043: The Hardest Part of Running a Brokerage - with James Mant

On today's episode, we’re excited to be chatting to James Mant, Managing Director of Greenfield Insurance Services. He talks with us today about his personal and professional journey through the insurance industry.   LEARNING OBJECTIVES: The most difficult part of the pandemic on the business was managing the expectations of both staff and clients. An important lesson learnt since going it alone is to always look at what the worst case scenario of a business decision could be before making it. The hardest part of running a business can be staff management because it’s important to get the culture correct. When thinking of going it alone, plan properly, underestimate your income by half, overestimate your overheads by 25% and have a brilliant support network around you.   BEST MOMENTS: ‘’When times are good and businesses are profitable, they're almost too busy to look at their insurance needs. When you get a downturn, it's one of the things that gets analysed first, like can we save money on insurance?’’   ‘’I think the biggest challenge has been the loneliness, without any doubt, that's taken 12 to 18 months, I think, to get used to. I think in the very, very early stages, it felt very lonely.’’   ‘’What is a business pressure can also turn into a personal life pressure. I think you can cope with one or the other but not both at the same time.’’   RESOURCES: Greenfield’s website: https://www.greenfieldinsurance.co.uk/ James’ Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-mant/   ABOUT THE GUEST James Mant is the Managing Director of Greenfield Insurance Services. He has been an insurance broker since 1991 and became a Partner of Greenfield Insurance Services in 2001. James specialises in High Net Worth Home Insurance and all types of commercial insurance from sole traders to large PLCs.   ABOUT THE HOST Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership. If you would like Sarah to help you develop an integrated marketing strategy, using state of the art concepts, then please book a free 20 min call via Calendly    Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation