Ben Small CeMAP
Mortgage & Protection Adviser, Auxilia Financial Services
For Ben Small, financial advice has always been about more than arranging a mortgage.
After building a successful mortgage and protection business from scratch, Ben has recently expanded into wealth advice, allowing him to support clients through even more stages of their financial journey. From helping first-time buyers secure their dream home to discussing retirement aspirations and long-term financial planning, his goal remains the same: helping people achieve the future they want with confidence.
His route into financial services hasn't been a conventional one, but the experiences that shaped his career have helped define the adviser he is today.
An unusual route into advice
Before becoming an adviser, Ben spent 15 years working in the motor trade, selling vehicles for premium brands including Land Rover and Porsche.
"My route into financial services has not been the conventional one. From 2005 until 2020, I worked in the motor trade, selling vehicles for brands including Land Rover and Porsche. I still have a soft spot for Land Rover, cut me in half and I bleed green, although cars are now much more of a hobby than a career."
While the industries may seem very different, Ben believes the experience gave him valuable skills that remain central to how he works with clients today.
"The motor trade gave me an excellent grounding in dealing with clients face-to-face. It taught me how to listen, understand what matters to someone and present different ideas and options in a way that gives them clarity and confidence."
Those skills continue to influence the culture he has built within Auxilia Financial Services.
"I started my own mortgage and protection business in 2020 and, for the first few years, worked independently. At the end of 2024, I brought two part-time advisers into the business. Both are developing their knowledge and confidence within their roles."
When growing the team, Ben focused on finding people with the right mindset.
"When recruiting, I deliberately focused more on their values than on previous mortgage experience. Mortgage knowledge can be taught, but it is much harder to teach someone to care genuinely about clients and to approach advice in the right way."
Equally important is creating an environment where advisers can thrive both professionally and personally.
"I am also a strong believer in maintaining a healthy balance between work and family life. We work to live, rather than live to work. Giving advisers the flexibility to work around their families means they are in the right headspace when speaking to clients and can give those conversations their full attention."
Finding a different path
By 2019, Ben knew he wanted a career change.
After years in the motor trade, he met with a careers adviser to assess what he truly wanted from the next stage of his life and career.
"We looked at what I wanted from life, my values and the type of career that would fit around them."
The process narrowed his options down to two very different careers.
"The process narrowed my options down to becoming either a carpenter or a financial adviser. I thought carefully about which one I would still want to be doing at 60, and financial advice was the clear choice."
Interestingly, wealth advice was always part of the vision.
"My original interest was in wealth advice, but at that stage I did not feel I had enough experience or confidence to advise people on their long-term financial strategies."
A chance conversation then led to an interview with a large mortgage firm in the South-West, where Ben reached the final two candidates.
However, life had other plans.
"This happened at the same time as the birth of our little boy, who was born 11 weeks premature in February 2020. The firm ultimately felt that starting a new mortgage career, studying for CeMAP and managing our family circumstances would be too much at once."
Then the Covid pandemic arrived.
Building a business during uncertain times
Rather than put his ambitions on hold, Ben decided to use the uncertainty as an opportunity to learn.
"I decided that, rather than stand still, I would use the time to develop myself and 'sharpen the saw'. I completed my CeMAP qualifications independently and began speaking to several networks, including Openwork."
Later that year, redundancy from the motor trade forced a major decision.
"In September 2020, I was made redundant from the motor trade. At that point, it became make or break. We had a young family, my wife was running her own marketing business, and I needed to find a way to make the new career work."
To keep money coming into the household while building his new business, Ben took evening shifts as a Tesco delivery driver while spending his days establishing a mortgage and protection practice from scratch.
"I took an evening delivery job with Tesco to keep money coming into the household while spending my days building a mortgage and protection business from scratch. I had no previous industry experience or existing client bank, so I had to find my own way of working and build everything around the standard of service I wanted to provide."
That standard of service was shaped by a personal experience.
"A major influence on that approach was an experience my wife and I had when buying our first home. At the time, much of my income was commission-based. We made an offer on a property after being told by an adviser that the mortgage was achievable. Once the offer had been accepted, we were told that our income had been assessed incorrectly and the mortgage could not proceed."
"The feeling was gutting."
It was a moment that fundamentally influenced how he would advise clients going forward.
"When I started my own business, I promised myself that I would never knowingly put one of my clients in that position. Before telling a client something is possible, I make every effort to check the detail and cover all bases."
For Ben, that commitment sits at the heart of the profession.
"For me, the job is not simply about providing a mortgage service. It is about helping clients achieve an aspiration and supporting them through an important part of their lives."
Seeing the bigger financial picture
Although wealth advice had always been a long-term ambition, Ben intentionally focused solely on mortgages and protection for his first five years in the profession.
"Wealth advice had been in the back of my mind since 2019, but I knew I needed to build my knowledge, experience and confidence first."
As his client base grew, so did his understanding of what clients really needed.
"For around five years, I focused entirely on mortgages and protection. During that time, I developed close relationships with my clients and began to see that their mortgage was only one part of a much bigger financial journey."
Conversations regularly moved beyond borrowing and protection.
"Clients would naturally talk about their families, careers, retirement plans and what they wanted their future to look like. I wanted to be able to support those wider conversations rather than help with one transaction and then refer everything else elsewhere."
