Nick Houpt: 0:02

Welcome back to the Life Well Balanced Podcast. Today we're diving into a conversation that comes at the perfect time of the year, open enrollment season. And whether you're an entrepreneur, a parent, or just someone trying to make sense of rising premiums and confusing policies, this episode is going to help you breathe a little easier. Our guest today is Mike Comento. He's the owner of Commento Insurance Group. What sets Mike apart isn't just his 11 plus years of experience helping families and businesses with insurance, it's his integrity, his mindset, and his ability to make the complicated world of coverage actually make sense. In this episode, we talk about more than just policies. Mike shares the lessons he learned from his grandfather about resilience, mindset, and attitude, why mindset and good habits are just as important as financial planning, and how he keeps his life balanced while running his own agency. You'll hear practical tips on setting boundaries, building trust, and navigating seasons of hustle without letting your business run you. And of course, since this is the Life Well Balance podcast, we get into what balance means for Mike. Everything from setting work hours to traveling for perspective to simply knowing when to put the phone down and be present. So if you've ever felt stressed, confused, or even frustrated by insurance, or if you're just looking for inspiration on building a career and life with purpose, this is an episode you don't want to miss. So take a breath, open your heart, and settle in. This is the Life Well Balance Podcast with Mike Comento and me, your host, Nick Haup. This episode of the Life Well Balance Podcast is brought to you by Life Force Healing. If you've ever felt like your body is carrying stress, tension, or old patterns you just can't shake, body coating is the gentle, powerful process that helps identify and release trapped energy, restoring balance to your mind, body, and spirit. Life Force Healing is here to guide you toward realignment, resilience, and renewal. Because when your energy flows freely, you live freely. Learn more at lfhealing.com. We're also sponsored by IV Lux Infusion, a luxury mobile IV hydration service that brings wellness straight to your doorstep. Whether you're recovering from a long weekend, preparing for peak performance, or just need a boost, their licensed medical professionals deliver hydration and nutrients tailored to your body's needs. Think of it as a premium self-care administered safely and comfortably wherever you are. IV Luxinfusion, wellness redefined. Book your session today at IVLuxinfusion.com. And don't forget to use the promo code LIFEWELLBALANS. My man Mike Comento. It's good to see you, brother.

Mike Chimento: 3:20

Yeah, totally good.

Nick Houpt: 3:23

I can't complain, but thanks for coming, coming out, making the drive. Yep, thank you for having me. Yeah. So it's cool to have you in here. I uh I just want to start with acknowledging you. You and I, when we first met each other, there was like a click where we were both like, I feel like I know you. Like we've hung out before, but you don't remember hanging out. And you and I just kind of started building this friendship and relationship and business relationship and everything. We met networking and stuff. And I want to acknowledge you for being the guy that you are because the more I've gotten to know you, you are a really good person, and you lead your business like that. And I like that you are always yourself, and then you also just lead with integrity and stuff and everything that you do. So I want to acknowledge you for that, man. Thank you. So we when we start, we do the who, what, and why. It's a very big question. But the reason we do it is because it gives us a lot of stuff to go off of. So let's start with this. Let's do the who has inspired you throughout your life, who has mentored you to get bring you to the point you are now. What experiences have you had that shaped who you are? And why do you do what you do? And so you're the owner and operator of the Comento Insurance Group. Yeah. And so who, what, and why?

Mike Chimento: 4:51

Like you said, it's a broad question. As far as who, like somebody's a definitely a very big impact for me, probably definitely my granddad. Uh, I grew up, he kind of kind of played my dad's role, you know, for me. And uh he only had one arm, so he had to do things a little differently. And I learned how to do like carpentry and all those things with him. So just watching somebody who was technically like disabled, but never really used that as an excuse to not get something done kind of gave me that like that mentality of like, well, why can't you? You know? So it's who, what, why. The what elaborate on that again.

Nick Houpt: 5:25

So, what experiences got you to where, what got you doing insurance, what got you to the mindset that you have, different things like that.

Mike Chimento: 5:33

Well, we got I kind of fell into insurance. Nobody grows up saying I want to be an insurance agent when I grew up. I've never met a single kid that said that. So I just kind of fell into it and I did really enjoy it. You have an impact on people, and you know, they they trust you and you want to do a good job for them, and what you tell them needs to be right because they're gonna call you when they get sick or when their kid is hurt or whatever, and it's it's a big deal to make sure that what you've told them how it's gonna work is how it works. And when you're talking about you know, like integrity, that's kind of what I've always believed because you know, when you when you get those phone calls and you walk people through those big claims, you know, they're they've put all of their trust in making sure that you have them properly protected.

