Bricks & Risk

Send us Fan Mail You've probably learned by now that Sean & Tim focus on "the long-term" when it comes to business: relationships, Marathoner's Mindset, trusted advisors, you name it. This ep specifically talks about why focusing on being a trusted advisor will help you win day-in and day-out no matter what new technology comes our way. In other words, it teaches you to lev...

Send us Fan Mail As we continue to chat with more business owners who are not in the real estate or insurance industries, we sat down with Pete D'Amico at Dynasty Advisors. While Pete & Tim have known each other since Bishop McDevitt High School , and Sean has known him almost as long, they all continue to hang out and do business together today. It was not until many of our friends start...

Send us Fan Mail "Just get on the phone. Just go knock on doors. Just create 3 social posts and 5 stories a week." Anyone in high-level sales, such as real estate or insurance, has heard these things before, and it almost makes someone feel like an idiot if they're not doing these things. Right? Here's the truth, it's completely normal to try a sales/marketing technique, d...

Send us Fan Mail Some small business owners grow organically, and some grow through acquisition (aka M&A). There is no right or wrong way to grow, only YOUR way. Greg Hogan is a shining example of that. Because he "maxed out his time" at a previous job, he believed that buying an existing agency was the best way for him to hit the ground running ... and he was right. Dig into this B&...

Send us Fan Mail Welp, I guess we can now officially say that the M&A wave in residential real estate is large and in-charge in 2026. So much so, that Compass recently acquired Anywhere , and Real is under contract to acquire RE/MAX . Just ... wow. Big moves from some of the industry's youngest, strongest players. Now, dig in to Part II as Sean & Tim discuss why this is happening, and...

Send us Fan Mail Welp, I guess we can now officially say that the M&A wave in residential real estate is large and in-charge in 2026. So much so, that Compass recently acquired Anywhere , and Real is under contract to acquire RE/MAX . Just ... wow. Big moves from some of the industry's youngest, strongest players. Dig in to Part I as Sean & Tim discuss why this is happening, and where...

Send us Fan Mail Sometimes, a lack of tech is not the reason why your business is not succeeding the way you want it to. Take Mark Malfar a for example. He still operates mostly off of pen and paper, as well as Excel spreadsheets ... and he's crushing it as an agent! Not only that, he has built a successful private lending business using the same success formula. Build a pipeline, and follow...

Send us Fan Mail A ... B ... N. Always be networking. While you want to protect your time, and maybe networking is not part of your current business plan, our advice is to make the time for the "right" networking. Are you more introverted? Focus on the one-on-one meeting. Are you the extroverted type? Go to anything and everything with lots of people, and then narrow down your choices fr...

Send us Fan Mail Why do processes and efficiency matter? Well, first and foremost, they save time; and time is money. But, they can also help in other ways that don't present themselves ... until tragedy strikes. Clint Houck is not only an insurance expert, he's an entrepreneur, VC guru, and start-up veteran. Sean & Tim extract wisdom from Clint on how he got his start, what he'...

Send us Fan Mail Do you consider yourself a "hunter," or do you identify more as a "farmer?" There's no right or wrong way to be, but it is important that you start to learn more about who you want to be in your business career. Queue in Sean & Tim as they lean in on a common phrase in business, "That's not worth my time." This B&R banger shovels dee...

Send us Fan Mail Number one hundred and twenty two. This episode has special meaning to the three of us because it was our Phi Gamma Delta (aka Fiji) chapter number at La Salle University . Queue in John Casey ; a good friend, as well as a successful entrepreneur. What started out as a cushy sales job a decade ago turned into John going all-in on himself. 100% commission, no guaranteed deals. Dive...

Send us Fan Mail Our good pal, AI. You can't even turn around these days without getting smacked in the face with another AI article, video short, and social post. It's gonna eliminate jobs. It's gonna speed up innovation. It's gonna change the world. Yes, yes, and yes. But, there are some things that AI won't (and can't) replace. In this Bricks & Risk toppy, Sean...

