How to Scale a Family Insurance Agency Through 20+ Acquisitions ft Marc Duffy | Elevate The Hustle

He lost his father at 26, inherited a family business he wasn't ready for, and turned it into an 80-person insurance agency with 20+ acquisitions.

In this episode of Elevate the Hustle, Stan Meytin and Dom Piccirillo sit down with Marc Duffy, who took over his family's insurance agency at 27 and scaled it through M&A into one of the largest independent agencies in Greater Boston.

Marc opens up about the moment his father passed away in 2011, the guilt of "not pulling his weight" in the years before, and the wake-up call that forced him to grow up fast. He also breaks down the mistake that almost derailed the business early on (trying to grow 10x in a year), the exact formula he uses before buying any agency, and why he still believes independent insurance agents will win in the age of AI.

What you'll hear: – Taking over a family business at 27, right after losing his father – The biggest mistake he made trying to 10x growth in a year – The 3 non-negotiables he looks for in every hire – His exact due diligence formula before buying an agency (20+ deals and counting) – Why he believes AI is an opportunity, not a threat, for independent agents – What he'd tell his 22-year-old self about patience and building for the long term

Behind this show is Elevate Teams, helping insurance agency owners scale operations, build offshore talent, and grow without burning out. Book an intro call: https://calendly.com/elevateteamsllc/introductory-consultation?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=marketing&utm_campaign=podcast

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Marc Duffy — Duffy Insurance, Greater Boston, MA

#insuranceagency #entrepreneur #familybusiness #mergersandacquisitions #insurancepodcast

Real talk, real stories, and occasionally real bad language.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

These stories of these tech founders, you know, starting a business at 18 and selling it at 20, they're just, I mean, those are one in you know 10 million. It's just not the reality. But the reality is, most of the people that I've followed, most of the people that have had influence on my life have gone in for 15, 20 years putting in the work, doing what it takes, and having patience.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Elevate the hustle. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 0:29

Welcome to Elevate the Hustle, where we break down what it actually means to build teams, scale companies, and lead with intensity. I'm your host, Staten.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

I'm Dom Picharillo, and today we are here with Mark Duffy, who took over his family business at 27 years old and has helped to scale it through MA over the over the last several years. So welcome, Mark.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

All right, I'll take it. Dom Stan, thank you so much for having me. Excited to be here.

SPEAKER_03 1:02

We're excited to have you on. I'm gonna lead off with my favorite question of the day. Question of the day. What does hustle mean to you, Mark?

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Oh, I love that question. Um, you know, I I was growing up, I was always the guy that had to hustle, whether it was in baseball or football or whatever. I never had that sort of natural talent. So I was the one that had to put the extra work in. And um, I would say that's the case in business as well. So, so uh, what does hustle mean in business? I I think it means going the extra mile in anything that you're doing, whether it's customer service, whether it's um with employees or or anything. It's just it's going the extra mile and um taking the extra time to to do it and and get things done and and follow through.

SPEAKER_03 1:51

So do you think you're born with it? Do you think you you're it's ingrained in you? Do you think you learn it as you get older or as well, maybe from a young age?

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Uh you know, I I think hustle is a skill that can be learned. I I really do. Like I said, from a very young age, whether it was baseball or school, I just I had to put the extra effort in. I couldn't coast. Uh, you know, I think naturally in most things that I do, I'm I'm a borderline C plus B minus. And if I uh if I don't hustle, if I don't put that extra effort in, I'm gonna fall, you know, and and not do well. If I put that extra effort in, then I can get to, you know, A minus and and and and I really have to work for it. So I think that's a learned skill. I think um, you know, I I'm trying to ingrain that in my young kids, my 10-year-old boy and my seven-year-old girl. I'm trying to ingrain that sort of work ethic and mindset that you have to work hard to to achieve uh to achieve what you want to and achieve your grow your goals. So I I I think it's a skill. I really do.

SPEAKER_03 2:50

Mark, you're in great company here. C C C plus, B minus. You're speaking our language right here.

SPEAKER_02 2:59

Here we go. Um, so it sounds like you were working at your family business, uh, I guess like in middle school, high school, whatever it might be, you know, and I it you played sports as well. Do you think that uh do you think you learned more about hustling from like being in the family business or from playing sports? And then also like, were there any jobs that you had before going to work uh for the agency that maybe exemplify your hustle?

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Oh, that's a great question. Um, so I I really, you know, I told you I played sports growing up. I I was blessed with having a made amazing coaches. And um I think that the um the the mindset that uh you know about hustling, about working hard, about dealing with adversity really came from those years of playing sports and learning that things aren't gonna always go your way. Um, you know, learn that on the football field, learn that on the baseball field. Um, and then you know, fast forward to business and life. We all know, you know, life throws curveballs at us and you just got to proceed. So I think sort of that that you know, youth sports participation, those coaches that I were was just totally blessed to have, um, really set me up for dealing with things in life and in business and and and everywhere that just don't go as it exactly as planned.

