The Scratch Agency Podcast

In Episode 180 of the Scratch Agency Podcast, Stephen Turnbull and Shawn Fitzgerald break down how they approach annual planning inside their independent insurance agencies.Annual planning shouldn't only be about deciding where you want the agency to be 12 months from now. Stephen explains why the first step should be an honest review of the previous year—what worked, what didn't, which goals were achieved, where you fell short, and most importantly, why.Stephen walks through the annual summit he holds with his team, including reviewing wins, challenges and lessons learned, evaluating team capacity and constraints, identifying process improvements, discussing sales and marketing, and setting personal and professional growth goals.Shawn shares why taking the planning process outside the office has made such a difference for his agency. Whether it's a half-day meeting, an overnight off-site, or simply getting away by yourself, removing everyday distractions creates the space to actually think about where the business is going.They also discuss planning when you're still a one-person agency, involving your team in future hiring decisions, and why every major goal should be reverse-engineered into measurable actions.But setting the goal isn't enough.If your goal is to hire a producer, for example, success isn't simply making the hire. What changes afterward? How much time does it give back to the owner? How does it affect production? What new responsibilities can the owner focus on?Stephen closes with a simple framework: pick three things, reverse-engineer how you'll accomplish them, define what success looks like, and focus.🔍 If you're preparing your insurance agency for the next year, this episode gives you a practical framework for reflecting on where you've been, deciding where you're going, and turning big annual goals into measurable actions.🕒 Timestamps:00:00 – Welcome & HawkSoft 01:07 – Why Annual Planning Matters 01:34 – Owner Vision vs. Team Planning 02:04 – Start by Reviewing the Previous Year 02:38 – Goals Beyond Revenue & Production 04:27 – Prioritising Your Annual Planning Agenda 04:56 – Stephen's Annual Summit Agenda 06:04 – Personal & Professional Team Goals 06:52 – Getting Team Buy-In 07:52 – Annual Planning as a One-Person Agency 09:15 – Getting Away From Everyday Distractions 10:23 – Reverse-Engineer Your Goals 11:14 – Planning for Future Team Growth 13:08 – Why Off-Site Planning Works 14:22 – What Does Success Actually Look Like? 15:42 – Hiring Someone Isn't the Finish Line 16:25 – Pick Three Priorities 16:55 – Reflect Before Planning Forward 17:33 – Community Feedback & Closing Thoughts 💼 Sponsored by HawkSofthttps://www.hawksoft.comA family-owned and operated agency management system serving independent agencies with teams from one to 300+ employees. In this episode, Stephen shares feedback from an agency owner in Louisiana who describes HawkSoft as easy and comprehensive, particularly when it comes to accounting inside their agency.🔗 Links & Resources:📘 Join the Scratch Agency Podcast Community on Facebook to connect with other Scratch agency owners, share your annual planning ideas, ask questions, and contribute to future conversations.📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescratchagencypodcast🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hutxCZ5NUPqF5hRdC79Hl🌐 Visit Our Website: https://scratchagencypodcast.comThank you for tuning into another episode of the Scratch Agency Podcast.👍 Like the show. 📤 Share it with another scratch insurance agency owner. 🔔 Subscribe to the YouTube channel so you don't miss the weekly episodes, updates, and shorts.Most importantly, remember to dig down deep, believe in yourself, and own your own future.

In Episode 179 of the Scratch Agency Podcast, Stephen Turnbull and Shawn Fitzgerald tackle one of the biggest early challenges for independent insurance agency owners: obtaining carrier appointments.When you're starting from scratch, it can be tempting to believe that having more carriers automatically makes your agency stronger. Stephen shares how he initially said yes to almost every carrier opportunity available to him—only to realise that having too many appointments meant having too many relationships and production requirements to manage.The conversation explores a different approach: go deeper instead of wider. Rather than chasing dozens of carrier appointments, Stephen and Shawn discuss the value of building strong relationships with a smaller group of carrier partners that align with your market, business plan, and long-term vision.Shawn shares his own experience starting with only a handful of appointments and adjusting his original business plan around the carriers he could actually access. They also discuss how geography, prior insurance experience, existing relationships, and market conditions can significantly affect which appointments are available to a new agency.For agency owners struggling to get direct appointments, Shawn recommends getting involved with local insurance associations, attending meetings, meeting carrier representatives, and building relationships with established agency owners who may eventually help make introductions.They also discuss aggregators, wholesalers, carrier-specific business plans, and why you should carefully understand any contract before committing to an aggregator relationship.🔍 If you're starting an independent insurance agency and wondering how to get carrier appointments—or whether you actually need more carriers—this episode breaks down how Stephen and Shawn approached carrier access and what they've learned about building stronger carrier partnerships.🕒 Timestamps:00:00 – Welcome & HawkSoft01:29 – The Carrier Appointment Conversation01:59 – Do You Really Need More Carriers?02:29 – Stephen's Early Carrier Appointment Experience02:57 – Going Deeper Instead of Wider03:54 – Building Strong Carrier Relationships04:46 – Geography & Carrier Availability06:07 – Shawn's Carrier Appointment Journey06:42 – Starting With Only a Few Carriers07:32 – Growing Carrier Relationships One by One09:06 – Aggregators, Wholesalers & New Agency Owners10:35 – Using Local Insurance Associations10:46 – Relationships Can Unlock Appointments11:45 – Choosing the Right Aggregator12:44 – Make Carriers Understand Why You Want Them13:08 – Treat Carrier Reps Like Prospects13:31 – Community & Closing Thoughts💼 Sponsored by HawkSofthttps://www.hawksoft.comA family-owned and operated agency management system serving independent agencies with teams from one to 300+ employees. In this episode, Stephen highlights HawkSoft's customer success team and the value of having real people available to help agencies get where they need to be.🔗 Links & Resources:📘 Join the Scratch Agency Podcast Community on Facebook to connect with other Scratch agency owners, ask questions, access community conversations, and contribute ideas for future episodes.📸 Follow us on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thescratchagencypodcast🎧 Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/7hutxCZ5NUPqF5hRdC79Hl🌐 Visit Our Website:https://scratchagencypodcast.comThank you for tuning into another episode of the Scratch Agency Podcast.👍 Like the show.📤 Share it with another scratch insurance agency owner.🔔 Subscribe to the YouTube channel so you don't miss the weekly episodes, updates, and shorts.Most importantly, remember to dig down deep, believe in yourself, and own your own future.

