“Owning a Brightway franchise gives you instant name recognition and the support of a proven system,” says Michael Miller (President and CEO at Brightway Insurance). Michael and his brother David Miller (Executive Chairman at Brightway Insurance) are transforming the franchise business by providing a holistic business platform—that covers everything from accounting to marketing and gives franchisees everything they need to build thriving insurance agency businesses with them.
The Customer-friendly Business Model
After running an independent insurance agency in Jacksonville, Florida, for five years, David and Michael invented the “You sell. We service” business model and launched Brightway Insurance as a franchise in 2008. The model has helped Brightway grow into one of the country’s largest Personal Lines Independent Agencies offering entrepreneurs an opportunity to join the leading insurance agency business in the U.S. The model provides consumers with what they deserve, namely a local insurance expert supported by a national brand that represents the broadest selection of insurance companies available.
“We are grateful to offer a service and product that give our customers peace of mind knowing that they are protected,” asserts Michael.
Providing Total Protection
Brightway sells through local insurance experts available to consumers in local communities. The local Brightway insurance expert gives them a competitive advantage through a wide selection of insurance companies to build a package of policies that is customized to meet each customer’s needs. Additionally, it provides customers with total protection by offering several types of insurance products such as Home, Flood, Auto, Umbrella, Motorcycle, ATV, Boat, RV, Life and Business.
Prior to helping his brother, David, run the insurance agency and then going on to co-found Brightway, Michael worked in a high-volume sales call center environment, driving sales and technology innovations that resulted in continuously improved results. At Brightway, Michael’s drive for results and focus on accountability empowers the executive team to continuously produce better results for customers, employees and franchisees. David, on the other hand, works with Michael in setting the strategic direction and helping everyone associated with the business achieve their personal potential.
Lowest Risk and Highest Returns
From the beginning, David and Michael set out to build a business with the lowest risk and highest returns focused on producing industry leading commission, franchisee profit, growth, alignment, retention and innovation. It has a perfect financial alignment with its franchisees so that when they grow, the company grows. Brightway also provides its franchisees with a proven system of holistic business support that frees them up to focus on growing their business.
“We continue to make significant investments in technology and building new and better tools that help our franchisees grow as fast as possible,” added Michael.
Another advantage of owning a Brightway franchise over the traditional franchise is the residual income franchisees earn on renewing policies. As most of the customers renew their policies, Brightway franchisees continue to earn residual income for each policy term. This is one of the reasons Brightway was recognized as one of the Top Recession-Proof Businesses to Start in 2020 by Franchise Business Review.
To make it easier for more people to join Brightway, earlier this year the company introduced a new, lower investment franchise model with a $5,000 franchise fee.
The Innovative Franchise Models
Michael asserts that Brightway’s recently launched lower-investment franchise offering is receiving tremendous response. As a result, the company has opened a record number of agencies this year. It now offers two franchise models including;
- Retail Agency
- Flagship offering with greatest earnings potential
- Retail space with an option to start at home
- The franchise fee is $60,000 for up to two locations
- Earn up to 100% commission on New Business and 55% commission on Renewals
- Office Agency
- New lower-investment offering
- Professional location with an option to start at home
- The franchise fee is $5,000 for up to two locations earning 60% commission on New Business and 50% on Renewals
- You can enhance New Business commission to 80% by paying a $30,000 franchise fee
Nimble Transition to the New Normal
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way businesses are operated.
“Insurance is an essential business, so while we have had to adapt the way we do business, our franchisees continue to serve the insurance needs of people in their communities and continue to grow,” asserts Michael.
In these unprecedented times, Michael and his team leveraged technology to accelerate the transition to remote working.
The transition completed in four days in mid-March and included 270 people at Brightway’s headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida, and hundreds of people working in its franchise locations across the country. Brightway’s award-winning Service Center team continued to serve franchise locations and its customers relentlessly. Other teams also adapted swiftly and made the business better and nimbler in many ways including transitioning its Day of Discovery with franchise candidates and its training program for new franchise owners and employees to virtual formats.
Seeking Motivation through Books
Michael attributes his success as an entrepreneur, in part, to continuously learning. When asked about his source of motivation, he recommended Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. He believes that this book outlines the core belief that when leaders take care of their people, the numbers will take care of themselves. He also recommended Scrum by Jeff Sutherland and J.J. Sutherland that outlines a more effective way to get large projects done, achieving faster results.
Read Full Issue: The 10 Leaders Transforming Franchise Business 2020