Nick Houpt: 6:15

So and that kind of ties into the why you do what you do, exactly.

Mike Chimento: 6:19

And again, those it's just those experiences of like, you know, helping people through those those really rough times because when somebody gets really, really sick, they don't really care about a whole lot else. So that's I guess that's that's definitely the why. It's more about just helping people, yeah. You know, and then helping them save money too, because everybody's on a budget.

Nick Houpt: 6:37

Yeah, you know, and I feel like insurance it they make it so confusing, so you don't understand what's going on, and that causes all kinds of stress, and then you're paying so much money. Like my my wife and I, we were paying like twelve, thirteen hundred dollars a month on insurance, and then we go to the doctor and then still get these big bills, and we're like, what is going on? And it's just so confusing. I don't understand like any of it, yeah. You know, and I feel like most people don't. And so, what should people know about insurance and what you do? Because also you get the the bad connotation of being the insurance broker and you're all about just making money. So, like when people are looking for insurance or an insurance broker, like what are they what should they be looking?

Mike Chimento: 7:31

Well, there's a few things, you know, obviously experience, reputation. Uh the main difference I would say between shopping an insurance agent and a broker, you have to realize an agent, excuse me, works for one company. And I worked as a I worked for a private company for the first eight and a half years of my career, and I could offer people great products, but only with that company, right? So if a different company had a better product that fit your particular need, I couldn't give you that. So a broker, because they work with multiple companies, they're able to say, hey, you know, for you, this plan is the best with this carrier, but for so and so, you know, it's the opposite. So the main thing is just understanding where somebody's at. And that's where I always start with, you know, remember first time I spoke to you about your plan, I'm like, okay, what do you currently have? Let's start there. And then we can see if there's a better option for you. Yeah. And it's just understanding your homework, understanding what plans cover, what things better. Because each company has its niche, right? Like, think about car insurance as an easier way to understand it. So, like progressive in Central Florida typically has the lower rates a lot of times for a lot of people with car insurance. But you can't get them to insure your home in Florida, right? So that's kind of how the health insurance works too. Each company has their niche. And so sometimes people are familiar with a certain name because that's the niche that they've always been in, like group insurance. Sometimes the group insurance niche is not the same coverage as the private insurance. So you so when you go from a group plan to a self-employed or something like that, sometimes you you'll end up with a carrier you may have never heard of because they have the best option for you.

Nick Houpt: 9:16

Now, if I'm someone that is at home and worried about insurance and stressed out and different things like that, where do you see having someone like yourself being the biggest benefit for those families or those individuals?

Mike Chimento: 9:35

Probably just my knowledge. You know, I've been in the industry for 11 years now and change. So, you know, I've seen a lot, helped a lot of people with different scenarios. You'll still learn something. You know, you're still going to come across new experiences, but typically the experience is what's going to help. The other thing that a lot of people like working with me or any direct broker agent, whatever, you get to call me if you have a question. You don't call a one eight hundred number and talk to somebody, you know, that you've never met or somebody in a foreign country, and then, oh, after 10 minutes on the phone with them, oh, sorry, wrong department. Let me transfer you. And then you wait on hold for another 20, 30 minutes, and then you know, I and I've been through that myself, trying to help clients with certain scenarios, and they just keep running you in a circle because nobody knows what to do.

Nick Houpt: 10:18

Now, shifting gears a little bit, how long have you had your business for?

Mike Chimento: 10:23

Well, I've been self-employed as an insurance agent, like I said, just over 11 years. I started my own agency about two, two and a half years ago. Okay.

Nick Houpt: 10:32

So, what's the biggest thing that you enjoy about basically being your own boss?

Mike Chimento: 10:39

I I enjoy having a lot more options than I used to. Like I said, you know, when you work with one company, there's nothing wrong with that, but I can only offer one product line. So now that I'm a broker and I have I can bring together so many different options, so many different layers of protection, uh, just gives me a lot more freedom to better serve my clients.

Nick Houpt: 10:58

Okay. And one thing that you and I have talked about in the past, which I like, is is your mindset around finances and money, and because we've had conversations about like dream cars and how much money you need to make and stuff, and you always make a joke about having your dream car. Yep.

Mike Chimento: 11:18

And which is what my first car still has over 20 years, my 1988 Crown Victoria, my baby.

