Business Refocused
Helps leaders navigate the numbers, people, and strategy behind sustainable growth. Hosted by Carey Wallace and Lindsay Sexton, the show dives into what really happens when a business is changing, whether it’s expanding, merging, transitioning ownership, or rethinking operations.
Each conversation offers practical insight on analyzing your business, making data-driven decisions, and building a company built to last.
Show previously named Insurance Refocused, but changed to Business Refocused in November 2025. Business owners of all industries face the same challenges as independent insurance agencies.
Episodes
172 episodes
#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 ...
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#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.<...
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#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...
#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 ...
#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 ...
#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 contract...
#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 f...
#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 — a...
#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 in...
#162 - Your Yearly Agency Check-Up: Benchmarking
In this episode of Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey focus specifically on benchmarking and why it might be the most underutilized tool in an agency owner’s toolbox.A lot of owners think benchmarking is just a “nice to ...
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#161 - Hire Better Producers w/ Steve Heroux
In this solo episode of Business Refocused, Lindsay sits down with sales coach and founder of The Sales Collective, Steve Heroux, for a direct and eye-opening conversation about why so many agencies struggle with producer hiring, motivat...
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#160 - No Crying In Budgeting w/ Lisa Melroy
In this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay welcome AgencyFocus Fractional CFO Lisa Melroy, CPA, for a very real conversation about budgeting inside independent insurance agencies.Lisa has spent more than 30 years in ...
#159 - Who Should Own Your Agency After You w/ Laurie Barkman
In this episode of Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey sit down with Laurie Barkman, owner of The Business Transition Sherpa, to talk about one of the most common (and most avoided) conversations in independent insurance agencie...
#158 - Interest Rates and Agency M&A in 2026 w/ Scott Freiday & Keith Mangini
In this episode of Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey sit down with Scott Freiday and Keith Mangini from InsurBanc for a timely, straight-talk conversation about interest rates, lending strategy, and what agenc...
#157 - How InsurTech Is Changing Independent Agencies w/ Tony Lew
In this episode of Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey welcome Tony Lew, Co-Founder of InsurTech New York, to kick off a new direction for the podcast: bringing on guests outside of agency ownership to help agency leaders...
#156 - Make Your Agency More Valuable
In this episode of Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey sit down for a practical conversation on how independent insurance agencies can increase agency valuation. They unpack what “growing value” really means beyond writing more ...
#155 - Perpetuation
In this episode of Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey dig into one of the most common yet misunderstood ownership paths in independent agencies: internal perpetuation. While internal transitions often feel simpler than external...
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#154 - The Mindset Behind Successful Acquisitions w/ Jeff Arnold
In this episode of Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey sit down with Jeff Arnold, founder of RightSure, serial acquirer, author of 11 books, and one of the most experienced agency buyers in the industry. With more than 40 age...
#153 - Being a Student of Business w/ Larry Linne
In this episode of Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey sit down with Larry G. Linne, founder of InCite Performance Group, author of Make the Noise Go Away, and a lifelong student of business, leadership, and huma...
#152 - The Key to Success in Entrepreneurship w/ Wess Anderson
On Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey sit down with Wessly J. Anderson to talk entrepreneurship, leadership, and the very real way AI is changing business right now. Wes is the founder of Agency VA and Agent CVA, ...
#151 - Selling My Oil & Propane Company w/ Matt Porter
On Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey talk with Matt Porter, former owner of a family-run oil and propane company in mid-coast Maine who started his business at the dining room table, grew it over 16+ years, and sold it in December 2022 thro...
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#150 - Transition From Fighter Pilot to Business Owner w/ Robert "Cujo" Teschner
In this episode of Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey talk with Col. (Ret.) Robert “Cujo” Teschner, former F-15 and F-22 fighter pilot and author of Debrief to Win. Cujo shares how a c...
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#149 - Lessons from a Serial Entrepreneur w/ Alan Ringvald
On Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey sit down with serial entrepreneur Alan Ringvald, CEO of Relativity6, to talk about what today’s entrepreneurs and leaders can learn from the startup world. Alan shares the lessons he picked up bui...
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#148 - Solving the Underwriting Bottleneck w/ Trace Meek
On Business Refocused, Lindsay and Carey sit down with Trace Meek, a third-generation agency owner and founder of Ask Fetch, to talk about one of the most persistent challenges in personal lines: the underwriting bottleneck. From appetite confu...
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#147 - Running The Business Abroad w/ Jay Mueller
On this episode of Business Refocused, Carey and Lindsay Wallace sit down with Jay Mueller, an independent agency owner who lives on the Mediterranean coast of Spain while running a growing brick and mortar insurance agency in Cincinna...
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