I joined the United States Marine Corps back in August of 2001. Prior to that I ran the neighborhood chasing excitement and a bit of trouble. I had been shot twice prior to enlisting. I remember thinking, I needed a change in not just my environment but also the man I could foresee myself becoming.
It was during bootcamp when the devastation of September 11th, 2001 was briefed to us from our Commanding Officer. I thought, while sitting back straight and chin up; that this is it. We're all going to war. After bootcamp and my Military Occupational Training as a Military Police Officer, I landed on the shores of Iwakuni, Japan for my first duty station.
It was a wonderous new land to me full of beautiful people, amazing scenery, and delicious food. It was during that tour that I completing Special Reaction Team Training and made it to the rank of Corporal. It was also during these two years that I climbed Mount Fuji for the first time and had two beautiful children; Selena and Nikolas.
My next duty station from 2004 through 2006 was Marine Corps Air Station Miramar where I was assigned to the Marine Wing Support Squadron 373. We deployed to Iraq where I was assigned FOB (Forward Operations Base) Flightline security NCOI (Noncommissioned Officer In Charge) duties, working 16 hours a day for over 9 months. Amidst constant mortar attacks from enemy insurgents I suffered a knee injury but elected to stay in theater to complete my tour. Here, I was promoted to the Rank of Sergeant and re-enlisted for the first time. When our deployment had concluded I returned to Miramar and was tasked with Desk Sergeant duties for the Provost Marshals Office (Police Station), and concluded my time in California in March of 2006.
I returned to Iwakuni, Japan and was instantly assigned the role of Platoon Sargent for the Provost Marshals Office. I attended the Drug Abuse Resistance Education curriculum and became an instructor of D.A.R.E. in the local elementary school. I completed Sargent's Course (Military Leadership Training and Development), completed additional MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) schools including, Miliary Police Investigator and Physical Security. I climbed Mount Fuji 5 more times, reenlisted for another 4 years and had a son; Shawn.
In January of 2010 I arrived to my final duty station in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where I was assigned with the 2nd Law Enforcement Battalion and tasked to the 32nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. We conducted a large variety of pre-deployment prior to a 9 month "float" (Naval Tour) aboard the U.S.S. Ponce. Just prior I was married to my loving and supportive wife Normalyn (Lyn). During this deployment I visited over a dozen countries, completed a "Shell Back" indoctrination and completed my Associates Degree in General Studies.
After the deployment I concluded my military career still as a Sargent due to "service limitations" (Meaning you must be rank (x) by (y) years) in 2013. A year later I had a beautiful daughter, Abigail.
I explored a wide variety of jobs with customer service, factory, and retail before I opened up my resume in 2016 as I knew I was destined for something greater.
In December 2016, I opened my resume online and within a week I had conducted an interview with Farmers Insurance. I thought it was a great idea as it was a career path of entrepreneurship and was in line with my goals of service to others. It took me less than a month to go through the pre-requisite training, required testing, and massing the state exams. It was a lot of work but I was focused and determined to give it my all. And passed all the exams over two days on my very first try.
I was on a special program offered at the time where I wasn't required to actually open my own physical location for the first three years so I made the commute to the district office for about 2 months. After having proved myself as responsible and more than capable of making sales, and communicating the excellence and dependability of the insurance brand, I was allowed to continue my business growth from my home office.
Over the years I learned the tribulations of home focus while taking care of my children and managing a business. It had its highs and lows. Having the discipline to continue forward and implementing actionable plans have always been engrained into who I am, so I continued to hone my skills and develop new ways for lead acquisition, tracking, and follow-up.
I had this skill so dialed in I was teaching it to veterans in the industry. Weather and profitability for a major corporation make it difficult to remain competitive but this wouldn't slow me down. I continued to enhance my capabilities of selling value over cost and even through the difficult times of the pandemic, I was able to keep the doors open and my business continued to grow.