Send us Fan Mail "Low barrier of entry" is something Tim has been referencing for years. Not only on B&R , but also when he was managing an independent, residential-focused real estate brokerage. But it doesn't just apply to the real estate industry, it also applies to the insurance industry. Join Sean & Tim as they dig into some of the foundational issues surrounding their...

Send us Fan Mail One of Sean's insurance relationships joins us this week for an amazing episode on insurance agency valuation. Dissimilar to residential real estate, insurance agencies can pretty much be bought and sold with ease. Why? Because it's a standing book of business with number history and retention. What insurance owners tend to get wrong though is just how much their busines...

Send us Fan Mail Another successful "Nothing Doc" topic that led to a really great conversation on why some real estate agents practice with clients, and why some just refer clients. Stewardship is a financial services company out of Arizona that helps clients in multiple service categories: real estate, mortgage, insurance, and finance. One of their lead-gen methods is driving warm lead...

Send us Fan Mail Whether you're in the residential real estate industry or not, you could assume that starting a property management company from scratch is not easy. Guess what, it's not. John Sacks' story at Property Management Redefined is one of hustle, grit, and determination; stemming from an uninspiring stint in corporate America, to then choosing the entrepreneurial road alo...

Send us Fan Mail Good ol' supply and demand, especially when it comes to residential real estate. But who would've predicted that insurance is one of the reasons why supply is overheated in some Florida markets. Queue in Mr. Sean P. Mooney . In this Bricks & Risk toppie, Sean gets into the nitty gritty of why the Florida condo market has experienced such large insurance increases, co...

Send us Fan Mail Matt Lionetti is a real estate powerhouse! Not only has he paved his own path, but he did it up against some tough odds. From getting kicked out of high school, to almost getting out of the business entirely, Matt has impressively been able to keep believing in himself through creativity and sheer will. He believes that the residential real estate brokerage model is changing, and...

Send us Fan Mail In the residential real estate industry specifically, the "measure of success" tends to be the amount of volume you close. Year-in / year-out, as well as your career as a whole. But, volume alone will never fully reflect how well you did financially; it varies per deal. Sometimes you make 80% margin, and sometimes you make 25% margin. So how can I get my margin up you ma...

Send us Fan Mail It's rare in 2026 to see a small-but-mighty independent mortgage brokerage survive, let alone thrive. But that's exactly what Rory Farrell & Mike Witczak are committed to growing at Marathon Mortgage in Erdenheim, PA. What's up, commitment and consistency! In this B&R ep, Sean & Tim talk to Rory & Mike about quality over quantity, purposefully buildi...

Send us Fan Mail Stop sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone to give you permission to do what you wanna do in business. Shoot your shot! As easy as that is for us to say, we recognize that it's very hard for someone to do. Both Sean & Tim have shot and missed many times throughout their careers, but it doesn't mean we stop shooting. This one is all about giving yourself some g...

Send us Fan Mail The line-of-the-day on this one was, "You got me on sale last year. The sale's over, now you gotta pay full price." Sean & Tim sat down with Tom Mellett from Keswick Mortgage Group and chatted about all things cars, mortgages, and finding your path. As a seasoned mortgage expert, Tom provides insight into his industry, as well as, how relationships always seem t...

Send us Fan Mail "I've always wanted to work for myself" is a common phrase that we hear within our business circles, as well as in our personal lives. And when someone says that to us, we love to hear it! But ... we're also very honest about how hard it is to work for yourself, and most importantly, keep it going into the foreseeable future: longevity, runway, etc. In this B&a...

Send us Fan Mail As B&R grows its watcher and listener community, our guest community grows right alongside it. While real estate and insurance have been a primary focus for us, they are now more foundational to our mission than the only ponds we fish in. Queue up Jimmy O'Neill , a well-known Philly local and superstar entrepreneur. Jimmy had entrepreneurship running through his veins gro...

Send us Fan Mail It only took us 100+ episodes and just over 2 years to finally make the "Bricks" (aka Real Estate) and "Risk" (aka Insurance) connection. Selling your insurance agency is just like selling your home. If the No. 1 rule in real estate is Location, Location, Location, the No. 1 rule in seeing what your insurance business would sell for on the open market is Presen...