Start Now or Sit Still: Building Your Agency in Uncertain Times

In today’s unpredictable economic climate, many insurance professionals are asking the same question: Is now really the right time to start an independent agency?  We talk mindset, strategy, and the real-world realities of agency ownership during uncertain times, and why waiting for the “perfect moment” may actually be the biggest risk of all.

We also discuss starting from scratch versus purchasing a book of business, how technology has lowered barriers to entry, and why readiness is more about mindset and relationships than economic conditions. If you’ve been considering independence (or wondering whether you should stay the course where you are), this conversation will challenge your assumptions and help you think differently about timing, risk tolerance, and long-term opportunity in the independent agency channel.

Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to IA Forward. I believe that Mike Basil, who just left the screen. Hello. Okay. Has a fabulous, fabulous announcement for us today.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

It's not an announcement. It's just it's very exciting. All right. It's patriotic. I like that. We're we're doing got the U.S. It's something going on here. We've got we've got a palm tree. Okay. Still trying to figure out where we're headed. We've got a Pat McAfee shirt. Um we've got Hulk Hogan. Where what are we playing here? It is, folks, it is plus 60 degrees here in western New York.

SPEAKER_02 0:53

In March.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

So you know, I'm just feeling the vibes. We're celebrating, we're celebrating America's 250th birthday early in Buffalo, New York.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

And let me tell you, you guys don't know this probably. You live up north when it's 20 degrees, your blood thickens. All right, mine's like pudding right now. So you get 60 plus degrees, and it's like 95. Nice. You're just sleeping in your short pants, no covers. I mean, it is everybody's out of the summer.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Yeah, it's summer. Summer in March. There you go. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

I thought you were celebrating USA baseball. I mean, I I totally was going flicking a different direction. Okay, y'all, just so you know, I already'm not feeling the best in the world today.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Well, you know, I am amazed at the Bobby Witt highlights from uh from the game, and just just in the last couple of days, and Bobby Witt has continued to amaze me. He's kind of the Josh Allen of MLB to me. You know, like the best player on the field at all times that nobody really understands. Bobby Witt's a man.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

He's a who put a ball through the scoreboard in Houston on was it Saturday?

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Um I don't know. Was it uh was it not uh uh judge? Was it not? No, it wasn't Judge. It wasn't Judge. So it was it was I I remember seeing it. I mean, but it's a plastic scoreboard, right?

SPEAKER_00 2:48

I guess it was um it was uh Airy Judge. It was Judge, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:54

I was watching that game and it was like it was fairly tight through what about five? Yeah, and they're they're in Houston. I was like, man, this game is tight. They might need to bring the garbage cans back. That's good, but but they pulled with maybe they did bring the garbage cans, I don't know, but yeah, they might have. They might have.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

But can you imagine lining up against that team? Like, can you imagine playing against Team USA and just walking out of the field and seeing those guys?

SPEAKER_01 3:23

Unreal, unreal, just all the way around at the the level of talent. I mean, you know, just the whole deal about just getting to see, take a picture of the of the lineup. Yeah, help yourself, Mike. Help yourself, enjoy. Enjoy. Are we talking about anything today?

SPEAKER_02 3:46

I mean, we were so far off the rails to start.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Let me go ahead and say it up front. We're missing Robbie Jabor today, so nobody gets offended in the last hour of not being noticed that you know they're absent, right? He's speaking of summertime, he's on spring break at the beach.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

Oh, I thought he was coming up here to enjoy 60s. I was waiting on him.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

Yeah, yeah. It's probably gonna be actually a little better where you are than where he's at, I think, when when it all gets, you know, when it all all is said and done there.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

So they're talking about a hint of snow flurries here this week in beautiful scenic Pensacola, Florida for people's spring break.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

Everything's upside down, the world is on fire, right? Literally, and figuratively. So, you know, everything's upside down in the world today.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Well, speaking of the world being upside down, there is a lot going on right now, and and and I think that the world is upside down is the very best way to put it, um, with where oil prices are going, with the challenges that are going on in the Middle East. Uh different things happening with the stock market here in the US. Is this a good time to start an independent agency to move into agency ownership? Or do you think this is a time to kind of sit back, wait, see what's going on in the world, and um move forward later, make a plan? And and Shane, I know what your answer is going to be to this, but um, you know, I think Mike and I want to kind of look at it from a different perspective, too.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

