Suzilla: Family Business Podcast

SuperNova and starting a business.

Suzie Health Solutions has been around for over 10 years working with Health insurance. Recently we decided to start improving Property Insurance in our area and Launched Wenatchee Insurance Agency.

We are in a small business renaissance in the United States thanks to some Legislation like the American Rescue Act and Inflation Reduction Act more people than ever before are leaving corporate life. We recently stumbled into Supernova Business Launch Competition and it is an amazing primer for people that are starting a business to work through issues.

Pick you allies. One groups that deserve a shout out is GSBA. As we do, they believe that Equality is good business. They represent over 1300 small businesses and have already started enriching our business. 

So yes, this is the time to build a small business and tap into the groups that provide meaningful support. 

What do you think of when your hear Insurance Agency?

Supernova is putting Wenatchee Insurance  in a competition with 24 different businesses and it looks like there are some assumptions about what goes into a business. We have been in a few clashes with old timers because the industry is changing. We have seen some great examples on what is possible from Insurance Soup. It isn’t that old musty place that everyone hates to go. Let’s talk about where we are at and going running our agency.

Home, Work and the 3rd Space

When you have a small business. We run an insurance office which means long hours and when you have a family what do you do? Well we built a space in our office. It was critical in our success for child care expenses and covid lock down. For us it never became a battle of office verses family. 

Last weekend we gathered the families of the office together and started designing the third space. We set aside a space in our office for our son at our first office and we are continuing that in the new office plus including our partners in the design. It’s a space that is neither work nor home but one that we can recharge and revitalize our attitude. I started out with acknowledging the most powerful person in the room.

Bonus Desperation

The Last Big Job, the winning lottery ticket, the future self-coming back in time to save us. Bonus desperation is thick in sales and it can effect outcomes. There is a ton of fantasy plots that are developed on assembly line jobs. Your body paying the price while your mind wanders. But what is the alternative? What happens if you make tiny steps every day to a new future?

Buying experience verses the selling experience. Which one wins?

We have been working a small business for over a decade. This one hits home. 

There is an awesome video out there of a lady describing her experience with buying a Porsche in 2020.

She called up the first dealership and requested to have more information on three of their cars. They refused and so she moved onto the next and had a great experience as not only did they send her the information, they also did zoom calls, interacted with her on Social Media. 

What is the customer experience when you work with them? Are you focused on the seller or the buyer? How does it work when you are hiring? We get into it with Suzilla. 

New Year means a new me right?

What is occurring right now and what you can do to make this year the best for yourself, your family and your career. I take time between the Calendar New Year and the Lunar New Year to observe and reflect. 

Since we work with Insurance, we see a lot of activity around the new year and there are things that can be down through the year to improve. This is the moment of time that we see who prepared for the new year and who pushed it aside last year.

This is a great moment to take steps to move to a better position.  

Insurance House & Olympia trip.

Yes, we are back from Olympia. Insurance is run by laws since we run an insurance agency, we sometimes have to recommend corrections. 

We were able to meet with some peers and talk to 2 out of 3 legislatures about insurance to get some improvements. We were given homework so that both groups can improve some situations. We even found out about the Washington Long Term Cares project so if you are wondering what is going to occur in July with your paycheck then you should dial in.

We might see some improvement for our clients in the near future from our efforts. At the very least our legislatures have been informed. 

Where is your cheese?

Why would we take a thriving Health Insurance Agency and add property insurance?

We are looking at expectations, benefits, and disappointments. If you haven’t read Who moved my cheese, by Spenser Johnson then this is a great time. With change your benefits/cheese become a bit of Three Card Monty game so keep your eyes on your business and marketplace. We are going to see some serious play in the coming months.

Fierce 2

We are going back two years to revisit being fierce. It is a focus that has served us well and I kind of see it waning.

We talked about how we just went through what we thought was impressive growth. The focus was on being fierce not aggressive. It’s important to have that conversation again.  

Being fierce will punch a new business through the confusion and there is a lot of confusion in the world today. 

What are your Ah moments for the year?

Aha moments! Eureka! Your Badass moment. They are a realization that you have grown. It can come from with in and it can come from the outside. They only come through action sometimes in the middle and sometimes after during review. If you are coaching people, then your goal should be to create that moment. If you are coachable then you want to experience it at least once in the coming year. Be open to be stunned so you can grow.