Agency Freedom: E87: A Powerful Conversation With Ryan Hanley

In this episode, James talks with Ryan Hanley, the founder of Rogue Risk. Ryan also serves as a senior leader with SIAA. Check out Ryan's passion project, Finding Peak, at www.findingpeak.com. Check out Ryan's agency, Rogue Risk, at www.roguerisk.com. If you're interested in learning more about the SIAA opportunity for you and your agency, email me or message me on FB. Visit our website to join our email list, get the scoop on our LIVE coaching calls and never miss an episode: https://www.agencyfreedom.com Connect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedom Email us at [email protected] with ideas, questions, complaints or your favorite grilling recipe. Episode Highlights: Ryan compares what it took to launch a podcast in 2011 to what it takes now. (3:38) Ryan mentions that speaking through the filters of what he has learned in the insurance industry helps him to catch a very wide audience outside of insurance while simultaneously speaking to the insurance industry. (6:15) Ryan discusses what an RSS feed is and how difficult it was to create things that people today take for granted. (8:08) Ryan believes that people's most valuable asset is attention and that what we focus on, determines who we become. (20:35) Ryan explains that the next step up from the unhireable entrepreneur is someone who can operate with an entrepreneurial spirit inside a bigger business, a family of organizations, or a network of partnerships. (29:01) Ryan mentions that one of the most exciting aspects of the insurance industry today is that it is gaining more business owners and fewer agency owners every day. (36:08) Ryan shares that being acquired by SIAA was the single finest business decision he has ever made, and that appointing Michael Blake as his CRO was the second-best business decision he has ever made. (38:45) Ryan mentions that one of the factors that contributed to part of his career success is that he takes little joy in personal success. (45:05) Ryan discusses what made him decide to be affiliated with SIAA. (53:44) Ryan explains why he prefers to think and act as a business owner rather than as an agency owner. (58:10) Key Quotes: “What I did was basically use a talk to a broader audience, but talk through the filters of what I was learning in the insurance industry. And that allowed me to capture a very broad audience beyond just insurance, but also speak to the insurance industry at the same time.” - Ryan Hanley “One of the most exciting things for me about the current state of the insurance industry is that we are adding more and more business owners and less and less agency owners every day.” - Ryan Hanley “You have to have an ego to be the best at something. But at the same time, you can't allow that ego to stop you from being the best because it can be both the superpower and kryptonite at the exact same time.” - Ryan Hanley