SPEAKER_03 4:21

How did you get into the wonderful world of insurance?

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Yeah. So um I was a baseball player and uh played in high school, and I wanted to be a professional baseball player. That was my dream. And I I I have an obsessive personality, whether it's it's sports, whether it's business, whatever it is. Um, I wanted to be a baseball player. And uh I played in high school. I ended up playing at a uh small division two school uh in in the Boston area, Bentley, Bentley College, who actually was just in the College World Series. Um we weren't when I was there, but uh shout out to them. Um I got to Bentley and I still had in my mind I wanted to be a baseball player, but it became evident pretty quickly that that just wasn't in the cards for me. Um, so I immediately pivoted and and it was like I'm not, you know, it was like on a dime. It was like, okay, my dream of being a baseball player is not gonna happen. I'm gonna be a business owner. I want to get into the family business. I want to um learn the family business. And um it was like a pivot right there. That's when the transition happened. So I started working for my father in college uh um in sort of the semester breaks and whatnot, and um, you know, doing sort of the the nitty gritty jobs, and and and I was like, okay, you know, this is not necessarily uh the sexiest industry, or you know, a lot of my friends were getting into finance and banking and you know, doing some other things. But this was this was something that I could just picture myself doing, and and you know, my father was an entrepreneur, his father was. So I I sort of uh I think I had it in my my my blood that uh this sort of entrepreneurial mindset, and um, you know, then I became obsessed with that and and um was working in the business and and um the rest is history, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 6:08

So let's backtrack. So your dad ended up taking over the business, I believe, in in the 90s, if I'm not mistaken. Is that is that accurate? That's right. That's right. Okay, and you guys started with what one person, one employee, how did that journey start?

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Yeah, so so um my father started 1996, he was working for an insurance agency as an office manager. Um, there was about 15 people that worked at the agency that he was working at. And in 1996, the owner of the agency uh came to my father and said, Listen, you know, I'm selling the agency. If you want to buy, you know, I'll call it your book of business, sort of this section of the customers. I'll let you do that and you can go off on your own. My father was 50 years old at the time. Um, I was 12. And uh, so he, you know, was living a nice life. We loved, you know, it was uh we had a great family. I'm blessed to have the parents uh that I have grown up. Uh, but he was nervous, he was scared, and uh uh he had a couple different options, but ultimately he ended up deciding to take up this uh this kind man on his offer and uh bought the book of business and start along with his brother, Steve Duffy, and uh two employees and and Duffy Insurance was founded. That was 1996.

SPEAKER_02 7:21

What do you remember from that time as a kid? Like, did your father show the anxiety that he had in the house? Did he kind of keep it hidden from you guys? And then like you learned about it later. Like, how did that all kind of shake out for you as a kid?

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Such such a great question. Um, so I my father never showed his emotion. He never, you know, we if he was scared, I didn't know it. I never saw it. I was just a 12-year-old kid that, you know, my dad was my baseball coach, my dad was just this amazing man. Like, I never saw him blink an eye, right? He just got went into work, woke up early, worked his butt off, and and he was a great dad. Um, so talking to my mother in in you know, recent years, he's like, you know, uh, my mother said, you know, your father was so scared, he you know, went to bed crying some nights because like this was just such a leap of faith for him. And I'm like, oh my God, like, you know, I'm 12. I yeah, that was that was just such a shock to me. And and and uh I didn't realize it at the time. But growing up and now sort of being in that like that phase of growth mode and and uh make taking some chances, I understand it. It was it's it's scary. It's scary to take that leap. And and you know, my mother shared that with me. And I wish I I wish he shared it with me, quite frankly. I could have talked to him about it. Like, hey, you number one, it's okay to be scared because right, it's everyone, it's it's it's a big risk you're taking. Uh, you know, he's putting everything on the line at 50 years old. He has a young family, and um, you know, he just that was it. He did it and it and it and the bet worked out. He made a bet on himself and the people that he was going with and it and it it paid off. But that doesn't mean he wasn't scared. That doesn't mean there weren't sleepless nights.

SPEAKER_03 8:59

So fast forward to 2006, what when you join, obviously 10 years later, right? How established is the business and and what are what are some of your first roles in that business? Was there kind of always a plan to, hey, I'm gonna take over this company, or you know, I'm gonna come in and learn the business and start here?

SPEAKER_00 9:18

Yeah, so um to answer your last question first, it was never, it was never like, oh, hey, Mark, you're coming in and we're gonna just give you the keys to the castle. That was never, it was always, and and this was my mindset, like, hey, I'm gonna build something. I'm just gonna build a family business and let's see where the chips fall. There was never a timeline, there was never a perpetuation plan. It was just like, let's go in and work hard and and and build this thing. Um, so so I graduated in 2006 from Bentley. I took, I think I took a couple days, maybe a week at most, uh, off, and then jumped right into the business. At the time, we had two locations, uh, one in Lynn, Massachusetts, one in Gloucester, Massachusetts. And we were just, my father, uh, he opened up this Peabody office for me to kind of go in and grow. Um, looking back on it, I'm like, wow, he he was out of his mind. Like, you're just gonna open an office from scratch, you're gonna throw a 20-year-old, 21-year-old kid in there and uh kind of throw him in the ocean without a life vest. But uh anyway, that's he he believed in me and and he believed in me more than I believed in myself. And uh, you know, I think maybe he believed in me too much because we made quite a few mistakes along the way, uh, but but it but it all worked out. So, so to answer your question, at the time we had two established office, one uh and a third office that we were um kind of growing from scratch. I think we had 10 or 12 people on the Duffy team at that time.

