Power Women In Insurance

In this episode of Power Women In Insurance, Teresa Kitchens sits down with Carey Wallace, a financial expert. Carey helps agency owners run a profitable business and be ready for future endeavors.

Episode Highlights:

• Carey shares her story and how she got into the insurance industry. (1:55)
• Carey explains that there’s no formal training when you become an agency owner, which makes it intimidating. (6:41)
• Carey shares that agency owners have to know a lot about other businesses to underwrite and cover the risk. (8:55)
• Carey elaborates on the things she does to help agencies get through the process emotionally and mentally. (12:30)
• Carey explains that EBITA is a measure of any business’s true profitability. (17:00)
• Carey shares that she has been doing valuations for years now, and about 95% of the agencies wanted to transition internally and plan for it. (24:05)
• Carey explains that putting a perpetuation plan in place is very important in preparing to run an agency. (28:31)
• Carey talks about the process and preparation that she provides to future agency owners. (31:28)
• Carey admits that some of the most difficult situations for an organization she has worked with have occurred when the agency lacked a system. (34:55)

Key Quotes:

•  “Unlike a lot of people, insurance found me. I didn’t find insurance it was it was truly a gift to be quite honest.” – Carey Wallace
•  “I am here to help independent agents make their agency the best that it can be. I’m not here to say this is the only way to do it.” – Carey Wallace
•  “I get to learn about each agency that has different niches, different focuses. Some have a financial arm, some have a real estate arm, some are just straight up independent insurance agents. They’re all different. And it’s super exciting for me to get to know some pretty diverse businesses.” – Carey Wallace

Resources Mentioned:

• Carey Wallace LinkedIn
• AgencyFocus, LLC
• Contact Teresa Kitchens
• Sterling Insurance Group