Episode #80: The Life of a Small, Independent Business Owner

[00:00:00] Why aren't these carriers doing more for me, for my brokerage? The big national carrier has... We're taking like one of the 50 let's say. Let's just take one. Call them XYZ insurance. XYZ. Why isn't XYZ giving me more? Yeah, why aren't they giving you tools? To say like, this will help Mooney Insurance Brokers. You've been loyal to XYZ.

[00:00:30] We get a lot of business through Mooney Insurance Brokers. You support us. Here's some support for you. Does that not exist in your industry? Yeah, but I don't even see it like that. I guess the point that I'm trying to make is, the more tools that you give to us, the more exposure that you give to us, obviously is reciprocating back to the carrier.

[00:01:00] Welcome to the podcast dedicated to real estate, insurance and building your business. Join us as we take you along our own business building journeys with additional wisdom from our network of local and national experts. Welcome to Bricks and Risk. This episode is brought to you by Property Management Redefined. PMR is not just managing properties.

[00:01:28] They're creating partnerships that build long-term success for property owners. John and his team can be reached at manage at gopmr.com or by phone 267-753-6005. Tim. Yes, Sean. Who's a good client for PMR? Property Management Redefined is looking for property owners who value three things. Accountability, reliability, and a results-driven approach.

[00:01:57] They want to maximize returns but still provide client and tenant satisfaction. There's a lot of property managers out there. Yes, there are. What does PMR do really well? Biggest thing is they're seamless and they're worry-free. So, with that approach in mind, it allows the property owner to put their trust in PMR and know that the results will be there. The other thing I think a property owner is really going to value because they do it so well is that they have a local expert team,

[00:02:27] boots on the ground, managing your properties and your tenants' expectations every day so that you feel good about your investments. We have millions of listeners out there. Tens of millions. If they want more information, how do they find PMR? Right here, guys. Reach out to John Sachs and his team at Property Management Redefined. We'll take good care of you. Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Bricks and Risk.

[00:02:55] I'm Timothy M. Garrity I. And I'm Sean Mooney. What's up, man? Hey. Hey. We got a little prop going on right here. Just hitting the weekend early. What are we sampling today? Today's sample is a Cara Cara Orange vodka soda from Two Robbers. Shout out Two Robbers.

[00:03:23] Local company, I think, that makes seltzer. Have you done any research into them? Are they Philly, Greater Philly brand or are they somewhere else? They're based in Philly. Nice. That's what I thought. Yeah. And Dill, I've only been on the orange kick, but Dill tuned me in and said that his girlfriend drinks the grapefruit. Oh, yeah? She likes grapefruit? Okay. Okay. I'll have to check it out.

[00:03:52] So, I've been on the orange, so I think my next purchase of the Two Robber will be the variety pack and get a little sample. See what's up. Yeah. Do they got anything in the spicy department or anything kind of funky out of the box or is it all typical stuff? I don't know. I think we're going to have to do a remote down there and do a flight. Okay. Let's do it. Just get all of- We'll be in touch too, Robbers. All right. We'll have our people reach out. Right, right, right.

[00:04:18] We'll have our agents reach out to yours, do this properly. What are we talking about today? Today, we're going to get into it. We're going to talk about the way that our businesses are structured. Yeah. You and I were just talking about this today, which is kind of what prompted it. And the relationship about how we operate being independent contractors of sorts and how

[00:04:43] how we're set up, how we're structured and how we align ourselves with your brokerage, me with my carriers and kind of how we operate. Okay. Well, we did one episode like this before. I think it was maybe in the 30s or the 40s called an episode about nothing, but even nothing is something for all the Seinfeld fans out there.

[00:05:13] I thought it was even nothing is nothing. Could be. So, why don't you get us started? Because this is one, we'll be honest, we don't have a lot of notes. We really just wanted to kind of talk about the subject. We're going to freestyle today. Get some thoughts out. Well, I think it just became a topic and it became a topic off of an article. You and I were talking and then from that article. Yeah. Start with that. What was the article? Yeah.

