Case Study

From Owner-Dependent: To A Saleable, Scalable Brokerage

From Teaching to Broking & Business Ownership

In 2016, Kirsty and Andrew Best were teachers. Their journey into mortgage broking started almost by chance when a parent of one of Kirsty’s students suggested Andrew explore the industry. Andrew took the leap, and as the business grew, Kirsty joined to help manage operations.

Despite their initial success, they soon realized they needed mentorship to build a sustainable, scalable business.

challenges

Building A Competent Team

Staffing & Organizational Structure:
Initially overstaffed with six employees for a relatively small operation. No clear understanding of when and who to hire.

Broker Roles & Responsibilities:
Brokers were focused on writing loans, not generating their own business, making growth slow and inefficient.

Cash Flow & Business Systems:
While Andrew excelled in lead generation and Kirsty in loan writing, they lacked structured processes for scaling efficiently.

Owner Dependency:
The business was highly dependent on Kirsty’s involvement, making it difficult to take breaks and plan for long-term succession.

the game-changer

Working with Success & Broker

Coaching with Success & Broker provided the clarity they needed to restructure Living Home Loans for long-term
success.

Key transformations included:

  • Redefining Broker Roles: Implemented a model where brokers are responsible for bringing in their own business, increasing efficiency and growth potential.
  • Streamlining Staff & Operations: Restructured the team, reducing unnecessary roles while improving overall productivity.
  • Process Optimization: Eliminated inefficient steps like pre-qualifying calls, allowing brokers to focus on highvalue client interactions.
  • Succession Planning: Shifted the business model to ensure Living Home Loans can thrive without Kirsty’s direct involvement.

Kirsty recalls:

FROM SETBACKS TO SUCCESS — THE RIGHT PARTNERSHIP TRANSFORMS EVERYTHING.

After experiencing several bad coaching experiences, we finally partnered with Success & Broker in 2022, setting us on a path to transform Living Home Loans into a high-performing, ownerindependent brokerage.

results

Explosive Growth & Business Expansion

Business Performance (Before vs. Now):

2022: $76M in settlements, 190 loans, revenue of $680K-$700K (including $500K upfront).

2025: On track for $120M in settlements, 240 loans, revenue of $1.16M ($800K upfront & $360K trail).

KEY BUSINESS WINS:
  • Increased Efficiency: Leaner, more effective team with structured roles and responsibilities.
  • Owner Independence: Kirsty reduced her workload from 6-7 days a week to 3 days a week.
  • Clear Growth Plan: Two new brokers set to scale the business further.
  • Long-Term Exit Strategy: By 2027, Living Home Loans will be fully independent of Kirsty, making it a saleable asset.
LESSONS & TAKEAWAYS:
  • Hiring & Structuring Matters: Scaling isn’t just about adding people—it’s about hiring the right people at the right time.
  • Brokers Must Generate Business: Relying on internal lead distribution was limiting growth—brokers now actively contribute to business development.
  • Process Overhaul Drives Efficiency: Eliminating unnecessary steps improved conversion rates & client experience.
  • Succession Planning Creates Freedom: A saleable, self-sustaining business means the owners can step away without disruption.

final thoughts

Financial Freedom and Business Independence

As a husband-and-wife business, we quickly realized that true success meant creating a scalable, owner-independent brokerage. With a clear exit strategy in place and a high performing team driving revenue, we are well on our way to achieving our goal of financial freedom and business independence by 2027.

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Ian Winn profile picture
Ian Winn
24 September 2026
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Ruan has been my mortgage broking coach for 6 months. Having owned a very successful mortgage broking business and now a coach of many businesses he has unparalleled experience to share with his clients. He does this in a very clear and consultative manner. He is always looking for improvements and innovation for clients to implement in their businesses. He has a big picture approach which really helps you get out of the weeds when analysing your business. He has helped me grow my business and provide clarity to achieve my goals. Thanks for your support.
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Anisa Buckley
14 September 2026
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I have learnt so much from Ruan and the team at Success & Broker. Ruan's practical advice to me as a new broker has been incredibly helpful and I have incorporated many of his strategies and approaches into my own business.
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Bree Rivers profile picture
Bree Rivers
14 September 2026
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Working with Ruan has been great. He genuinely cares about your success and provides honest practical advice from his own experience that can be applied to get real results. I highly recommend Ruan to any broker wanting to grow.
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Your favourite Bald & Bespectacled broker
6 August 2026
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Great weekly 50min session with Ruan himself, done online over Zoom with other brokers. Intimate session of around a dozen people, including Ruan and the host. If you're a new broker and have under three or four years of experience, and wish to get an insight into Ruan's mind + pick up tips and tricks, it's a very good six month-long training program. Even if you're a more seasoned broker like myself (nine years in December 2026), it's worth an education session - I have a few pages of notes and thoughts. Give it a go, brokers.
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Christopher Dodson
6 August 2026
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Thanks Ruan for your insight and warm approach
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Achani Kodippili
4 August 2026
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That was an amazing journey with Success & Broker. Excellent guidance is simply practical. Thank you team for the opportunity.
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Sara Shome
1 August 2026
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I’ve really enjoyed being part of Ruan’s Grow Broker Program. As a broker with an over 5 years of experience, it is easy to reach a point where you feel like you’re doing well but not really moving forward. This program challenged me to rethink almost everything I thought I knew about broking, relationships, branding and what it really takes to build a sustainable career. Ruan has an incredible ability to make you look at your business and thinking from a completely different perspective while providing genuine support and practical strategies that you can implement immediately and easily. It is not about quick wins or generic coaching. It is about building the right foundations and becoming a better broker and business owner. The confidence and clarity I gained through the program played a crucial role in my decision to move into a BDM role. It helped me recognise where my strengths truly lie and gave me the self confidence to take that next step. I would highly recommend Success and Broker to anyone who feels they have reached a plateau or wants to take their career to the next level. It has been one of the best self investments I have made.
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Jonathon Rhydderch
22 July 2026
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The Success & Broker course has been fantastic. As a new broker, you learn a lot about the technical side early on: compliance, lending policy, structuring deals. But what nobody really teaches you is how to build a sustainable business around all that. Ruan's program fills exactly that gap, giving you so many practical, actionable ways to grow: daily habits and consistency, marketing that actually works for a brokerage, operations and systems that scale, and how to genuinely deliver a great client experience rather than just process loans. What I liked most is that it's not generic coaching. It's built specifically around where you are as a broker, whether that's establishing strong foundations early on or working toward running a proper business with leverage and a team behind you. The 'Broker Journal' kept me on track throughout the course and is a great reference point when i need to work on my business. It is like a blueprint for success. All of it is delivered in a refreshingly warm, positive, and genuinely invested way. You can tell they actually care about your outcomes, not just ticking a coaching box. Big thanks to Ruan, and to Ryan too. Highly recommend to any broker serious about building a real business, not just writing loans.
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Alex Ritchie
8 July 2026
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Ruan and the Success & Broker team have been really helpful in getting us to think about how we operate, how we build out or team, and where we want to go. Ruan is super knowledgeable, having spent many years as a broker running multiple firms. He asks the right questions and challenges your thinking.
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Lachlan McKean
6 July 2026
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I've worked with Ruan at Success & Broker for the last 12 months~ and it's been great. Always makes time to discuss what's going on and the advice is invaluable. If you're a broker thinking of using Ruan's services, it's definitely worth jumping on board.
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