Business Refocused

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...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Lindsay and Carey sit down with Jeff Arnold , founder of RightSure, serial acquirer, author of 11 books, and one of the most experienced agency buyers in the industry. With more than 40 agency acquisitions , multiple exits, and decades of leadership experience, Jeff brings a grounded, honest perspective on growth, technology, and knowing when it’s time to le...

In this episode of Business Refocused , Lindsay and Carey sit down with Larry G. Linne , founder of InCite Performance Group , author of Make the Noise Go Away , and a lifelong student of business, leadership, and human behavior. Larry shares his unconventional path from a West Texas football player once told he “shouldn’t go to college” to becoming one of the most respected advisors in the insura...

On Business Refocused , Lindsay and Carey sit down with Wessly J. Anderson to talk entrepreneurship, leadership, and the very real way AI is changing business right now. Wes is the founder of Agency VA and Agent CVA , and he’s built what most people only talk about: multiple businesses across different seasons of life, with a bias toward growth, speed, and learning through doing. Wes shares how he...

On Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey talk with Matt Porter, former owner of a family-run oil and propane company in mid-coast Maine who started his business at the dining room table, grew it over 16+ years, and sold it in December 2022 through Tounge Associates. Today, Matt has come full circle and now serves as a Senior Advisor at Tounge Associates, helping other business owners navigate acqu...

In this episode of Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey talk with Col. (Ret.) Robert “Cujo” Teschner, former F-15 and F-22 fighter pilot and author of Debrief to Win . Cujo shares how a childhood dream of flying fighters led to a 20-year Air Force career, what happened when a colorectal cancer diagnosis forced him out of the cockpit, and how he rebuilt his purpose as an entrepreneur and leadershi...

On Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey sit down with serial entrepreneur Alan Ringvald , CEO of Relativity6, to talk about what today’s entrepreneurs and leaders can learn from the startup world. Alan shares the lessons he picked up building companies across industries, from launching tech products to navigating early-stage chaos to finding real product-market fit. He explains why entrepreneurs...

On Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey sit down with Trace Meek, a third-generation agency owner and founder of Ask Fetch, to talk about one of the most persistent challenges in personal lines: the underwriting bottleneck. From appetite confusion to slow carrier responses to the loss of institutional knowledge, Trace explains why agencies get stuck and how tools like Ask Fetch are helping teams...