In Episode 178 of the Scratch Agency Podcast, Stephen Turnbull and Shawn Fitzgerald sit down for another shop-talk conversation about something every scratch insurance agency owner eventually has to face: taking the next risk.Starting an independent agency is already a massive leap. You may take out a loan, drain your savings, leave a stable job, or start completely from zero. But something interesting can happen once the agency begins generating consistent revenue—you finally have something to lose, and taking the next risk can suddenly feel much harder.Stephen and Shawn discuss why agency owners can become more risk-averse as their businesses become stable and why continued growth often requires getting uncomfortable again. That next risk might mean hiring a producer, increasing lead spend, adding service staff, acquiring a book of business, bringing on another carrier, or investing more heavily into something that's already working.Stephen also shares a simple framework that has shaped how he makes major business decisions: write down the worst-case scenario, best-case scenario, and what will probably happen. If you can live with all three outcomes, the opportunity may be worth pursuing.The bigger lesson isn't that every agency owner needs to take the same risks. Your goals, stage of business, and definition of growth will be different. What matters is knowing your vision, understanding your risk, and making decisions that move you toward your own North Star.🔍 If you've built some stability in your scratch agency but feel yourself hesitating on the next big decision, this episode will challenge you to evaluate what's actually holding you back—and whether the next stage of growth requires taking another calculated risk.🕒 Timestamps:00:00 – Welcome to the Scratch Agency Podcast00:39 – The Emotional Roller Coaster of Entrepreneurship04:04 – The Risk of Starting From Scratch05:03 – Why Growth Requires Another Risk05:43 – When Everything Is Working, Why Change It?07:32 – You Finally Have Something to Lose08:55 – Worst Case, Best Case & Most Likely Case10:34 – Should You Hire Another Producer?11:29 – Risk Goes Beyond Hiring12:19 – Bigger Goals Require Bigger Moves12:45 – Know Your Vision & Your North Star14:03 – Could You Take More Risk?14:18 – Community, YouTube & Closing Thoughts💼 Sponsored by HawkSofthttps://www.hawksoft.comA family-owned and operated agency management system serving independent agencies with teams from one to 300+ employees. In this episode, Stephen also shares his experience attending a HawkSoft regional meetup and highlights the company's approach to listening to agency feedback and helping users get more from the platform.🔗 Links & Resources:📘 Join the Scratch Agency Podcast Community on Facebook to connect with other Scratch agency owners, share questions, and suggest topics for future episodes.📸 Follow us on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thescratchagencypodcast🎧 Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/7hutxCZ5NUPqF5hRdC79Hl🌐 Visit Our Website:https://scratchagencypodcast.comThank you for tuning into another episode of the Scratch Agency Podcast.👍 Like the show.📤 Share it with another scratch insurance agency owner.🔔 Subscribe to the YouTube channel so you don't miss the weekly episodes, updates, and shorts.Most importantly, remember to dig down deep, believe in yourself, and own your own future.