Well, y'all can look at it from whatever perspective you want to look at it, but it's always a good time to start an independent agency. It doesn't really matter what's going on, there's always going to be stuff going on. And I'll I'm gonna say one little story, give you one little story, and then I'm gonna let you guys uh you know go from your perspectives. But I relate this to the story of the old cowman here, um, here in our small town, uh, just you know, raised cattle, been in the livestock barn business all his life. And, you know, when I was whatever I was, 28, 29, maybe 30-ish, we were looking to build a house. And um, the thing here in a rural area is the housing inventory, you traditionally don't buy. There's not a lot of spec houses, there's not a lot of um uh neighborhoods, so to speak, just everywhere. You know, the the idea when you live in a small community is if you can find a few acres, find four or five acres and uh build a house. That's kind of the East Texas dream. And we were at that stage, and I was like, you know, it's not a good time. When should it, when's it a good time? Uh are interest rates at the right spot. I mean, all of those questions that you get into. And um Mr. Tom, that was his name. That's his that's his name. He's still alive today. Mr. Tom was like, just build the house. There's no good time to build a house, there's no bad time to build a house. It's gonna be a different time 10 years from now. And at the end of the day, you need to build the house. And so we built our house. And I can't say that I was perfectly ready whenever we did that. Like there was no perfect thing that aligned. And we built our house, and it has been wonderful, and we've enjoyed our girls growing up in that house, uh, now out of the house, now it's an empty nest house, and uh we're awaiting the future, you know, at some point, you know, grandkids will come to that house, right? I think starting an independent agency, jumping out of the exclusive channel, changing careers, whatever the situation might be, that there is never going to be the perfect time. There is only the right now, right? And the longer you wait, the more you're probably going to regret that you didn't do it sooner. And so I think there's it's always a great time to start your own independent agency.

SPEAKER_02 8:27

Yeah, I mean, I'd love to be super contrarian and be like the shouty shows on ESPN, but like the same we um Melissa and I, we had the exact same conversation with people about having kids before we had the great yeah, or we had the first, we were like, Well, you know, we're waiting for this and we're waiting for that. And people would tell us, Well, you you can wait all you want, but it's never gonna be right. And before you know it, you're gonna have a walker and a kid sitting on your lap, and that that's not gonna work out great. So, I mean, the bottom line is it insurance really is agnostic to what's happening around you or around the world, around the country, you're still going to need insurance, and you can maybe even make the argument that if things are a little tight within the economy, that actually makes for more shopping, which maybe gives you even a better entry point than you would have otherwise. So I would not at all worry about what's happening in the world when making that particular decision.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

You know, we made a fantastic decision on when to buy our house in Florida. Um uh interest rates were at an all-time high. Um, property values were at an all-time high, insurance rates in Florida were at an all-time high, and we decided to buy a house, right?

SPEAKER_02 9:59

And but you get cups like this all the time there.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

That is true. That is true. Yes, yes. Um, and you know, do we regret buying our house? Absolutely not. Is there a time that maybe would have been better? Yes. And so um, do we love living our house? Do I do I love the view for my office? Yeah, and all of the things, yes. Um, but could there have been a better time if I would have done it a year earlier or um maybe three years later? Yeah, would it have been, would it have been more efficient? Would it have been um a better buy, maybe? Um yeah, I I I can say that. But as far as starting a business, you have to do that when the time is right for you and your family. And a lot of times that happens when you are just fed up. And I never say, you know, walk away from a position because you're mad or you're angry or doing it because it's, you know, an overnight thing. But if things are happening where you are, if the company that you are working with has changed too many rules, too many contracts, and you're just fed up and you're ready to do something else, then to me, a lot of times that's when we see our most successful independent agencies walk away from the exclusives, walk away from the captive world and start something of their own.