SPEAKER_02 10:41

What's the biggest mistake you made early on? You just referenced that you guys made a bunch of mistakes. Like you're 22 years old, you're given an office. I'm I'm guessing you're doing like all the work yourself. You're probably prospecting and trying to sell and do all the other stuff that you maybe knew how to do a little bit because you you interned in the summers, but right. Um, I'm sure you made plenty of mistakes. Like, do you have like a couple that stand out to you from those early days?

SPEAKER_00 11:03

No doubt about it, no doubt about it. So, um, you know, my role was just do whatever it takes. Like I said, I was in the middle of the ocean without a life raft, and it was answering the phones, it was cleaning the toilets, it was selling insurance, it was just doing whatever it took, right? And um, again, so fortunate to have the father that I had. He gave me the space to make these mistakes. And I think, I think uh, number one, I was young and I wanted to grow the business 10x in a year. Like I was like, I just wanted so bad to get so big, like I was just so hungry. And I think that clouded my judgment of like, no, like you gotta first of all, you gotta get in here and clean the toilets and answer the phones and learn the business before you start going into immediate growth mode. So I had the I think the biggest mistake um was trying to move too fast. And I I, you know, and and and I was lucky that again, I was the the business, my father kind of gave me the space to make these mistakes. And it was like, okay, no, we're gonna slow down. You're gonna go out and sell some policies and learn how to service those policies before we go out and start buying agencies or before we go out and do a an ad campaign, whatever it was, right? Before we go out and try to to grow overnight. So um long-term controlled growth is much better than just a quick, you know, let's let's go right away. Uh, that's that's a lesson I learned from those from those early days. And and you know, finding the right people to come on board, right? It's uh I had um, you know, I made some swings and misses early on some people, and not because they're bad people, just because it wasn't a good fit. And um, you know, I think those are some of the early mistakes that I that I that I learned from and and and again, uh fortunately had the space to make those mistakes and and use them as growing opportunities rather than looking at them as I you know I did this and now I'm gonna send you know feel bad for myself or not learn from it and and go the other way.

SPEAKER_03 13:09

So let's talk about people. We're we're in the people business and and yeah, it's it's it's very it's it's you know, I don't know how many of these we've done 30 or 40, and the conversation's always you gotta have the right people. What does it take? What what what when you're looking for the right person? What are you looking for?

SPEAKER_00 13:28

So we have three things at Duffy, right? Uh, genuine kindness, hardworking, and team player. Those are our three things. They're not everyone's three things. Those are our three things. You've got to be genuinely kind. We have a group of just the kindest people in the world. And and uh my family, we're just naturally, you know, this is not a boastful comment. We're just kind people, kind-hearted people. And um, I like being around kind-hearted people. I don't uh, you know, that that that is first and foremost, that is very important. And those are the people that I want to work with on a daily basis, kind people. Hard working. We we work very hard. Um, this this is my life. I I can't tell you how passionate I am about uh the business, about Duffy Insurance, about the people that we work with. And and I want them to work hard too. I mean, of course, they're not gonna be uh as as passionate as I am, probably, right? Because their name's not on the building, but that's okay. They're gonna they're gonna work hard, they're gonna be resilient, they're gonna do the right thing for customers. So that's an important trait to um to bring to the team and team players. We want people that um you know are willing to give the credit before take the credit, right? We want people that are willing to help out their team members. So, you know, this is this is a hard business. It really is. And it's a great business, but you need a team, um, you need people that are focused on building up the team rather than just building up themselves. And and you know, I really I say this all the time. We have such a great team here at Duffy. Um, I, you know, I am just so blessed to work with with some of these amazing, amazing people. Um, and and those are really the three traits that we look from, look at, you know, at the beginning, uh, look for at the beginning, I should say. And um, and you know, it goes a long way in in sort of building that culture and and the team as as as we've grown.

SPEAKER_03 15:16

Do you have any favorite interview questions that you could try to pinpoint who has that kindness or that hard work, or or you know, is there any any anything in your process that that you could give us a takeaway for our our viewers and listeners?

