How To Step Back - What Do You Do All Day

[insurance1822]

For you old timers & people who's books are making you enough money that you don't care anymore & value time over money...how & what do you do?

Just hire a manager persay & put goals on them? Just stop taking new business unless it's creme de la creme? What is life like outside of the grind?

I'll grow by $1,300,000 in premium this year which means next year I'm taking a pay raise that I don't even need. I want to start the process of stepping back. Will carrier's talk $hit if my production just haults? In my state they say after being appointed for 4 years, carriers really can't do anything to you.

My plan is to flip on all carrier service centers and.....just be done with this. Done with it all. Anybody have their agency on autopilot entirely & if so...what do you do all day w/ your time?

 

[cgreene]

Is that 1.3 in premium on the books?

 

[nyc2phi]

Seems simple, take that pay raise you don't need to hire staff to do your job for you. Have current staff train them and you can take a back seat and over watch it all.

Not sure you want to just totally step away from it all do you?

 

[insurance1822]

^^ Not sure. I only got into this for the money & now that I'm making enough that money doesn't matter (at least for me & my lifestyle...) I kinda don't want anything to do w/ insurance anymore.

That's $180,000 in new revenues next year. I figure pay a producer to handle all the new referrals 30k + commissions. Hire another another CSR at 45k. Flip to carrier service centers so my two CSR's are just managing renewals and remarkets.....and then maybe start learning commercial.

...OR....just let the place run itself and do something else entirely. As ridiculous as it sounds, I have a client who has a very successful furniture manufacturing business w/ no perpetuation plan & he wants to retire..

..so maybe my pyscho @$$ starts selling wholesale furniture! HA! I guess you either continue growing your insurance practice, or let it run itself & just basically not work much anymore (which I can't not work..) so we'll see.

 

[glgamerica]

I'd probably just sell your P&C business.

Seems like commercial would be pretty labor intensive. I probably wouldn't go that way personally but I haven't ever sold it.

I like what I do. Maybe you could do worksite?

A lot less service. A lot less headaches.

 

[indienoise]

He'll no I wouldn't sell it. Can milk way more out of it letting someone else run it, and it's not like he is hurting for cash.
Just hire staff to run things and pay someone really well to ensure its done right. Maybe even give them some equity if they do well. Spend a few hours a week doing whatever suits you within the agency. Then do day trading or get a wholesale dealers license or something. Heck, get a hobby or travel or something. My whole motivation for working 50-60 hours a week now is so I can hire staff to handle day to day so I can finally take it easy. We are probably all alike in that we can't sit still completely, but I'd be perfectly happy to work 15 hours a week and spend the rest of my time doing whatever. Since I wouldn't have to worry about making a living of it any more, I'd go back to being a musician. I actually liked spending time on the road.

 

[cgreene]

That's how were different I would go crazy working 40 hours a week because I enjoy what I do so much. However most of my work is done doing a partners in this case program with kids and teachers so it's not like I'm sitting in an office all day

 

[Josh]

How long have you been doing this for?

 

[insurance1822]

10 years....owned my own agency for almost 5 years.

 

[Josh]

I think you're just cooked. Delegate everything you can and take a month off. Might clear your head a bit.

Might realize you just needed a break.