[00:05:41] So, the article was something I caught online about how one of the real estate brokerages out there was and it was like a media, it was almost like a media press release. It seemed like. Like they're tooting their own horn saying, you know, we want this out there. So, you realize we're providing value, whatever. And it was more probably related that, hey, if we team up with you, we can do this and we can make this announcement, you know. Yep.

[00:06:08] But it was them teaming up with Canva and how they were going to enable the agents to, you know, have these pre-filled templated designs. And so, the real estate agent could kind of go in, just like kind of log in, and then everything was like pre-flooded. So, if you wanted to do an Instagram post, you could basically just insert and overlay the information onto that template and then boom, have it right out, ready to go.

[00:06:37] So, it's like they have like the foundation of some of their, let's call it like graphic heavy marketing, like Canva. You're going to use that for like social media presentations, you know, video. Yeah. Whatever you're looking to use the medium for, it just makes graphic, it's like DIY graphic design. Yep. And they were based, it sounds like that this broker was laying down the foundation saying, hey, we're going to put all these different things together that are common in your business.

[00:07:02] Maybe it's a listing post on Instagram or maybe it's a presentation starter for a listing presentation. And then all you got to do is fill in the text and fill in the gaps. And I think the impetus of it probably was someone at Canva going to the, someone at this real estate broker and saying like, hey, like why aren't all of your agents? Why aren't we working together? Well, either that or like you have agents that aren't doing anything.

[00:07:32] Let's make a glide path and make it as easy as possible for all of your agents to be generating content. And how can we make it as easy as possible? So how can we partner up and accomplish that goal to get as many agents as possible pumping out content? All right. So let's start with that.

[00:07:53] Like that point of the article and they're putting out something of value to their agents, as you said, if they use it, they'll probably stand out more. They'll be more productive. Maybe they get some more clients out of it. Maybe it helps them keep existing clients, like whatever it might be. So in the residential real estate world, because I've been doing this now for 15 years, I also had my own brokerage for 10. There's, there's all sorts of different flavors.

[00:08:22] You know, we're going to do a future episode on kind of like coming up with two major categories that I have personally seen for brokerages in the U.S. where we are today and why one agent would like one type of brokerage and why one agent would like another type of brokerage. But I digress. Let's talk about the brokerage offering value to their agents with the hope. Again, they get Canva. They offer it to their agents.

[00:08:51] They're still hoping through training, through emails to them. Hey, we got this tool. You should use this tool, you know, through videos on YouTube, like whatever instructional stuff. They're really like, why aren't you using this? It's like they're, they're hoping their agents see value in this and will start to adopt it. Let's say. Anyway, so the old model of residential real estate brokerages was they didn't have a whole lot of tech.

[00:09:21] So this didn't really matter back then in the day. What they had was paperwork. They had administrative support. So like human beings that could help you with things. And then maybe they would have some training. Okay, let's talk about the agreement of sale. Let's talk about the seller's disclosure. Let's talk about this form, buyer agency. And they would help through that. But now skip ahead to 2025. And there is a lot of value at residential real estate brokerages in tech.

[00:09:48] Actually, with me running my own brokerage for 10 years, it's one of the top questions someone would ask me. Split would always be a top one. What's your split? What's my split? How's that going to work? It's like, you know, you're brand new and you haven't even done any business yet. So irrelevant, but top question. One of the, usually the second or third question was either training or tech. What kind of tech do you use? What kind of CRM do you use? You know, what do I have access to if I work at Copper Hill, let's say, or real broker?

[00:10:18] Uh, if they do that, they want to know, is that going to make their lives easier? Is it going to make their business better? Like whatever it is. And I will say, even at real broker, we have access to Canva where they do already have templated designs. I've used them myself in the last year for a different medium. I've only, you know, used, you know, a handful of things here and there. You know me, I keep it simple.

[00:10:44] Um, but I just think when you brought this up earlier, you were just like, Hey, like, here's an article. They publicize this. Can we talk about that? And it just kind of like turned into you and I like going back and forth being like, well, this is how it is for me. But now I want to bring it back to you. And you were kind of talking about that perspective from your end and you kind of like started going off a little bit on a tangent.