SPEAKER_00 15:31

Yeah, you know, it's a sense. And and um, so I when when I interview people, I I always say at the very beginning, I say, I'm not into formal interviews, let's just have a conversation and see where it goes. We you know, we'll just talk. And you can really start to, you know, maybe not in the first the first conversation, but if you spend enough time with someone, you can really see what what you know and hear and and feel what their um what their values are and and and and learn. And and sometimes you make mistakes. Like I said, we've we've I've we've made mistakes on people a number of times. And those people, some of those people have gone on to have great careers elsewhere. And it's not because you know, they're a bad person or we're a bad, it's it just wasn't a good fit, right? So um I I just sort of really pay attention to is this person going to fit in the the Duffy culture? Because it's different here. It really is. It's it's a different culture. And um so so I just really try to get a sense from a conversation and um sitting down with somebody um rather than looking at a resume and then having some pre-canned um questions.

SPEAKER_02 16:37

Are you doing all the final interviews? Are you doing like all the interviews yourself? Like how does that process work?

SPEAKER_00 16:43

Yes, so so this is something that we've worked on. This is something that I've struggled with dumb. I um as we've grown, we we now have 80 people here at Duffy Insurance. And um, as we've grown, we'd we've really had to clarify roles and responsibilities. And I've had to do that myself. And it's just impossible for me to um to it's impossible for us to to reach our goals and have me involved in every single interview or or even you know, final stamp of approval. Um, I I have fantastic people that make great decisions that um can do that. So in the lat literally in the last probably year to 18 months, it's been the first time, and this has been the hardest thing for me to let go of is just that, Dom. What you're asking is like, okay, we're gonna bring someone on on board and Mark, you know, you're not you're you're not gonna have the final stamp of approval. We got this, and you don't have to have that. It's okay. And it's like, okay, I'm gonna come and meet them, I'm gonna call them on their first day. I'm gonna, you know, so so um, so yeah, I've I've sort of gotten out of that process, and it's a process that I love. Um, but in order for us to to get to could continue to grow, I have to get myself out of some of those things, and that's that's that's one of them.

SPEAKER_02 18:00

Yeah, it's it's great when you can let go, but there's always like that time where it's like maybe the first one or the second one where they hire someone and they're terrible, and then you're like, Yeah, what happened here? What are they? What are you guys doing? I knew I shouldn't have given this up.

SPEAKER_00 18:18

Yeah, yes, and and and I'd I'd I I'd push back a little bit and and on myself, I have to say, I have to give you know everyone the same space to make those mistakes to learn. Okay, we're nobody has a thousand batting average, especially when it comes to hiring, right? I though they have to make the same mistakes that my father gave me the ability to make and the space to like, okay, you know, it's it's okay to make a mistake. It really is. You're gonna we're we've all made them, right? And uh, even if it means you brought on the wrong people, that's that's obviously a very um uh expensive mistake, but it's okay. Let's let's learn from it and move forward.

SPEAKER_03 18:54

So you went from you know, two people in 96, uh, you ended up coming 10 years later, and now you said you guys have about 80 employees. And I believe you have 20. You guys did 20 acquisitions, if I'm not mistaken, right?

SPEAKER_00 19:08

80, yes, yes, yeah. We're we're we're right around just over 20 acquisitions now. I think we're at 22, 23 total purchases. Uh, we've got 12, 12 locations in the greater Boston area. Uh, like I said, I got in it in 2006. Um, shortly thereafter, my father got sick um in 2008 with cancer and ultimately passed away in 2011. And it was, I mean, just devastating. When you, you know, when I tell you, just I had the two greatest parents in the world, just amazing, amazing people. I don't think I ever saw them get into an argument growing up. They were just always just on the same page. So, you know, as a son losing his father, that was extremely hard. It was hard for the business because he was beloved here. He was loved and respected here. He, you know, he loved the people at Duffy and they loved him and respected him. So it was a very hard time in 2011. I was 26, 27, 27 years old. And um, the business um went to my mother. My mother was the owner of the business when my father passed away. I was working in the business. And um, it was it was a moment for me. It was a moment that I had to look in the mirror because uh, you know, I wasn't I wasn't pulling my weight, to be quite honest. Um, I wasn't doing the things that I needed to do at that time, and I needed to look in the mirror and and uh say, hey, it's it's time for you to to grow up. Um, I think um there was a little bit of uh immaturity. There was a little bit of, like I said, I I I wanted to to 10x the business, but I wasn't putting in the work that was needed to 10x the business, quite frankly. And when my father passed away, I really had that moment and and I saw you know the pain for my mother, like what that what that was for her. And now she owned a business and hadn't she hadn't been working for for a number of years. So she was thrown right into the thick of it. And and she's got this son that wants to go out and 10x the business. And it's like, okay, we we've all got to kind of pump the brakes here. So she did an amazing job of sort of pumping the brakes, getting us back on track. And um uh five years after my father passed away, we made our first real significant acquisition in in 2016. And I call it significant, and it's significant, it was significant for us. Probably wouldn't be significant for these private equity firms that are out there buying now, but it was it was a big deal. It was a new location, it came with four or five people. And um uh somehow I can we we convinced the bank to give us a loan to do it and and it and it worked out well. And um, as it was working out well, I was like, all right, this is working out, let's go out and buy more. Just like, no, no, no, let's let's slow down. Let's, you know. So um, so I think um there was a gap between 2016 and 2021, where or 2020, where we really didn't do any. And then we just started picking up the pace. I I uh bought the business out from my mother that year, and that's when I said, Okay, this is. This is what I want to do. I want to grow via acquisition. My father had done a few when he was at Duffy and prior at the agency prior, that's how they grew. So I always uh he always kind of ingrained in me, this is a great way to grow the business in the insurance world. Um, you know what you're buying, you have a book of business, you know the experience reports, you can see the loss ratios, you can see the PL and see um how the business is performing. So it's I think it's a great way to grow in a controlled manner, uh, in a in a fast but controlled manner. So uh in 2020 uh slash 2021, that's when we really started picking up the the acquisitions. And it's because that's you know, that's when I that's what that was my vision for the business, right? Um, as I said, my mother did a fantastic job of keeping us uh together, moving forward, getting to profitability, adding some good people. And and then, you know, my vision for the business was was more growth wanting, and and we've been doing acquisitions, we've done about three or four, um, probably three years since then, and um and and it's been great. It's uh we again making mistakes, uh, but you know, learning from them instead of letting them sync us and and um adding some some great people. That's what we've done there this in this sort of growth era of Duffy Insurance here.

