Running the Game with Tom Larsen, Episode #208

In this episode of The Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers interviews Tom Larsen, CEO of Larsen Insurance Agency. Tom discusses the traits of a great mentor and how important it is to have a great mentor to help you grow your business. 

Episode Highlights:

• Tom introduces himself and shares his background and how he got to where he is today. (3:19)
• Tom explains that his business is 1/3 habitational because he got involved in their local RIA group for landlords. (9:47)
• Tom shares that he figured out how to stick with the business in about the 4th year of running his agency. (12:24)
• Tom discusses that he is currently mentoring someone at the moment and explains that having a mentor makes things easier. (17:30)
• Tom shares that baseball has been his passion ever since he was a little kid, and he even joined the little league when he was young. (22:41)
• Tom discusses that he believes in great culture in a company, and looks at his staff as his teammates. (28:53)
• Tom mentions that new agents are having challenges joining the industry as companies are not creating many opportunities. (32:45)
• Tom shares that he started his cluster 8 years ago and has continued to grow it up until now. (37:42)
• Tom advises listeners to find a mentor that doesn’t mind sharing experiences and will give them time when they need answers. (43:58)

Tweetable Quotes:

• “I look at my staff as teammates. I really believe in my heart, I really believe the culture in an office is everything. And one bad apple can suck a whole bunch. And I truly, truly believe in culture.” – Tom Larsen
• “I think the insurance companies have clamped down on newbies, and they’re not opening their doors much.” – Tom Larsen
• “Find a mentor. That’d be my number one piece of advice. Find a mentor. It could be somebody that’s in a different agency, or maybe somebody that’s retired, or, you know, somebody in one of the Facebook groups, whatever, but find a mentor. It could be somebody that doesn’t mind sharing the experience that they’ve been through.” – Tom Larsen

Resources Mentioned:

• Tom Larsen LinkedIn
• Larsen Insurance Agency
• David Carothers
• Kyle Houck
• Florida Risk Partners
• The Extra 2 Minutes