SPEAKER_02 11:36

Yeah, because the bottom line is if you just go from some corporate infrastructure to not to another corporate infrastructure, you're just resetting the clock, but you're going to go through the exact same process and end up in the exact same place. So if your desire is to go work for yourself and do things the way you think that they should be done, well, you know, waiting out one more phase to go somewhere else and not be happy again isn't really accomplishing anything.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

I uh, you know, there's a thing out there, there's, and I just did a really quick search just to check myself, and so I'll give you this information and give the audience this information. So there are an incredible number of companies that have been founded or started during an economic downturn, a recession, or an outright panic and depression. Uh so going way, way back just into um, you know, hundred plus years ago, uh GE General Electric was launched during the panic of 1893. Uh General Motors was founded during the Panic of 1907. Walt Disney, Disney World, um, started the first studio during a recession. Uh Hewlett Packard started during the 1937 and 38 recession. So that was a 1939 founding. Uh Hyatt, 57-58 recession, Burger King, uh, FedEx, Microsoft founded during the 73 to 1973 and 1975 oil embargo recession, right? That's familiar today. Uh CNN launched during the early 1980s recession. And then to be a little more frequent, and you know, so that the so that people don't start saying, well, Shane, that was that was, you know, long time ago. That's not relevant today. Okay. However, Airbnb founded 2008 during the housing crisis and the great recession. Um, this is all, by the way, these are all great recession founded companies. Uber 2009, WhatsApp 2009, Square, Instagram, 2010, Venmo 2009, Slack 2009, Pinterest, 2009, Groupon, 2008, and Stripe. Stripe's an incredible beast these days, founded 2010. So um just you think about stuff like that, and you go back and look at the historical context and just realize that there's so many successful stories that were started during what would have been scary times in that moment, right? And, you know, sure there are speculators, like, you know, kind of back to the housing example, uh, certainly certain speculate speculatory things that you can look back on, but you know, who's to say that that the interest rates are gonna get better or worse two years from now, or the pricing uh of of homes is going to get better two or three years from now. And so it's it's really easy to play sort of that Monday morning quarterback when it comes to making a decision like this, and look back and go, wow, you know, I I started my agency at a terrible time, or I started my agency at a great time. Um, there's plenty of success stories around the country that it had nothing to do with the time, it had to do with the individual's effort and passion and ability to to make it happen, right? And I think that goes with a lot of things. And that's why I say there's probably never a perfect time, but there's never a bad time to start your own independent agency.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Shane, I love that you shared that list with us. Um something to me that that stood out with that list, though, is those were businesses starting a new, a new era, a new cycle, something completely different. When you start, when you're starting an independent agency, there's thousands of them already out there. Do you think that that is different than Stripe or Venmo or VRBO or GE? I mean, they were starting something really brand new.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

Yeah, I think that's a fair question. And the the reason that I don't think it it's different or matters is because there are also thousands retiring every day. There are thousands, yes, there are thousands, tens of thousands of independent agencies across the country. But there's a huge amount of consolidation that's taken place over the last several years and continues to take place. Every time one of the you know, publicly traded national, international brokers, roll-ups, purchases an established multi-generation independent agency, private equity backed, whatever it is, it creates space in the market, right? Because jobs are lost, um, consolidation, economies of scale. We've seen it. Even in our area, in rural East Texas, we've seen it, right? We've seen a roll-up strategy, we've seen a national broker by uh two different agencies within uh the Texas forest country here, and we saw employees, you know, who lost jobs because of centralized consolidation, right? We saw producers launch their own agencies uh out of that because it just wasn't gonna be the same thing. And we saw founders and generation, you know, multi-generational owners, uh heirs retire, right? And play a lot of golf or or go up to Buffalo and sit on the the new newly created beach in in Buffalo, obviously. Um and so I think that would be the the similar thing to creating new because there's so much consolidation that's going on and so much retirement in the industry that's going to continue. And that's that's one of the reasons that agency networks have found success in the marketplace over the last decade, is because we need to continue to create new, what I call distribution points for our insurance carrier partners. And those carrier partners need new agencies to come in to perpetuate their distribution because there's so much consolidation going on and so much retirement going on.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

One of the reasons I think that this may be one of the best times ever is that technology has just changed starting an agency. I mean, if you think back, it used to require this huge staff. You had to have a physical office, you had to have expensive systems. Now, with the way agency management systems are set up, with VAs that are available specifically for the independent insurance channel. Um, in some places you can even outsource your service, uh, marketing automation. There are so many things that you can do with far less overhead to build a successful agency that just wouldn't have even been possible five years ago.

