How she’s rapidly growing a brokerage as a parent.
It’s not often a 20-year-old stays at hotels to acquire a real estate manager’s license, but Tasmanian native Kirsty Dunphey is no ordinary individual. One of Australia’s youngest principal agents by 21, she was recognised as the National Winner of Telstra’s Young Business Woman of the Year Award, and her real estate agency listed among the top 50 fastest growing businesses in Australia.
After receiving numerous industry awards and achieving widespread success in her property management agency, Kirsty was ready to forge a new challenge—one that offered more professional fulfilment and the flexibility to be present for her family. This led her to broking.
“I used brokers on a couple of occasions and thought that there might be a way to do broking slightly differently.”
Kirsty Dunphey, Director of Up Loans
In 2014, Kirsty and Carrie Twine launched Up Loans with a mission to support clients for life and service them holistically rather than transactionally. With over 500 5-star Google reviews, the Up Loans team is consistently delivering a stress-free customer experience, combining a commitment to ensuring clients feel genuinely heard and supported in their financial journey with proactive solutions that offer a lasting impact.
With Kirsty, a mother of two, and Carrie newly pregnant shortly after starting their business ownership journey, Kirsty and Carrie quickly faced the challenge of growing the brokerage alongside the commitments of raising families. Determined not to let either suffer, Kirsty pushed herself and worked harder—often late into the night. Nearing burning out, Kirsty knew something had to give. By seeking advice from mentors and a lot of reading and self-reflection, what transformed her approach and drove sustained success is a focus on sleep, pulling back on seeing clients, not working during school holidays and—importantly—scheduling her priorities instead of prioritising what’s on her schedule.
“If asked what gender is better at broking, there’s not an answer, but do I think women bring special talents to the job? Absolutely. The empathy and compassion that women show, to be able to empathise, go on the journey with a customer, while also providing an impactful solution. I think women do that very, very well.”
While not a conscious hiring decision, over 90% of the Up Loans team is female. As a self-proclaimed ‘conference junkie,’ attending everything from Tony Robbins events to intimate gatherings, Kirsty describes the LMG Leading Ladies community as truly empowering and the 2023 Leading Ladies retreat in Sorrento as “incredibly special,” adding, “If you get the opportunity to attend, you’d be mad not to.”
Kirsty and her team have maintained a solid 10-year partnership with LMG, a relationship that’s been instrumental to their sustained business growth. Despite being based in regional Tasmania, Kirsty credits the consistent support she’s received and the strong relationships cultivated by LMG’s broker success team, emphasising that LMG’s size does not disadvantage the family values felt throughout its broker community.
“The fact that you meet Sam White, he knows your name and has written me a handwritten letter, and I met his wife through Leading Ladies—I’m a helper and fixer, and so if someone comes to me with a problem, I want to help as best as I can, and everyone that I’ve encountered within LMG is like that too. You never pick up the phone or send out an email and don’t get someone back within the group who’s like, cool, how can I help?”
Already hitting $1 billion in total settled volume and with her three senior brokers listed in LMG’s top 100 female brokers, Kirsty’s vision is to have a state-wide presence in Tasmania and grow her people from within to become successful lending professionals who can lead the business into the future.
