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The Independent Insurance Agency Playbook: The insurance business is all about playing an infinite game. Shane and Tonya discuss how to play the long-term game of being a successful agent and creating a culture of freedom for yourself.
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Teri and Tonya explore the triumphs and challenges of the pageant industry, the Our Little Miss and Universal Pageant system, and its relevance for females and males of all ages. Whether you're a seasoned pageant enthusiast or curious about this glamorous word, the Our Little Miss Podcast promises to illuminate the heart and soul of pageantry today.
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Everyone makes mistakes. We're human. But the biggest mistake to make is not learning from things you got wrong. After over 600 episodes of The Brain Candy Podcast, Sarah Rice and Susie Meister realized their freewheeling, casual conversations didn't always get everything exactly right. And as they evolved and grew over the years and science developed, they changed their minds about a lot of things. So it's Things We Got Wrong to the rescue! This podcast is a celebration of humility, evoluti ...
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Dirty Money Moves: Women in White Collar Crime deep dives into cases involving a more rare type of criminal, women who commit financial crimes. In Season One, host Jami Rice of MURDERISH podcast takes listeners on a journey to investigate Mary Carole McDonnell, a self-proclaimed heiress and the CEO of a TV production company based in Los Angeles well known for all of the complex lies she told for decades. In Season Two, Jami takes listeners on a journey to investigate Tara Lee, a woman with ...
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Politics and Social Media: Balancing Business and Beliefs
25:04
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Shane and Tonya discuss the contentious political climate, the impact of polarized opinions on small business owners, and should agency owners take a political stance on their personal and business social media pages. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Face…
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How can managing expectations enhance satisfaction in your personal and professional life? Shane and Tonya share insights on balancing bucket list experiences with business goals, setting realistic expectations, and nurturing relationships. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Fo…
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Weathering the Aftermath: Preparedness as an Agency Owner
25:03
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In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in Texas, Shane and Tonya discuss how technology and proactive planning can help you support your clients and maintain business operations during and after significant weather events. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Fa…
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Halfway There: A Mid-Year Check In For Your Agency
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Shane and Tonya discuss the importance of mid-year check-ins to reassess goals, make necessary adjustments, find alternate uses for existing tools and resources, and adapt business strategies for long-term success. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Faceboo…
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Changing the Insurance Narrative: Positivity in a Negative World
24:15
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Shane and Tonya discuss the negative talk prevalent within the insurance industry, strategies for promoting positivity, and the importance of a positive mindset in transforming conversations and customer interactions. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Face…
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1
Gen Z Insights with Olivia Bruno: From D1 Athlete to Insurance Intern
27:44
27:44
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A unique takeover episode featuring D1 Softball player Olivia Bruno, Kylie Lowry, and Tonya, discussing fresh perspectives on leadership, success, and the evolving role of Gen Z in the insurance industry. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Ins…
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Join Ms. Teri and Ms. Tonya as they give packing tips and Tulsa vacation ideas, explore the pageant app, and share expert guidance on maintaining a positive attitude and making the most of your World Official pageant experience. Our Little Miss is a Universal Pageant System serving girls, women, and boys of all ages for over six decades. Our Little…
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Shane and Tonya discuss the TV show Welcome to Wrexham, and draw parallels to the insurance industry: emphasizing the importance of maintaining a consistent approach, rather than focusing on industry changes or market cycles; understanding one's niche; and playing the infinite game. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Le…
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Join Ms. Teri and Ms. Tonya as they share their insights into the World optional competitions. Want to know more about Pro-Am, Model of the Year, Command Performance, Entertainer of the Year, Optional Talent, People's Choice, Sweet Sixteen, or the prestigious USA / Universal titles? This episode is packed with invaluable advice that can give you th…
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Growing Your Business During Turbulent Times
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From global issues affecting the insurance market to interpersonal challenges within your agency, Shane and Tonya discuss practical strategies to navigate and resolve conflicts effectively, leading with empathy and strength, and ensuring a thriving business environment. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at i…
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Top Model, Mental Movies, & Celebrity Blogs
56:49
56:49
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We're exploring all the things we got wrong about pop culture and what pop culture gets wrong about us! We begin by jumping on the JLo trash train. TikTok turned on Jenny from the Block, so now we are. The millions of dollars she spent on a bizarro vanity project pushed us over the edge. Team Ben Affleck? We discuss the nightmare that was America's…
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Ms. Teri and Ms. Tonya share practical advice and insider tips on how to present yourself confidently and make a lasting impression on the judges in Closeup Appraisal/Interview, Onstage Question, Community Forum, and Sportswear Personality. Our Little Miss is a Universal Pageant System serving girls, women, and boys of all ages for over six decades…
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Shane and Tonya discuss the pressure to equate busyness with success, the effects on mental health and work-life balance, their personal experiences of being overbooked, and finding fulfillment beyond the hustle. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook,…
