3 Success Stories and What You Can Learn from Them

With the new year just behind us and as we prepare the year end financials, our fellow business owners will be reviewing how their business did this past year and reflecting on new goals for 2024.   It always starts with what you want to achieve in life and in business.

Here are three inspiring examples of those who managed to make it from humble beginnings and what we can all learn from them.

Jan Koum Koum was born into poverty in a tiny village in Ukraine. After migrating to America with his family as a teenager, Koum became fascinated with computers and eventually began working for Yahoo! In 2009, he had the foresight to predict the future success of the embryonic mobile app industry, so he founded WhatsApp. By 2014, he’d sold it to Facebook for $19 billion. Koum’s story shows that intelligent forward planning can be the key to reaching your goals.

John Paul DeJoria DeJoria began his working life moving from low-paid job to low-paid job, from shifts as a janitor to delivering newspapers. Befriending Paul Mitchell while working in hair care, the pair took out a small loan of $700 and founded John Paul Mitchell Systems, today a global conglomerate. Since then, he has helped to found Patron Sports and is worth over $3.1 billion, proving that strong drive and good friendships can take you farther than you think.

Kevin Plank Plank was on the edge of going broke when he decided to put his life savings together with a $40,000 advance on a credit card to fund a company selling clothing under his brand, Under Armor. After making a $17,000 sale to Georgia Tech University, sales to 24 NFL teams followed, and in a few short years, it turned into a multimillion dollar company. Today the company is worth billions. Plank’s journey shows the power of investing in yourself!

Taking a Tax Deduction from an Unreimbursed Loss

Win Win With the new year around the corner, you’ll be reviewing how your business did this past year and reflecting on your goals and what you want to achieve in life and in business.

Here are three inspiring examples of those who managed to make it from humble beginnings and what we can all learn from them.

Jan Koum

Koum was born into poverty in a tiny village in Ukraine. After migrating to America with his family as a teenager, Koum became fascinated with computers and eventually began working for Yahoo!

In 2009, he had the foresight to predict the future success of the embryonic mobile app industry, so he founded WhatsApp. By 2014, he’d sold it to Facebook for $19 billion. Koum’s story shows that intelligent forward planning can be the key to reaching your goals.

John Paul DeJoria

DeJoria began his working life moving from low-paid job to low-paid job, from shifts as a janitor to delivering newspapers. Befriending Paul Mitchell while working in hair care, the pair took out a small loan of $700 and founded John Paul Mitchell Systems, today a global conglomerate.

Since then, he has helped to found Patron Sports and is worth over $3.1 billion, proving that strong drive and good friendships can take you farther than you think.

Kevin Plank Plank was on the edge of going broke when he decided to put his life savings together with a $40,000 advance on a credit card to fund a company selling clothing under his brand, Under Armor.

After making a $17,000 sale to Georgia Tech University, sales to 24 NFL teams followed, and in a few short years, it turned into a multimillion dollar company. Today the company is worth billions. Plank’s journey shows the power of investing in yourself!

3 Success Stories and What You Can Learn from Them

Win Win With the new year around the corner, you’ll be reviewing how your business did this past year and reflecting on your goals and what you want to achieve in life and in business.

Here are three inspiring examples of those who managed to make it from humble beginnings and what we can all learn from them.

Jan Koum

Koum was born into poverty in a tiny village in Ukraine. After migrating to America with his family as a teenager, Koum became fascinated with computers and eventually began working for Yahoo!

In 2009, he had the foresight to predict the future success of the embryonic mobile app industry, so he founded WhatsApp. By 2014, he’d sold it to Facebook for $19 billion. Koum’s story shows that intelligent forward planning can be the key to reaching your goals.

John Paul DeJoria

DeJoria began his working life moving from low-paid job to low-paid job, from shifts as a janitor to delivering newspapers. Befriending Paul Mitchell while working in hair care, the pair took out a small loan of $700 and founded John Paul Mitchell Systems, today a global conglomerate.

Since then, he has helped to found Patron Sports and is worth over $3.1 billion, proving that strong drive and good friendships can take you farther than you think.

Kevin Plank Plank was on the edge of going broke when he decided to put his life savings together with a $40,000 advance on a credit card to fund a company selling clothing under his brand, Under Armor.

After making a $17,000 sale to Georgia Tech University, sales to 24 NFL teams followed, and in a few short years, it turned into a multimillion dollar company. Today the company is worth billions. Plank’s journey shows the power of investing in yourself!

Why Protecting Your Reputation Is Important

Construction General ContractorReputational harm is one of the greatest business threats today. How can business owners best protect their companies?

Your business reputation is simply what others think and feel about your business. Those thoughts and feelings could be based on experiences with your business or on what people have heard about your business. And these experiences could be true or not.

Your reputation is important because potential customers don’t wait until they’ve verified accurate information about a business to decide whether to engage with it. They make decisions based on whatever information is available to them.

Your reputation can be created both online and offline. Online, it is created through your business website, your social media posts and online customer reviews. Offline, it is created through the appearance of your office or store, your events and your phone calls.

How can you maintain a good reputation? Carefully craft the appearance of your store. Maintain your offices. And think about how your behavior may be perceived. We hate to sound like a nagging mother, but if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.