SPEAKER_02 19:46

Yeah. Just kind of circling back a little bit and then tying it into what you were saying. You know, when you had spoken about all those other companies where they were doing something new, that's very true. But, you know, there is quite a bit more risk in doing something that's never been done before. Not only does everyone have to adopt that as something fantastic, but everything involved in the process, you also have to create on the fly. Um, so you're taking a way greater chance in an endeavor like that if you even have the idea of what that thing would be. So this is you know much less risk than that. There's still risk, of course, but you can you can put your own spin on this, and you can be your own version of what you believe an insurance agency should be, and you know, you can get after it that way, uh, without without a lot of risk.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

I think that I may be a little bit in the minority on this, uh, this next statement. But I I look at you know, so many agents that we've partnered with that have started from scratch, and that used to be a really, really scary thing. Like, um there's just you know, there's sort of this perception that I've seen in the marketplace over the last 10 to 15 years about it's really hard to start from scratch. I I have shifted uh as I've observed so many agents do this successfully, and they get to choose what their agency is going to look like, you know, to Mike's point. And, you know, when you look at it and you're like, okay, you know, I want to buy a book of business because I want to have that revenue and I want to lower the risk element. So if I buy this book of business, that's going to lower the risk element. Well, does it like, does it really do that? Um because, you know, number one, now you're you're not really growing, you're not really focused on being a distribution. Disruptor, right? If you're a scratch and you are basically getting up every day and finding a new client or multiple new clients, then you're kind of in a disruption mode, right? You don't have a book of business to babysit or take care of. Uh, you don't need certain things, you don't need to make investments day one into certain elements to retain that business. That can come a little bit later, maybe, maybe a year later down the road. Um, you can literally get up every day and focus on sales, focus on marketing, focus on just the community that you're that you're marketing in. And and scratch while there's no revenue, feels like, oh my gosh, what? Right. But then going out there and um going into some debt and and buying a book of business that you really don't, even all the due diligence that you do, do you really know what your retention's gonna be, how you're gonna be able to retain that business when the when the the original agent is now retiring? What, right? All those questions that come into to the buying of the book of business. I'm not anti buy a book of business, by the way. I'm just I'm just giving you the alternative view. When you're starting from zero and you're starting from scratch, you take that same investment, all right, and bet on yourself, it actually might work out better for you if you're the right personality and you can do this, because then you're gonna end up building a book of business that is stickier for you, right? It's a it's a stickier book of business. And you probably didn't you didn't take on the debt load, you didn't take on uh the negative cash flow as much as you think you might, right? And that's what we've discovered, that's what we've seen uh through our partnership model is that uh yes, it's scary, it can feel scary at first, but once once guys get going, it feels pretty good. And they look up, you know, 12, 18, 24 months later going, should have done this five years ago, right? And that's just been our experience through this process.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

So for someone who might be listening that doesn't already own an agency or is just looking to get into insurances and think and is thinking about starting an agency and buying a book, explain how those existing carrier relationships would work in a sale.

SPEAKER_01 24:45

Yeah, um, I you know it's a great point because you you have to be able to secure those appointments. And just because you buy that book of business doesn't mean it's an automatic thing. Carrier contracts actually actually talk about the the requirement. Nobody tends to do this, they tend to breach their contract, you know, but technically you're supposed to give that carrier notice of a sale prior to the sale in most carrier contracts. And, you know, people buying those con buying that book of business, it especially coming out of the exclusive system or coming from a different career, they don't know that. Like nobody, nobody thinks about, oh, I need to read all the carrier contracts. Can I never I never hear about agents asking for a copy of the carrier contracts when they're buying a book of business, which is something they ought to, they ought to be doing, right? Something that that needs to be looked at. If you're buying a book of business and the agency belongs to an agency network, you need to be, what does the agency network contract say? Are you going to be able to become a member of that network? What if you want to go a different direction? What if you want to go to a different network because you have a better fit? Now what? Right. And so that can also create um some roadblocks. Whereas if you just start from scratch, right? Again, scary, right? I'm I'm recognizing that. That because you're you're you're taking a leap of faith and you don't have any foundational revenue that you're jumping into. Um, but you also have less, let's call them landmines that you might step on, um, because you're starting fresh, right?