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Ms. Teri and Ms. Tonya share why pageantry is about showcasing the delegate, not just the clothes, debunk common pageant myths, discuss selecting beauty wear and sportswear, and give valuable talent tips. Whether you're a pageant novice or a seasoned competitor, this episode is packed with insights and advice to help you shine on the OLM World stag…
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From Salesperson to CEO: Mastering The Achievement Mindset
26:30
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Shane and Tonya discuss the challenges of moving from a sales-focused mindset to a ownership role, the importance of building infrastructure, and developing leadership skills. Their conversation highlights the need for achievement-mindset producers to evolve their ownership approach, focusing on long-term business sustainability while still achievi…
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Ms. Teri and Ms. Tonya discuss the challenges facing the pageant industry, why OLM's values are imperative, the reasons behind the rules, and a little bit of history. Our Little Miss is a Universal Pageant System serving girls, women, and boys of all ages for over six decades. Our Little Miss is the most prestigious of children's pageants and insti…
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Shane and Tonya discuss the Julie-ism of "Don't Create Your Worry," the worry cycle, and how it affects our lives and our independent insurance agencies. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.…
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Finding The Solution For What Annoys You The Most
25:20
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Shane and Tonya discuss pinpointing the stress points in your agency, figuring out the specific problem, and finding the solution. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.By Shane Tatum and Tonya Lied
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The Big Deal About Dwelling Fire (And Why It Matters To Your Agency)
25:25
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Shane and Tonya discuss the importance of balancing your book - and what carriers are doing about it. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.By Shane Tatum and Tonya Lied
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Olympic Mistakes, Tonya Harding, & Pickleball
58:45
58:45
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We're talking about the Olympics and all the mistakes that have been made over the years. We revisit the Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan scandal, what we got wrong about that societally, and what the media made worse. We learn about some games that used to be in the Olympics that have since been eliminated, and we're rooting for some of them to co…
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Shane and Tonya discuss the DBW principle and what independent insurance agents are doing to find success in the hard market. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.By Shane Tatum and Tonya Lied
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Think Long-Term, But Sometimes You Need A Win NOW
26:11
26:11
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Shane and Tonya discuss needing a win now, the comparison game, agency growth, and the business owner versus sales mindset. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.By Shane Tatum and Tonya Lied
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Leveraging Spring Opportunities For Agency Promotion
26:43
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Shane and Tonya discuss how to get the best return on investment for spring marketing opportunities. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.By Shane Tatum and Tonya Lied
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1
90s Nostalgia, Y2K, & Low Fat Diets
1:03:22
1:03:22
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We're getting nostalgic for the 80s and 90s today! We're looking back and seeing what we got wrong about the final decades of the millennium. Were parachute pants horrible or awesome? The Rachel haircut--is it timeless or was it a fashion no? We discuss the early days of reality tv that Susie misses. We hear why Kato Kaelin still has habits he crea…
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What The State Farm Downgrade Means For The Independent Channel
19:06
19:06
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Shane and Tonya discuss State Farm General's AmBest downgrade, the clickbait articles, using negativity about competition on social media, and staying focused on yourself. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.…
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Diplomacy: Building, Strengthening, and Repairing Carrier Relationships
26:41
26:41
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Shane and Tonya discuss building, strengthening, and repairing relationships with insurance carriers. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.By Shane Tatum and Tonya Lied
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1
Management Versus Leadership - And Why You Need Both
26:52
26:52
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Shane and Tonya discuss the differences between management and leadership, why you need both, and how to motivate your people (and yourself) to succeed. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.…
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1
Compensation, Agency Culture, and Keeping Your People Happy
27:35
27:35
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Shane and Tonya discuss current trends in hiring compensation, what employees are looking for, and agency culture. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagra. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Insta…
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Shane and Tonya discuss diving deep into processes, making sure they are actually efficient, moving the profitability needle, and not doing things just because we've always done them that way. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Lear…
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1
Telematics, Risk Evaluation, and Car Companies Selling Data
27:07
27:07
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Shane and Tonya discuss the recent New York Times article about car companies selling data to insurance carriers, how that affects insurance rates, and how to have those conversations with clients. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great.…
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1
The Comfort Zone: Getting Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
26:35
26:35
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Shane and Tonya discuss why it's risky to stay where you are, decision "sample sizes," making adjustments, and being forced to focus on other things to create new ideas. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com…
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Walks vs Strikes: Why Understanding "Your Pitch" Is Important
27:16
27:16
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Shane and Tonya discuss the idea of Walks vs Strikes as an independent agent, how to understand "your pitch," why you should focus on it, and not getting caught up in what others are doing. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn m…
