Partnering with a Business: Interview with Scott Wink on Transitioning & Partnering for Success

Brad sits down for an engaging conversation with Scott Wink, a seasoned insurance professional and partner at CRW Insurance in Holstein, Wisconsin. We delve into Scott's transition and partnership with Dimond Brothers Insurance, shedding light on the factors that led to this decision and the lessons learned along the way.

1. Timing and Decision-Making:

• [00:01:00] Scott explains the factors that influenced his decision to transition and partner with another company.
• [00:02:00] Scott discusses the importance of timing and choosing the right moment for a business change.
• [00:02:00] Scott emphasizes the significance of making a change when your business is at its peak.

2. Navigating Challenges and COVID-19:

• [00:03:00] Brad and Scott talk about the process of vetting potential partners, including challenges and uncertainties.
• [00:08:00] Scott reflects on the impact of COVID-19 on the transition process and the use of remote communication.

3. Insights and Advice:

• [00:09:00] Scott advises business owners to be emotionally prepared for a transition and to recognize the shift in responsibilities.
• [00:12:00] The hosts discuss the importance of networking and seeking advice from experienced professionals in similar situations.

Learn more about Scott and Dimond Brothers Insurance
https://dimondbros.com/location/1237

Need a little guidance in your own business? We're here for you!
https://www.actionfinancials.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ActionFinancialS/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuE31mXf6_Nf4yhpuZRHI6Q

Transcript

Brad Ruh: Hey guys. Welcome back to another great interview with our dear friend Scott Wink, with CRW Insurance in the Holstein, Wisconsin. We're shooting on location in the mighty metropolis of the Holstein. And today we're gonna talk about a recent transition Scott had with partnering into his practice, another business.

So we're gonna talk about that today and Scott has been a family friend and also a business partner of my father Brian, for many years. And so recently he made some changes with C R W and we're gonna talk about that today. Scott, a lot has happened in the last eight months for you.

It's been busy. It's been busy. How did you decide that this was the right time for you to transition and partner with 

Scott Wink: another company? Brad, I think there's several factors that come into play. I think you have to look at, your personal life and then your professional life. For me, where I was in, in my personal [00:01:00] life with my wife and daughter knowing that we wanted to take more time off.

Okay. It was the right time to be able to do that and know that the firm would still run. Seamlessly. Okay. Professionally again, I was partners with your dad for 27 years. It was the right time to hand over the reins professionally. When you look at when's the right time to make a change your, with your business, first of all, you have to be okay with.

Not being the guy anymore, right? Okay. And I was fine with that. I never personally ever really enjoyed the being the boss, if you will. I just enjoyed working with my clients from the insurance standpoint. So professionally it was the right move, time-wise. When you look at, when do you partner with, sell out However, whichever way you wanna look at it, you always wanna do it when you're at the height, right?

Smart. I was blessed with 29 years of constant growth, 29 years of great profitability. Great relationships with company or with the carriers.[00:02:00] Great reputation and, it made sense. You always. Get out when you're at the best. As when I announced to my staff I said, the timing is right.

We're very attractive to other companies. And so I was fortunate to be able to choose who I wanted to partner with. 

Brad Ruh: So how did, let's talk about that. So how did you start the process of. Okay. I know that this is gonna be the next transition for me and having a larger company like Diamond, right?

Come in and add the resources to your business. So you didn't have to be playing boss, right? You could work on your clients. How did you start that process of determining that, okay, this is the path, and then who do I actually pick? Was, is there like a database of.

Other big, bigger, companies that are saying, Hey we'd like to, absorb you into our fold. Or is it more, I just called around people in the industry and figured it out from there. How did you go about figuring out Diamond was the path? Little of both, 

Scott Wink: to be honest with you.

I started this [00:03:00] process about a year and a half ago, and what really started me thinking about is at time is I had a very close friend that became terminally ill. And, I did some soul searching going, that happened to me. If I got that news, what would happen to my company? What would happen to my clients?

What would happen to my employees? What would happen to my family? Okay. And everybody's replaceable, don't get me wrong. Okay. But it would definitely have a huge negative impact that got the ball rolling. Sure. Okay. As far as maybe is it at time In our industry, I'd get calls weekly of, Hey, can we have lunch and talk, right?

Sure. So one thing that in the vetting process, there's nine different companies I vetted. Wow. They had to be financially stable. They had to have the same core values that that I had. They had to put clients and employees first. Okay. So I. A lot of time vetting. Okay. Looking at different 

Brad Ruh: aspects.

So you don't get to know [00:04:00] that in one lunch 

Scott Wink: date, right? Yes. And you can only sign your name on that piece of paper one time. Yeah. Okay. So it was a very stressful time, to be honest with you. And because you got this whole emotional thing, the back and forth and if you do this, oh my gosh, you give up so much.

Yeah it was very trying, very stressful. Diamond was actually a late horse in the race, if you will. They came highly recommended when I, every year I have to meet with my marketing reps for, goal planning and they always wanna know perpetuation and they knew I was looking.

