In this episode of Exitology: Unlock Your Profits, Unlock Your Potential, host Jason "Wally" Waldron continues his conversation with Josh Fyhrie, a seasoned insurance agency owner, diving deeper into his journey of scaling, selling, and rediscovering purpose. From managing seven figures of debt to partnering with a larger agency, Josh shares the highs, lows, and lessons learned during this transformative chapter of his career.

Josh’s story takes a compelling turn as he recounts the decision to sell his agency and transition into a new professional chapter. Partnering with a larger agency provided him with resources, stability, and the freedom to focus on what he does best—serving high-net-worth clients with tailored solutions. Reflecting on his decision, Josh notes, “It wasn’t just about the financial windfall; it was about removing the weight off our shoulders and creating opportunities for our team.”

Through this conversation, listeners gain insights into aligning personal and professional goals when planning an exit, understanding the value of your business through comprehensive due diligence, and navigating the human side of mergers, including staff retention and cultural shifts. Josh also shares how embracing new roles and redefining success can open doors to a fulfilling next chapter.

Josh highlights the importance of knowing your end game and preparing for it well in advance, leveraging the right partnerships to access resources and opportunities, and prioritizing transparency with your team to retain staff through a merger. His focus on serving high-net-worth clients exemplifies the power of aligning your role with your expertise and passion.

For business owners considering their next move, this episode provides a roadmap for navigating exits, scaling strategically, and finding renewed purpose. Tune in to Exitology: Unlock Your Profits, Unlock Your Potential to learn how to level up your business and create a future aligned with your goals. Your journey to significance starts here!

Guest Info:

Josh Fyhrie, Insurance Agency Owner

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn

Josh Fyhrie has over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, starting his career with Farmers Insurance before founding his own independent agency. He successfully grew his business by offering a broader range of services to clients and eventually partnered with a larger agency to take his company to the next level. Today, Josh focuses on serving high-net-worth clients and helping them protect their assets.

Like this episode? Want to learn more? Visit www.exitology.com, or get your copy of Exitology: Proven Strategies to Accelerate Business Growth, 3x Your Company Value, and Exit the Smart Way today.

In this episode of Exitology: Unlock Your Profits, Unlock Your Potential, host Jason "Wally" Waldron sits down with Josh Fyhrie, a seasoned insurance agency owner, to uncover the pivotal moments of his career and his journey toward scaling success. Starting with Farmers Insurance, Josh shares how he transitioned to founding his own independent agency, navigating challenges and breaking free from limitations to create something more flexible and profitable. This conversation dives deep into building strategic partnerships, scaling smart, and preparing for a successful exit—all while delivering value to clients and ensuring sustainable growth.

Josh’s decision to leave the "single-line insurance prison" marked a turning point, enabling him to offer better solutions to clients and unlock new growth opportunities. Reflecting on this leap, he shares, “The only thing I regret is not breaking out sooner.” His story highlights the importance of strategic moves, including partnerships that complemented his strengths and filled gaps in his business. By prioritizing client needs and aligning his business with long-term goals, Josh built a thriving enterprise with a clear path to success.

Through this conversation, listeners gain valuable insights, such as spotting when your business hits a glass ceiling and recognizing the need for a bold pivot. Josh explains how partnering with larger agencies can create scalable opportunities, while Wally underscores the importance of "beginning with the end in mind" when planning for an exit. They also discuss how a client-first approach builds trust, drives growth, and strengthens a business for the long term. As Josh puts it, “If you’re not doing a good job for your clients, you’re in the wrong game.”

Proven strategies include evaluating your current position to identify growth limitations, talking to experienced peers to learn from their insights, and preparing for your exit by planning well in advance. Josh also emphasizes leveraging your network to build partnerships that enable faster growth and better client service. These strategies, combined with intentional planning, create the foundation for scaling a business while setting the stage for a successful exit.

For business owners contemplating their next steps, this episode provides a roadmap for breaking free from limitations, scaling strategically, and planning an exit on your own terms. Tune in to Exitology: Unlock Your Profits, Unlock Your Potential and discover actionable insights that can transform your business and your future. Your journey to freedom and profitability starts here!

