What Every Stuck Insurance Agency Owner Gets Wrong About Growth

What Every Stuck Insurance Agency Owner Gets Wrong About Growth

In this episode of Elevate the Hustle, Stan Meytin and Dom Piccirillo sit down with Kim Ades, founder of Frame of Mind Coaching and one of the most respected executive coaches in the entrepreneurial world. Kim started selling back massages on Cape Cod at 10 years old, built simulation-based assessments that tested every measurable trait in high performers, and discovered that emotional resilience beats all of them. She has since coached hundreds of business owners and executives across the USA using a journaling-based methodology that gets inside how a leader thinks and changes it from the inside out. She also shares the story of an emergency appendectomy, a CT scan that found a mass on her kidney, and a Zoom call from a friend in a hospital gown with stage four bladder cancer and six to nine months to live. And what she built from both. ═══════════ What you'll hear: * Why emotional resilience is the single biggest predictor of success for any insurance agency owner or independent agent * The journaling method Kim uses to surface the hidden beliefs quietly running your agency without your permission * Why most agency owners come to Kim wanting to grow their revenue and leave realizing the work starts with them * The two journaling prompts that will show you exactly what is getting in the way of your growth * What great leadership actually looks like when everything around you is out of control * How to build emotional resilience as a muscle regardless of where you are starting from Subscribe, drop a comment, and share this with an agency owner who needs to hear it. 📩 Want to be on Elevate The Hustle or collaborate with us? Apply or connect here: elevatethehustle@elevateteams.io ✅ Connect with us Instagram: / elevatethehustlepodcast LinkedIn: / elevate-teams Website: / https://elevateteams.io/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHFXTjhkcFc1eTU3SUhiVV94UmlRMmYzQ3JuZ3xBQ3Jtc0trckdyMzFwYTJXbm9ldVFzTnl6RmZRTURqR21ROThlc0Rxend6Tm82NzN3Z2FRcnAzckU0TkVRalROQk5wZC1TQTQtUlY1S1VBZm11czVrS0NVQjI0VGhxREx5ZDNrVmJXQlZqcTZGTEVORThFRTVkYw&q=https%3A%2F%2Felevateteams.io%2F&v=k34ErKvZUOM] Stan's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stanleymeytin Dom's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dominicpiccirillo Kim Ades frameofmindcoaching.com linkedin.com/in/kimades Real talk, real stories, and occasionally real bad language. 🌐 Website: elevateteams.io [https://elevateteams.io/] 📷 Instagram: @elevateteams [https://www.instagram.com/elevateteams.io/] 🔗 LinkedIn: Elevate Teams [https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevate-teams/] 🎙️ YouTube: @ElevateTheHustlePodcast

How to Actually Grow an Insurance Agency ft Ryan Hanley

In this episode of Elevate the Hustle, Stan Meytin and Dom Piccirillo sit down with Ryan Hanley, 20-year insurance industry veteran, founder of Rogue Risk, board member at Linkora, and one of the most polarizing voices in the independent agent space. Ryan grew up collecting recyclable bottles at 5am to make $40 before school, got fired from every corporate job he ever had, and somehow became the person the industry tried to silence and couldn't. He built Rogue Risk from scratch, launched it seven days before New York shut down in 2020, and grew it into the fastest growing small commercial agency in the country. He generated 20 to 25 qualified inbound leads a day from YouTube alone and closed them above 80%. Then sold it. On the same afternoon he signed divorce papers and a new apartment lease. Ryan also gets into why logarithmic growth is within reach for any established agency owner right now using AI, why most agents are using their best people as data entry clerks, and how a woman calling him cold after reading his blog for three months changed the entire direction of his career. Oh, and Ryan got blackballed from the Big I national conference twice for telling agents the truth about digital marketing. He kept going anyway. ═══════════ What you'll hear: – How Ryan went from cold calling out of the phone book to generating inbound leads on a $100 budget in 2013 – Why independent agents are not behind because of regulation and who is actually responsible for throttling innovation – The human optimized business model that let CSRs close qualified leads above 80% at Rogue Risk – How Ryan built and sold his agency on the same day his marriage ended and what he would do differently – Why AI makes right now the best time in history to have an established independent insurance agency – How Linkora is solving the data problem that is holding agencies back from actually leveraging AI to grow Real talk, real stories, and occasionally real bad language. 🌐 Website: elevateteams.io [https://elevateteams.io/] 📷 Instagram: @elevateteams [https://www.instagram.com/elevateteams.io/] 🔗 LinkedIn: Elevate Teams [https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevate-teams/] 🎙️ YouTube: @ElevateTheHustlePodcast