That realisation became the catalyst for expanding his proposition.
"The word 'holistic' is used frequently in financial services, but my aim is genuinely to become a trusted financial knowledge bank for my clients. I want to help them with their mortgage, protect what matters to them and build a plan around their longer-term goals and aspirations."
Making the move into wealth advice
The transition into wealth advice was supported by Openwork's development programmes and the people around him.
"My Partnership Development Manager, Tom Rippin, has been instrumental in helping me move the business forward, also need to thank my wife at this point too for the support she has given during this journey!"
Ben credits the Partnering for Growth programme with helping him strengthen the foundations of the business and understand the wider opportunities available through the network.
"Tom helped me understand the path available through Openwork. This began with the Partnering for Growth programme, which encouraged me to look closely at how I could strengthen the business internally and make better use of the support available through the network."
That journey naturally progressed into wealth advice.
"That journey then overlapped with the wealth programme. Openwork supported me through my Level 4 qualifications and provided a structured route into wealth advice."
The qualifications required considerable commitment, but having the right support network made a significant difference.
"The qualifications naturally required a significant commitment, but the wider support was equally valuable. Having people who could provide guidance, challenge my thinking and show me what the next stage could look like made the transition feel achievable."
Strengthening client relationships
For Ben, one of the biggest benefits of adding wealth advice has been the ability to continue supporting clients long after their mortgage completes.
"It has allowed me to deepen relationships that were already built on trust."
His focus has always been on supporting clients through life's various milestones rather than treating advice as a one-off transaction.
"My clients are not transactions to me. I want to be there throughout their journey and support them as their circumstances, responsibilities and ambitions change."
That creates opportunities for deeper conversations around future goals and aspirations.
"Moving into wealth advice means conversations can continue beyond the mortgage. We can talk about what they want their life to look like, when they might want to retire and what needs to happen to make those goals realistic."
Importantly, the conversation always starts with the client rather than the product.
"The investment itself is not the starting point. The starting point is the client's aspiration. Investment growth, tax efficiency and product selection should support the plan rather than become the sole reason for it."
Why mortgage and wealth advice work together
For Ben, one of the biggest advantages of offering both mortgage and wealth advice is the continuity it creates for clients.
"The greatest advantage is that the trust is already there. You are not beginning a completely new relationship; you are continuing the journey you have already started with the client."
Mortgage conversations often uncover far more than borrowing needs alone.
"A mortgage conversation often reveals much more than someone's borrowing requirements. You learn about their family, income, responsibilities, plans and concerns. Being able to connect those conversations with protection and longer-term financial planning creates greater continuity."
Ultimately, it allows advisers to support the whole picture rather than focusing on individual products.
"It also means clients have someone who understands the wider picture rather than viewing each need in isolation."
Advice for advisers considering wealth
For Ben, the motivation behind the move matters just as much as gaining additional qualifications.
"It is important to understand why you want to make the move. For me, the reason was not simply to add another income stream. It was to provide greater continuity for clients and help them build a plan around what they want to achieve."
He also believes advisers should make the most of the support available to them throughout the process.
"Make full use of the support around you, be patient with the learning process and remain focused on the value you want to give clients. The technical knowledge is essential, but the right values and a genuine interest in people are just as important."
Looking ahead
Ben has only just started his wealth advice journey but is already seeing how it can strengthen client relationships, create opportunities for his team and support the long-term growth of the business.
"It is still very early in my wealth journey, as I only received my final sign-off to advise around three months ago. However, it has already changed how I think about the future of the business."
"It gives me the opportunity to build longer-term relationships with clients and support them through more stages of their financial lives. It also creates a clearer structure for the team."
"My intention is to continue looking after my existing mortgage clients while gradually increasing the number of wealth clients I support. As new mortgage enquiries come into the business, more of those opportunities can be passed to the other advisers, helping them build their own experience, confidence and client relationships."
"Over time, I also hope to give my advisers a pathway they can follow should they decide to broaden their own qualifications and proposition."
One moment, in particular, confirmed that the effort involved in qualifying had been worthwhile.
"My proudest moment so far was sitting down with my first wealth client, who is around five or six years away from retirement."
"We were able to discuss their ambitions, explore different ideas and begin looking at what a realistic plan might involve. During that conversation, I realised that all the studying, training and development had come together in a way that could genuinely help someone achieve what they wanted from life."
"It may sound slightly corny, but it was a real feel-good moment and confirmed why I had wanted to make the move."
Looking ahead, Ben's dreams extend beyond growing the wealth side of the business.
"My ambition is to continue supporting my existing mortgage clients while gradually building the wealth side of the business."
"As the business grows, I want new mortgage opportunities to help my advisers develop their own client banks, experience and confidence. I want to lead the team on that journey and create a business in which everyone has the opportunity to progress while still maintaining the right balance between work and family life."
Whether he's helping a client buy their first property, protect their family or prepare for retirement, Ben's purpose remains the same.
"Ultimately, I would like to guide my advisers in the same way that I aim to guide my clients: by helping them understand where they want to go and giving them the support and structure to get there."
If you are an adviser or firm looking to expand into wealth speak to the Openwork recruitment team today.