SPEAKER_02 23:18

What's what's a mistake on the acquisition side that you guys have made that stands out for you?

SPEAKER_00 23:23

Yes. So um, you know, MA is tough. There's there's especially now and and and the last few years, there's been a lot of buyers out there that are willing to pay top dollar, and there's very few sellers, right? It's very much a seller's market. I think the mistakes that I made were maybe um getting too excited over one uh one or two of the agencies that we've purchased and and realizing it's not, it might may not have been a culture fit, and and you know, understanding that there are going to be other opportunities. So I think it's really important when you do MA that you really take a hard look at the agency that you're buying and making sure that it's going to fit from a culture standpoint, uh, from a book of business standpoint. Um, that's that's really, really important. So maybe getting overly excited of um, you know, on a purchase or two instead of you know, um, instead of saying, okay, we're gonna buy just to just to buy, right? You really getting more and more selective is is important as we've gone through this journey. That's an important lesson that I've learned um about the book of business, about the people, and not just um buying just to buy. So I think I think that's a lesson learned there.

SPEAKER_02 24:37

And is there you have a follow-up?

SPEAKER_03 24:40

Yeah, I was gonna say, is there like a secret form? Well, not secret formula, formula that you kind of have now where you know exactly what you're looking for. You know, you know that this is a culture if it wouldn't, you know, the first five minutes, and obviously numbers matter and other types of matter.

SPEAKER_00 24:59

Yeah, I it it it it really comes down to it is so so important to me to meet with the owner in person, have coffee, meet. I've I've I can't tell you how many meetings that I've had over the years. And it can't be on it can't be a zoom, it can't be a phone. I mean, the initial call can be, and but if you're gonna go down this path, you're gonna spend a lot of time with somebody. This is their their baby, this is that you know, the business is what they've been building. And I think it is so important to have a face-to-face meeting to take the time wherever it is. I I've spent so many hours in the car, uh, you know, traveling to different places and having these meetings. And um, I've learned so much from those meetings, but you also learn, is this gonna is this gonna be a fit? And um, and it's in a lot of cases, in most cases, it takes multiple meetings, multiple phone calls, a ton of back and forth. It is a lot of work and effort uh to get it right. And and it's you're not always gonna get it right, but I think I think to answer your question, the most important thing is to literally just take the time to learn about the person, the agency owner, the agency, the business. That is that is critical. And then I would say a distant second, but a very important topic as well, or a very important um thing to do is look at the numbers. And and this is something that um I'm I'm a I can be a little bit of a spreadsheet geek, and I uh I'll get the numbers. I have a a um a model, I'll call it, that um I've built and developed over the years. And I'll take the PLs, I'll put it in this this model. I have a 10 10-year projections, um, proformas, and and really take the time to dig into the PL. This is this is super, super important too, because those numbers all tell you a story. It's uh whether it's staffing or advertising costs or commissions payable. You know, I've seen so many of these over the years that I really, you know, things will stand out. I know if the staffing is a certain percentage of the revenue, then I have to ask some questions about that. Okay, why why are you spending, you know, 67% on staffing? Uh, what's what's going on there? And um, or why is your commissions payable so high? What what's what's you know, you and you can ask questions about that. Um, so so it's really important for me to get the financials and for me, for my eyes, to to look at it and learn and and and you know, that gives me a really good idea of what the business is all about, how they're growing. Are they growing because the market's hard? Are they growing because you know, um, they have a great producer? Are they growing because the owner, you know, what's what's the growth? Um, and and profitability too. It's you know, sometimes uh just because an agency is making a lot of money, it doesn't mean it's a great business. Does that mean that the owner is just doing everything herself or himself? And you know, they haven't gone out and hired people and and invested back in the business. So, so you really have to dig into those numbers and learn those numbers in order to determine if it's going to be a good fit. Because if there's an owner out there that is, you know, has got you know a 60% profit margin and is the one doing all the work and wants to sell for this huge multiple, but doesn't want to work the day after he sells the business, that's probably not going to be a fit for us because that owner has has is everything to that business, right? Um, so so I think um over the years, um just learning about the PLs and finding out, like you know, knowing the right questions to ask based off of those, I think is a very, very important part of the formula. So knowing the person first, knowing the people, and then uh the numbers are so, so, so critical.