SPEAKER_02 26:37

So obviously I was leading you a little with that question. Um, but the bottom line is if you don't have any experience and you're trying to get these carriers to say yes to an existing and there's an existing book of business there, and you are somehow able to get them to say yes, but then prove that you are not yet ready, that is a huge problem. Sure. Which is why I agree with you that if you're just starting out, going and finding a book is probably not a great idea. Finding a mentor is a great idea.

SPEAKER_00 27:14

And Mike, that leads to what my question was going to be is that if you're asking when, if you're asking, you know, is this the right time? When is the right time? Maybe the question you need to be asking is, am I ready? Right? Am I ready to bet on myself? Do I um how how do I feel about risk tolerance? I see so many people that want to start a business, but their tolerance for risk, when you really sit down and look at it, it's not there. And that's okay. There's a reason that jobs exist. There's a reason that very good, very lucrative jobs exist, because not everybody is ready to have the kind of income variability that you have when you start a business, right? Or even five years into a business. You know, not everybody is willing to take the risk of losing everything, right? Um, even if you're already a um, even if you're already a business owner from a cap, you know, a captive business owner, um, you still have that mindset of I'm gonna lose everything out built, right? And and that's okay to stay where you are. Um it's a big mindset shift going into owning an independent agency. Um but insurance is a relationship business, right? So if you look at it from the idea that you're not starting from zero, you're starting from your relationships, then to me that makes that risk go away just a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 28:56

Yeah, I the bottom this is gonna sound corny.

SPEAKER_00 29:00

Okay, cool. You're currently at Basil Beach inside your office with a bub and gump hurricane glass, a palm tree, sunglasses, a bucket hat, and a beach towel, and you're saying this is gonna seem corny, like fair enough.

SPEAKER_02 29:22

Fair enough. But you know, the the you hear people say this all the time. The question is, what are you gonna say to yourself at 55 or 60 years old if you don't just do it? Are you gonna be the person that's sitting there saying, Man, I should have just taken that shot back when I had an opportunity to do it? If you feel like that would definitely be your personality and that would be you, then just figure it out in terms of how you can make that first six months work, first 12 months work, and then go and and try it. And then at least you can say you gave it the shot that you would, you know, you would hope you would give it.

unknown 30:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

I I think as you get older, I'm I'm gonna say something that's a little bit of a shift from probably about 10 or 15 years ago. And you know, I used to kind of frown on people using their their 401k or their their retirement or something like that to to bridge them. Um, and you know, as I've gotten older, I've kind of shifted and been like, you know, wait a minute. If you're willing to bet on yourself, that's actually a really good source for you to start your business from. Um but my original reasoning for why I was kind of against that was I just didn't love the nest egg or the retirement savings being I I didn't like the penalty of of like cashing it out. I didn't like that move, but I I like the borrowing against, and and you can a lot of times get that done either through through the uh the retirement uh fund itself, um, or uh even going to a traditional bank and and actually doing some things there that can help you, right? Like stay away from a tax penalty or something like that. And I've shifted as I've gotten older because of what Mike is saying. Um I I'm I talked to my my girls about no regrets, like having no regrets mindset. Like, you know, there might be some dumb decisions that you make as you go through life and and we all make them. I did. Um, but I I think the worst part of that is to look back and go, what if? Like, what if I would have done that? Like, man, I should have done that, like woulda, coulda, shoulda, right? Like, this is this is something that I look back and I'm glad that I had parents that really encouraged me to follow my dreams when I was young, right? Um, and that's what I've become as a parent because my parents raised me that way. And and I've become that way from a business standpoint, is like, yeah, I mean, there's things that I've chosen not to do that I thought would have been kind of a dumb decision thing and wasted money, but there's a lot of things that that we've done at my direction in my leadership where it didn't work out, but I think I would have regretted it not working out because the end result was it might not have worked out in the moment, but it actually worked out. And I'm gonna tell the I'm gonna tell the the both the story of both of you, right, real quick. Like when I hired Tanya and brought Tanya on, I actually didn't really know in at the foundation what all she was gonna end up doing. Like I did, I didn't know where we were going, but I felt like she would be a great fit, and I felt like it was, you know, an opportunity for us. And I'm not even sure we could have we could afford to hire her position at that moment, right? But but it felt right and I did it anyway, and it's worked out really well, right? And so, you know, the same thing with Mike, like Mike, it was like gonna be a venture. We were gonna start this company, we had this idea of integra was gonna use it, we were gonna sell it to other networks, and it didn't work out, right? Like it just didn't work out, but it led us to Mike, you know, joining us, and here we are, right? And so do I do I regret the investment?

