Business Refocused
by Lindsay Sexton & Carey Wallace
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Recent episodes
#187 - Owner Compensation, Profitability, and Your Agency’s Value w/ Adam DeLaForest
Sep 1, 2026
11m 34s
#186 - How to Use Debt to Grow Your Insurance Agency Through Acquisition w/ Covington Carlson
Aug 25, 2026
33m 45s
#185 - When Is Enough, Enough? How to Know When to Sell Your Insurance Agency w/ Trey Siner
Aug 18, 2026
36m 52s
#184 - Calculating Adjusted EBITDA w/ Lauren Washington
Aug 11, 2026
16m 57s
#183 - How Benchmarking Drives Smarter Growth for Insurance Agencies w/ Kyle Becker
Aug 4, 2026
29m 45s
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| Date | Episode | Description | Length | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/1/26 |  #187 - Owner Compensation, Profitability, and Your Agency’s Value w/ Adam DeLaForest | In this Coffee Break episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay are joined by AgencyFocus team member Adam DeLaForest to talk about something that can have a surprisingly big impact on an agency valuation: owner compensation. How an owner pays themselves can make an agency look more or less profitable on paper, even when the underlying business has not changed. Adam explains why AgencyFocus adjusts owner compensation during a valuation, what “reasonable compensation” means, and why ther... | 11m 34s | ||||||
| 8/25/26 |  #186 - How to Use Debt to Grow Your Insurance Agency Through Acquisition w/ Covington Carlson | In this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay sit down with Covington Carlson from Live Oak Bank to talk about one of the biggest questions agency owners face when they want to grow through acquisition: How do you actually finance the deal? Covington breaks down how banks look at insurance agency acquisitions, why some debt can be a powerful growth tool, and what buyers need to understand before taking on a loan. He explains debt service coverage, EBITDA, cash flow, seller notes, a... | 33m 45s | ||||||
| 8/18/26 |  #185 - When Is Enough, Enough? How to Know When to Sell Your Insurance Agency w/ Trey Siner | In this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay sit down with Trey Siner to talk about one of the hardest questions an agency owner can ask: When is enough, enough? After more than 20 years of building his agency from scratch, Trey started thinking seriously about what he wanted the next chapter of his life to look like. The decision to sell was not just about valuation or getting the right number. It was about his family, his time, his team, and whether he was ready to let go of som... | 36m 52s | ||||||
| 8/11/26 |  #184 - Calculating Adjusted EBITDA w/ Lauren Washington | In this Coffee Break episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay are joined by AgencyFocus team member Lauren Washington to break down how to calculate your agency’s adjusted EBITDA and get a clearer picture of true operating profitability. They walk through the discretionary and one-time expenses that can distort your P&L, from country club dues and luxury vehicles to severance, rebrands, technology conversions, and other non-recurring costs. They also explain why properly categoriz... | 16m 57s | ||||||
| 8/4/26 |  #183 - How Benchmarking Drives Smarter Growth for Insurance Agencies w/ Kyle Becker | In this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay welcome back agency owner Kyle Becker to discuss how benchmarking changed the way he manages his agency. From improving financial reporting to evaluating technology investments, Kyle shares how understanding his numbers has helped him make more confident business decisions. The conversation explores why many agency owners only see part of the financial picture and how benchmarking provides the context needed to measure growth, profitabi... | 29m 45s | ||||||
| 7/28/26 |  #182 - Revenue Per Employee: The Insurance Agency KPI Every Owner Should Track | In this Coffee Break episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay explain why revenue per employee is one of the most valuable benchmarks for measuring an insurance agency's operational efficiency and growth capacity. They break down how to calculate the metric, who should be included in the employee count, and why the benchmark is evolving as agencies adopt virtual employees, automation, and AI. The conversation also explores how revenue per employee can help agency owners evaluate staff... | 9m 20s | ||||||
| 7/21/26 |  #181 - How Better Agency Operations Increase Business Value w/ Jessica Yarbrough | In this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay welcome back Jessica Yarbrough, COO and co-owner of Johnson Insurance and founder of Agency Ops Advantage, to discuss how operational excellence can increase agency value while creating a better experience for employees and clients. Jessica shares how transforming operations, investing in technology, and building a high-performing culture helped her agency double in size and earn recognition as both a Best Practices Agency and one of No... | 31m 43s | ||||||