And several well-respected company personnel. Recommended them. So therefore I did reach out to 'em and that's really where started the ball rolling and it was kinda love at first sight. I had a extremely comfortable, warm feeling about them, their management group their core values, what's important to them, really aligned with what was important to me.

Brad Ruh: You said something interesting there, how you leaned on the folks in your network to. Assist [00:05:00] you in the process of finding someone. Rather than just, bull rushing it yourself and, oh, this is my thing. I gotta handle it myself and figure it out. That's interesting you bring that up.

'cause we talk a lot to our clients about the network of advisors that isn't just necessarily the insurance guy, the accountant and the attorney. It it's other. Professionals that you networked with over the last 20 some years Exactly. 

Scott Wink: To build the trust and, yeah. And our business is a little bit different than maybe a manufacturing or construction company or something of that nature.

During this process diamond they're located in Paris, Illinois. They've done over 70 acquisitions of the 47th largest independent agency in the country. I reached out to numerous principals that. That joined the group that, that oh. Partnered with Diamond. So I got to find out was it as good as what you thought it would be, which was a huge sleeping pill for me. And 

Brad Ruh: some peace of mind behind 

Scott Wink: the veil. Exactly. So what, [00:06:00] what'd the marriage look like? Yeah. The honeymoon was one thing. Yeah. Now you got, the marriage is a whole different thing. And to hear and have that, those conversations with people that.

Went through what I am going through and have went through was extremely important and to know that they're as happy four or five, eight years down the road after they made that decision was good to hear. 

Brad Ruh: Speak a little bit for those that are looking to transition similarly with whatever businesses they might be into, not maybe necessarily property casualty, but.

Similar service businesses. Speak to some of the players that were involved in this process from, was there a banker involved? Was there an attorney involved? Speak to some of the players that you felt were helpful to have in 

Scott Wink: the mix? Yeah, you definitely do not want to go down this road by yourself.

The key people, your dad happens to be my. Financial planner. So he was involved right in the beginning. Our c p a firm and a law firm that specialized in agency acquisitions, [00:07:00] so specifically agency acquisitions. So it was important for me because our industry's kind of unique, so I wanted to deal with a law firm that's all they did.

And so those are really the key players in this process. I, I reached out to. I'm doing this 30 some years and have relationships from people in the industry that are all over the board as far as, starting an agency, middle of the road, have sold their agency, whatever.

And I reached out to those people and, Hey, what were your stumbling blocks? What, what were issues that you found? 'cause you don't know what you don't know, right? And so again, that was a year and a half process of asking questions, reaching out to people. And so it, it's.

Recommendation, make sure you're surrounded with, people that are professionals in whatever, area, whether it be accounting tax planning, et cetera. And ask a lot of questions. No matter what industry you're in, there's other people that have walked in your shoes.

So try to reach out to them and hey, what, what went well, what didn't go well? And try to avoid those 

Brad Ruh: mistakes. That's really good. In hindsight, I always wanna talk about [00:08:00] hindsight 'cause that's 2020. Now that you've had a few months now to reflect on the transition, what would you say you wish would've gone differently and that you wish you would've maybe prepared more for, if anything?

Scott Wink: It went very smoothly. The stress, I mean that the stress was unbelievable. 

Brad Ruh: For the whole time or like in the last, since you said, okay, diamond, here's it's us. And then that transition, you 

Scott Wink: know, when I made my decision of the who? All right. There was a lot of due diligence, a ton of due diligence.

So it was, getting information, the proper information for them, a lot of questions. It was a lot of the scrutiny of the deal, a lot of ping pong back and forth. And, the vulnerable part, if you will was I had to. Disclose to my staff what I was planning on doing. Before anything was finalized. Which whenever you do that causes, fear, right? Because it's the unknown which I get. [00:09:00] The advantage I had compared to my staff was I had a year and a half of knowing these people. Sure. And the relationship, the trust the quality of people that.

Are. My staff didn't have that opportunity. Once they met 'em, it was a game changer, then they got it. But that was probably the most stressful thing. And it couldn't have happened any other way. It is what, it's 

Brad Ruh: not gonna tell everybody, Hey, I'm Yeah. Looking at doing this.

Scott Wink: And the neat thing through this whole experience bread I tried to reach out to as many of my commercial clients as possible and I was nervous, hesitant how that would go. It was Congratulations. It was hugs. It was tears. Good for you. It was so you're still my guy, right?

You're still gonna be there? Yep. I'm here. My staff's here. I just got rid of all the stuff that I'm not good at and don't like to do. All the Yeah. The HR stuff that business owners the negotiating copier leases, just all those things that, that take up time. Yeah. But it was humbling the. The response I got from my clients and where I was fearful of, oh my gosh,[00:10:00] it's changed.

They're not gonna be happy. It was the complete opposite. It was 

Brad Ruh: good for you. It's a testament to the relationship that you have built with them rather than it being a transactional relationship. Correct. And this is viewed as a negative. Correct. With less responsibility now with the business.

That's awesome. Do you have goals for yourself professionally still? Yes. 