[00:11:12] So like, how can you relate that article of like a residential real estate brokerage? You know, the company you work for or are associated with, you know, trying to help you, Mooney Insurance brokers to build your business like in your world. Yeah. So we, um, obviously partner with many carriers. How many, like if you had to guess off the top of your head today for personal, for commercial and life insurance over, over 50. Okay.

[00:11:42] So a lot of, uh, connections that we have with various carriers depending on, you know, whatever, whatever the need is. Yep. Um, and so what, what kind of brought that article into frame for me was that it kind of shined a light on me as to like, why aren't these carriers doing more for me, for my brokerage? Right.

[00:12:10] The big national carrier has, um, We're taking like one of the 50, let's just take one. Okay. Call them XYZ insurance. XYZ. Why isn't XYZ giving me more? Yeah. Why aren't they giving you tools to say like, this will help Mooney insurance brokers. You're been loyal to XYZ. We get a lot of business through Mooney insurance brokers. You support us. Here's some support for you.

[00:12:40] Does that not exist in the industry? I don't even see it like that. I guess the point that I'm trying to make is the more tools that you give to us, the more exposure that you give to us, obviously is reciprocating back to the carrier. Right.

[00:13:00] And so the point I had to you earlier was a lot of these carriers do advertising and have huge advertising budgets. Yeah. But for what? Like they're advertising to consumers. Yes. And you're like, why? Right. So I do that. Well, no, if you have XYZ carrier. Yeah. And you're advertising.

[00:13:28] Some of these carriers do not even, can't even provide a product to that consumer. Right. Right. You're their client. You're their consumer. Right. Yeah. It actually reminds me of the pharmaceutical advertisements you see on TV. You mean like those catchy songs with like different people and they're like. You call them catchy. They're like doing Broadway musicals to like medicine or something. Yeah.

[00:13:58] And they're like. They have like eczema and they're like, they're like tap dancing. They're like side effects could be diarrhea for weeks. You could die tomorrow if you take this, but your skin won't itch. I always find it funny when they say, don't take if you're allergic to our pill. And I'm like, well, how would you know you're allergic to the pill unless you took it? Right. Unless you took it and you got Muppet lips like three hours later. Anyway, keep going.

[00:14:29] Hey everyone. This is Tim, your favorite bricks and wrist co-host. But don't tell Sean. I hope you're enjoying this episode and I'll get right back to it in a moment. Our audience grows through word of mouth. So if you would please take a moment of your time and give us a review on the platform you're on, that would be fantastic. Please also help spread the BNR word by sharing your favorite episode with a friend. We greatly appreciate your time and trust. Now, back to the show.

[00:14:58] So I find it funny, fascinating that these carriers that don't even write directly to consumers would advertise. Like if you had a marketing budget of a million dollars, in my eyes, and I said this to you earlier, was like, I would be partnering with every agent that I could to get the word out that,

[00:15:26] hey, Sean Mooney and Mooney Insurance is a partner with our carrier. Right. And that way- They'll take care of you in this area or whatever. And so when the consumer sees it, oh, that sounds like a really good insurance company. Oh, I can buy that through Sean. Yeah. Right?

[00:15:47] Like, I just think there's a missed opportunity when these carriers just don't, I don't know, I don't even know how to say it correctly as to they're spending the money incorrectly and their messaging via through these advertising channels is done completely wrong. All right. So I'm going to give you a good example as a client of yours. Okay.

[00:16:16] So XYZ Insurance, they handle my insurance, but you're the one who has to have the relationship with XYZ to help me as a customer. I can't go to XYZ, as you said. You cannot. Because I can't go to XYZ, I have to go through an independent insurance broker like you in order to do business with XYZ. So technically me and XYZ should not be connected. Right.

[00:16:45] Because there's no reason to. I can't get anything from them and they can't get anything from me. So why are you talking to me? So it's exact. So I go back to the pharmaceutical because I always watch these commercials and I'm like, Joe Smith can't go out and buy that product. You can't go to Merck. Joe Smith needs to go to a doctor and that doctor needs to prescribe Joe Smith a prescription. Yep. So why are you marketing to Joe Smith? Because who doesn't like show tunes? Right? I'm serious. Yeah.