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1
Hard Market Mindset: Claiming This As "Our Market"
27:12
27:12
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Shane and Tonya discuss the mental investment of mindset change of our hard market, the email reset, and being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forwa…
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The theme of episode 64 of Brain Candy Podcast was abortion, and we had Jessica Semler on as our expert guest as she worked for Planned Parenthood. Today we revisited that conversation and invited Jessica back to discuss anything we got wrong 8 years ago. One thing Jessica did not get wrong is all the ways the Presidential election of 2016 would im…
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Claims Shift: Carriers Want Agents Back In The Conversation
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Shane and Tonya discuss changes that carriers are making in how they want agents to handle claims and are bringing agents back into the conversation. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forw…
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1
ACV vs Replacement Costs - And The Long-Term Effects The Insurance Industry
26:39
26:39
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Shane and Tonya discuss changes in roof coverage, having those conversations with your clients, and how it affects our industry long-term. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on Link…
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1
Taking A Leap of Faith: Our 200th Episode on Leap Day
25:52
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Shane and Tonya celebrate their 200th podcast on Leap Day and discuss having faith in yourself when starting your agency, growing your agency, and knowing there is no perfect time. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at ia…
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Shane and Tonya discuss your competitors tactics, and what you should be doing in response. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.…
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1
Client Expectations, Marketing Challenges, and Conversations
26:58
26:58
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Shane and Tonya discuss expectations of clients (and vice versa), commercials from The Big Game (and our marketing takeaways), and conversations with clients. Learn more at iaforward.com and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow…
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Today we're discussing Brain Candy episodes 61 and 62, which covered hair and a mid-season discussion of Rivals 3. First Sarah shares what she got wrong about weaves and her regrets about encouraging Devyn to wear her natural hair for the final because the weave would be an encumbrance to their victory. We discuss the stigma of hair plugs for men a…
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Measuring Success: Choosing Benchmarks and KPIs
29:28
29:28
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Shane and Tonya discuss how to measure success, keeping it simple, and being selective on business key performance indicators (kpi's) and benchmarks. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forw…
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Profit & Loss, Cash Flow, and The "Not Fun" Financial Stuff
26:48
26:48
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Shane and Tonya discuss business financials, including free tools that are available, that an agency owner needs to be using for success. Learn more at iafoward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on Linked…
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1
Executive Strategies from Abraham Lincoln
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Abraham Lincoln was an extraordinary leader, and modern-day business backs up his methods. Shane and Tonya discuss how to apply the lessons we learn from Lincoln to our agencies. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iafo…
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The Loud Budgeting Trend and What It Means To Agency Owners
27:17
27:17
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The TikTok trend of Loud Budgeting has created a social media storm. Shane and Tonya discuss Loud Budgeting, what is means for your agency, and how to authentically use the trend in your marketing to Gen Z's and Millennials. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. IA Forward to can help you take your…
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Today we explore Brain Candy episodes 59 and 60 and all the wildness therein. We discuss whether Sarah has bipolar symptoms and why she thinks the DSM is a buncha malarkey. Susie explains why drunk driving and mental illness are similar. We reexamine a clip of TJ where he justified his condemnation of quitters, and whether we still disagree with hi…
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Excess & Surplus Lines - The Good, The Bad, and The Stuff You Need To Know
26:23
26:23
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Shane and Tonya discuss the ins and outs of writing E&S insurance and what standard preferred agents need to know to be successful. Learn more at iaforward.com and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter/X. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow IA Forward on L…
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Location, Location, Location - Does Your Agency Office Space Matter?
26:42
26:42
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Shane and Tonya discuss agency location options: from brick-and-mortar storefronts to co-working spaces, home offices, office buildings, and everything in between. Learn more at iaforward.com and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and f…
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Agency Fees For Personal and Commercial Insurance - And Why The Polarization of Opinions
26:18
26:18
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Shane and Tonya discuss agency fees across personal and commercial lines, specialty, lines, standard preferred, non-standard auto, fee versus commission, and more. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iaforward.com, and follow I…
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Shane and Tonya discuss creating the work-life balance that you need to be successful with your agency and at home, and how that changes at different life-cycles in your business. Learn more at iaforward.com and follow IA Forward on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. IA Forward to can help you take your agency from good to great. Learn more at iafo…
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Haunted Challenge House, Ozempic Oprah, & Body Positivity
1:05:02
1:05:02
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We're back with more things we got wrong! We discuss 2023 and whether we made any mistakes last year and what we learned. Sarah is preparing for her surgery and we talk about the madness of medicine and how it all feels like wizardry. We are looking back at an episode of Brain Candy with Adam Butler (Susie's husband) as a guest. We discuss how his …
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