In the fall of 2001, I had an epiphany. I knew that there were really only two ways to not just keep the lights on and make sales, but to scale a business in the insurance industry would come down to 2 major focuses. Staffing and Lead partnerships. Purchasing insurance leads is like throwing darts at a dartboard but standing 50 feet away. So I began my research.
I knew that staffing wouldn't be as difficult a task to tackle as there are always people needing jobs and wanting to build a career. But how to go about lead-generating partnerships? And then it hit me...
Reciprocity. Not in the form of payment, because that's back to buying leads again. No. I needed a way to incentivize my partners that would make them want to do business with my agency exclusively. Or at the very least be their first go-to agent.
I create immense value for that partner in the eyes of their client (that is referred to me) in a way that acquires them more clients. Now I'm sure you'd love to know how but I can't share this tactic openly as I would lose my edge if everyone were doing it. But I would encourage you to read between the lines and find a way that would allow you to grow in whatever business you're in. You're only one idea away from greatness.
Structure and Systems are the two most important things to success in any venture capitalist or business.
2022 was a rough year for my family and me. Leads were slowing in my insurance business not only because of rising costs, premium adjustments, and state losses in the industry due to natural weather catastrophes; but financially we were beginning to tread some deep waters. We have always lived and operated with the idea that "if we're not moving forward, then we're moving on." We take this seriously in our career paths and are always remaining open to the changes of time and need.
A fog lifted over my mind and I could see clearly what needed to be done. Read more books, become more informed, find a growing need, and become a master in that field. I completed years of research condensed into one. I embarked into and graduated multiple courses in marketing and was building the framework for how I envisioned my agency. Keeping always in mind that service and results to the community would remain our focus.
When I understood exactly where I was taking this machine and after implementing the appropriate staff and all the tools necessary we began testing our expertise in the field. Offering free SEO work so we could measure our results and discovered that we were surpassing even our own expectations and fulfillment. It was time to create pricing and contracts.
Making sure we stuck to our motto, we designed month-to-month contracts to attest to not only our work but not trap our clients into lengthy contracts with no way out other than their wallets. We set our pricing into several categorical levels to make them extremely competitive in the digital marketing atmosphere. We've got our eyes on the Inc 5000 and with where we are already headed it is increasingly obtainable by simply sticking to our motto.
Trust and Fulfillment
As a leading marketing agency and SEO agency (not just a website business), we understand that small businesses are the backbone of our economy. We recognize the importance of effective online marketing strategies in helping them thrive. Marketing help for small businesses can be difficult unless your small business IT department is up and running. Furthermore, hiring a department specific to the field of IT for small businesses, that actually understands small business needs, dedicated to helping small businesses grow or teaching that small business HOW to grow is equally challenging; but we understand the small business market. Here's why our services are your key to success:
Shane Worley the Marketing 1 LLC is more than just a marketing company and paid advertising; we're your partner in success. Your business is unique, and your marketing strategy should be too. Contact us today to discover how our marketing agency can tailor a plan that meets your small business needs. Together, we'll unlock the full potential of your small business in the competitive digital market. Don't miss out on the opportunities awaiting your small business – join us in the journey to success!
Book a call with me for a FREE SEO audit and we can design a business specific plan for where you are now and where you would like to take your business over the next 12 months; which starts with making sure more people are aware of your business' products and/or services; we can do this through one of our PPC campaign plans, SEO, or Social Media.
The digital world is constantly changing and when you're too busy to keep up with user interface updates and regulatory changes, I will take that off of your plate and make sure your business' digital presence remains operational and in compliance. This is achieved by maintaining accuracy over the internet and within the multitude of search engines and data platforms.
Let's connect and start driving more traffic to your business as an established owner and operator. You love your business and want to take it to the next level of scaling. I can help you keep up with the fast pace of the world wide web. Don't wait until your business is in trouble to reach out to my agency. By that point it may be too late. Let me help you reach higher levels of growth, stability, and predictability.
610 Meacham Rd #1190,
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
Rockford, IL 61103
Email: [email protected]
Address: 610 Meacham Rd #1190, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
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