SPEAKER_02 33:51

Absolutely not, because what I I love that you're saying that with a straight face looking at me right now.

SPEAKER_01 33:57

I I don't regret. I I reg I hate that it didn't work out. I hate that we didn't get the return on the money, but we're going to get the return on the money in a different way, is kind of the way I see it, right?

SPEAKER_00 34:11

And so I mean Robbie was hired to run the service center.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Same, same thing, right? Robbie was hired to create a service center, um, went a different direction. He actually bridged a gap in our retail operation for a while, and then learned the independent agency channel, and here we are. And you know, Robbie's probably responsible for I don't know, 40 or 50 Integra partners today, as far as like brought them on, brought them to the table, um as as the uh the direct relationship. And and and so it worked out, right? These were all investments, these were all risk um realities when when I made those investments. It's it's not any different when you're starting your agency, right? And what I would hate is what what Mike was talking about with the note with regretting. Like I just do not like the idea of somebody waking up one day, you know, 50, 60 years old or older, and going, I shoulda, I wish I would have, man, I really regret not trying that. Um, you know, especially those in let's just be specific 20s, 30s, and 40s, but even in your 50s, right? It doesn't matter. I mean, the age is really irrelevant, but specifically for the regret conversation, if you're 20, if you're in your 20s, 30s, or 40s, the last thing I want you to do is wake up in 10 or 20 years and go, I wish I would have done this. And I think that's where my perspective comes from, right? You can the younger you are, the more earning window you have to work yourself back out of it, and you will work yourself back out of it.

SPEAKER_02 36:16

Well, here's the other thing that I I believe people don't necessarily think about is to the point you were just making, there is not only two options. It is not either success or failure. There are other plausible outcomes. You know, maybe the agency doesn't quite work out the way you wanted it to. You're able to sell that book of business, and there was someone you wrote a policy for that wants you to come work for them. All right. That is certainly a possible outcome, right? Sure. Well, now you're still you're all right. Yeah, it doesn't have to be success or failure.

SPEAKER_01 36:59

I I listened to and and I'll say this, and he he uses a lot of language, which I do not, and so you know, just there's the there's your warning. Um, I love Gary Vanderchuk, Gary V is is as he's more commonly known, you know, social uh social media influencer, wine connoisseur dude, um kind of a a gener second generation business owner started in his family's wine business. He's got an incredible story. He talks about this, it's not too late all the time. He talks about, you know, not having regrets. Um I love, you know, I would recommend you go listen to some of his stuff. Um, you know, he's a he's a New Yorker, right? He's a he's a city guy. He's, you know, so uh if you're a Southern, you know, if you're a so if you're if you're a Southern Baptist, then your your your language, the language is gonna shock you a little bit, but that's okay, right? Don't don't freak out. His his his topic's great. I love I love the way he does it. Um I love what he talks about, and I love the fact that he's always telling people, like in these impromptu videos, like, hey man, you know, it's not too late. Like you're 55, okay. So what? Like you're 55, you got plenty of time. Like, you know, you're 40. Okay, you're not too late. Like we get into this thing of comparison, and and and and I I just think that we have so much opportunity in this industry that you're not too late.

SPEAKER_02 38:33

I was wondering who you were talking about, and then you were like influencer, okay, social media check. You don't know that. And then you're talking, oh, he's into wine, strike two. I don't do it, I don't do that. So okay.

SPEAKER_00 38:48

You know, one of one of Mike's favorite guys, Tom Brady, uh, talking about language. There was a um an interview that he did um, I guess about a year ago, and he talked about doing it anyway. And it's it's a really fantastic if you don't mind the language.

SPEAKER_02 39:03

Were you talking about deflating footballs? Just do it anyway.

