Ringing the Bell with Mariah Davis, Episode #38

In this episode of The Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers and co-host Kyle Houck interview Mariah Davis, President and Owner of Oakview Insurance Services, Inc. Mariah talks about her journey from being a captive agent to an independent insurance agency owner and how she built her agency. She also shares the struggles she faced that made her stronger and better.

Episode Highlights:

• David introduces Mariah Davis. (1:31)
• How did Mariah get into the insurance business? (2:54)
• Mariah shares her background. (3:10)
• Mariah mentions that when she was a captive, she didn’t know what profit-sharing was. (5:07)
• What is it like for Mariah, working with her father? (5:17)
• Mariah mentions that when they joined the PIIB and IAOA, their agency sored, and changed everything about how they handle their business. (6:39)
• How long has Mariah been an independent insurance agent? (9:19)
• What led Mariah to be an independent insurance agency owner? (9:24)
• Mariah thinks that it’s essential to have district managers in the insurance industry. (10:04)
• Mariah shares that she discovered the independent side by running into accounts that they weren’t able to write, and she noticed that most of it came from independent insurance companies. (10:41)
• What was Mariah’s biggest challenge during her transition? (13:39)
• Mariah mentions that it’s common in the insurance industry to start as a captive, then be independent. (15:25)
• David shares that people are going into that model knowing people are leaving that model to go to the independent model. (15:56)
• From Mariah’s experience as a captive agent, she thinks that State Farm gave them the best training and the best setup but it had the most control over them, as well. (19:22)
• Mariah shares that some groups like the Mastermind and IAOA, are vital to getting the independent channel to talk to each other. (20:17)
• David thinks that there’s a tipping point where people finally, were raised in a way where collaboration made more sense than it did a long time ago. (20:49)
• Kyle thinks that the social media aspect is huge because you can ask questions to people you’re not competing with. (21:58)
• Has Mariah’s growth been organic over the 10 years? (22:52)
• David mentions that his weakness in anything is that structure, the operational piece, and getting the right people into the right spot. (25:10)
• Mariah mentions that the world’s current situation is a great time for them to start going in and tweak on different ideas to smooth it out and help them grow faster. (27:06)
• Mariah mentions the Shiny Object Syndrome. (29:15)
• Mariah shares that the InfusionSoft was too techy for her and her team. (30:06)
• Mariah mentions that it’s vital to change your workflow. (30:39)
• David shares that there are a lot of good tools out there. But if you buy them and you don’t know how to use them, you might as well take your money and throw it out the window. (31:41)
• David mentions that his business profit has doubled during the COVID-19. (32:23)
• Mariah shares that in December of 2019 she was diagnosed breast cancer. (35:52)
• What was running through Mariah’s mind at that time? (36:32)
• Mariah shares that one of the hardest times was between being diagnosed, and meeting with a doctor to have a plan. (36:54)
• David shares one of the most horrific situations he has had to deal with. (40:27)
• Mariah mentions that she has her struggles, but the nation is also struggling with the pandemic and the ramifications of it. (42:23)
• Kyle shares a story about his newborn baby. (43:41)
• How many treatments does Mariah still have to undergo, before she can ring the bell? (47:16)
• What makes Mariah’s agency unique? (48:20)
• Mariah mentions that they have ingrained themselves in the community, as much as possible. (51:10)
• What does Mariah’s strategy look like? (51:54)
• Mariah mentions the Susan G. Komen Foundation. (57:23)

Tweetable Quotes:

• “I decided to go independent and had my eyes open to the whole other side of the world here, and found out how little I knew about both insurance and being a business owner.” – Mariah Davis
• “District managers have to put up with so many new agents a year. And, you know, sometimes I think they’re just trying to hit numbers. And if you fog the mirror, great, you know, we’ll put you up. We’ll see if it works.” – Mariah Davis
• “I was spread too thin. I quickly realized that I couldn’t be everything to everyone, and they were requiring me to be and it just wasn’t gonna fly. So yeah, I kind of decided to make that hop over, and I have had this independent agency for 10 years now.” – Mariah Davis
• “I feel like I know every position in our agency because I’ve had to be every position in our agency at one point or another. That just gives me a better understanding of what our team goes through with their chair.” – Mariah Davis
• “I’ve had wonderful support, I have a wonderful spouse, and I have a wonderful support system of friends and the community. And everybody just rallied around me and so I can’t help but be positive. I am such a practical person that it was the only thing I can do. Having doubts being upset, you know, being depressed is just not that productive.” – Mariah Davis
• “Everybody has a trial and tribulation. And so either we can pick up and we can keep going. Or we can just fall apart and wallow in it. And I just chose not to do that. And it’s a choice. I’m going to be positive about it. And I’m going to be this and we’re going to continue with life.” – Mariah Davis
• “I’m blessed that I’m a business owner in a business that has renewal income because that allows me to step back and be okay.” – Mariah Davis

Resources Mentioned:

• David Carothers LinkedIn
• Kyle Houck LinkedIn
• Florida Risk Partners
• The Extra 2 Minutes
• Mariah Davis LinkedIn
• Oakview Insurance Services, Inc.
• Susan G. Komen Foundation