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Being a real winner requires more than just drive and determination. While drive is an incredible characteristic, it needs to be coupled with motivation and focus in order for success to really come to fruition. One thing most business owners need to really contemplate is that the world does not revolve around them, and that do not know it all. There is certainly a whole lot more to learn and to understand, every day, in order to achieve success in the insurance industry. That’s why it is so important to attend events such as ACT and AIMS, so that you can absorb more about knowledge about our industry than you could ever imagine. You can learn from the success of others and try out new ways and techniques that you may not be practicing at this moment which could end up paying dividends for you and your agency down the road. Remember, at events such as these, it’s always important to keep an open mind and always be willing to learn from others.
Another trait that winners have in the insurance industry is attitude. Without the right attitude, it’s impossible to succeed at anything in life, never mind the insurance industry. Your attitude will either allow you to succeed in this industry or fail in this industry. Moreover, that failure will carry over into your everyday life. Recently I attended my sister’s competition at Connecticut Special Olympics. What I witnessed was truly amazing. Every one of those athletes had an amazing attitude towards life, and it’s something that we all should take note of. If we could have the same attitude as those Special Olympic champions, we would all be winners and losers would simply not exist. Remember, your attitude is the key to your success in life and at your agency. I challenge you to look yourself in the mirror on a less than stellar day, and remind yourself that there’s someone else out there probably having a worse day than you. Never forget the glass is always half full.
The last trait I’d like to discuss is the idea of working on your business rather than in your business. If you’re working in your business, you are allowing yourself to remain average. Business owners of all types need to think about working on their business rather than in their business because it’s the key to your business’s growth. One thing I do as an agency owner is belong to an organized group of CEOs who gather together semiannually to work towards the collective one common good: consistently improving their agency. This group allows me shy away from typical mistakes that other very successful agency owners have made. We share many successful stories together, but we also share many unsuccessful stories as well, which are often more important because they all have a lessoned routed in them which we all can learn from. Another way I work on my business rather than in my business is by attending several industry events throughout the year. At these events, I keep a very open mind and try to soak in as much information as possible in order to learn as much as my brain will allow. The events give you the opportunity to meet some amazing business owners as well. Remember- As an agency owner, you are a business owner first, and an insurance agency second.
As an agency owner with over seventeen employees, I consistently need to think about them and their families, who I have to feed and am in some ways responsible for. With that in mind, I constantly need think about how I can be the best business owner possible. I challenge you as an agency owner to get out there and meet other wonderful insurance agency owners who think outside the box, look in the mirror, and challenge themselves every single day to become better and better.