Nick Houpt: 11:25

1988 Crown Victoria. Can we talk about financial goals and stuff with being your own boss? Like, do you sit down each year and you're like, this is what I'm looking to make, this is what I'm trying to do? Like, how do you create those goals for the finances that you want to meet? Or do you have any? Is there any some tips and tricks for people that are out there just starting as their own as self-employed or whatever?

Mike Chimento: 11:54

Yeah, start, you know, when you start a business, it's you know very tricky if you don't have the education of you know how to set up your LLC, when to set up, you know, all those things. Good bookkeeping habits is probably my best trick to being financially successful or secure, I should say. This word's like you know exactly what's coming in, what's going out, because what your company gets paid and what you pay yourself are two different things. And what I've found is a lot of people, when they first become self-employed, they don't keep those separate. They have everything going into one bucket and it's very messy and it's hard to keep track, especially when you go to do your taxes. So it's it's so much easier to have a completely different bank account, have a completely different credit card, you know, all those things. Keep everything completely separate, and that will help you determine how much money do I need to make to run my business, because you're gonna have marketing expenses, you're gonna have you know certifications and all those things, and you know, sponsoring events like we do and things like that. And then you're gonna have I have my mortgage and car notes and you know, all those things.

Nick Houpt: 12:55

So basically, like have the the business bank account and then pay yourself like you're an employee pretty much.

Mike Chimento: 13:03

Yeah. And even if you're small, like you know, if you if you work at a regular company and you're starting your own business, so you're not doing it full time, you're just doing it part-time, still just keep that money separate so you know where that's coming in and how much you're using, you know, what's your net? Because a lot of people they focus on the gross, right? Especially when they first get started. All they look at is, oh, I brought in this much money. They're not looking at how much money they spent to get it. You know, you if you made $50,000, but you spent $40,000 to get it, you only made $10,000. Yeah.

Nick Houpt: 13:32

You know, can you elaborate for someone that may not know what the difference is between net and gross?

Mike Chimento: 13:37

Yeah. So gross is basically every all the money that comes into the pot, and net is what you actually made as a profit. So again, if you make, you know, you brought in fifty thousand dollars of revenue, but you spent 30 or 40, then you would deduct that, and that's your net. Okay.

Nick Houpt: 13:53

Now, what are some of the ways you keep yourself accountable to actually getting out there and go to work? Because there's a lot of people that will start a business and stuff, but they're not self-motivated enough to make it successful because they're like, well, no one's telling me what to do. So I'm gonna sit on the couch today. And are there any action steps that you do or habits, routines that you implement on a regular basis that make you go out and get to work?

Mike Chimento: 14:23

Yeah, that's that's actually a really good question because a lot of people they don't if they're if you're so used to having somebody tell you be here at this time. And best thing I would say is treat it like it's just part of your job. You know, so if there's a 9 a.m., you know, meeting for whatever networking group you want to be in, that's where your work day starts, right? It's just like if you had a nine to five and they said you got to be at the office at this time. That for me is part of going to my office, even though it sounds kind of weird, but you know, I work construction for many years. So you'd meet at the office at a specific time, but then you'd go to the job site and you'd be there for so many hours and another one, and so on and so forth. So for me, that mindset always kind of made sense. But yeah, that's it's just make it part of your routine. If you you know, always keep a calendar. I don't have anybody keep track of anything without writing it down, I'd be completely lost. Yeah, so anytime there's an event, something like that, I automatically put it in my calendar, you know, and then every every morning I can just click on my calendar and you know, have it broken down so I know where I need to be at what time, and in the meantime, that's where you can do your administrative tasks or appointments or whatever.

Nick Houpt: 15:24

Do you have do you sit down like at the beginning of each week and look at your calendar, or is it every morning, like you said? Do you look it up?

Mike Chimento: 15:34

It's every morning because it changes every day, you know, especially because you know, people call you, especially when it's like towards the end of the week or towards the end of the month, and people need to get those rush things done right away. And so it changes my my schedule changes pretty much daily.

Nick Houpt: 15:46

So, how do you manage that? Uh you know, there's people people handle different situations very differently. So when stuff changes and it's like you're getting hit over here with all of these things and tasks that you have to do, and then now you're like stressing out and you're like overwhelmed. How do you manage coming into your business when things do start changing and you just adapt to everything? Yeah.

