When is it Time to Rethink Your Finance Strategy, with Josh Steen
In this episode of The Bottom Line, Sevan Tuna speaks with Josh Steen, founder of Lion Financial Group, about building an equipment and asset finance business, helping small and medium-sized enterprises secure funding, and creating the habits required to perform consistently as a business owner.
Lion Financial Group works with more than 40 lenders to help businesses finance vehicles, machinery and other essential assets. By understanding a client’s position and matching the application with an appropriate funder, the firm aims to make a process that can feel complicated faster, clearer and more manageable.
In three years, Josh grew the business from zero to approximately 250 clients. His longer-term ambition is to serve 1,000 clients, expand the team and potentially establish a mortgage-broking arm.
The conversation explores the experiences that shaped Josh’s approach to business, why the right lending partner matters, how technology and artificial intelligence may change finance broking, and how an alcohol-free year strengthened his health, leadership and performance.
Building a Business Around a Clear Need
Josh grew up in Seaford, Melbourne, as one of four children. Sport helped shape the competitive mindset and discipline he later brought into business.
His path eventually led him into equipment and asset finance, where he saw how difficult it could be for business owners to navigate lending on their own. The market offered many products, lenders and approval requirements, but borrowers did not always know which option suited their circumstances.
That gap created an opportunity for Lion Financial Group.
The business seeks to understand what the client is acquiring, how the asset will support the company and which lender is most likely to view the transaction favourably. This approach helped Josh reach approximately 250 clients in three years.
Matching Each Business with the Right Lender
For many business owners, finance can appear to be mainly about securing the lowest advertised rate. In practice, the right facility depends on much more.
Different lenders have different appetites for industries, asset types, business ages and borrower profiles. A funder that is suitable for an established transport company may not be the best match for a new construction business or a growing professional services firm.
Lion Financial Group works across a panel of more than 40 lenders. This gives the firm the ability to consider a wider range of options rather than forcing every application into the same narrow process.
The broker’s role is partly one of translation. The owner understands the commercial opportunity, while the lender needs evidence of serviceability, acceptable risk and a credible purpose for the funds.
Josh’s approach also recognises that speed can matter. When a vehicle, piece of machinery or other productive asset becomes available, a delayed decision may cost the business the opportunity. Rapid assessment, including the ability to arrange approvals within short timeframes and support weekend transactions, can become a genuine commercial advantage.
Understanding Risk Before Taking on Finance
Access to finance can accelerate growth, but debt should support a sound business decision rather than compensate for weak planning.
Before borrowing, an owner needs to understand how the asset will contribute to revenue, efficiency or capacity. They also need to consider the effect of repayments on cash flow, particularly if demand slows or operating costs rise.
Business finance checklist
- Commercial purpose: How will the asset support revenue, capacity or efficiency?
- Cash-flow impact: Can the business comfortably service repayments if conditions change?
- Facility structure: Does the term and repayment profile suit the useful life of the asset?
- Security requirements: What assets or guarantees will the lender require?
- Lender fit: Does the funder understand the industry, asset and borrower profile?
- Timing: How quickly is approval required to secure the opportunity?
- Flexibility: Can the facility accommodate the business’s future plans?
This is where choosing the right structure becomes as important as obtaining approval. The term of the facility, repayment profile, security requirements and flexibility of the lender can all affect the business long after the asset has been purchased.
Josh’s work gives him a close view of the risks facing Australian SMEs. Owners can become exposed when they take on commitments without leaving enough room for unexpected expenses or changes in trading conditions. They may also lose time by approaching lenders whose policies do not fit the transaction.
Good finance advice helps an owner look beyond the immediate purchase. The aim is to secure funding that serves the wider business strategy and remains manageable under realistic operating conditions.
Why More Businesses Are Turning to Brokers
The finance market has become increasingly complex. Business owners can approach a bank directly, use an online lender or seek assistance from a broker, but comparing those pathways is not always straightforward.
A broker can give a business access to multiple lenders through one relationship. More importantly, an experienced broker understands the differences between those lenders and can identify the information likely to strengthen an application.
This is particularly valuable for SMEs, where the owner manages finance alongside sales, staffing, operations and customer relationships.
