LVR Podcast

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze wrap up this run of episodes with a topic that underpins everything: knowing your stuff. Because no amount of great systems, referral relationships, or brand clarity will save you if you walk into a client meeting underprepared and underdone. Ruan opens with something counterintuitive — in your early days, don&apo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze get into what it really means to be a top player in the broking industry — and why that status is earned through consistent behaviour, not just settlement volumes. Ruan's take is straightforward: the brokers that BDMs drop everything for are the ones who make their job easy. Well-structured deals, thorough no...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze dig into one of their favourite topics from the Broker Journal: clear purpose. And the message lands hard — if you don't know why you're in the room, you're wasting everyone's time, including your own. Ruan opens with a scenario that will feel familiar to a lot of brokers: walking out of a refe...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze unpack one of the most underutilised skills in broking: the ability to extract multiple opportunities from a single conversation. Ruan calls it the 16 pieces, 64 squares concept — and once you see it, you can't unsee it. The idea is simple but powerful. Every client interaction contains layers of opportunity...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze dive into a topic that hits close to home for anyone who's ever waited for the perfect moment to act: imperfection. And the message is clear — progress will always beat perfection, especially in a business that's built on human connection. Ruan opens with a challenge he puts to brokers regularly: are you...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze get into a topic that every broker should sit with honestly: is talent enough, or does hard work always win out in the end? The short answer is neither alone — but the combination is everything. Ruan opens with a familiar pattern he's seen play out in broking and in sport: someone starts with genuine talent,...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze get into one of the most important topics in the broking industry: ethics. Not just compliance — ethics. Because while compliance sets the floor, your ethical standard is what defines your reputation, your longevity, and the kind of business you're actually building. Ruan draws a clear distinction between cus...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze dig into one of the most important questions a broker can ask themselves: do your clients actually know who you are? The topic, drawn from the Broker Journal, is the Willow or Oak concept — and it's all about identity, consistency, and the clarity that comes from truly knowing what you stand for. Ruan makes t...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze tackle a question every broker should sit with: are you influencing your clients, or are your clients influencing you? The difference matters more than most brokers realise. Ruan draws a clear line between brokers who lead with expertise and brokers who simply take orders. The best brokers aren't just process...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze tackle another week of the Broker Journal: Nobody's Perfect. It's a deceptively simple topic that cuts to the heart of one of the biggest traps in business — complacency dressed up as confidence. Ruan opens with a story about a broker who told him their process was perfect. His response: perfect compared...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze dig into Week 9 of the Broker Journal: The Importance of Clear Communication. It sounds straightforward, but poor communication is one of the biggest sources of rework, delays, and frustration in a broking business — and most of it is entirely preventable. Ruan zeroes in on one of the most common mistakes brokers...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze explore Week 8 of the Broker Journal: The Devil Is in the Details. It's a topic that might not be the most glamorous, but it's one of the most important — because in broking, the details you miss today can become the problems that define your business tomorrow. Ruan is direct: most brokers are not natura...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze dive into Week 7 of the Broker Journal: Two Ears, One Mouth. The premise is simple — we were built to listen twice as much as we speak, and most of us have it the wrong way around. Ruan opens by reframing what listening actually means in a broking context. It's not just about being polite in client meetings —...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze explore Week 6 of the Broker Journal: Be Present. In an industry where brokers are constantly juggling competing priorities, the ability to truly show up — for clients, for team members, and for yourself — is rarer than it should be, and more valuable than most people realise. Ruan opens with a memorable story abo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze dig into Week 5 of the Broker Journal: Success Comes From Hard Work. But the message goes deeper than just putting in the hours — it's about making sure those hours are spent on the right things. Ruan opens with a simple truth: talent only takes you so far, but consistent hard work takes you all the way. As c...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze dive into Week 4 of the Broker Journal: The Need for Speed. But this isn't just about moving faster — it's about understanding where speed helps, where it hurts, and how to tell the difference. Ruan makes an important distinction early: speed measured only by outcomes misses the point. A fast loan proces...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze explore Week 3 of the Broker Journal: Actions Over Words. The core idea is deceptively simple — applied knowledge is power, not knowledge alone. Knowing what to do means nothing if you're not actually doing it. Ruan shares the philosophy behind the 1% improvement framework — the idea that small, deliberate tw...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze dig into Week 2 of the Broker Journal: Plan and Plan Again. The message is clear — activity without structure is just busyness, and busyness without purpose rarely moves the needle. Ruan and Marissa walk through the concept of the ideal weekly calendar — time blocking your week based on your energy levels, lifesty...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze dive into Week 1 of the Broker Journal: New Journey, New You. The focus is simple but powerful — getting real clarity on who is actually referring to your business, and why. Ruan challenges brokers to stop chasing new lead sources and instead take a hard look at what's already in front of them. Who are your t...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Marissa Schulze sits down with Ruan Burger to introduce the Broker Journal — a 52-week structured growth program designed for Australian mortgage brokers at every stage of their career. Ruan explains how the program is divided into four chapters, each packed with modules that challenge brokers to reflect, reset, and recommit to the habits that d...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Marissa Schulze introduces Ryan Devillers, Head of Growth at Success & Broker. Ryan shares what's driven the growth of broker coaching in Australia, why strong mortgage brokers don't automatically make strong business owners, and how Success & Broker is helping brokers define and build toward their own version of success — whet...

Send us Fan Mail Building a sustainable women in mortgage broking career in Australia takes more than technical knowledge — it takes confidence, community, and support structures that the industry is still working to get right. In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze sit down with Tanya Du Preez from Affinitas Finance for the third instalment of the Women in Business: S...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to thrive as a female mortgage broker in Australia — and what is the industry still getting wrong when it comes to attracting and retaining women? In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze sit down with Kirsty Best from Living Home Loans for the second instalment of the Women in Business: Strong and Bold series. Kirsty's path to bec...

Send us Fan Mail Women in mortgage broking in Australia are underrepresented — and in this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger flips the script and puts Marissa Schulze in the hot seat to explore why, and what needs to change. Marissa's journey into mortgage broking is one that many women in the industry will recognise. She left a career in commercial banking — frustrated by the conflict...

Send us Fan Mail When it comes to mortgage broker referral strategies in Australia, few people have more practical experience than Josh De Beulle from Phonics Finance in Perth. In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze sit down with Josh — on his birthday, no less — to unpack the three-community referral strategy that has driven nearly 17 years of consistent business grow...