Mike Chimento: 16:15

Uh, you know, again, luckily I have been doing it long enough that it doesn't bother me as much. It's definitely a little overwhelming sometimes. Main thing I do is I try to learn how to prioritize. There are scenarios that are gonna come up, just like in your personal life, right? Like this is balanced well-being. So in your personal life, you know, you might have your morning routine, but then something happens that takes precedence. And oh, well, I can't sit down and read my book this morning with my cup of coffee because I gotta leave the house early. Same thing with your business. You know, you're gonna have your events and things like that. But if you have a very important client who has an emergency, you might have to skip that about. So you you just learn to kind of prioritize. And same thing with your clients in general. Some people need more attention, some people need more hand holding than others. Uh, but also sometimes sometimes those people have to wait, you know, uh, especially with health insurance. You know, people call you with everything from the tiniest little $15 copay to my kid might have leukemia. And sometimes the person with the $15 copay is just gonna have to wait 20 minutes while you help this person with a severe scenario, and then you get back to, you know, so you just kind of have to roll with it.

Nick Houpt: 17:21

So if someone does call you like that with a major life change or major life scare, what do you do to help that family feel a little at ease? Not just these are the insurance things you need, but I'd imagine you have to step into a very caring part of yourself to be understanding and empathetic. So what do you do when you get those kind of calls? How do you relate and and sit and have those hard conversations with people?

Mike Chimento: 17:53

Yeah, so everybody's different. And I've dealt, you know, again, with with all kinds of people. Some people are extremely optimistic. I have one client right now, she was diagnosed with cancer recently, calls me up calm as a butterfly, and I'm talking to her. I'm like, hey, how's your treatments going? What's going on? And she's just like, oh well, I was just outside doing yard work and you know, just completely unphazed. She already, you know, the doctors have walked her through it, she's very relaxed. Some people call, they are extremely frantic. So it just kind of depends on you know what I feel that they need from me at that moment. I always walk through, you know, of course, like, hey, this is what to expect with the bills, because that's you know, the part that I could kind of impact. And then, you know, the other thing is somewhat, I'm not a doctor, of course, but I've walked people through a lot of the big claims. So I can kind of tell people, like, hey, you know, that they're probably going to offer options A, B, and C for treatment. What I've heard through a lot of clients is that option B is probably going to work best for long-term results. And the other thing I just tell people is make sure to ask questions. You know, we do a ton of research before we buy a car or a television or a phone or whatever, but very few people do any research for medical stuff. So I'm like, hey, you know, don't be afraid to ask for a second opinion or question your doctor, why are you recommending this course, a treatment instead of this course? And then listen to what they say because they are the doctor. So you want to, you know, go to a doctor that you trust. But if you have a question, ask, you know, be an informed patient.

Nick Houpt: 19:24

And so when building your business, where does most of your business come from? Is it referral-based? Is it networking?

Mike Chimento: 19:32

I'd say probably like 60, 40, maybe 70, 30 uh referrals versus networking. But it's always important to keep fresh, you know, meeting fresh people like you know, I met you, and and how we've both been able to refer people since then. So but again, I've been doing this a long time. And the cool thing is when you reach a certain tenure point, I guess, that you become like the insurance man of the family. So the kids turn 26 and the parents like, okay, call Mike. The parents turn 65, okay, call Mike, you know. So that that works out really well.

Nick Houpt: 20:03

And then probably too, since you have been networking for so long, it probably in the beginning was flipped to where it was more networking, less referrals. Yep. And then from all that networking, you got started getting the referrals. Yeah. Because I I say all the time when when I train salespeople and everything, too, is when I first started in business and everything, I was at everything. Yep, I was everywhere. And now I I pick and choose because now you said you were talking about reading a book, yep, and then someone calls or your day changes. I'm like, I have a two-year-old tornado that rolls down the stairs and starts throwing Miss Rachel at me and all kinds of stuff, so I don't get to read as much as I'd like in the mornings. But if someone's just starting out and they're feeling a little discouraged on not getting as much business as they'd like to, what is something that you would share with them?

Mike Chimento: 21:02

One that it's probably normal, you know, that's why I always like working around, you know, people that had been there and done that. When I, you know, like you always respect the older generation because you know whatever whatever you're going through, they've already done it. They've already been through that. So one, just realize that it's a normal process. Almost everybody feels that way, except for a few lucky individuals. And then, especially with with my industry, this is a marathon, not a sprint. So the people, you know, I've seen a lot of people come and go in the industry, and a lot of times the ones that come in and they're real heavy hitters and they they just blow everything out of the water. Six months later a year, they're they're on to something else. They don't treat this as a career. So it takes time and then you know, reevaluate, you know, what's what's the definition of insanity, right? Doing the same thing and expecting different results. So if what you're doing isn't working, maybe change tactic. Maybe buy more leads, or maybe if you're putting all your eggs in the lead basket, because a lot of people in my industry especially, they buy a lot of leads when they first get started, which is good to help get the ball rolling. But if that's not working and you're you're not keeping that good bookkeeping, like I said, and you don't realize that you're you're wasting money because you're not, you know, creating a profit, maybe it's time to try something else.

