I honed my technical skills while working as a producer at BrokerTeam and it has been integral to my success as an owner. While working at BrokerTeam, the partners and I mutually agreed that I was ready for the next step in my career. The process of becoming an owner took 3 months and included various conversations with Royle and James. We planned and organized everything. I was given invaluable open-door access to years of knowledge and experience for every aspect of branch ownership from legal, to accounting, to operations, to IT.

From the day I first started in insurance, I knew in the back of mind that I wanted to own my own brokerage. It took me 10 years of hard work, experience and several licenses and designations to reach this point but it was all worth it. Running my own agency was the beginning of a new chapter both professionally and personally that allowed me to advance financially and gain credibility in my community.

While there are challenges when it comes to opening a brokerage like financial strain; staffing; office space; and advertising, I was able to use personal and family savings; hire experienced producers; and advertise in my community. Owning my own brokerage has been incredibly rewarding and the best part is that I am now my own boss. My advice to producers looking to make the transition to ownership is to not give up and to use the experience and wisdom of brokers that have already made the jump. For me, BrokerTeam Group really provided the support, experience and care I needed to reach the next level.