In our latest article we like to point out that anything is possible and this includes your agency, at Sukay will open up options for our clients and their next steps.
In 2006 some local farmers digging for a fishpond in Qijiang city in China’s southwestern Chongqing province made a shocking discovery. They found a very large skeleton, which they named ‘Qijianglong’, as its bones resembled the shape of Chinese mythical dragons. Three years later paleontologists from the University of Alberta have confirmed that the skeleton belongs to a new species of “dragon” dinosaurs. It is a member of a group called mamenchisaurids, known for their extremely long necks. It is believed that this dinosaur species existed 160 million years ago in the Late Jurassic period. The skeleton is now being housed in a local museum in Qijiang, but will be moved to a new dinosaur museum in the city when it is built. Tetsuto Miyashita, a PhD student at the University of Alberta stressed the importance of the discovery in terms of evolution, “If you imagine a big animal that is half-neck, you can see that evolution can do quite extraordinary things.” This is certainly true and not just in terms of animal evolution. Technology is just on the cusp of evolving. Who knows what new discoveries will be made in the next few years.
Take for example the Mighty Purse used to charge smartphones. My sister was complaining about her iPhone always running out of battery. I bought her the Mighty Purse for Christmas and she says that it’s the best gift she ever received. The battery is a Lithium-ion Polymer battery, the same type as in a smartphone, except for its size. The purse battery has a capacity of 4000mAh, which is more than twice as large as your phone battery. It is very convenient for women on the move. Of course, the list of surprising inventions doesn’t stop there.
We will soon have a phone case that is an instant photo printer. The Prynt app on the smartphone will take polaroid photos and the specially designed modular case will print them instantly from both iOS and Android phones. The case will use ZINK (Zero Ink) thermal printing technology. The Prynt app will also include an “Augmented Reality” mode that records a short video clip as you pose for a shot and uploads it to the cloud, which you can download it later to cherish the moment in which you took the photo.
If there is any lesson to be learned from all of these clever inventions and incredible archaeological discoveries, it is that nothing is impossible. If you have an idea for a product that seems outrageous to other people you should never give up on realizing your dream. Just look at J.K. Rowling, author of the hugely successful Harry Potter books. She received twelve publishing rejections and when she eventually found a publisher who agreed to publish her work. She was told to get a day job since she had little chance of making money in children’s books. Yet her books had combined sales of $450 million and she is now richer than the Queen of England. Take the risk and follow your gut instinct, but make sure it is smart risk taking.
Insurance agents are supposed to be experts at assessing risk. However, we have found that most of them are risk adverse. We recently spoke with an agency owner who delayed perpetuating his agency. He waited until the economy improved and the markets hardened. His is in a niche business that is doing very well. We believe that he will have a very difficult time finding a buyer. He is now in his late 60s. The agency has 4 other producers. The youngest is 60 years old. Incredibly there were only two employees under the age of 50 and most of them were over 60. One employee was in their 80s. He felt that his agency was attractive since all of his staff had “many years of industry experience.” This owner was not risk adverse, he ended up being a risk taker. His agency will sell but at a much lower multiple. In addition, we would expect that a much small percentage of the transaction value will be paid at Closing. It seems self-serving on our part to encourage owners to perpetuate, but there is clearly a time when the value of the agencies starts to decline. Worst of all, there is a point when some agencies have little value regardless of their size and profits. Please don’t be that agency.