[00:17:15] I see exactly. Let me finish my thought here. All right. So I'm a client of Mooney Insurance Brokers and my homeowners and auto policy is through XYZ. But yet I get emails from XYZ, which means nothing to me. Right. Because I don't need to talk to anyone at XYZ. Even if I have a problem with my insurance, I have to go to you. Say, Sean, I have a claim. Or Sean, can you find me ABC Insurance?

[00:17:44] Because XYZ went up. I still have to go through you to even get to XYZ. Yeah, XYZ is communicating with me, which means that's time, that's money, that's effort. It would be much smarter for XYZ to go to you and say, hey, Sean, what do you think about this email marketing? Now, again, you want to put XYZ on there, but this is with you face. You're going to be consumer facing and we're going to do 90% of the work.

[00:18:13] You just got to put in the messaging and then we'll be here in the corner, you know, because we want to get something for it, some recognition. But you're going to lead the charge. And it's funny, in the residential real estate world, they do do that. Yeah. They do and they don't, but they do it way more than your industry. I do think like this is really what sparked this conversation. This is why we just wanted to like talk because it brings up different things of why isn't XYZ coming to you?

[00:18:42] Hey, we're doing a webinar next month. We're going to talk about email marketing. And if you do business with XYZ, you automatically get a subscription to this email marketing. And here's the work we're going to do to encourage you to use it. Because if I lay the foundation for the email marketing, you might be more inclined to be like, hey, once a week, once a month, once every three months, I'll just type in some text and I'll send it out to my network. Because I like it. It saves me time. Yeah. Saves me money.

[00:19:12] Yep. Because they give it to me. So it's somewhat like, why don't you think XYZ does that for Mooney Insurance Brokers? Like, what's the reason? Because I think. Okay. Head of marketing at XYZ thinks it's a waste of money to. Help you. Co-brand or help you. They look at it like, Sean Mooney should be marketing Sean Mooney.

[00:19:40] We should be marketing XYZ. Like, it's two separate verticals. Right. They see no value in like integration or co-branding. It just, it doesn't exist. Like, there's no. Literally, as we're talking, I thought of a recent conversation I had with a different carrier. And they were like, hey, can we like. Let's call them DEF. DEF. Yo DEF. Reached out to me.

[00:20:10] And they were like, hey, can we get on your Facebook page? Like, hey, we have prefabricated posts. Posts. Okay. That we'd like. If you'd be open to it, can we populate in and have like a post every once in a while? I mean, they would take over? Or they would just, they're trying to give you the material for once a week and then you got to post it. So they do the posting. You just give like a.

[00:20:39] Oh, shit. Like a green light. Really? Yes. So they get your login and they're in there messing with your. No. With your prized Facebook possession? No, no. So there must be some. You're a Facebook dude. There must be some like technical way for them to say, I can just say, hey, let these people post out once a month. They're like an admin or something. Exactly. Whatever. Yeah. Gotcha. And I'll have, they'll bring this up. Yeah.

[00:21:08] But what it is, is literally their post on my page with their branding and like nothing about. Has nothing to do with you? Nothing. Why do you think? Okay. So why? Why? Do you think they're just so far behind the times that they don't understand? You're more, you are the marketer of them. Right. So if you're the marketer in 2025, Mooney Insurance Brokers is the marketer for XYZ.

[00:21:37] Just like in 2025, Tim Garrity is the marketer of real. Like seriously, like if I say nothing about real, I say nothing about real. But real isn't doing commercials on television to consumers to say we're a good residential based real estate brokerage. So they don't do that. Why do you think insurance? I think it's the model.

[00:22:00] I think it's that old school thought that like, especially in insurance, like it's hard to kind of like be the voice that stands out. Like insurance is such an industry of we'll wait till everybody else does something and then we'll follow along. It's like R&D, rip off and duplicate. Yeah.

[00:22:21] So there's just too many carriers out there that like to change that, like imagine you being head of marketing for XYZ and someone comes to you. Listen, this, this like us posting on someone's Facebook about our information with our branding and our tagging and like that's bringing no value to the agent. And that's bringing no value to our company. Right. Because they can't help you. Well, you're siloed. Yeah.