In Episode 177 of the Scratch Agency Podcast, Stephen Turnbull and Shawn Fitzgerald kick off a new style of community-driven episodes by answering questions coming directly from Scratch insurance agency owners.This week’s question: **What can a commercial-lines virtual assistant actually handle inside an insurance agency?**Shawn shares his experience hiring a VA as his first employee and gradually developing more specialised roles as his agency grew. Stephen also shares what he’s currently learning as he delegates more commercial-lines responsibilities to his own team.They break down practical tasks that can be delegated, including certificates of insurance, finance agreements, document management, renewal comparisons, exposure reviews, retention reporting, CRM and AMS maintenance, and client communication.The conversation also explores an important lesson for scratch agency owners: **you don’t need the perfect SOP before you start delegating.** Give your team one part of the process, review their work, correct mistakes in real time, and gradually expand their responsibilities as they become more confident.Stephen and Shawn also discuss simplifying commercial renewal workflows, creating different processes for VIP accounts, and why even smaller commercial clients still deserve meaningful renewal communication.🔍 **If you’re growing a scratch insurance agency and wondering what you can finally take off your plate, this episode gives you practical ideas for using a VA to support commercial lines without giving up control of the parts that still require your expertise.**🕒 **Timestamps:**00:00 – Introduction & Community-Driven Episodes01:09 – Answering Questions From the Scratch Agency Community02:48 – What Can a Commercial VA Handle?03:20 – Delegating Certificates of Insurance04:54 – Start Delegating Before the Process Is Perfect06:21 – Training Your VA on Different COI Scenarios07:32 – Commercial Renewal Comparisons & Audits09:24 – How Detailed Should a Commercial Renewal Audit Be?10:08 – Creating a VIP Commercial Renewal Process11:30 – Don't Overcomplicate Commercial Renewals12:48 – Simplifying Your AgencyZoom Pipelines13:53 – Why Smaller Commercial Accounts Still Matter16:16 – Commercial Tasks You Can Delegate to a VA16:48 – COI Follow-Ups & Client Communication17:06 – Retention Reporting, AMS Data & Exposure Reviews17:41 – Closing Thoughts & Join the Community💼 **Sponsored by HawkSoft**https://www.hawksoft.comA family-owned and operated agency management system serving independent agencies with teams from one to 300+ employees. HawkSoft combines a user-friendly platform with support and service built around the needs of independent insurance agencies.🔗 **Links & Resources:**📘 Join the Scratch Agency Podcast Community on Facebook to ask questions, connect with other scratch agency owners, and contribute to conversations that may become future episodes.📸 Follow us on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thescratchagencypodcast🎧 Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/7hutxCZ5NUPqF5hRdC79Hl🌐 Visit Our Website:https://scratchagencypodcast.comThank you for tuning into another episode of the Scratch Agency Podcast.👍 Like the show.📤 Share it with another scratch insurance agency owner.🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode.Most importantly, remember to **dig down deep, believe in yourself, and own your own future.**

In Episode 176 of the Scratch Agency Podcast, Stephen Turnbull and Shawn Fitzgerald sit down for another shop-talk episode to share what’s actually happening inside their agencies—what’s working, what isn’t, and what they’re learning along the way.Stephen shares a recent challenge inside T5 Insurance Services. The agency didn’t have a lead problem—it had a **turnaround-time problem**. Instead of immediately deciding how to fix it himself, Stephen identified the problem, brought it to his team, and asked them to develop the solution.The result? His team identified workflow improvements Stephen hadn’t considered, reassigned responsibilities inside Agency Zoom, and even called out Stephen’s own lack of dedicated proposal time. That conversation led to a simple 3:00–3:30 PM proposal block that has already helped improve their process.Shawn shares a similar experience from his agency involving personal lines renewals and an incomplete SOP. Rather than stepping in with the answer, he empowered his team members to review the process, identify what was missing, and solve the issue together.🔍 **If you’re building a scratch insurance agency and starting to grow your team, this episode is a reminder that leadership isn’t about having every answer. Sometimes the best thing you can do is identify the problem, give your team ownership, and let them help build the solution.**🕒 **Timestamps:**00:00 – Introduction & Another Shop-Talk Episode01:23 – Realizing the Agency Didn't Have a Lead Problem02:20 – The Turnaround-Time Bottleneck03:00 – Asking the Team to Build the Solution03:55 – When Your Team Calls You Out04:56 – Time Blocking Proposal Work05:56 – Empowering Your Team to Make Decisions07:43 – Re-Auditing Roles, Responsibilities & Agency Zoom08:20 – Shawn's Personal Lines Renewal & SOP Example09:25 – Defining When a Process Is Actually "Done"10:08 – Why Agency Owners Shouldn't Solve Every Problem10:38 – Training Employees to Think for Themselves11:27 – Give Your Team Ownership12:17 – Building a Culture of Accountability12:47 – Closing Thoughts💼 **Sponsored by HawkSoft**https://www.hawksoft.comA family-owned and operated agency management system serving independent agencies with teams from one to 300+ employees. HawkSoft is focused on customer service, honest feedback, and helping independent insurance agencies get where they need to be.🔗 **Links & Resources:**📘 Join the Scratch Agency Community on Facebook for conversations, resources, and insights from other independent insurance agency owners.📸 Follow us on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thescratchagencypodcast🎧 Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/7hutxCZ5NUPqF5hRdC79Hl🌐 Visit Our Website:https://scratchagencypodcast.comThank you for tuning into another episode of the Scratch Agency Podcast.👍 Like the show.📤 Share it with another scratch insurance agency owner.🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode.Most importantly, remember to **dig down deep, believe in yourself, and own your own future.**