| 7/14/26 |  #180 - What is EBITDA? | In this Coffee Break episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay break down one of the most important financial metrics for independent insurance agencies: EBITDA. They explain what EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) actually means, how to calculate it, and why it's a critical measure of your agency's true operating profitability. Whether you're focused on growth, acquisitions, or maximizing your agency's value, understanding EBITDA helps you make be... | 13m 02s | ||||||
| 7/7/26 |  #179 - How to Successfully Transition a Family Business to the Next Generation w/ Catherine Garrity-Frans & Tom Garrity | In this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay are joined by Tom Garrity and Catherine Garrity-Frans of Compass Point Consulting, LLC to discuss what it takes to successfully transition a business from one generation to the next. Drawing from decades of experience working with family businesses across industries, Tom and Catherine share why succession planning is about much more than choosing the next leader. They explore how governance, clearly defined roles, healthy communication,... | 44m 42s | ||||||
| 6/30/26 |  #178 - Why to Use a Broker for Your Sale w/ Legacy Advisors | In this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay sit down with Mike Almberg and Max Olson of Legacy Advisors to discuss what agency owners should know before selling their business and why preparation matters long before a deal is on the table. The conversation explores agency valuations, buyer selection, market trends, and the importance of creating a competitive process. Mike and Max explain why selling an agency is about more than maximizing price. It's about finding the right part... | 34m 59s | ||||||
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| 6/23/26 |  #177 - What Happens After the Deal Closes? The Real Work of Agency Mergers w/ Anne Baum | In this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay sit down with leadership consultant Anne Baum to discuss a critical piece of agency mergers that often gets overlooked: culture. While most merger conversations focus on valuation, deal structure, and financial performance, Anne explains that the real work begins after the transaction closes. The long-term success of any merger depends on how well leadership brings two teams together, builds trust, and create a shared vision for the fut... | 32m 30s | ||||||
| 6/16/26 |  #176 - How to Read Your Insurance Agency Financials Like a CFO | In this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay answer common financial questions they’ve recently received from agency owners and break down what a meaningful monthly financial review should actually look like. From analyzing six-month auto policies and understanding profitability to identifying discretionary expenses and building accurate financial reports, the conversation focuses on helping agency owners use their financials as a decision-making tool rather than simply a historic... | 20m 42s | ||||||
| 6/9/26 | #175 - Get Your Agency a Health Check | In this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay explore how agency benchmarking is helping independent insurance agencies gain deeper financial visibility and make more informed business decisions. As more agency owners look beyond valuation and focus on long-term performance, health checks have become a powerful tool for measuring growth, profitability, book health, staffing efficiency, and operational risk. Carey and Lindsay discuss how agencies can use benchmarking data to underst... | 26m 22s | ||||||
| 5/26/26 |  #174 - Building a Sales Culture in an Independent Insurance Agency w/ Patrick McClure | In this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay sit down with Patrick McClure of Impact Performance Team to talk about one of the biggest challenges agency owners face: creating a true sales culture. Patrick shares his journey from commercial insurance producer to sales leader and entrepreneur, helping independent agencies improve sales performance, develop producers, recruit talent, and build accountability across their organizations. What started as sales coaching has evolved into ... | 33m 31s | ||||||
| 5/19/26 | #173 - Building the Next Generation of Insurance Leaders with Launchpad | In this episode of The Insurance Refocused Podcast, Lindsay and Carey Wallace welcome Beth DeLaForest back to the show to talk about Launchpad, a new webinar series designed to help the next generation of insurance professionals learn, grow, and build meaningful industry connections. Beth and Carey share why knowledge transfer matters more than ever as experienced leaders prepare to exit the industry and younger professionals step into bigger roles. They discuss the value of mentorship, outsi... | 30m 19s | ||||||
| 5/12/26 | Run Your Agency Like You're Selling It Tomorrow (Carey & Insurance Leaders Lab) | In this special re-release, we’re sharing an episode originally featured on Nina Shepard's Insurance Leaders Lab Podcast. Carey joins Nina to talk about financial clarity for independent insurance agency owners. They discuss why waiting until you're ready to sell is a mistake, how your compensation structure could secretly be tanking your agency's value, and the three key drivers that determine what your business is really worth—growth, profitability, and transferability. Originally fea... | 41m 57s | ||||||