SPEAKER_03 28:51

What's next for the business? What's what's the what's the vision for the next five, 10 years?

SPEAKER_00 28:56

Sure. So uh as I mentioned, I I could not be more passionate about the business, the future. Um, I, you know, I know that I love MA as a way to grow. We're gonna continue to do that. I think we're gonna lean into um hiring producers. I think producers are such an important part of any insurance business, having a great sales team. Um, and I think I think AI obviously is going to play a huge role in the future. I'm really excited about AI. I think it's gonna give us all sorts of opportunities to be more uh customer focused. And and at Duffy, our whole thing is personal relationships. Um, I think AI is really gonna help us lean into personal relationships. And those personal relationships um come with producers, right? Producers in the community here are going to really help get us from where we are now and and continue our organic growth in addition to MA. So so we're gonna continue to grow. I want to continue to grow. I love the business. I want to continue to move forward and um, you know, use AI to help us become more efficient so that we can spend more time with clients. So that that's that's the future. And uh, you know, do I have a number in mind of employees or a goal? I really don't. I I really just want to keep trying to get better every day. I uh one of my mentors uh gave the best advice I ever received was um uh from a mentor of mine who who ran a family business uh for for decades. And he said, you know, Mark, just try to get better every day. That's it. And it's not even get better, it wasn't get better every day, it was try to get better every day, just a little better. And um I think that that just clicked with me. And it's like just try to get a little better every day. And sometimes you will get better, some days you won't. But if you just wake up and try to get a little better every day, I think that um that's what we're gonna try to do. And and I want to keep growing and growing and and add more great people and and keep providing personal service because I believe in in the insurance business. Uh, there's been uh several uh times over the years where uh our demise has been predicted, whether it be uh you know from the internet or way, way back when, when telephones came out, or here in Massachusetts when um managed competition came in, or more recently with the insure techs. Um, you know, I keep hearing this story that independent agents uh are no longer gonna be needed or whatever. And it's it's total, uh I totally don't buy into that one bit. I know AI is going to be an opportunity. I think it might be a threat for some, but I think it's an opportunity for the independent agency channel. And I think we've shown a resilience over the years as an industry, as a group, and I think we will continue to to have that resilience and move forward.

SPEAKER_03 31:57

What would you tell what would you tell your 18-year-old self, your your 22-year-old self? What's a lesson? What's the biggest takeaway? What's what have you learned in all these years? And what would you tell yourself?

SPEAKER_00 32:08

Absolutely. So um number one is just try to get a little better every single day instead of trying to move a mountain every single day. And um, you know, I I watch a ton of podcasts and and and follow a lot of people. Gary V is one that I follow. And and his one of his things is, you know, you can definitely want to work hard in the in the micro, but in the macro, it's like 10 years is is not as long as you think it is when you're 18 years old. You've got to put the work in for years. It's not like I'm gonna go in for three months and work my butt off, and then the results are gonna be there. So I I would tell myself, listen, you are so young, you've got to put the work in. There's like these stories of these tech founders, you know, starting a business at 18 and selling it at 20, they're just, I mean, those are one in you know, 10 million. It's just not the reality. What the reality is, most of the people that I've followed, most of the people that have had influence on my life have gone in for 15, 20 years putting in the work, doing what it takes, and having patience. It's it's and Gary V says it, right? Like you want to have urgency in the micro, but patience in the macro. I that I believe that, and that's what I would try to get into the brain of my 18-year-old self.

SPEAKER_03 33:24

Shout out to Gary V for the inspiration. Definitely, yeah, yeah. No, but you're 100% right. I mean, look, it's it's it's it's it's grinding and it's building, right? You're not right, like it doesn't take a day to build a building, right? You gotta put brick by brick, you you gotta really take your time to put it in. And I think with this day and age, social media and you know, all the jazz, everybody everybody wants everyone sees the the glamour, but nobody sees the hard work and they're not willing to put it in. The people that are willing to put into hard work, the grinders, those are the ones that that that are always gonna win because they're just gonna outgrind everybody. And they want the pressure. They want like right, they want the dark days, they want the nights, they want they nobody talks about nobody talks about you know the missed baseball games or or you know, working on the weekends or whatever else. They're they're they're complaining saying my pet my paycheck's not higher, but they go home at five o'clock. So kudos, kudos to you for seeing the vision.