SPEAKER_00 39:07

Yes, do it anyway. But it it's it's really like I said, if you can get through the language, that that's my disclaimer on it, but um, but it's talking about you know, all of the excuses that are out there and do it anyway. And I know that Mike's gonna love that I bring this up, but you know, in in 2000, he ran, I think it was like a is it a five, was a five two eight for the 40-yard dash. It was really slow. And then like 24 years later, he ran a 512. I mean, you know, you can get better, you do get better as you get older, right? So if you're in your 40s and your 50s and you're saying, well, it's too late for me to start over. I've been talking to a friend of mine from high school, and and he and I have have stayed close all these years, and he is in the um, he is in the exclusive space. And he's like, Man, I would have loved to have done that. Um he's but he just always says it's just too late for me. And I'm like, we're the same. Well, he's two years older than me, but we're basically the same age, right? I'm like, it's not too late to do anything.

SPEAKER_01 40:17

No.

SPEAKER_00 40:18

And how many people are in this mindset of I can't, I can't lose what I've built because I'm too old to strike. How do we get past that?

SPEAKER_01 40:30

Well, it is it's mindset, right? I think you're saying it like it, that's the issue. It's it's a mental issue, like it's a mindset shift. And I'm not sure you're ever going to force or you know, convince someone. Like you can give them information, right? And we talk about that all the time. Like we just want to give people information. Like, here's what our program does, here's how we, here's how we operate. Um, let people make a choice. But I think it's just showing people and and helping people understand the different lenses that they can look through. Because most of the time, people that are stuck in that, like it's too late for me, or um, you know, I don't have time, or I don't want to put this at risk. Like, there's usually alternatives to that, right? Um, and and there's usually a different path to that. And I I I see I see people do it all the time, successfully, and I have seen people do it for now a long time, you know, successfully. And we have, I think we just have so many um, so many examples of uh people doing this and doing it successfully that it's not a new concept anymore. Like moving from the exclusive channel to the independent channel, move changing your career in and starting your own independent agency, like the there's enough examples of success in the marketplace today, especially uh with the agency network environment that has really blossomed over the last 15 years. There's just so many examples of success that outweigh so many really just not as many failures, right? Like, you know, sure there are failures, right? But the question is, is were they was it the right, were they ready, right? Were they mentally ready? Not were they physically or financially ready, but were they mentally ready? Were they ready to do that work? Like I did have multiple conversations that I kind of go back, probably it's probably been 14 or 15 years now of some agents that were not successful making the leap from the exclusive channel to the independent channel. And their own admission was I just realized uh about two years in I didn't want to work that hard anymore. Right? It was sort of an age thing combined with they had made money, they had saved well, they had retirement established, they had successfully sold their exclusive agency, uh, or or you know, made a transition. They had the financial thing wasn't the question, right? Like they they weren't worried about the financial thing, they just they just didn't have the energy, right? And like I get that. Like I I don't get it today at 52, but I can see 10, 15 years horizon maybe into the future where I might would say, eh, I don't know if I want to work that hard anymore, right? I don't know if I want to put that effort into it. I think that's what happens when athletes get near retirement. Like, you know, it's like, could you be a Tom Brady? Sorry, uh Mike, it's just the reality. But could can you be a 42, 43-year-old NFL quarterback and win a Super Bowl? Like he had a mindset that was different than most 42, 43, whatever age he was. He had a different mindset. It it had nothing really to do with his physical. His physical was because his mindset was right. And that is a big part of I think this issue. And when you're not ready, your mindset's not ready. That's what it really is.

SPEAKER_00 44:31

I think it does help to have somebody that follows you around and knock the donut out of your hand and make you eat celery.

SPEAKER_02 44:38

I think we need to find a new example is I think what we need to do, but we can talk about that later. You know, the other thing is to keep in mind this is not a one-time decision. If your decision is, I just can't, I can't get there today. Okay. Then set your clock, put it on your calendar in 24 months, ask the question again. And then, you know, if that's still a no, ask it again in 12 months from then. You you just keep revisiting it if you just really can't get there, because just because you can't get there today doesn't mean that tomorrow is going to be something, you know, different.

