My successes.

Ashley Farley is a 13-year veteran of the insurance business. She had success working as an employee, but wanted to do more. Here is how SCORE helped her start her own A. A. Farley Insurance Agency in late 2023.

 

Prayson: Why did you want to start your own insurance business?

Ashley: I wanted to invest in myself. I was making other people a lot of money. That’s because I'm good with people, and I'm good at sales. I thought I could do it for myself.

Prayson: How did you find SCORE? 

Ashley: It was indirectly through the Women's Business Center of North Carolina. I started with a vision board, and as I was working through that I found the Women's Business Center. They're really good at providing resources, but not so much on the financial side. I needed help with my business plan, financials, and funding. The Women's Business Center gave me a reference sheet, and  Innovation Carolina was listed as an opportunity for me to learn and develop my organization. They hosted a Lunch and Learn on entrepreneurship where I met my SCORE mentor. His presentation was phenomenal, and I knew I wanted to work with him. 

Prayson: How has SCORE helped you and your business?

Ashley: First, SCORE helped me with my business plan and financial projections. My SCORE mentor helped me create a financial plan for the first three to six months. I needed that to understand how much capital I needed to start the business and keep it going.

Then we moved to financing. I was trying to secure funding from banks, but banks want to loan to ongoing businesses with actual numbers, not startups with financial projections. My mentor was instrumental in helping me identify and secure funding to establish and grow my business. I found his insights and guidance to be extremely valuable. He was able to clearly explain to me the importance of knowing where my money was going so that I could make the best financial decisions. My mentor still provides help when needed as I work on analyzing my current and potential customers.

Prayson: How is your business going so far?

Ashley: It's going well. I didn't make a profit this year, so that’s my next goal. To help get there I'm analyzing a lot of the data from my clients. Where did they come from? Where are advertising dollars going, and are they effective? How should I continue to build my pipeline? Should I invest in hiring someone else? Right now, more questions than answers.

Prayson: What are the next steps for your business?

Ashley: Finish analyzing the data! The end goal is to expand, but I want to do it the right way. My mission is to provide our clients with unparalleled insurance solutions through smart, unique, and individualized service. We are competitive on price, but where we will excel is through service. Once we win customers we intend to keep them.

Prayson: It sounds like you have a good plan and a good start. All the best as you grow your business!