When you join Brightway, you pay a one-time franchise fee that includes the right to open one Brightway store and an option to open a second for free. Read more.
As a Brightway Agency Owner, you enjoy a comprehensive system of support that lets you focus on new business sales. Everything else—from Accounting to data analytics to Customer Service to Marketing and more—is handled for you by 250+ Home Office employees whose interests are in complete alignment with yours. We succeed only when you succeed.
Some people are attracted to us by the choice in insurance brands we offer. Others are attracted by the service after the sale that empowers Agency Owners to build world-class sales teams that outsell other agents 3-to-1.
And, while those features of the Brightway system are terrific, we like to say that they are the icing on the cake.
They key to our—and our franchisees’—success is the comprehensive system of business support that includes
Onboarding and training to help you get your office open and your people educated on how to sell as much as possible
A fully-staffed marketing team to position you as the local insurance expert in your community and provide you with the tools you need to network with referral sources and maintain your brand with customers
A distribution team to help you plan a business proforma and develop compensation plans for your producers
And so much more
It’s not just about providing customers the service they need, but the Customer Experience that they want. As soon as you sell a policy to a new customer, their service needs are handled by a world-class Customer Experience team at Brightway’s Home Office in Jacksonville, Fla.
Although the Customer Experience team is in Jacksonville, you position them as your back-office service department, and whether your customer calls the service 800 number or their local service number, that’s how they will introduce themselves, too. This provides a seamless experience for your customers.
From the moment you sign your franchise agreement with Brightway, the Agency Development team stands ready to onboard your new franchise. The first step is a Welcome Call during which you’ll learn what to expect.
From there, you will attend a Workshop during which you’ll meet with each department that supports you and your business. Finally, you and your Producers will attend Training during which you’ll sell your first policy before opening your Brightway Insurance store.
That’s simple: When David and Michael Miller came up with this concept, they knew it would be easier to ask Agency Owners to do things that were good for them and their families than asking them to do things that weren’t in their best interests.
That’s the alignment the entire Brightway model is built on—we only do things that are good for our franchisees, good for customers and good for Brightway. And, as a franchisee, you will be aligned with your producers and staff, ensuring they are on a path to success that will help build upon your enterprise and their future in the insurance industry.
This alignment means that, as an Agency Owner, you have 250+ Home Office staff working every day to ensure your success.
We pay you 85 percent of the commission on new business and 55 percent on renewal business.
This means, as a new Agency Owner, you’re maximizing your cash flow as you build your business. After you put the business on the books, all of the servicing of it is the responsibility of Brightway’s Home Office. When the policy comes up for renewal, we have a sophisticated, segmented approach to ensuring the renewal happens—and you get paid your residual income. The result is industry-leading retention rates and more money in your pocket.
In the Brightway system, your revenue will grow each year as you sell more, add Producers to your sales team, and receive residual income on policies that renew. And as your revenue grows, your expenses stay relatively flat.
The franchise fee, $60,000, is the amount you pay to join a proven system in which we have invested tens of millions of dollars over a decade.
The fee enables you to open your first store and gives you the option to open a second store at no additional charge.
The success of the system is unquestionable and well documented, and we continually invest in it and you throughout your career with Brightway.
The franchise fee you pay helps to offset the initial investment of more than $95,000 in time and resources that we make in you.
In addition to the franchise fee, an Agency Owner should have at least another $20,000-$40,000 to cover your office build out. And of course, you should plan for additional working capital to cover your ongoing operating expenses.
We will work with you on building a business plan that fits your cash flow needs, which is just one of the ways we work with you to ensure your success.
Brightway has relationships with third party funding sources that specialize in small business loans. Let one of our Franchise Consultants know you are interested in learning more about funding sources for your business, and they can put you in touch with the right people.
That’s easy. Once you’ve been successful at your first, you pick where you’d like to open your second location. Some have chosen another location five miles from their first while others have chosen them in other states across the country. When your enterprise is located in different states, you expand the number of markets in which you can sell.
Remember, when you pay the franchise fee for your first location, you receive the option to open your second location at no additional charge.
Your second location enjoys the same business-building tools as your first as we help you develop referral sources in the market and get your new location up and running.
Very.
With some franchises, if you show up with money, you’re in. At Brightway, you aren’t buying yourself a job, rather you are investing in a business opportunity that enables you to empower your employees and build an enterprise.
You’ve undoubtedly noticed that our franchise fee is relatively low. The reason is we want you to have some skin in the game, and we really want you investing in hiring Producers who will help you build your business as quickly as possible.
The franchise fee does not come close to covering the initial investment we make in you in terms of onboarding, training, marketing planning, systems set up, etc. This is because we know that if we select the right business partners—the ones who want to aggressively grow their business to turn it into an asset that works for them—we all win. This is why we are so selective about who joins the Brightway system.
We conduct a thorough vetting process before an offer to attend a Day of Discovery is even extended. If you are chosen to attend a Day of Discovery, think of it as an interview. You’ll meet with our Leadership Team and others who will ask you about your motivations, your plans and your dreams as we share the tools and processes we offer to help you achieve those dreams.
Following our in-person meeting with you, we make a decision about whether you are someone in whom we want to invest by making you an Agency Owner.
This is why only 7 out of every 100 candidates who are financially qualified become Agency Owners in the Brightway system.
No. In fact, 40 percent of our most successful Agency Owners joined with no prior insurance experience.
Empowered.
This system provides you with everything you need to run a high-powered sales team focused on selling new business and making a difference in your community.
You are empowered to make your dreams come true and to make your employees’ dreams come true as you promote them through your agency and make your top-performing Producers managers of your second, third and fourth Brightway locations.
You are also empowered to help your friends, family and those in your community enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that everything they’ve worked hard to earn—and everything they ever will earn—is protected.
Our contract is a five-year term. After the five years, you have the opportunity to renew at no cost.
Yes, sometimes people leave the system. We make it easy for them to do that. You can gift your agency or sell it. And, if you don’t want to do either of those things, we offer you a guaranteed buy out.
Brightway is a business opportunity that empowers you to reach your potential, build wealth, help people and build a legacy. The entire system is designed to produce win-win-win outcomes for you, your family and your customers.