Episode Summary
Ethan Oles, the new agent director at The Brokerage Inc., joins the podcast to discuss careers in insurance sales and share his own non-traditional path into the industry.
Ethan provides an overview of his role, explaining that he oversees recruiting efforts and works closely with other team members like Luis, Dave, and Crystal to attract new agents. He explains how the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to shift recruiting online through virtual webinars and events versus in-person.
Transitioning to discussing insurance careers more broadly, Ethan notes they offer an alternative path outside of traditional corporate jobs. He emphasizes that income potential varies greatly based on the effort agents put into building their book of business. Some agents treat it as a side hustle and make $50-60k part-time, while top producers can make well into the six figures.
To illustrate the uncapped earning potential, Ethan shares a powerful example. He tells the story of a high school teacher in South Texas who got into insurance sales as a part-time endeavor nights and weekends. With minimal time invested while still teaching full-time, this agent made $50,000 in commissions his first year.
Seeing the potential, the teacher decided to leave his teaching career and focus on insurance sales full-time. The very next year, he made over $150,000 in commissions working for himself! Ethan highlights that this dramatic income increase demonstrates how insurance careers reward hustle and hard work.
Beyond just the first year, Ethan notes that insurance sales provide ongoing residual income from commission renewals. So agents continue earning from their initial book of business for years to come. This makes insurance a very attractive long-term path for those seeking alternative careers with flexibility and unlimited potential.
When asked about how to get started, Ethan outlines the basic steps: take an insurance licensing course, pass the state exam, and get appointments with carriers to sell products. He stresses that the independent agent route offers the most potential, versus working for a captive insurer like State Farm. As an independent, you have flexibility over which products to sell and represent multiple carriers.
In summary, Ethan paints insurance as a lucrative field with no income ceilings that reward entrepreneurial drive. It allows the freedom and flexibility many professionals crave from an alternative career path. He emphasizes that you can start part-time and ease into the transition while keeping your existing job. Over time, you build up residual income from renewals that can ultimately exceed your current salary.
For anyone dissatisfied with their current career trajectory or income potential in a traditional job, Ethan strongly encourages looking into insurance sales. It offers the chance to take control of your income and path in a business with unlimited upside for hard workers. He provides several examples of agents successfully making the switch to insurance sales and shares tips for getting licensed to start your journey.
Timestamps
(0:00:05) - Broker Link with Ethan Oles on setting up a career in insurance
(0:00:27) - Ethan Gillan is the new agent director at Broker Link
(0:02:15) - Let's get into the topic today of setting up a career in insurance
(0:03:00) - Not every industry is doing well right now, but there are certain industries
(0:04:39) - Insurance is one of those things that is outside of the box
(0:07:43) - One South Texas agent made 50,000 from his insurance side hustle
(0:11:12) - When you have renewal income, you do get flexibility, right
(0:14:11) - Last podcast discussed captive versus independent agent's career options
(0:21:13) - How do you get started in the insurance industry? Gillen Keys offers tips
(0:27:14) - Gillen: Absolutely. Absolutely. I just want to say I feel like insurance is unique
(0:32:22) - Gillen: Keep your day job, mind your business
