Age of Indiependence

In this episode of the Age of Indiependence podcast, host Katlyn Eggar interviews Peter van Aartrijk, CEO of Aartrijk and author of “The Powers: 10 Factors for Building an Exponentially More Powerful Brand“. Your brand story is already within you. Learn how to tell human stories that build your company culture and brand.

Episode Highlights:

• Peter shares his background. (3:18)
• Peter explains how he applied his background in journalism to the insurance industry. (5:30)
• Peter gives a short background about his podcast, called On Point. (8:32)
• Peter shares his book entitled, The Powers: 10 Factors for Building an Exponentially More Powerful Brand. (9:57)
• Peter explains why independent agency owners should invest in branding. (13:54)
• Peter shares the first steps that an insurance agency owner should take when establishing a brand. (17:18)
• What are the symptoms of poor branding strategies that Peter has seen? (22:10)
• Peter explains the four quadrants of work. (26:51)
• Peter shares a story about the core values that were on the website of a regional PNC carrier. (29:41)
• Peter shares why the insurance industry is an opportunity for young people and all kinds of people. (36:01)

Key Quotes:

• “We’ve gotten to the point now where we’ve made it really simple, but, you’ve got to start with the strategy. You’ve got to start before you get into anything else in marketing, or expressing your brand, you have to start with the brand story. And, that’s what we’d like to do.” – Peter van Aartrijk
• “I think you’ve got to have a really good story that everybody buys into enthusiastically and shares. Because, if you don’t, and leave it to chance, people are gonna freelance and make up their own stuff. And as the company gets bigger and bigger, you start to see the wheels coming off from a cultural standpoint and from ultimately, a customer standpoint.” – Peter van Aartrijk
• “The beauty of being an independent agent is that you are working in the best country on the planet, you can do whatever you want, it’s your farm. That’s the beauty of business ownership.” – Peter van Aartrijk

Resources Mentioned:

• Peter van Aartrijk LinkedIn
• Aartrijk
• The Powers: 10 Factors for Building an Exponentially More Powerful Brand
• On Point podcast
• Reach out to Katlyn Eggar
• Quantum Assurance International