Nick Houpt: 22:18

Now, you had mentioned when it comes to building these relationships and with your clients and networking, trust is a major factor, right? What are some ways that you do build trust with people?

Mike Chimento: 22:34

I've never intentionally tried to build trust with anybody. I honestly, like I said, I mean, what you see with me is what you get them. I'm just very I'm just a transparent person. I what I'm told people tell me the reason they trust me is because typically, again, I'm referred. So they know, like, hey, you know, the person who sent to me, sent you to me, knows me well, has known me for years, and trusts me. And then the other thing is a lot of people trust me because I do have so much knowledge of this industry. And if I don't know something, I will say, hey, I don't know, but I'm gonna find that out. Give me a day or two and let me let me see what I could do for you.

Nick Houpt: 23:10

I think it ties into authenticity and stuff too, right? Yeah, I think so. Where because I've I've always had that too, where I don't go out thinking like I'm going to make this person trust me, but I just carry myself how I normally would, and I genuinely care about people. So I think that people can read who you are by how you act, basically. Exactly. Yeah, I think so. So since we are on the Life Well Balance podcast, I do want to talk about not so much work-life balance, because that doesn't exist, it's not a real thing. Right. But what I want to talk about is how you manage working, especially for yourself, because you don't have a time clock that you clock out and then you go home. How do you manage that time between getting your work tasks done, building in fun in your life, building a swimming pool, hanging by the lake, going out with friends? How to how do you manage all of these aspects?

Mike Chimento: 24:18

Yeah. Some some days uh that balance is tilted kind of one way or the other. But yeah, it's it it can be tricky. I do try to set myself a set working schedule. So for me, I don't I try my best not to talk to clients before 9 a.m. or after 5. Sometimes 6 or 7 if they work, if I know they don't get off till 5, then I'll talk to them after. But I really try to have talking time to clients between 9 and 5. And then doesn't mean I'm done working, it's just that's when I try not to talk to clients. So typically before and after that is when I'm doing administrative tasks, emails, you know, with what I do, there's a ton of certifications you have to do every year and continuing education and all those kind of things. So it's just, you know, trying to, and then honestly, it depends on what time of year it is. Right now we're coming into open enrollment, so it's gonna be crazy, crazy busy. But luckily in summertime, it's a little slower, and that allows me to have a little bit of a breather and kind of reset and get ready for the madness.

Nick Houpt: 25:18

Because I know a lot of people too, they'll start a business and you always hear that saying, own your business, don't let your business own you. Yeah. So how does someone do that? Yeah, I mean, obviously, in the beginning, you have to put in a lot more effort, a lot more work to build it, and then at certain seasons where it's like open enrollment, but how do you make sure you are owning your business and not letting your business control everything?

Mike Chimento: 25:47

Do you? That's the main thing, is just having those. You you have to set boundaries. And if you don't, then people won't have any. And I learned this early on when people call me at 10 o'clock on a Sunday night, and it's you know, typically for something silly, and I'm like, you know, that could have totally waited till 9 a.m. So I actually have even changed my voicemail, I'm sure you've heard it, where I say I specifically state my office hours and what days, and I'm like, hey, so if you're calling me after that time, I'm gonna treat it like you need to treat me as a professional because I am one. You don't call your banker at seven o'clock at night on a Saturday night. Why are you calling me? I'm not I'm not available, I have a personal life. So I always get back to people right away, you know, as soon as business hours are, and and occasionally, like I said, you'll have to adjust your schedule for certain scenarios. But as a general rule of thumb, set yourself boundaries, take time for yourself, because if not, you'll you can run yourself crazy.

Nick Houpt: 26:47

So you are the first bachelor with no kids we've ever had on this show. We're not gonna let over here. That's now what that's what there we go. And so when it comes to being single, having your own business, your dream car, what is there anything about your lifestyle you would change at all?

Mike Chimento: 27:16

No, I mean, you know, sometimes I wish I had a little more free time. Yeah. But no, I pretty much like it, you know. You have to enjoy the hand you're dealt and make the best of it. You know, I think everybody has questions about life, is like, what if I would have gone this way instead of this way? Or but here we are, I like my life, I like how I live, and I get to travel a lot. There's there are some benefits to being alone, you know, take a month vacation and travel the world's kind of cool. So awesome. Yep. Do you think that travel is a big part of that life balance? For me, it is. I think I think everybody has their balance, right? Like everyone has their path in life. For me, I like to experience things and it's it's kind of life-changing as far as like it opens your perspective to, you know, maybe we don't know everything.