SPEAKER_00 34:27

Yeah, you you've got to, you, you really, it's it's so important putting the work in to get the results. I you know, I try to ingrain this in my kids, right? For they play baseball and softball in different sports, but you have to put the work in. That's true in anything, right? And those are some of the lessons that we talked about earlier that I learned from sports because I again I I in everything that I do, I have to put the work in. I don't have a choice. I that's just how I was built. I I wasn't built as a you know, this guy that could run a 4440 and uh, you know, uh I just that's just not me. So I I had to work hard, I had to put in the effort. And then I'd also add a very important thing that you don't see in all this social media stuff is is resilience. And and and business owners know this, insurance agency owners know this. Things never go to plan, things go wrong, things break, things just never are exactly what you think or what you plan they're going to be. And you have to have the resilience to bounce back and and and just figure it out. And I think um here at Duffy, our people um just I'm so again so blessed to have have the people here that we have. They've been so resilient over the years, whether it was when my father passed away or through COVID or all sorts of other events that have happened over the years um that the public doesn't see, that people don't see, that don't understand, right? Business owners know this. There's sleepless nights. There's, you know, just just because someone looks like they're doing well now doesn't mean that they have sleepless nights, doesn't mean that they have days that are just awful, right? And you have to be able to to handle that as a business owner and and and see that as an opportunity, as opposed to, you know, again, this is gonna sink me, or I can't bounce back from that. So, or this, or whatever it is. So I think resilience is is a very important component as well.

SPEAKER_02 36:18

Mike, Mike Tyson said everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face.

SPEAKER_00 36:22

That's right. That's right. And obsessed by Mike, you know, yeah, this is true. This is true. And and and um, you know, my high school football coach, he always said, you know, when things are going well, you know, it's so easy to be a nice guy, a nice person, but you really find out who you are when things aren't going well, when you have adversity, right? That's when you really find out. And um, you know, you learn from it and it makes you better at the when you're going through it. It doesn't feel very good, it stinks, it's you know, you you're you're pulling your hair out, but you see it as an opportunity, you learn from it, and you grow and you and you move on. So that that's really important and and just another lesson that that I think youth sports taught me.

SPEAKER_03 37:07

I agree. And I think a lot of people that they look at adversity as a challenge, right? And they look at it as like, oh my god, why has this happened to me? But what they really need to start looking at it as this is given to you as an opportunity for you to learn from your mistakes through adversity and get better at it. And now you know how to how to fight, you know, how to fight the pain. Uh just saw this whole thing. There's a documentary on Netflix about about the bikers uh in the Tour de France, and it says suffer. They they they keep saying it to each other, suffer. And the reason they're saying it is they they're learning, they know they're gonna suffer throughout throughout the bike rides, right? And they're getting ready for the suffer. And that like adversity is gonna come, right, as a business owner. Shit is going to happen, and now you need to learn, you need to learn how to deal with it, and you gotta you gotta almost like it a little bit. Uh well, well, let's get into my favorite part of the show. Rapid fire.

SPEAKER_01 38:11

Rapid fire. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:18

Where we ask you some personal questions to get to know Mark Duffy a little bit. We did a little research on you, but uh golf handicap, Mark.

SPEAKER_00 38:29

Oh, geez, I don't even want to say this. It's too low. Uh, I'm about a I'm at a two right now, and that's that's way too low. I should not be uh I should not be there. I'm I'm I'm like an ATM for the guys that I play against.

SPEAKER_02 38:45

What's your favorite golf course you've ever played?

SPEAKER_00 38:48

Ooh, um so I've got a quite a few. So I always say uh Salem Country Club in Peabody Mass is just a course that I'd want to play every day for the rest of my life. It's it's about two or three miles from the house I grew up in. And um I I've had the pleasure of playing there, you know, a handful of times over the last few years. And uh it's just such an amazing everyday course. That's probably my favorite uh course and Tedesco Country Club, which I belong to. That that is, I have so many special places there uh with my family, so many special moments there with my family and and my parents. And uh so Tedesco and Salem, I would say, are the two.

SPEAKER_03 39:28

What's your what's your favorite, like top, you know, top 50 course that you played?

SPEAKER_00 39:34

Um, so I was uh I played San Francisco Golf recently, uh San Francisco Golf Club, which is an amazing golf course, very special. I played that a couple months ago, and uh that's that's probably at the top, uh, very, very high top of the list. Um, and and really enjoyed it. What's your drink of choice? Drink of choice. So um right now it's Guinness Zero. So uh a couple years ago, I uh I made the decision. I was never a huge drinker, but I just made the decision to stop drinking. I'm going, I'm I think I'm above two years. Um, and uh I just not not for any real I was said to my wife, um, I'm gonna stop drinking. Uh just maybe take a week or two off, see what happens. Started you know, started and started sleeping better, started feeling better. I'm like, I'm gonna keep doing this and just never look back. And uh so begin a zero right now, or or black coffee, which uh I can't do a day without a uh little Duncan black coffee. Uh so need that. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:35

Uh we were gonna ask for your Starbucks order, but what what's your Duncan? I'm a Duncan guy.