| 5/5/26 |  #171 - The Story Behind the Numbers | In this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay break down what they’re seeing from real agency benchmarking data and how top-performing insurance agencies are driving growth and profitability. They walk through the key metrics that matter most, including organic growth, profitability, staffing, technology spend, and revenue per employee. More importantly, they explain how these metrics work together and what actually drives performance inside an agency. One of the biggest takeaways ... | 18m 51s | ||||||
| 4/28/26 |  #170 - Inside AgencyFocus: From Valuations to Fractional CFO | In this episode of Business Refocused, Todd Hufford interviews Carey and Lindsay Wallace on the story behind AgencyFocus, how they each found their way into insurance, and what it took to grow the business beyond agency valuation. Carey shares how a role with the PIA of Ohio led her into valuation, perpetuation planning, and data analytics, eventually becoming the foundation for AgencyFocus. Lindsay shares her own path into the industry and how her experience helped shape the company’s next s... | 45m 11s | ||||||
| 4/21/26 |  #169 - How Smart Agencies Are Hiring Young Talent w/ Todd Hufford | In this episode of Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey sit down with Todd Hufford, CEO of Conner Insurance, to talk about on a topic that’s shaping the future of agencies: bringing in young talent. The conversation starts light but quickly gets into something more meaningful. Todd shares how his perspective on time, shaped early in life, led him to think long-term about building an agency. Not just for today’s revenue, but for the next generation of leaders. Todd shares how Conner Ins... | 21m 03s | ||||||
| 4/14/26 |  #168 - What Comes Next? Redefining Yourself After a Career Shift w/ Nicole Malachowski | In this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay sit down with Nicole Malachowski, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and the first female Thunderbird pilot, to talk about transition. Not just planning for it. Actually going through it. Nicole’s career ended unexpectedly after a serious illness forced her out of the role she had built her identity around. What followed wasn’t a clean next step. It was the messy middle that most people don’t talk about. Her perspective is simple and practi... | 39m 15s | ||||||
| 4/7/26 | #167 – Walking Away Happy w/ Matt Naimoli | The agency owners who walk away from a sale feeling good aren't the ones who got lucky — they're the ones who prepared. In the final episode of this series, Carey and Matt talk about fixing problems before they become deal killers, how to know what kind of seller you are, and why the question of what comes next matters just as much as the closing number. In this episode: How to fix valuation issues before you go to marketThe three seller personas — and why knowing yours changes everythingWhat... | 22m 42s | ||||||
| 3/31/26 | #166 – What's Your Agency Actually Worth w/ Matt Naimoli | Your agency might be worth less than you think — and the reasons probably have nothing to do with your revenue. In part three, Carey and Matt dig into the valuation drivers most owners never see coming: producer-owned books, aggregator contracts, leadership concentration, and the transferability issues that quietly discount an otherwise strong agency. In this episode: Why a multiple of EBITDA is just the starting pointProducer-owned books: what they are and what they cost you at exitAggregato... | 20m 28s | ||||||
| 3/24/26 | #165 – The Decisions That Matter When Selling Your Agency w/ Matt Naimoli | Selling your agency isn't just a financial transaction — it's one of the biggest decisions you'll ever make. In part two of this series, Carey and Matt get into what it actually looks like to navigate an exit, whether that's keeping it in the family or going to market. They break down the difference between a broker and a true advisor, why the fee question is the wrong place to start, and what it really takes to feel good about the outcome. In this episode: Internal succession vs. external sa... | 16m 32s | ||||||
| 3/17/26 | #164 – Running the Numbers w/ Matt Naimoli | Most agency owners are great at insurance. The financial side? That's where things get fuzzy. Carey Wallace sits down with Matt Naimoli of Legacy Advisors to talk about what financial clarity actually looks like inside an independent agency — and why getting there changes everything from hiring decisions to long-term value. This is part one of a four-part series. In this episode: Why most agency owners are making big decisions without the right financial pictureWhat a fractional CFO actually ... | 18m 39s | ||||||
| 3/10/26 |  #163 - It's Not Always About Size w/ Adam DeLaForest | In this episode, Lindsay and Carey sit down with Adam DeLaForest to explore the key factors influencing agency valuation, including financial management, operational efficiency, and market conditions. Our guest, Adam DeLaForest, shares insights from his experience completing valuations on numerous agencies at his role in AgencyFocus, emphasizing the importance of profitability, contracts, and strategic planning for agency owners. Connect with us: Follow AgencyFocus for more conversatio... | 29m 18s | ||||||
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