Stop Growing Your Agency Alone | How to Build Connections That Drive Revenue | Jon Spaugy

Insurance agency owners: How Jon Spaugy spent 16 years building one of the most connected networks in the independent insurance world, and why the agents who stay personal are the ones who survive what's coming. Want to grow your insurance agency without burning out or selling out? Book an intro call with Elevate Teams: https://calendly.com/elevateteamsllc/introductory-consultation?utm_source=youtubeeth&utm_medium=marketing&utm_campaign=podcast ═══════════ In this episode of Elevate the Hustle, Stan Meytin and Dom Piccirillo sit down with Jon Spaugy, Navy veteran, lifelong hustler, and the man behind ABU, one of the most recognized independent agent associations in the country. Jon started selling candy out of his gym bag in junior high, watched radar in the Navy, and somehow ended up becoming the person in the insurance industry that everybody knows. He built ABU from scratch 16 years ago with one idea: get agents and companies in the same room. Their first meeting pulled 200 people. He has done seven cruises, dozens of conferences, and took the whole thing national to Vegas, where the Big I sent him a cease and desist the moment they noticed. He took it as a compliment. Jon also gets into why AI is going to expose the agents who never learned to actually connect with people, why the independent agent is still as strong as ever, and what vendors keep getting wrong about conference ROI. Oh, and Jon has a condo in Vegas with no blinds and an orange chair pushed up against the window facing the strip. That story is in here too. ═══════════ What you'll hear: – How Jon built a national independent agent association from zero with no financial backing, just hustle and relationships – Why the independent insurance agency is still the strongest force in the industry – What vendors get wrong about conference ROI and how to think about it the right way – How AI is reshaping independent agencies and which agents get left behind – Why going back to grassroots and face-to-face beats every digital shortcut – What 16 years of bringing agency owners, carriers, and vendors together teaches you about community and trust ══════ Subscribe, drop a comment, and share this with an agency owner who needs to hear it. 📩 Want to be on Elevate The Hustle or collaborate with us? Apply or connect here: elevatethehustle@elevateteams.io ✅ Connect with us Instagram: / elevatethehustlepodcast LinkedIn: / elevate-teams Website: / https://elevateteams.io/ Stan's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stanleymeytin Dom's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dominicpiccirillo Jon Spaugy, ABU United linkedin.com/in/jon-spaugy-857056a abuunited.com | 909-809-4451 LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram About Elevate Teams: We help insurance agency owners scale operations, hire offshore talent, and grow profitably. Book an intro call: https://calendly.com/elevateteamsllc/introductory-consultation?utm_source=youtubeeth&utm_medium=marketing&utm_campaign=podcast Subscribe for weekly interviews with insurance agency owners, industry connectors, and business leaders building serious businesses in the United States. #insuranceagency #insuranceagencyowner #independentinsuranceagency #insurancepodcast #agencyowners #elevatethehustle Real talk, real stories, and occasionally real bad language. 🌐 Website: elevateteams.io [https://elevateteams.io/] 📷 Instagram: @elevateteams [https://www.instagram.com/elevateteams.io/] 🔗 LinkedIn: Elevate Teams [https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevate-teams/] 🎙️ YouTube: @ElevateTheHustlePodcast

The Future of Insurance Agencies: Who Survives and Who Gets Left Behind | Kevin Panter

