Agency Owner

Estrella Insurance #119 is where I learned what it truly means to own a business — not just manage one. When I acquired the agency in December 2018, the book sat at $1.5M in annualized premium with a retention rate of 75%. Neither number was acceptable to me.

The first year was about diagnosis: understanding why clients were leaving, where the sales process broke down, and what the agency's actual competitive advantage was. The answer was not price — it was service and trust. Once I rebuilt the service model around proactive communication and genuine advisory (not just policy renewal calls), retention climbed steadily toward 87%+.

Growth came from systemization. I built a referral engine by partnering with local auto dealerships, real estate agents, and mortgage brokers. Each partnership was structured with clear expectations and mutual value. Over time, inbound referral leads became our primary acquisition channel, dramatically reducing cost-per-acquisition.

Managing full P&L responsibility taught me that growth without retention is a treadmill. The real metric is lifetime client value — and every operational decision I make is filtered through that lens.