SPEAKER_00 40:40

We're forgetting extra large black, uh extra large black and hot, regardless of the day if it's a hundred degrees or twenty degrees, uh, which we have both of those here in Boston those days. I go with the uh extra large hot black coffee from Dunkin' Donuts every single day. And if I don't do it, my brain doesn't turn on.

SPEAKER_03 40:59

Very bothine of you. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 41:06

You know what? I'm not gonna ask.

SPEAKER_00 41:16

Ooh, favorite meal. Uh love a good steak. Uh steak very rare, like uh um as rare as can be. Just put it on on the grill for two minutes each side. Very rare. Fillet, uh, and uh that's that's number one. Love, love a good steak.

SPEAKER_03 41:33

Steak and black coffee guy with a two handicap. We got we we got we got me figuring.

SPEAKER_00 41:40

Yeah, yeah. And and for an appetizer too, I gotta go with some shrimp cocktail. Love shrimp cocktail. I was uh I'm a huge shrimp guy. I the story goes when I was six years old for my sixth birthday, I asked for a pound of shrimp. That was true. True story. And I literally, I my wife makes fun of me every time we go out to dinner. If shrimp cocktail is on the menu, that's what I order.

SPEAKER_02 42:04

You're getting it.

SPEAKER_00 42:05

Yeah, love it.

SPEAKER_03 42:06

Yeah, well, where where can people, Mark, people find you if people want to reach out to you and sell their agency to you or come work for you or buy some insurance? How can people find you in Duffy Insurance?

SPEAKER_00 42:20

No, I appreciate the question. Uh, just DuffyInsurance.com um can go right to our website. We have um careers, we're looking to add great people. Uh, people, it's a people business. This is the most important part of the business, and our future is going to be continuing to add great people. So there's a way, there's uh careers page on our site. Uh, we have openings, we're always looking to add people, even people that aren't in the insurance business that are just curious about having a conversation, go to our website. You know, there's a form there they can they can fill out. Um, and and same thing for agency owners, they can email me, email me directly or go to our website, but uh email me at markmarc at duffyins.com um and we can start the conversation. Like I said, um, I am very much a believer of let's meet, let's talk, let's have coffee. If you want to go to Starbucks, I'll go to Starbucks. But uh he's not gonna let's bring my Duncan in. Yep, yep. Uh, but uh no, just meeting in meeting in person um and and starting that conversation. So those are that's the way to get in touch with me. And and and that I'm open to any and all conversations. And uh, you know, one of the things I've learned over the years, the the the you know, some agency owners say they want to sell today, but it takes seven or eight years to get from point A to point B. I never push. I am it's you always go the pace that the seller dictates. The seller is in the seller controls the process, and I never try to interfere with that. Um, and just start the relationship. So even if it's something that you're just curious about, um, want to have a conversation, want to bounce ideas off. If you're not even planning on selling, um, you know, reach out, call, we can talk. Even even if they're wearing a New York hat, are you are you still? Oh, as long as it's not a Yankee sat, as long as it's not a Yankee sat.

SPEAKER_01 44:09

So I was gonna ask you what your uh your favorite part of the 03 ALCS.

SPEAKER_00 44:16

No, that's like, oh god. Jeez. I don't I was watching that in my dorm room with my buddies, and I can't I don't remember a time I was more emotionally crushed than when Aaron Boone hit that home run. We the we just turned the TV off, we sat in silence for what you know was probably like 20 minutes, and then we just all went to bed. It was like, oh my god, but thank thank god, thank god we got uh retribution that the following yeah, so we got just about to say that's like a sensitive question because of what I was thinking.

SPEAKER_03 44:54

Oh, so sensitive.

SPEAKER_00 44:56

Oh my god, the pain, the pain.

SPEAKER_02 44:59

I didn't ask you because I didn't want him to follow up with what happened, the follow-up of what happened next.

SPEAKER_00 45:03

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you guys got us back a few years later in in the Super Bowl, and a lot of people say that that was the most the 2007 Super Bowl was the most devastating loss as a Bostonian. Uh 2003, hands down, nope there, there is I'm telling you, you you hit a nerve there, Dom. It's just uh that was a tough one. I was a I was a sophomore in college, and uh man, that was that was hard.

SPEAKER_02 45:27

I was a freshman, I remember exactly where I was, like the bar I was at, the buddies I was with, the whole bike, the whole thing. Yep. Um we're jet fans, by the way.

SPEAKER_00 45:36

So we oh okay, okay, all right, fair, fair. I alright. So we don't have much to talk about.

SPEAKER_03 45:43

We use enough. Yep, that's right. I know yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:47

And Gary, and I know you know, Gary V's a huge Jet fan, so I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna, you know, say anything too bad to you guys.

SPEAKER_03 45:53

So there you go. Well, you heard it here. You heard everything. Uh Mark, it was a pleasure to have you on the show. We appreciate you coming on. We appreciate everybody tuning in, and we'll see you guys again soon. Thanks, everybody. Have a great day.

SPEAKER_00 46:05

Thank you both. Thank you so much for having me.