If you aren’t careful, more than your reputation could be at stake. Libel and slander claims are pervasive, and the average cost to defend and settle these types of claims is more than $750,000.

For small businesses without proper coverage, these suits can prove devastating, so make sure you have the right insurance in place for your agency and your clients.

Insurance Lessons from Lost in Space

Are you effectively growing your insurance book of business or do you feel like you’re living in an episode of “Lost in Space?

No matter which version you’ve seen—the 1960s classic, the reruns, or the recent Netflix remake—you are probably familiar with the storyline.

The sci-fi episodes find John Robinson and his family braving the unknown cosmos and strange planets after Dr. Zachary Smith, a wonky spy, throws their ship off course.

It is no surprise that the cheesy adventures of “Space Family Robinson” have many subliminal parallels to real life. In fact, many insurance agents and brokers encounter similar experiences that the Robinson’s did in their businesses today.

Lost in Space Lessons

See if you can relate:

“Danger, Will Robinson!” While Dr. Smith’s behavior thickens the Lost in Space plots, his character hides behind a mask of lies and manipulation.

In today’s world of fake news and fake gurus, you have to stay alert while working hard to nurture relationships to earn the trust of prospective clients.

Creating a Colony. The series finds the Jupiter 2 (The Robinson’s ship) on a continual quest to establish a colony on a new planet, but a crash of the mothership derails the game plan.

Like the quest to create a colony, you may find yourself constantly seeking new customers and prospects, too.

A Sabotaged Mission. In the show, Dr. Smith is well-known for sabotaging the mission and getting trapped on board during take-off.

Do you sometimes feel like technology has sabotaged your ability to grow your business like you used to do?

Let’s face it, instant access to online quotes makes closing insurance sales that much harder for you.

“Does Not Compute.” The Robot’s famous line is easy to apply to the insurance broker and agent world, especially when you have to juggle so many different tools to search for quotes.

Every carrier system seems to work differently, which creates frustration while wasting your time.

All is Not Lost.

End your feeling of being “Lost in Space” by using Syndicated’s FREE tools to find the products you need. We specialize in tough-risks, pay-as-you-go terms, and higher-than-industry-average commissions.

Our platform gives you access to multiple programs from A-rated carriers with more 150 markets and 40+ combined product offerings you cannot access anywhere else.

You can even find options that entertain experience mods of all types.

Let us help you stop your never-ending adventure today. Sign Up. Sign In. Get Paid.

 

 

How To Win Insurance Business Faster

Digital transformation (DX) is impacting business everywhere around the globe. Unfortunately, many insurance agents and brokers who stick to old methodologies are caught in the crosshairs of this transition.

Those who decide to use technology in their business can win. Those who do not are certain to lose.

With decades of clunky workflows, reams of paper, and cumbersome software that continually needs updating, the insurance industry has a tremendous opportunity to connect with customers by leveraging digital tools in their business.

Those insurers who embrace DX are on a path to enhanced profitability, lower costs and stronger customer loyalty, according to management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

Insurance agents and brokers can remain competitive by tapping into digital resources and tools in a number of innovative ways.

Make Informed Business Decisions

It is clear that digital strategies are being launched in many companies. Yet, some businesses are trying to create digital transformation without using existing data and analytics to make informed decisions. Others are becoming obsolete as they watch from the sidelines and do nothing at all.

Today’s DX-focused world uses data as the foundation that drives everything. Digital transformation is not even possible without tapping into existing data.

For example, your paper and computer files contain valuable insights and information about your customers wants, needs, and preferences.

Are you using this information to service your customers? Or do you simply rely on conversations to help uncover information about every situation?

Are you still:

  • Using paper documents for your intake forms?
  • Manually filling ACORDS for processing? and
  • Investing hours of time calling for quotes?

Automated data can allow help you make smarter decisions faster, especially in today’s highly competitive insurance industry.

Keep Your Business Competitive 

There is no doubt that technology can help your business grow.

The question you should be asking is, “what resources are available to help me achieve results and meet my customers’ needs?”

The good news is there is a free, no-strings-attached solution guaranteed to produce results that are easy-to-use and can earn you higher commissions.

However, simply knowing about these tools and solutions won’t do anything for you if you don’t use them.

The key to success is taking action to tap into the resources and make them part of your daily business operations.

Doesn’t getting instant indications sound a lot better than leaving messages for people that never return your calls?

Think of a new reality where you can respond to clients quickly with quotes that meet their needs.

Don’t be left in the dust by other insurers. Use technology in your business to save time while increasing your bottom line.

Experience The Results For Yourself.

Test out Syndicated’s Broker Gateway. 

Not comfortable with technology? No problem. Email or call us (877-333-8195) for a quick and easy conversation.

Syndicated team members can quickly walk you through how to upload ACORDS and access more than 150+ markets.

Here’s how to access Syndicated’s Broker Gateway:

  1. Sign Up here and click on the link in your confirmation email.
  2. Get Started following these simple directions for the option you need.

The choice is yours. Remain competitive, or stay the course and get left behind. Independent insurance agencies that use technology will replace those agencies that don’t.

Let Syndicated help you embrace digital transformation and grow your business.