Podcast

The LVR Podcast™ Episode #45 – Mentoring with a Twist

July 25, 2024
The LVR Podcast™ Episode #45 – Mentoring with a Twist

Natalie Howells, a mentor at Success & Broker, discusses the vital role of mentoring in the broking industry and shares strategies for brokers to thrive.

The LVR Podcast™ Episode #45 – Mentoring with a Twist

In our latest episode of the LVR Podcast, hosts Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze sit down with Natalie Howells, a mentor right here at Success & Broker!

It’s our first time interviewing a mentor, and we’re excited to share her wealth of experience and insights into the pivotal role of mentoring in the brokering industry. Whether you’re a new broker or an established one, this episode is packed with golden nuggets on the benefits of mentoring and what to look for in a mentor.

Natalie dives into her journey, sharing why having real-world brokering experience is crucial to be an effective mentor, she explains how her approach at Success & Broker goes beyond the basics, focusing on behavioural coaching, business development strategies, and the clear vision of a broker’s growth and future success. It’s not just teaching you knowledge, it’s about empowering you to succeed.

Key Points:

  • Discover how effective mentoring includes guidance on behavioural coaching and client communicating strategies for long-term success.
  • Find out why it’s essential for mentors to have hands-on experience in the industry and how it impacts the quality of mentorship.
  • Discover how mentors can help brokers tackle common industry challenges, such as lead generation and client retention.
  • Understand the significance of maintaining a long-term vision and how mentors can guide brokers to think beyond immediate goals.
  • Discover how even experience brokers can benefit from mentoring.
  • Get tips on the importance of having a financial cushion when starting out to reduce pressure and focus on building your business.

Quotes:

“It’s great to see that there are some good quality mentors in the industry helping our young up and comers and new brokers to the industry.” – Marissa Schulze

“It’s really important for brokers to get the support they need to shape the business that they want to build.” – Marissa Schulze

“I truly believe if a broker is serious coming into this industry, works with us for that six month time period, I’m confident that they would be running deals by the six months mark, easy.” – Natalie Howells

“Standing out in the industry isn’t just about knowledge; it’s about how you interact and build relationships.” – Natalie Howells

“In the early days, it’s not just about writing loans; it’s about finding the opportunities to get you to an appointment.” – Ruan Burger

“It’s about finding the business and then writing the business. What you’re (Nat) saying is that you can help with both. It’s almost a two for the price of one proposition for a client.” – Ruan Burger

More from Marissa
and her company,
Rise High Financial Solutions
www.risehigh.com.au
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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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