Episode 72 - If you’ve been listening to the last few episodes, we’ve been breaking down the steps you need to consider before starting a business. The concepts shared in these episodes are the foundation of building a successful business, no matter what kind. Bottom line in business is You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know You see, too many people jump into starting a business without doing any planning. Then they wonder why they aren’t finding success, as if business should just fall from the sky! For some people even if they don’t plan, they might get lucky but the majority of people put in a ..read more

EP - 70 This episode provides additional insight into starting your own business in the insurance industry. We'll cover ideas to help you map out the process over the course of several months so you don’t have to do everything at one time. We'll talk about tasks that can be broken down over 12 months or done in 30 days if you don't have much time. Month 1 -2  Define your ideas - what area are you going into? Agency, carrier, claims, Life, health, will you just do something like work comp, airlines or medicare? Maybe you are thinking technology in the form of a CRM for insurance, maybe you ..read more

Today’s episode is one of several episodes about how to get started in the insurance business. I’m not talking about becoming an agent, I’m talking to those of you that are thinking about starting an agency, an insurance company, or an an insuretech business. There’s a lot more to hanging a shingle that says you are open. As part of the planning process for starting a business there are some concepts to consider, these are about yourself. As exciting as it is to start a business, there’s a lot to consider. It’s not all glamor and glory! Most business owners would agree it’s a lot of hard work ..read more

WHY DO BUSINESSES FAIL? EP 66 - In this episode, we are talking about the top 10 reaosns businesses fail and what you can do to keep your business from failing. This episode is one of several episodes about how to get started in the insurance business. I’m not talking about becoming an agent, I’m talking to those of you that are thinking about starting an agency, an insurance company, or an an insuretech business. These are real issues to consider. It’s geared for those of you who are thinking about getting started or those that have started and are looking for ideas to build a better business ..read more

SET UP YOUR BUSINESS PROPERLY EP 65 - Today’s episode is one of several episodes about how to get started in business. Some of you might be working for someone now and thinking about going off on your own and some of you might just be entering the industry and doing so as an independent. If you are in either of these two categories or if you are someone that works with agents that are working independently, this episode is for you.  I started in this industry on the property and casualty side and quickly moved into commercial insurance when I started. Working with my dad, his personal lin ..read more

SMALL THINGS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE EP 64 - Todays episode was inspired by a recent CE class on Ethics. There were many great ideas shared, in a boring ethics class, but the tips I'm sharing today were from the discussion.  There was actually a list of 50 risk management tips and I've taken 10 of them and offered my thoughts on them from my own experience in the industry. States didn't always require ethics, it's only been a requirement for about 20 years. When I first entered the busines we didn’t have to take ethics. It’s a good refresher but it can also be boring!  I’ve titled this ..read more

THERE IS MORE TO THIS INDUSTRY THAN MAKING MONEY EP 63 - Like teachers, social workers and doctors and nurses, you have the power to make a difference. This episode provides three examples of how people have benefited from having a solid insurance policy and an agent that will works for them. It also talks about a few situations where agents need to do a little more to protect the people they serve. CHECK OUT OUR SPONSOR: insurancemailboxpower.com This is a mailing service I’ve been using for over a year now and I love them.  I send all of my birthday cards, thank you cards and marketing ..read more

Today I’m really focusing on Continuing Education credits, with some nuggets in between. As a CIC, we are required to do annual updates and the classes are usually a deep dive into a topic that you won’t find elsewhere. As a CIC I’ve done updates every year since 1992. In 2012 I did an update and received a certificate that I had been a CIC for 20 years. To my surprise that meant that I only had to do my CIC update every other year now, instead of every year.  This created CE issues for me because I need 24 hours of CE’s a year in my state and since the CIC updates are only 16 hours, I’ve ..read more

HOW TO PREP FOR YOUR FIRST NETWORKING EVENT EP 61 - IF YOU ARE NEW TO NETWORKING, THIS EPISODE IS FOR YOU. My name is Debbie DeChambeau, I’m your host, I’m an entrepreneur, business advisor, insurance professional  and content creator. I want to inspire you to think differently and explore ideas that disrupt the status quo.  When I’m not helping individuals with insurance, I facilitate business development groups. Before COVID, they were all in person. Today, they are all virtual. I facilitate 5 a week and have been doing this straight through COVID!  For years I’ve been told I ..read more

What Marketing Tactics Were Effective In 2021? EP - 60 For this agent, focused on the medicare space, there are a few different marketing tactics that worked and didn't work during the last enrollment peirod. You'll hear what worked, why it worked and what didn't work.  This episode is brought to you by insurancemailboxpower.com We discuss how we used direct mail and how we'll use direct mail in 2022.   ..read more