The stock market has climbed to new heights over the last few months. Recently, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed over 26,000 points, a record high. While this is great news for the country, it overshadows some serious challenges the insurance industry faces.

Smart Choice®, the nation’s fastest-growing agency network, recently named Jason Hamstra, as Vice President of Smart Start Personal Lines.

Now's the time to focus on the routine of measuring where we’ve been and where we are so that we can make course corrections if we need to. It’s not the most fun thing we can do but, the peace of mind knowing we’re on track is worth something.

Magazine issue on financial soundness with articles outlining planning practices and resilience strategies for agencies in a changing insurance landscape.

CEO Newsletter: We’ve all heard the expression “Failure to plan is planning to fail.” Depending on where you’re at in life, that phrase can take on several meanings. But when you’re a business owner it should mean at least one thing: Don’t be complacent!

Ask the best salesperson in your company what his personal goal is, and it will be to earn X more per year. Ask a salesperson in the middle of the rankings what his personal goal is, and it will be to meet his sales quota.

What are you doing to increase your chances of finding financial growth and success next year? Here’s some advice of effective life habits small business owners should employ:

Many people don't set goals to achieve their dreams because they see them as futile or unattainable — machinations so far outside the realm of their day-to-day normal that they can't actually see their dreams as ever becoming a reality. But the ultimate gratification of achieving our goals and dreams, especially when it is such a tedious process for us, is one of the most wonderful gifts we can give to ourselves.

2018 issue focused on agency growth planning, sales tactics, and performance strategies agents can adopt to strengthen results throughout the year.

Josh Seibert, Sandler Training®