Shawn Goheen serves as Partner at Goheen Insurance: A Simplicity Company. He is a leader in the premium finance life insurance space, providing solutions to estate tax issues and helping high-net-worth individuals preserve their financial legacy. Shawn is a 33-year veteran in the insurance industry and his reputation has been solely built on relationships and his ethical doings. He separates himself by being one of the top leaders in the premium finance market because of the relationships he has cultivated with more than 20 banks and insurance carriers, which grants him access to a market that few can navigate with such precision and transparency.

Company: Goheen Insurance: A Simplicity Company

We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company

Shawn Goheen: Goheen Insurance: A Simplicity Company focuses on partnering with high-net-worth clients to secure their desired financial legacies. We set our clients and their families up for their future by helping to preserve and grow wealth through creative and strategic life and annuity solutions. Our comprehensive services include Premium Finance Solutions, Life Insurance Financed Equity (L.I.F.E.), Corporate Integrity Programs, Life Insurance Policies and Premium Finance Rescue solutions.

I have been in the insurance industry for 33 years, building my reputation on industry relationships and ethical doings. As a Partner at Goheen Insurance: A Simplicity Company, I serve as a leader in the premium finance life insurance space, providing solutions to estate tax issues and helping high-net-worth individuals preserve their financial legacy. Our success can be attributed to the relationships we’ve cultivated with more than 20 banks and insurance carriers, which grants access to a market that few can navigate with such precision and transparency.

If you were in an elevator with Warren Buffett, how would you describe your company, your services or products? What makes your company different from others? What is your company’s biggest strength?

Shawn Goheen: We help people preserve the assets and estates they’ve worked hard to build using financial products and a holistic approach to long-term financial planning. We differentiate ourselves from other financial planning firms by having an acute understanding of how to build and preserve assets in a tax efficient manner across multiple generations and experience in working collaboratively with our clients’ other advisors. Many other firms focus only on asset accumulation, not protection. More specifically, our goal is to know and understand our clients, work alongside their existing advisors or refer them to financial partners that can aid in a personalized financial plan and create a collaborative strategy for maximizing our client’s wealth and legacy. While some life insurance companies are only focused on providing life insurance services, we go above and beyond for our clients by providing them with the guidance necessary to have complete and well-rounded assets.

Quiet quitting, The Great Resignation, is an ongoing trend causing many businesses to struggle to keep talent engaged and motivated. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued, and misunderstood in the workplace. In your experience, what keeps employees happy? And how are you adapting to the current shift we see?

Shawn Goheen: In my experience, open communication, flexibility, professional development opportunities and resources, and minimal direct oversight tend to keep employees motivated. As a leader, my focus is on generating results, setting goals and supporting our team in achieving their goals. My trust and confidence in the team’s abilities mean I don’t have to micromanage. I also value getting to know my employees outside of work. This creates a united team and strong culture.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many companies to evolve and adapt workplace culture and norms. Being open to employee feedback and adapting to such (when possible) shows your team that you value their input and are committed to their success.

Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?

Shawn Goheen: As the business landscape shifts, we’ve proactively embraced the benefits of a robust online presence. We have made significant investments in social media development, expanding our media presence and establishing thought leadership to provide educational information.

For life insurance specifically, we’ve introduced Life Link, which is an opportunity for clients to buy life insurance online with a step-by-step process – which has never been done before!

Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?

Shawn Goheen: The real challenge for growth opportunities is the continuous need to adapt to market changes. While this poses a challenge for many companies, I would recommend that business owners and CEOs collaborate with different sector professionals to maintain a wide view in an ever-expanding and complex economic landscape.

In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?

Shawn Goheen: Running a company is a 24/7 commitment. While you may have employees working with you, thinking about business development and growth is an all-day affair. There’s usually something happening, and if there isn’t, there’s something that can be done. If you are taking a break from thinking about the business, then you need to have the correct people in place to help assist when you’re not there. Staying proactive, as opposed to reactive, can benefit the business exponentially.

On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?

Shawn Goheen: My business superpower would be mastering new technology with the snap of a finger, allowing our company to get ahead of the market and competitors. New technology, like AI, is making its way into the financial services industry, allowing our company to reach prospects we could have never reached. When technological advances like AI are introduced, it’s a race to see who can adapt and learn the fastest. The other side of this is ensuring the technology is of value and does not disrupt the critical part of financial planning, which is effective consultation involving people.

What does “success” in 2024 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision

Shawn Goheen: Success in 2024 means our team of inside and outside professionals continues to operate as a well-oiled machine. I firmly believe that the smartest thing you can do is hire people smarter than you in different areas, give them the tools to succeed, and then get out of their way. Making sure our team is all on the same page and moving along at the same pace to support our clients would continue to define our “success” in 2024 and beyond.