Nick Houpt: 28:05

You know, so we were talking about money and finances, and like I said, we've had these conversations. What does financial security look like to you? Because you had mentioned financial success, and then you were like, well, for me, what does that look like? Because it can vary for everyone.

Mike Chimento: 28:25

Yeah, it it it it really does vary for everybody, you know. For one person being rich is another another man's being poor. For me, I don't necessarily feel I need to be rich, but I do want to be secure. I want to know that I can pay my bills every month. That's the most important thing, and and have enough money to enjoy life afterwards, you know. I don't want to be house poor. So for me, it's it's just as long as I can continue paying off, you know, I'm five years ahead of schedule paying off my house already, things like that. So as long as I'm moving in that general direction and I can still have a quality of life, for me, that's kind of that that good balance.

Nick Houpt: 29:04

So if I'm a listener and I I so I was listening to a podcast the other day, and it was talking about all these studies that are out right now with how people feel about each other, and it's saying that Gen Z right now, their main goal is to be famous. Like that's what kids are growing up as is to be famous. And so with our generation, it's a little different. What is something you would tell this younger generation about being successful that they may not fully understand?

Mike Chimento: 29:54

No, that's that's actually a really good question, a good kind of change of perspective. I think a lot of young people don't realize that two things, you know, especially with the way that a lot of people are with, you know, the sexuality stuff. It's like, hey, when you're young, you know, you we always have this mindset of we're gonna be the way that we are right now forever, right? So when you're 15 through 25 and you think that this is like, listen, trust me, you're gonna change. When you become an adult, you have the right to live the way you want. So if you don't like something, you can just change it about yourself and start over and you can choose a new direction in life. So I always tell people, like, you know, don't use a permanent solution for a temporary problem. And that especially goes for kids, you know, if they're thinking about committing suicide. Like, that's a permanent solution for a temporary problem. As far as being famous and stuff, you know, if everybody became famous, then famous would mean nothing. I personally wouldn't want to be super famous because I like being able to just go sit down at a restaurant, eat, and I couldn't imagine sitting at a restaurant and you know, 100 people are coming up, sign this and take a selfie. I like I enjoy quiet time and and relaxation. So not my cup of tea, but it might be others. And you know, I remember when I traveled, I told you I wanna went to Asia last year for a while, and I'd go to all these really, you know, amazing places, these waterfalls and these cliffs over the ocean, and I kind of felt bad. You'd see like you know, these pretty girls, and they have their camera, their friend, their photographer, whatever. And they take this you know, 30-minute hike through the whatever to get up to the top of this cliff and or the waterfall, whatever, and they take five photos just trying to make sure they look cute and turn around and walk away. And I kind of felt bad for them, like you totally miss the whole purpose of being here. The only thing you care about is people that you don't know liking a photo of you, and you're you're not taking that time to really enjoy this amazing place that you're at that you might not get to come to again for whoever however long, you know?

Nick Houpt: 31:55

Yeah, they're not fully present in the experience that they're engulfed in that even some people will probably never experience. Exactly. You know, exactly. Let's talk about presence because you with your traveling and everything, and you had said that you do like experiences and stuff. What can people do to not get caught in the what's the word I'm looking for?

Mike Chimento: 32:20

The rat race.

Nick Houpt: 32:22

What can people do to not get caught in the rat race? Turn the phone off. Set it down.

Mike Chimento: 32:27

It can wait.

Nick Houpt: 32:28

Okay.

Mike Chimento: 32:28

Enjoy the moment. And just enjoy the moment because it's such a distraction. It's completely impossible for you to focus on two things at once, right? Yeah. To truly focus on something. So like I said, I mean, I see all these people and they're at events and they got all these things going around, and the whole time they're doing this. I'm like, you know, like you said, it's just not being present. Put it down, enjoy the show, you know, because when you get home and you're bored or you got nothing else to do or whatever, that's when you look at your phone. That's when you, you know, the phone will be there when you're done doing whatever you're doing. For me, I thoroughly enjoy being off the grid. Maybe it's because of how much I am talking to people and always on the phone and always moving and shaking. For me, it's very nice to just kind of unplug for a few hours. Might tick off my clients if they see this. That maybe that's why they don't answer their call on a Saturday. But uh you know, so er I think everybody needs that reset and that ability to just take a breath and stop, even if it's you know, 10 minutes.