SPEAKER_00 45:18

And I would say set it every three months because with the way the world is changing right now, um, technology changes so quickly. There could be something that happens three months from now that makes you able to do that. And thinking about our successful agents, especially our agents that um maybe were a little longer in the tooth when they decided to start their independent agency. I mean, they were disciplined, number one. That was that's the number one thing I can say about them that we can say about Tom Brady is that he is disciplined, right? They are disciplined, they have a willingness to learn because starting an independent agency is like drinking through a fire hose, and it is different, right? And so all of a sudden, you don't just have to learn one carrier, you have to learn five, six, seven, eight carriers all at the same time. They have resilience, they have um a long-term mindset, but it's different having a long-term mindset when it's something you're building for yourself that has your name on it, that you're looking at it as a legacy rather than you're building as a co-brand um with a with a big org.

SPEAKER_02 46:44

Yeah. I think those are all great points. The one where I think there's a really fine line is that willingness to learn and adapt and change. Because on the one hand, you want you want someone going into this to have the mindset that I know I can do this just a little bit differently than everybody else, and that's going to be my brand. But you also have to be accepting of the fact that there are things you may not know and you may make some mistakes, and you have to be able to come back around and not be super stubborn about those mistakes and just keep perpetuating mistakes that starts snowballing, and now you're going in the wrong direction.

SPEAKER_00 47:28

Right. You you if what is it that Shane says you don't lose, you learn?

SPEAKER_02 47:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 47:34

And that's that's basically it going into this. Um, you know the insurance business, or you're not listening to this podcast. So taking a chance on yourself. Don't wait for a perfect market, don't wait for the perfect economy, don't wait for the perfect timing. Talk to your attorney and your and your um your accountant, obviously, right? But if you're waiting for this perfect trifecta, you're gonna be waiting forever. So maybe it's, you know, what foundations can I start building today to make this happen for me? And and it's uh Shane's sister, Kylie. One of her favorite quotes is the the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the second best time is today, right? And and I forget who said it, but I I know she loves it.

SPEAKER_02 48:28

It wasn't Tom Brady.

SPEAKER_00 48:29

No, it was not Tom Brady. No, it was not. Um, but the independent agency channel is one of the greatest wealth-building opportunities that exists, and it rewards people that are willing to take a chance on themselves and start. Welcome back, Shane. We missed you.

SPEAKER_01 48:54

Sorry. We did fine. Yeah, I'm sure you were just fine. You were just fine without me. Nice little internet fun today in rural America. So hey, but that's why we're using the platform we're using, right? Because we can carry on.

SPEAKER_00 49:13

But you know, starting an starting an independent agency isn't you going out on a limb all by yourself, right? I mean, finding the right partner, the right markets, the the right resources can can help make a huge difference um in how quickly you you gain traction and how quickly you head towards success. And we would love to be that support system for you here at the Integra Partner Network. So reach out to us at integralpartner network.com. Uh, talk to us, chat with us on LinkedIn, give us a call. We would love to talk with you.

SPEAKER_01 49:49

You know, I I wanna, yes, I want to echo just what Tanya just said. And but also throw this out there because I think it's always worth saying, sure, okay, Shane, Tanya, Mike, you guys are are biased, you guys are uh involved running an agency network. Well, of course you want everybody to start an independent agency. Well, you know, we passionately believe that. Like I I do want everybody to start an independent agency. That doesn't mean that you're gonna end up with us at Integra. Like, you know, it it is we want to talk to you, we want to see if we're the right fit for you, but if we're not the right fit for you, there might be somebody else that's a better fit, right? And I think that's something that is okay. Like, I I know we do this podcast, like we call this the IE Forward Podcast. We don't talk call this the Integra Partner Network Podcast because we truly think that the independent agency system is the best system. And, you know, I think it's easy to be on the you know prospective side of this conversation and go, well, but they're just trying to sell me something. We're not trying to sell you anything. Like we we want to inform you, we want to tell you what's out there, we want to tell you what's available. And if you ask me, if you called me up directly and said, Well, then if that's the case, tell me who else I should talk to. I'll tell you. I'll tell you three or four others you should probably go talk to, and then lay it out there and go, okay, well, this is the better fit for me. And if that's us, then great, right? And I think that should be said in the marketplace today where it feels like everybody's always selling you something, right? We don't want to sell you something. We want to encourage you to take a leap. We want to encourage you to not look back 10 years or 20 years from now or even longer and regret not betting on yourself. And so I think that's really just an important piece to this.

SPEAKER_00 52:04

I'm gonna leave us today with this quote from Michael Jordan. Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. Attitudes of choice. Make a great one. Bye, y'all.