[00:22:52] Yeah. So it's, so it's, it's not creating any engagement. There's no, it's nothing impactful that's going to be put up on a page and there's no tie in to like someone sees it and it's like time to clean your gutters. It's springtime. Yeah. Like there's nothing beneficial to the agency and anyone seeing it. There's no direct correlation that they're going to have with the insurance company.

[00:23:21] Dude, it's funny. I kind of think now that like we're talking about this more and I, I see where residential real estate is at. I feel like maybe they're like a little bit more progressive. Oh yeah. I think they move faster. Yeah. Given it's the same model. Yeah. Like XYZ and real are like the same because I represent them and I work with the clients. They don't call their headquarters and say, can I, can you help me buy a house? No, they need someone like me who works for them to help someone buy or sell a house.

[00:23:51] Just like with you, XYZ needs you so that someone can say, Hey, can you insure my car? You're like, yes, I can. Again, we can go through XYZ, but you can't go to them directly.

[00:24:00] I think from what I've gleaned of this show over the last year plus now and Sean being the genius that he is, the Munoz as we call it, is I think they're just way slower to realize things until like someone does something.

[00:24:24] And I think really, like I will tell you in the last 15 years, real residential real estate has like completely changed. Yeah. And I think it's because one of the pioneers was like a Keller Williams who came in and changed the model, let's say in the early 2000s. And before them it was Remax in like the 80s. Yeah. And they changed. No, no, no. We don't want these 50-50 splits. We want the agent to pay us rent. And then they keep everything because they're good.

[00:24:51] So they flip-flopped the industry. It doesn't sound like anyone's really done that in insurance, at least from like your standpoint. Maybe they do it with the big box guys. Maybe they change that up a little bit, guys and girls. But maybe you should start a consulting company. Go to XYZ and say, yo, I got such a great idea for all of your clients, which are other independent insurance brokerages just like me.

[00:25:21] This is what you offer them. See how they respond. It's such a great idea in that. I know, but you were only taking what I said. That's very true. It's such a great idea in that it would really create so much. Like I said to you, it would be endless content. And content that's engaging. And content that plugs the agency in with the carrier. Right?

[00:25:51] And then if I'm a carrier and you're a pretty well-sized agency in Pennsylvania or Sheboygan. Or Sheboygan. Like what better material and content would you like? I want to be, I want to be a part of that agency. You want to lead with their info. Yeah. You want to tell people why they're good. I want to be. You can get them through me. This is why they're good. But I want to be associated. Like I want to be one of your top carriers.

[00:26:21] I want to. Yes, yes. You know what I mean? It's. Yeah. Because you got 50. Right. So let's say one out of the 50 came to you and said, hey, we're going to give you some templated marketing material. Yeah. Or like email marketing, you know, subscription or whatever it is. And we want you to use this stuff. Who do you think is going to lead the pack of your 50 if you're leading with their stuff? Yeah. It's going to be them. Well, it also. So my good friend Marty, who owns Cigars Unlimited. Okay.

[00:26:49] He used to tell me back in the day with like cigarettes. Right? Okay. So like Marlboro would come in and be like, hey, why is that Salem sign up there? And Marty's like, oh, because they paid me, you know, to have that sign there. Yeah. They came in through a hundred bucks in my pocket and I threw up Salem. Marl's like, well, I'll give you 200. You know what I mean? I can have that spot. It's almost kind of like that.

[00:27:13] Like the carrier should be vying for the agency to get their name out there. Yeah. Right? Right. And that's the way it really should be is how can the carrier partner with the aid? This is the most beneficial marketing that a carrier could have. You're literally wasting money doing these Facebook ads. You're wasting money putting your... Sending me something.

[00:27:43] Sending you something. Like I said, you send me an email that takes time, money, effort. A TV ad to a consumer. Waste of money. Yep. You can basically put all of those in a toilet. Flush it. Hope it doesn't clog. And you'd be so much better off if you just tag... Like take all of that spend. Go arm and arm with your independent insurance brokerage partner. Put all those... Work together.