Guest Info:

Josh Fyhrie, Insurance Agency Owner

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn

Josh Fyhrie has over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, starting his career with Farmers Insurance before founding his own independent agency. He successfully grew his business by offering a broader range of services to clients and eventually partnered with a larger agency to take his company to the next level. Today, Josh focuses on serving high-net-worth clients and helping them protect their assets.

Like this episode? Want to learn more? Visit www.exitology.com, or get your copy of Exitology: Proven Strategies to Accelerate Business Growth, 3x Your Company Value, and Exit the Smart Way today.

“The only thing right about all projections is that they are all wrong.” - The Economist

Financial institutions practice what they preach.

Financial institutions have become expert marketers.

The goal of all financial institutions is to get our money.  They want us to send them our money and they want to have control and use.

People have bought into the idea that somebody is going to take care of them.

People fly on autopilot financially.  Business owners track inflow and outflow for their business but not personally.

Accountability is a principle.  

People fail financially for the most part because they don’t have principles or they don’t know what the principles are that lead to financial freedom and they are not being taught what they are by most of the financial planning world.

If we viewed our money in terms of the principle of stewardship, would we gamble it?

Kyle J Christensen, founder of Fiveth, founder of Unique Advantage, and  author of Principle Based Planning: A Better Approach to Financial Planning | LinkedIn 

#compoundinterest #financial #institution #stewardship #gamble #principle #money #marketing #businessowner

Like this episode? Want to learn more? Visit www.exitology.com, or get your copy of Exitology: Proven Strategies to Accelerate Business Growth, 3x Your Company Value, and Exit the Smart Way today.

“No one cares about your money more than you do.”

Stock ownership = a company has no legal obligation to pay you.

Prior to Apple or Microsoft, it was common for stocks to pay dividends.  However, instead of paying a dividend, these companies put it back into the company.  

“If you ever want to acquire the fortune that you seek, the first thing you have to do is acquire the knowledge that is required to obtain that right.” - Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich.

Explore the 3 rules / principles of investing.

• Invest in what you know or become an expert so you can do so.
• Invest in what you can control.
• Don’t chase returns

Principles give us a filter to run decisions through.

Is there anything in your life that you have that’s been an enduring success that required no knowledge, no effort on your part, no accountability and somehow it worked out? 

Kyle J Christensen, founder of Fiveth, founder of Unique Advantage, and  author of Principle Based Planning: A Better Approach to Financial Planning | LinkedIn 

#money #invest #success #fortune #principles #decisions

Like this episode? Want to learn more? Visit www.exitology.com, or get your copy of Exitology: Proven Strategies to Accelerate Business Growth, 3x Your Company Value, and Exit the Smart Way today.

“Principles are what guide us if you want to say it’s your conscience.”

Principles make life easier.  A principle is something that doesn’t change.  It’s something that always points in a certain direction.  

“The most important thing he learned was to live his life based on principles that teaches him what is true and what to do about it.” - Ray Dalio, author of Principles: Life and Work.

Look up the definition of retirement.  A Traditional planning approach is designed to lead people to retirement. Retirement has an age associated with it. 

Almost 67% of Americans who are currently retired say that social security retirement income is a major source of income.  

Financial freedom is a capability.  Financial freedom means that you can do what you want when you want without restrictions financially.  

“An asset is something that puts money in my pocket.  The difference between an asset and a liability is based on the direction of the cash flow.” - Robert Kiyosaki

Kyle J Christensen, founder of Fiveth, founder of Unique Advantage, and  author of Principle Based Planning: A Better Approach to Financial Planning | LinkedIn 

#principle #retirement #financial #freedom #traditional #capability #income #asset #liability #cashflow

Like this episode? Want to learn more? Visit www.exitology.com, or get your copy of Exitology: Proven Strategies to Accelerate Business Growth, 3x Your Company Value, and Exit the Smart Way today.

“Money isn’t math, math isn’t money.” 

Traditional planning has not created financial freedom for people. It has led to financial dependence.  

What's a different approach that people can take that helps them become financially free?

If we don’t have principles as the foundation for our decisions that we make in our life we are more subject to marketing, hype, and following the herd.

Decisions are made based on past fund performance in the marketing material.

Average is a terrible indicator to use, a median is a much better indicator.

What matters isn’t the average rate of return, what matters is that you made money or lost money.  