Nick Houpt: 33:27

Yeah, we're we're actually getting ready to go. We got a cabin in the mountains in North Carolina in a couple weeks, and we are just pumped because we're we've just been so busy. Yeah, and we have so many projects going on, and we're like, we need to just go come back. Well, I mean, I say this, but meanwhile, the day after we get back, I'm speaking at a conference, so I'll be working on stuff for the conference while we're there, but I'll be looking at the mountains, yeah, sitting around a fire, getting that as as the Japanese call it, the nature bath. Oh, I remember that. Yeah, I saw this thing the other day and it was talking about it, and it was saying they call it like a nature bath and it's just walking in the woods and different things like that. But I remembered what I was gonna say earlier, too, because you were talking about when you're 15 or whatever you think these these things are gonna last forever. And I was just having this conversation with my 16-year-old about my life when I was younger. And she's like, Well, what if you it was about playing ice hockey? And I grew up playing ice hockey and I was supposed to play for my college, and I ended up not. Right. And she's like, Well, are you glad you did? Like, are you glad that you didn't play hockey? And I was like, Yeah, because I think it would have changed the path that I was going on because I would have been hanging out with different people, I would have been doing different things.

Mike Chimento: 35:04

I, you know, body wrecked by smashing.

Nick Houpt: 35:08

Like my body already cracks enough and I stopped playing in college. Yeah. And so we were talking about that, and she's like, Yeah, but you would never know. And I'm like, you know, that's a very profound thing for a 16-year-old to say, because you wouldn't know, maybe I would still end up meeting this person that led me to this or that. And because I said to her, I was like, you know, I I met a person that we started a business together, and I probably would have never even met that person. And she's like, or you could have. And so that made sense. And I I want to talk to you about that because that's one of the the things I talk about when I do conferences and stuff too, is connecting the dots. So I want to talk to you about if I'm someone that is looking back at my life, what are some things they can look at that reminds them of how they got to where they are now?

Mike Chimento: 36:08

That's yeah, that's kind of profound too, you know. And I think sometimes if somebody's having like a really bad day or a rough patch in life, that sometimes uh my I my old divisional manager used to always say this, and what you just said kind of reminds me of is like he used to call it going to your trophy room. Like, you know, to remember all the things that you've overcome and just imagine those are little trophies on the wall, you know, however you want to picture it. But like to remember where you have been and how that led you to where you are, and that will help give you the confidence that hey, back then I had less experience than I did now. Had you know all these other things, I I I had a greater disadvantage then than I have now. So now I should definitely be able to jump over these hurdles, and you'll have new hurdles as you come through life, you know. As soon as you get over one mountain, there's another one and a bigger one, and but you know, it's just just keep moving.

Nick Houpt: 36:58

Are there anything, any events that you can think of off the top of your head that you're you're like, man, that was a major thing that moved me into who I am today. I know you had mentioned your grandfather, but is there any like specific event that you're like, man, if I didn't do that, that wouldn't have led me to here that you can think of?

Mike Chimento: 37:20

That's like uh, you know, just starting insurance, you know. I don't I was 26, 27. I was 27, I just turned 27 and I started insurance. So before then, you know, I'd always worked primarily with my hands, and I'd never done like a real salesy job or anything. I still don't consider myself in sales. But it was, you know, that was a big faith for a 27-year-old who just bought a house last year to stop his guaranteed income of, you know, I worked at a factory and go off and start a business in something that I have zero experience in. And uh I just had faith in myself and I believed in what I was doing was right and that it was helpful and I could make a better living doing it. So I just decided to go for it.

Nick Houpt: 38:02

And you probably feel better later in life because you're not doing all that manual labor.

Mike Chimento: 38:07

Oh God. Now I just do it for myself, you know. But you know, and again, I I took that same lesson and I applied it to starting my own agency. I'm like, I've been down this now. I know because I've been down this road before, you know, with insurance and in my industry, they call it the golden shackles. So they they put the shackles on you so you can't go sell other company stuff, and they they treat you well for it, but they keep you caged where you are. And uh so to you get comfortable at that company and you don't really want to move, and so you kind of have to take that whole that whole nother leap again. Yeah. No, now now I'm my marketing budget instead of somebody else be my marketing budget.