Insurance agency owners: How Kevin Panter built a $20M independent insurance agency in a Georgia county of 27,000 people, and why he keeps saying no to private equity. Want to grow your insurance agency without burning out or selling out? Book an intro call with Elevate Teams: https://calendly.com/elevateteamsllc/introductory-consultation?utm_source=youtubeeth&utm_medium=marketing&utm_campaign=podcast ═══ In Episode 21 of Elevate the Hustle, Stan Meytin and Dom Piccirillo sit down with Kevin Panter — 37-year insurance veteran, 42-year volunteer firefighter and EMT, and the kind of agency owner who saves a stranger's life at 39,000 feet over Kansas and doesn't think twice about it. Kevin walked away from a government career, faxed his resignation as the #1 captive agent in his market, and built a $20M independent insurance agency from scratch in the mountains of Georgia. Every private equity firm has called. He keeps saying no — because he's building something for his son, not for a multiple. He also drops the one thing he tells every client that most insurance agents are too scared to say, why AI is going to force unprepared agents to sell, and why consolidation is quietly destroying small-town America. Oh, and Dom accidentally stole one of Kevin's employees years ago. Neither of them knew it until they met in person. That story is in here too. ═══════════ What you'll hear: – From zero to $20M in a Georgia county of 27,000 people – Why he faxed his resignation as the #1 captive agent and started over the next day – The hard truth most insurance agents won't tell their clients – How AI is reshaping independent insurance agencies and who gets left behind – Why he turns down every private equity acquisition offer – What 37 years in the insurance business teaches you about integrity, community, and legacy Subscribe, drop a comment, and share this with a founder who needs to hear it. 📩 Want to be on Elevate The Hustle or collaborate with us? Apply or connect here: elevatethehustle@elevateteams.io ✅ Connect with US Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/elevatethehustlepodcast/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevate-teams/ Stan’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stanleymeytin Dom’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dominicpiccirillo Kevin Panter Insurance. Blue Ridge, Georgia. Google: Kevin Panter Insurance About Elevate Teams: We help insurance agency owners scale operations, hire offshore talent, and grow profitably. Book an intro call: https://calendly.com/elevateteamsllc/introductory-consultation?utm_source=youtubeeth&utm_medium=marketing&utm_campaign=podcast Subscribe for weekly interviews with insurance agency owners, M&A experts, and industry leaders building serious businesses in the United States. #insuranceagency #insuranceagencyowner #independentinsuranceagency #insurancepodcast #insuranceMA #agencyowners Real talk, real stories, and occasionally real bad language. 🌐 Website: elevateteams.io [https://elevateteams.io/] 📷 Instagram: @elevateteams [https://www.instagram.com/elevateteams.io/] 🔗 LinkedIn: Elevate Teams [https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevate-teams/] 🎙️ YouTube: @ElevateTheHustlePodcast

How to Build a Business That Runs Without You | Liz Mershon

Most people build a business to find freedom. Liz Mershon built five and was still a prisoner. In Episode 20 of Elevate The Hustle, hosts Stanley Meytin and Dom Piccirillo sit down with Liz to unpack the unfiltered story of how she sold her car at 22 to fund her first business, built Miami's most iconic production studio where Shakira, Oliver Stone, and Paramount Pictures all worked, scaled 5 behavioral health clinics, sold to private equity twice, and still couldn't take a vacation without hiding in a bathroom to take calls. This isn't a success story. It's the real one: the grind with no foundation, the exit that broke her identity, and the operating system that finally gave her and the founders she now works with their lives back. Episode Highlights: * The moment she sold her car at 22 and went all in with no plan B. * How working 24 hours for free on a film set opened every door that followed. * Why scaling fast without a system is just a faster way to crash. * The truth about selling to private equity that nobody prepares you for. * The business framework proved to be 35% more effective than any other system. Whether you're an insurance agency owner, an entrepreneur, or a leader who's built something great but lost yourself in the process, this episode will show you what freedom actually looks like when it's built on a system, not a hope. Subscribe, drop a comment, and share this with a founder who needs to hear it. 📩 Want to be on Elevate The Hustle or collaborate with us?  Apply or connect here: elevatethehustle@elevateteams.io [elevatethehustle@elevateteams.io] ✅ Connect with US Instagram: instagram.com/elevatethehustlepodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/elevatethehustlepodcast/] LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/elevate-teams/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevate-teams/] Stan's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stanleymeytin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanleymeytin/] Dom's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dominicpiccirillo [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominicpiccirillo/] Liz's email: liz@theprofitrecipe.com  Real talk, real stories, and occasionally real bad language. 🌐 Website: elevateteams.io [https://elevateteams.io/] 📷 Instagram: @elevateteams [https://www.instagram.com/elevateteams.io/] 🔗 LinkedIn: Elevate Teams [https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevate-teams/] 🎙️ YouTube: @ElevateTheHustlePodcast