Incentives and education invite consumers to abdicate their own thinking.

Kyle J Christensen, founder of Fiveth, founder of Unique Advantage, and author of Principle Based Planning: A Better Approach to Financial Planning | LinkedIn 

#money #math #financial #freedom #principles #marketing #performance

Like this episode? Want to learn more? Visit www.exitology.com, or get your copy of Exitology: Proven Strategies to Accelerate Business Growth, 3x Your Company Value, and Exit the Smart Way today.

“I had to understand and document what I was doing in order to train other people on how to do it.”

Document processes and procedures using Google docs, Loom video - written instruction and video.  Break up processes and procedures into individual steps.

If you are given a detailed process and you're unable to follow it, either the process is broken or you're not following it.

Take a vacation while your company continues to grow.

Decentralize to the point where your business can keep going without you.  

Make it a priority to email your list once a week.  If you need a new client or a new deal, it will probably come from your email list.  

Document the processes you have in your company.  Allow someone else to run through them.  Iterate and improve processes until it is done to your standard.

Ryan Healy, copy writer and co-founder of Upsender.com | LinkedIn 

#processimprovement #document #growyourbusiness #decentralize #email #standards #scale

Like this episode? Want to learn more? Visit www.exitology.com, or get your copy of Exitology: Proven Strategies to Accelerate Business Growth, 3x Your Company Value, and Exit the Smart Way today.

The average person in America gets about 13,000 messages thrown into their brain every single day.

Fundamentals for deliverability.

Learn about Email Service Provider (ESP) authentication for communications to go to inboxes.

If you are sending from a new domain, send a small number of emails and scale up.  

If you are rebranding or changing domain names or changing ESP or IP, be cautious as you scale and manage lists. .

If you want an effective campaign, hire a professional to navigate the setup.

Evaluate open rates, click through rates, and scale up your metrics.

• A healthy email list, regardless of market, should be getting 40% open rate.
• A good click through rate is over 1% based on clicked total sends.

Ryan Healy, copy writer and co-founder of Upsender.com | LinkedIn 

#valueproposition #deliverability #ESP #rebrand #domain #scale #campaign #openrate #clickthrough 

Like this episode? Want to learn more? Visit www.exitology.com, or get your copy of Exitology: Proven Strategies to Accelerate Business Growth, 3x Your Company Value, and Exit the Smart Way today.

“For every dollar spent on email, you can usually expect at least four dollars in return.”

Explore the components of an effective email campaign.

It is important to evaluate your market (B2C or B2B) and price point of offer.

Number one - everyone loves a sale. Number two - what are your buyers most likely to buy?

Listen to some of the psychological triggers for internal promotions, selling and options for sales.

Ways to cash flow new offers, sustainable ways to upgrade the user experience and also make more money at the same time.

You need to be mailing your email list at least once a week. Have a reason to email them and share something that is valuable to them whether they purchase from you or not.  

What is infotainment?

Ryan Healy, copy writer and co-founder of Upsender.com | LinkedIn 

#email #campaign #promotion #market #sale #userexperience #mailinglist #infotainment

Like this episode? Want to learn more? Visit www.exitology.com, or get your copy of Exitology: Proven Strategies to Accelerate Business Growth, 3x Your Company Value, and Exit the Smart Way today.

“I’ve always been entrepreneurial, always wanted to do my own thing but I still had to make money so I had jobs.

Through mentorship, he was taught about selling through the written word. He learned the skill of copywriting and selling in print.

Took a pay cut to invest in his future.

If you want measurable real marketing that puts money in your pocket, it is salesmanship and print.

Began writing to 35,000 people a week through a weekly newsletter and designed successful company promotions. 

If the warehouse is mad because too much product is being shipped, the marketing and sales department are doing their job.

After obtaining his Series 6 license, quitting his job and not finding success as a financial planner, he became a freelance copywriter. 

Ryan Healy, copy writer and co-founder of Upsender.com | LinkedIn 

#entrepreneur #copywriting #mentorship #promotion #newsletter #marketing

Like this episode? Want to learn more? Visit www.exitology.com, or get your copy of Exitology: Proven Strategies to Accelerate Business Growth, 3x Your Company Value, and Exit the Smart Way today.