Nick Houpt: 38:45

You know I've always treated a marketing budget too, even when I worked for companies like it was my money. I'm like, well, what's my ROI gonna be on this? Because I'm not gonna spend that for this, and uh, I do it for myself, major, probably I'm probably too stingy sometimes for marketing stuff. I just now really started putting money into different things, but that's a that's a whole other topic, whole other conversation of how to spend your money on your business. Yeah. So you had mentioned your grandfather being a carpenter, a one-armed carpenter. I feel like we're getting ready to tell a joke, like though, a one-on-one carpenter in a million go walking into a bar.

Mike Chimento: 39:28

I think that was actually one of the best things that he gave me was that attitude of like, hey, you can laugh it off. He had a million jokes about one-armed stuff. It was hilarious. As far as we know, he was also the world's only one-armed one-man band.

Nick Houpt: 39:40

Oh, okay. Because I was gonna ask, what is one of the biggest lessons that he taught you for life and for business?

Mike Chimento: 39:50

Oh man. Well, he was he was a pretty successful businessman back in his day. Uh, so he had a lot of tips about, you know, how to read people because he also had rental units. So I grew up with him with his rental units helping him work on them, and you know, so I learned how to do all kinds of stuff at a very early age. He was also like, you know, volunteer firefighter. So I think his main thing was just like leading by example. Uh the one thing he drilled into me was attitude. Probably because I was a knucklehead kid. Yeah. You know, a teenager, you know, all teenagers know everything. Uh, so just teaching you like that attitude and like how to listen. You know, I always tell people if you want to be self-employed, especially if you're gonna work with people, you have to be a good listener. Yeah. Because they're gonna tell you what they want, they're gonna tell you what you what they need, and then your job is to provide that solution.

Nick Houpt: 40:39

Let's let's talk about success, right? Because we've said it a few times. And success, I always tell people, is different for everyone. And there's financial success, there's family success, there's all these different things of success. So, what does uh success look like for you?

Mike Chimento: 40:57

I'd say a well-ordered life. Go deeper on that. So it's you know, having the the ability to have the kind of lifestyle that you want. Uh so like for me, I've never really viewed money as a goal. Money is a tool. You know, I'm a very mechanical person, so you know, to me, money's just a hammer. So do I need a bigger hammer or do I need to learn how to drive a nail better? You know, so I just want to have the kind of lifestyle that I enjoy. I want to be able to travel, I want to, you know, do the things that I want to do and be financially independent enough to where if I want to take a week off, you know, and it's not my super busy season, that I can take that week off and and go do what I enjoy. You know, go see family and friends and and stuff like that.

Nick Houpt: 41:42

So if I'm someone that is looking to become successful, what are three major takeaways they should get from this?

Mike Chimento: 41:57

First, you have to measure what is your level of success. You know, how you can't aim for a goal if you don't know what the goal is, right? Just like shooting a gun or something like that. If you don't know what your target is, you just shoot in the dark. So I think somebody has to be really definitive on what I am trying to accomplish. Number two, you know, it's all it was a process, right? So number two is how do I accomplish that? What is a realistic means that I'm gonna make this happen? Because everyone, you know, they like you, um, I'm sure you've heard of the book, like The Secret. To me, it just sounds silly. Just focus on what you want, it'll fall out of the sky. Like, I don't think that's how it works, guys.

Nick Houpt: 42:34

Uh but it's funny that we referenced that in the tilting the balance book a lot. And we were like, we love the secret.

Mike Chimento: 42:42

Oh, sorry. I mean, it's great, it's the best thing ever. I think it's important to focus on. Sorry. Well, it it's not that focusing on something isn't good, it's just that there needs to be action steps along with the focus. Yeah, and I think a lot of people miss that point. And we talk about that too.

Nick Houpt: 43:00

And we say you can't be like, I want a million dollars and sit on the couch and wait for it to come back and it's never gonna happen. Exactly.

Mike Chimento: 43:06

So I I remember there's I watch all these videos and stuff too. I'm really big into philosophy. I like to read philosophy books and things like that. And there's this one guy, he was I think he was like a Buddhist monk, but he was explaining his perspective on how to like achieve your goal to an extent. He was like, What you do is you focus on the this process. And he's like, a lot of people forget that there's a process, and again, that's the big thing about becoming self-employed. Most people don't realize with almost any business that you start, it's very hard to turn a profit in the first two years. You know, most people, most businesses, you're you're gonna be happy to break even or make just a little bit of profit your first year or two. So it's a realistic expectation.

Nick Houpt: 43:46

You need to go into the into starting a business understanding that right. And then is there a third one?

Mike Chimento: 43:53

The third one, refresh my memory. What what are the takeaways for starting a business, becoming successful? Yeah, becoming successful. I don't know. I'd say just kind of those two kind of sum it up for me. