Business Refocused

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...

In this special re-release, we’re sharing an episode originally featured on Nina Shepard's Insurance Leaders Lab Podcast . Carey joins Nina to talk about financial clarity for independent insurance agency owners.  They discuss why waiting until you're ready to sell is a mistake, how your compensation structure could secretly be tanking your agency's value, and the three key drivers...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay break down what they’re seeing from real agency benchmarking data and how top-performing insurance agencies are driving growth and profitability. They walk through the key metrics that matter most, including organic growth, profitability, staffing, technology spend, and revenue per employee. More importantly, they explain how these metrics...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Todd Hufford interviews Carey and Lindsay Wallace on the story behind AgencyFocus, how they each found their way into insurance, and what it took to grow the business beyond agency valuation. Carey shares how a role with the PIA of Ohio led her into valuation, perpetuation planning, and data analytics, eventually becoming the foundation for AgencyFocus. Lind...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Lindsay and Carey sit down with Todd Hufford, CEO of Conner Insurance, to talk about on a topic that’s shaping the future of agencies: bringing in young talent.  The conversation starts light but quickly gets into something more meaningful. Todd shares how his perspective on time, shaped early in life, led him to think long-term about building an agency. Not...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay sit down with Nicole Malachowski, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and the first female Thunderbird pilot, to talk about transition. Not just planning for it. Actually going through it. Nicole’s career ended unexpectedly after a serious illness forced her out of the role she had built her identity around. What followed wasn’t a clean next ste...

The agency owners who walk away from a sale feeling good aren't the ones who got lucky — they're the ones who prepared. In the final episode of this series, Carey and Matt talk about fixing problems before they become deal killers, how to know what kind of seller you are, and why the question of what comes next matters just as much as the closing number. In this episode: How to fix valua...

Your agency might be worth less than you think — and the reasons probably have nothing to do with your revenue. In part three, Carey and Matt dig into the valuation drivers most owners never see coming: producer-owned books, aggregator contracts, leadership concentration, and the transferability issues that quietly discount an otherwise strong agency. In this episode: Why a multiple of EBITDA is j...

Selling your agency isn't just a financial transaction — it's one of the biggest decisions you'll ever make. In part two of this series, Carey and Matt get into what it actually looks like to navigate an exit, whether that's keeping it in the family or going to market. They break down the difference between a broker and a true advisor, why the fee question is the wrong place to...

Most agency owners are great at insurance. The financial side? That's where things get fuzzy. Carey Wallace sits down with Matt Naimoli of Legacy Advisors to talk about what financial clarity actually looks like inside an independent agency — and why getting there changes everything from hiring decisions to long-term value. This is part one of a four-part series. In this episode: Why most age...

In this episode, Lindsay and Carey sit down with Adam DeLaForest to explore the key factors influencing agency valuation, including financial management, operational efficiency, and market conditions. Our guest, Adam DeLaForest,  shares insights from his experience completing valuations on numerous agencies at his role in AgencyFocus, emphasizing the importance of profitability, contracts, and str...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Lindsay and Carey focus specifically on benchmarking and why it might be the most underutilized tool in an agency owner’s toolbox. A lot of owners think benchmarking is just a “nice to have” report. In reality, it is a financial health check. It gives you a clear, unbiased look at how your agency stacks up against others your size and where you may be off wi...

In this solo episode of Business Refocused , Lindsay sits down with sales coach and founder of The Sales Collective, Steve Heroux, for a direct and eye-opening conversation about why so many agencies struggle with producer hiring, motivation, and growth. Steve shares his journey from a painfully shy kid to a top national sales performer, and now a coach helping organizations rethink how they hire...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Carey and Lindsay welcome AgencyFocus Fractional CFO Lisa Melroy, CPA, for a very real conversation about budgeting inside independent insurance agencies. Lisa has spent more than 30 years in financial roles, including working directly with independent agencies and networks. She shares what actually happens behind the scenes when agencies either skip budgeti...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Lindsay and Carey sit down with Laurie Barkman, owner of The Business Transition Sherpa, to talk about one of the most common (and most avoided) conversations in independent insurance agencies:  how to transition ownership without losing value, momentum, or key people . Laurie reframes “exit planning” as transition planning , emphasizing that leaving your bu...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Lindsay and Carey sit down with Scott Freiday and Keith Mangini from InsurBanc for a timely, straight-talk conversation about interest rates, lending strategy, and what agency owners should actually be doing in 2026 . From rate expectations and market timing myths to acquisition readiness and creditworthiness, Scott and Keith break down how lenders really th...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Lindsay and Carey welcome Tony Lew , Co-Founder of InsurTech New York , to kick off a new direction for the podcast: bringing on guests outside of agency ownership to help agency leaders learn how other parts of the insurance ecosystem operate. Tony shares how InsurTech New York was started in 2019, what the insurtech landscape looked like during the peak hy...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Lindsay and Carey sit down for a practical conversation on how independent insurance agencies can increase agency valuation . They unpack what “growing value” really means beyond writing more policies, and why the agencies that win long-term are the ones built around efficiency, focus, and intentional investment . You’ll hear their take on why a clear niche...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Lindsay and Carey dig into one of the most common yet misunderstood ownership paths in independent agencies: internal perpetuation . While internal transitions often feel simpler than external sales, the reality is the work is just different and, without urgency, these deals can quietly stall or fall apart. They share what makes internal transitions successf...