Scott Wink: What's the next, I, I'm 53, so I'm younger. I plan on doing this for, I. Quite a while yet. I absolutely enjoy what I do. I en enjoy working with my clients. I enjoy all the referrals that I get.

I enjoy the problem solving, the, helping them. I love that. And I'm excited for that to continue. And I just got rid of, probably 50 to 60% of my day was doing stuff that. I didn't, to be honest, I enjoyed doing it was stressful. It was the stuff that you wake up at two o'clock in the morning like, oh my gosh.

And, problem solving for employees, problem solving for, whatever it might be. Sure. That's not my [00:11:00] responsibility anymore. The toughest thing is I. Realizing it's not my responsibility anymore. Yeah. That is the tough, and again, I'm two months into this.

When I talked to other agency principals that went through what I went through, they said, it takes three months until you realize that it's not my problem. Problem. You just get to do what you're good at and what you enjoy doing. So I'm excited. Yeah. It's it's fun. The stress level is way low, much lower.

My wife says I'm. More fun to be around. That's good. So yeah, it was, again, back to your, kinda your question, the timing it was 

Brad Ruh: the right time. Sure. That makes sense. So shifting gears a little bit, we like to ask 'cause Covid is fresh in everyone's mind. How has Covid impacted the first off C r w business, but then the transition?

Was there any hiccups in the transition because of Covid? 

Scott Wink: Not really. The tough part, again, a year and a half is when I started this process. Because of Covid, everything was done by Zoom meetings. I'm not a big fan of that. So it was difficult. And the vetting [00:12:00] process.

The vetting process, 'cause you really know these people are e Exactly. You're not in the same room with them and all those type of things. So that, that was a little bit of a challenge as far as how it affected C R W. I'm seasoned, I, 29, 30 years into this, it really didn't have that big of an impact.

Where it did have a greater impact is on the agents that didn't have the tenure and the book of business and, they simply couldn't see people. So it, it was challenging for them more than it was for me personally. 

Brad Ruh: Sure. That's good. Good insight. So the question is everyone wants to know is, Now that you've gone through this process would you do it again? 

Scott Wink: Yes. Yeah. Getting back to kinda the first question is, how'd, for me it was the perfect timing personally and professionally. I got lucky, it just it worked out well. The partnership with Diamond could not have gone smoother. It was everything that they said they would do.

They did and with me, with my staff, which almost seems rare today. And it's kinda funny 'cause when I was doing my due diligence and talking to other [00:13:00] people that have gone through this, it was the same thing that they did everything that they said they would do. There was no Leven hour there.

But that type of thing, everything was, they did everything that they said they would do for, again, for me. For my employees, all that stuff. And so it was a great experience. 

Brad Ruh: Awesome. So last question is, what's one point of advice you'd give to someone else looking to do a similar thing for themselves and their business?

Going forward, 

Scott Wink: make sure that you're emotionally ready for the change. And, Everybody that you're gonna be talking to are business owners. They've been the guy, right? Or the gal. And they have to be okay with not being the guy or the gal. Okay. And especially I wanna stay in the business, some people walk away. That's a different story. 

Brad Ruh: Like principally nothing's changed. You're still in the same office suite, nothing's changed. Show up to the same place every day. 

Scott Wink: Yeah. But you have to be, you have to be ready emotionally for that, 'cause I'd [00:14:00] never enjoyed that part of it.

I'm, I, it's great going, yeah. This who you need to talk to now. I don't have to solve those problems. I'm not the guy anymore and I'm okay with that. 'cause again, I just enjoy doing what I do, working with my clients. And so the, I guess the takeaway would be, depends upon, if you're a manufacturing company or whatever.

If you're gonna stay in. You just have to make sure that you're okay, that you're not gonna have the same duties, responsibilities that you did previously. If that makes sense. Yeah. 

Brad Ruh: Yeah. I see that as a big hurdle for a lot of folks that I've talked to who have bought businesses and they still have the person working on and and it's Nothing changed and there's still a lot of conflict internally. Yep. So that's a really good insight. I appreciate that. Thank you guys for joining us today on our interview with Scott and congratulations on the change. Thank you. And I look forward to continue to see you succeed in this business.

And with that guys, stay tuned for our next interview.

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This material is for general informational purposes only and was produced by Action Financial Strategies, LLC.  Life insurance is subject to underwriting. No coverage exists unless a policy is issued and the required premium is paid. Neither Action Financial Strategies nor NYLIFE Securities LLC or its affiliates provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. For advice on such matters, consult your own professional counsel.

Brian Ruh is a Member Agent of the Nautilus Group®, a Service of New York Life Insurance Company.  Brian Ruh CA insurance license #OB66341.  Brian and Bradley Ruh are collectively Registered Representatives of and offer securities products and services through NYLIFE Securities LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC, a Licensed Insurance Agency 999 Fourier Drive, Suite 300, Madison, WI 53717. (608)831-4416.  Brian and Bradley Ruh are also collectively registered as Investment Adviser Representatives with Eagle Strategies LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser.  Action Financial Strategies, Fox Cities Embroidery, and NVR Branding are not owned or operated by NYLIFE Securities or its affiliates.