only does this allow me to unwind, but this also means I get to spend plenty of time doing what I love – being with my family.
In the many years I have been a mortgage broker I have learned one very important rule: working harder doesn't have to equal longer hours. Rather, working harder is all about working smarter.
To work smarter, I know I have to be productive every minute of the day and be efficient in all my tasks. As my business has grown over the years, I have managed to work fewer hours. When I first opened my business, I worked weekends. But within a couple of years I had stopped, and funnily enough, my figures continued to improve.
My customers understand the importance of family time and work-life balance. They appreciate and respect the time and effort I give them, as they know I always give 110% in everything I do.
Smoother experience as they have all your information.
Better understanding of your financials to provide tailored advice. 
Faster response compared to being matched with a new broker.