[00:28:13] Put those three at zero. Yeah. And it's a million dollars, whatever. Take a million dollars. Go find 20 different insurance agencies. You're going to promote them. They're going to get better visibility. You got 50 grand of Mooney insurance brokers for the whole year. Yeah. That's your budget. Yeah. And they're going to blow you out of the water. Yeah. This is why I said, I think you should start a consulting company. I am. Called the Mooneyus.

[00:28:42] Mooneyus Inc. Mooneyus Consulting. Mooneyus Consulting. Listen, I sell my agency tomorrow. Anybody looking to buy an agency, call me. They're like, what? What is this image? You're like, oh, that's from Moons of Fate? Yeah. Manos? Manos. Two hands. Are you familiar with that movie? It may be Chuck can validate this. Chuck D. What's up, man? You can definitely validate this. I think, I mean, it's the pantheon of movies.

[00:29:12] Like, it's Godfather. We'll get Dylan image of this movie I have never seen, but I've been hearing about it since I was like 19 years old because it was in college. And we've even had, we had t-shirts made of this thing. T-shirts. Get him a picture of that. Yep. Uh, when we were on your 40th, drinking at Jay's Elbow Room over the bridge in South Jersey. Donkeys? Sorry. Eating lunch at donkeys in Camden?

[00:29:40] Um, that was- Of course we would do those two things for your 40th. Mooney, what are you going to do for this? What do you want to do? Well, I got these shirts made. What do you think of that? Um, we're going to go have lunch in Camden. What do you think of that? And then, and then we're going to go have beers and drinks here. What do you think of that? And it's like, awesome. But to build in a little more context- Let's go. Donkeys closes when it gets dark because it's in like- It's in a rough area.

[00:30:11] And then Jay's Elbow Room is like shot in a beer bar with like a pool table in the back. Yeah. It's the best. Plenty of parking. Yeah. Shout out to Jay's Elbow Room. We didn't make it to, um, the birthday bar. Uh, Ray's. Oh, Ray's Happy Birthday Bar? That, that would have, that was the kind of the cherry on top. I was just in South Philly, not to go too, too far out of the way. And we had, we had dinner at Ralph's. Shout out to Ralph's. And, uh, Brent, Brent Bush-

[00:30:39] Mikey G would be upset that you went to Ralph's. Brent was like, yo, we're going here. I was like, what about Ray's Happy Birthday Bar? He's like, it's too small. I was like, you're the South Philly dude. I'll take your word for it. How old did you have? And we had five, but he just said, it's one of the, it's going to feel too tight. So again, we go to this bar and it's like downstairs and it's like this big open room. It's like, it's sweet. And they got a pool table. It's just reminding me of that. So, sorry. Sorry to get off track here.

[00:31:07] So, um, to bring it back, um, if these carriers were to elect to do that, you know, let's, let's take our ad spend. Let's, or half. Like whatever, then I don't even care. Let's not let go of the things that we believe in. Let's take some of it and experiment. And you were to measure it. Yep.

[00:31:28] I guarantee that all of the metrics that you'd be measuring would be way more impactful if you were to align yourself with agencies to get your name out there. I agree, man. It's interesting. So the consulting business, uh, will be registered with the state tomorrow. Fantastic. We already know what the, we already know what the logo is going to look like.

[00:31:57] We'll let you know. Um, we'll let you know what turns it turns about it.

[00:32:31] All right, man. We'll let you know what the logo is going to look like. Mm-hmm. And come find us on LinkedIn. We've got a pretty active group on LinkedIn for our show, uh, where we post out some, um, content that we don't post on some of the other channels. Sure. So come in and get subscribed there to catch that material on LinkedIn. Awesome. Well, that's all we have for this one, folks. Thank you for tuning in again to another episode of Bricks and Risk. See you next week.

[00:33:01] Thank you for joining us on another episode of Bricks and Risk. Our goal is that you walk away with one or two valuable nuggets, and we greatly appreciate you sharing your time with us today. You can find all BNR episodes on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and anywhere else you get your podcast content. Until next time, keep learning and keep growing.