[quote style=”boxed”]Read a lot and then read some more. I try to read everything about my industry, marketing, technology, business and when I have time I love reading business biographies.[/quote]
Mack Dudayev is the founder of InsureChance, an online life insurance marketplace located in Boca Raton, Florida. It is one of a kind online life insurance agency that brokers with over 60 life insurance carriers and only transacts business through digital channels. By using this service, clients are able to instantly compare quotes with all the top rated companies and request an application online. The company prides itself in their unmatched customer service.
Mack started in the insurance industry at the age of 20 by selling health insurance, but quickly realized that his calling was in the life insurance sector. Coming into the industry, it was apparent right away that the industry was far behind in the use of web technologies with a lot of work to do ahead.
Where did the idea for InsureChance come from?
My partner and I were selling health insurance at the time and started offering life insurance as a cross sell product. What we found was that we could bring a lot more value to the life insurance industry. At the time it was a nightmare to buy a policy, it was a ton of paperwork, people had to see the agent face to face most of the time and you mostly had to shop individually with each company. So finally we decided there was a better way and focused on offering more variety of products and through the convenience of the internet.
What does your typical day look like?
I usually start working around 9 am and work up until late night. The majority of my day is spent selling, doing business related functions. Another part of my day is spent on marketing and overseeing projects. I also read for a few hours every day before I retire to bed.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Blood, sweat and tears! Ideas are great, but they will change a hundred times as you are working on them. So I am a big believer in starting fast and improving the idea as you go along. In todays fast paced world, there is very little time for just planning.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
The evolving role of technology in the financial services industry.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
Cutting out unnecessary daily activities and using all my focus to grow a successful company.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
When I was in high school, I used to work for a moving company. It was a labor intensive job, but was great money for a teenage student. I learned from that job that I did not like physical labor, but I did keep the work ethic.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Read a lot and then read some more. I try to read everything about my industry, marketing, technology, business and when I have time I love reading business biographies.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
Focusing on marketing channels that require the least amount of resources to make the maximum amount of profit. It doesn’t get simpler than that. This helped us to grow since we didn’t have investors and focused on a bootstrap strategy.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
I don’t even know where to start since I had my share of failures. But one particular one would be adapting digital marketing later than I should have. However the way I was able to catch up is working at double capacity to get a web presence I wanted.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
I actually have many different ones but I definitely think health focused cosmetics would be a huge market. For instance makeup that would use ingredients to continuously improve the condition of the skin or a body wash for men that contains multivitamins.
Tell us something about you that very few people know?
I love fighting sports and used to box and wrestle, one might call me a tough nerd.
What software and web services do you use?
radiusbob.com which is a cloud based CRM tailored for insurance agencies.
Join.me for screen sharing with clients and colleagues.
All of the tools I used usually have three things in common, they are affordable, cloud based and have a nice clean design.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Henry Ford’s Autobiography “My Life and Work” because he provides a lot of real business lessons and unlike many authors today he actually built a huge enterprise that is still here today.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, Warren Buffett and Mark Cuban.
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Website: www.insurechance.com
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.