Josh believes the shift towards brokers reflects a desire for both choice and guidance. Owners do not simply want a list of products. They want someone to understand the transaction, explain the available options and help move the process forward.
The relationship can also become more useful over time. A broker who understands the client’s history, growth plans and existing facilities can provide more informed support when the next opportunity arises.
Using Technology Without Losing Personal Judgement
Technology is changing how finance applications are prepared, assessed and approved.
Digital platforms can reduce paperwork, improve communication and allow information to move between borrowers, brokers and lenders more efficiently. Artificial intelligence may further assist with administrative tasks, document analysis, lender matching and the early identification of suitable products.
For a growing brokerage, these tools can create valuable capacity. Less time spent on repetitive processing means more time can be directed towards understanding clients, maintaining lender relationships and solving complex finance problems.
However, technology does not remove the need for judgement.
A business owner’s circumstances cannot always be understood from figures alone. Industry conditions, the purpose of an asset, the quality of management and the story behind recent financial results may all influence how an application should be presented.
AI is therefore likely to support brokers rather than replace them. Technology can make the process faster, while experienced people interpret context and manage relationships.
Measuring Performance and Maintaining Control
Rapid growth can create its own problems if an owner loses visibility over what is happening inside the business.
Josh’s experience highlights the importance of setting clear goals and measuring progress. A target such as growing from 250 clients to 1,000 provides direction, but it must be supported by practical indicators that show whether the company is moving towards that outcome sustainably.
Client acquisition is only one measure. A brokerage also needs to monitor service standards, conversion rates, turnaround times and team capacity.
Maintaining control also means building systems before the business becomes too large for informal management. Defined processes, reliable reporting and clear responsibilities allow the founder to see where attention is required without becoming involved in every individual task.
The aim is not to measure everything. It is to identify the small number of indicators that influence performance and review them consistently enough to make better decisions.
Building a Team for the Next Stage
Lion Financial Group’s next phase will require more than Josh’s individual effort.
Serving 1,000 clients, expanding the firm’s capabilities and potentially moving into mortgage broking will depend on building a team that can deliver the same level of responsiveness and care as the business grows.
In a relationship-based industry, team members must communicate clearly, act with urgency and understand the responsibility involved in a client’s financial decision.
A strong team gives the founder leverage, but it also requires trust. People need clear expectations, useful feedback and enough ownership to solve problems without waiting for approval at every step.
For Josh, sustainable growth involves creating a company that can perform consistently rather than relying on bursts of personal effort. The right people, supported by effective processes and technology, will determine whether the business can reach its larger ambitions without losing the qualities that produced its early success.
People
Build a capable team that can preserve service quality as the client base expands.
Processes
Introduce clear systems, reporting and accountability before growth creates complexity.
Technology
Use digital tools and AI to increase capacity while retaining human judgement.
How an Alcohol-Free Year Changed Leadership
One of the most personal parts of the conversation is Josh’s decision to remain alcohol-free throughout 2025.
Drinking is often embedded in business culture, from networking events and client functions to celebrations with colleagues. Choosing not to participate can therefore feel like more than a health decision. It may require an owner to reconsider routines, social expectations and the ways they manage stress.
For Josh, the benefits extended into his work. Removing alcohol improved his health, clarity and consistency, helping him approach leadership and performance with greater intention.
Energy, sleep and emotional control influence how an owner responds to pressure, communicates with the team and handles setbacks.
His experience also offers a useful perspective for owners questioning their own relationship with alcohol. A change does not need to be framed as a judgement on others. It can be treated as an experiment in performance: remove one variable, observe the results and decide whether life and work improve.
The lesson is broader than sobriety alone. Leaders perform better when their daily habits support the outcomes they say they want.
Financing Sustainable Business Growth
Josh Steen’s journey with Lion Financial Group demonstrates how specialist knowledge, responsiveness and disciplined execution can turn a clear market need into a growing business.
The firm’s progress has been built on helping owners navigate complexity. By understanding each client, comparing a broad lender panel and structuring finance around the commercial purpose of an asset, the brokerage helps businesses make funding decisions with greater confidence.
Listen to the full episode of The Bottom Line with Josh Steen to learn more about equipment and asset finance, the risks business owners should consider before borrowing, the future of broking and the habits supporting Lion Financial Group’s growth.