When Jim Hartstein started working for The Insurance Market at 13 years old, he mowed the grass at the company’s office. He literally started from the ground up.

Later, in high school, he worked as the interoffice courier among the company’s three offices, as well as the property photographer for newly written homeowner’s insurance policies. While studying finance at Elon University, he chose to do his senior year internship at The Insurance Market, where he gained a profound appreciation for the way the agency served as a true resource for the community. 

After graduation in 2006, he went to work for the insurance business. In 2017, Jim, along with his brother Andy and cousin Stephen, bought the business from Jim’s father and uncle. That idea of needing to be there for people when things don’t go as planned was embedded in the culture when Jim joined the business, and it remains the mission of the agency today.

Jim has a clear vision of leadership: It’s helping people, whether employees or clients, strive to become the best version of themselves, both professionally and personally. “Sometimes that means supporting. At other times, encouraging. And at other times, challenging the individual to broaden their perspective,” he said.

Jim recognizes there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to leadership, and understanding when to utilize those different approaches is what differentiates an excellent leader from others. Jim is committed to continually growing as a leader.

One of Jim’s top priorities in the insurance business is trying to understand how he and his team can better serve clients. Instead of just selling someone a policy, The Insurance Market uses its Armor360° process to understand risk issues and develop risk-reduction strategies. Jim believes the agency can add more value to its clients if they view him as a strategic partner, rather than just a vendor.

With that vision in mind, Jim has worked continually to bring different offerings to his clients, and he focuses on improving the systems, processes and practices via technology within the agency. Jim believes this approach has helped differentiate The Insurance Market from other agencies in the area. With tremendous growth since taking over in 2017, it's clear that people have recognized this approach brings real value to their businesses.

Jim credits sports for having a major impact on his perspectives about people and business. As a player, but even more so as a football coach, Jim recognizes what is possible “when you subscribe to something bigger than yourself and make a commitment to your team.” Today, when coaching younger kids, Jim makes it a point to emphasize persistence, practice and discipline to reach a goal.

“Even when you lose, and no one wins all the time, those three concepts will help you grow not just as a player, but also as a person,” he said. 

Because company culture and team well-being are so important to Jim, he takes a different approach with workplace surveys. While most companies do exit interviews and look to learn from why people choose to leave an employer, Jim has implemented something called stay interviews. Instead of figuring out how to make things better after someone leaves, this approach focuses on a commitment from both parties to look at what they can do to support each other and bring value to clients by staying with the agency. Jim is also a big believer in continuing education. The Insurance Market pays for people to take the time to become more educated in their jobs. Today, more than 80% of the employees at the agency have reached a level of education above and beyond their standard insurance license. 

Looking forward to the future of the insurance industry, Jim is keenly interested in artificial intelligence and how it can help his people do a better job of predicting potential risk issues. With the speed of change in the world today, and the complexity of the insurance business, Jim believes that integrating AI into the business will be essential for continued success. 

Jim looks forward to getting up and going to the office each day. He knows every day will bring some type of challenge, without knowing how those challenges will present themselves. He recognizes that uncertainty is where he and his people have the opportunity to shine and help someone see the possibilities that a difficult situation often prevents people from seeing. It’s no different from being a coach and helping his 10-year-old football team see a way to accomplish what those kids might not have otherwise thought was possible.