Business Refocused

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay sit down with Joel Verdon of Lemon Mohler Agency to talk about what internal perpetuation can look like when both the current owners and the next generation are willing to have the right conversations. Joel shares how he started as a young producer, built a successful book of business, and gradually began thinking beyond his own production....

What’s the difference between a fair market valuation and a book of business valuation, and which does your insurance agency need? In this Business Refocused coffee chat, Carey Wallace and Lindsay Sexton explain how agency size, operating expenses, and risk factors influence the valuation process. They discuss when revenue multiples or EBITDA multiples apply, why a valuation can differ from a buye...

Do you know what your agency’s numbers are telling you? In this episode of Insurance Refocused, Carey Wallace breaks down five essential KPIs every independent insurance agency should track to understand performance and guide growth. From organic growth and retention to profitability, EBITDA, and revenue per employee, Carey explains how to calculate these metrics and turn them into action. She als...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay sit down with Chase Murdock, founder of Patina Capital and CEO of Dakota Group, to talk about how investors evaluate small businesses and what makes a company worth buying. Chase spends his time acquiring, investing in, and partnering with privately held businesses. Instead of chasing flashy startups, he focuses on durable companies with re...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay sit down with Cari Senefsky of Canary Insurance Group to talk about a part of selling an agency that can easily get overlooked until the last minute. When an agency sells, the financial side of the deal gets a lot of attention. But the seller also has to think about how they will protect themselves from claims tied to work done before the t...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey sits down with Dan Vander Kooi of Manna Insurance to talk about the value of having the right people around you as an agency owner. Dan shares the story behind Agent Underground, a small, collaborative event created for independent agency owners who want to learn from each other, talk openly about what is working, and have honest conversations about th...

In this Coffee Break episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay talk through what agency owners should actually be looking at when evaluating an acquisition. Too often, the conversation starts and ends with revenue or a rumored multiple. But as Carey explains, that can lead to a very incomplete picture. Growth, profitability, staffing, book mix, retention risk, and the people behind the bus...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Lindsay sits down with Michael Ley, Director of Networks at HawkSoft, to talk about the career decisions that shaped his path through the insurance industry. Michael grew up around insurance, joined his family’s agency, helped modernize the business, and eventually stepped into a larger leadership role. But after years of working in the agency, he reached a...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay are joined by Kirk Chester, CEO of Grit Insurance, to talk about something more agency owners are quietly wrestling with right now. Artificial intelligence, and whether it's actually a practical business tool or just the latest industry buzzword. Kirk comes at the topic from a different angle than most. Rather than using AI to write em...

In this Coffee Break episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay are joined by AgencyFocus team member Adam DeLaForest to talk about one of the most important, and often misunderstood, metrics in an insurance agency: retention . Retention plays a major role in agency value, but many owners are not fully confident in the number they are tracking. Adam explains why agency management systems ca...

In this Coffee Break episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay are joined by AgencyFocus team member Adam DeLaForest to talk about something that can have a surprisingly big impact on an agency valuation: owner compensation . How an owner pays themselves can make an agency look more or less profitable on paper, even when the underlying business has not changed. Adam explains why AgencyFocu...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay sit down with Covington Carlson from Live Oak Bank to talk about one of the biggest questions agency owners face when they want to grow through acquisition: How do you actually finance the deal? Covington breaks down how banks look at insurance agency acquisitions, why some debt can be a powerful growth tool, and what buyers need to underst...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay sit down with Trey Siner to talk about one of the hardest questions an agency owner can ask: When is enough, enough? After more than 20 years of building his agency from scratch, Trey started thinking seriously about what he wanted the next chapter of his life to look like. The decision to sell was not just about valuation or getting the ri...

In this Coffee Break episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay are joined by AgencyFocus team member Lauren Washington to break down how to calculate your agency’s adjusted EBITDA and get a clearer picture of true operating profitability. They walk through the discretionary and one-time expenses that can distort your P&L, from country club dues and luxury vehicles to severance, rebrand...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay welcome back agency owner Kyle Becker to discuss how benchmarking changed the way he manages his agency. From improving financial reporting to evaluating technology investments, Kyle shares how understanding his numbers has helped him make more confident business decisions. The conversation explores why many agency owners only see part of t...

In this Coffee Break episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay explain why revenue per employee is one of the most valuable benchmarks for measuring an insurance agency's operational efficiency and growth capacity. They break down how to calculate the metric, who should be included in the employee count, and why the benchmark is evolving as agencies adopt virtual employees, automation...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay welcome back Jessica Yarbrough , COO and co-owner of Johnson Insurance and founder of Agency Ops Advantage, to discuss how operational excellence can increase agency value while creating a better experience for employees and clients. Jessica shares how transforming operations, investing in technology, and building a high-performing culture...

In this Coffee Break episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay break down one of the most important financial metrics for independent insurance agencies: EBITDA . They explain what EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) actually means, how to calculate it, and why it's a critical measure of your agency's true operating profitability. Whether you&...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay are joined by Tom Garrity and Catherine Garrity-Frans of Compass Point Consulting, LLC to discuss what it takes to successfully transition a business from one generation to the next. Drawing from decades of experience working with family businesses across industries, Tom and Catherine share why succession planning is about much more than ch...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay sit down with Mike Almberg and Max Olson of Legacy Advisors to discuss what agency owners should know before selling their business and why preparation matters long before a deal is on the table. The conversation explores agency valuations, buyer selection, market trends, and the importance of creating a competitive process. Mike and Max ex...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay sit down with leadership consultant Anne Baum to discuss a critical piece of agency mergers that often gets overlooked: culture. While most merger conversations focus on valuation, deal structure, and financial performance, Anne explains that the real work begins after the transaction closes. The long-term success of any merger depends on h...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay answer common financial questions they’ve recently received from agency owners and break down what a meaningful monthly financial review should actually look like. From analyzing six-month auto policies and understanding profitability to identifying discretionary expenses and building accurate financial reports, the conversation focuses on...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay explore how agency benchmarking is helping independent insurance agencies gain deeper financial visibility and make more informed business decisions. As more agency owners look beyond valuation and focus on long-term performance, health checks have become a powerful tool for measuring growth, profitability, book health, staffing efficiency,...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay sit down with Patrick McClure of Impact Performance Team to talk about one of the biggest challenges agency owners face: creating a true sales culture. Patrick shares his journey from commercial insurance producer to sales leader and entrepreneur, helping independent agencies improve sales performance, develop producers, recruit talent, and...

In this episode of The Insurance Refocused Podcast , Lindsay and Carey Wallace welcome Beth DeLaForest back to the show to talk about Launchpad, a new webinar series designed to help the next generation of insurance professionals learn, grow, and build meaningful industry connections. Beth and Carey share why knowledge transfer matters more than ever as experienced leaders prepare to exit the indu...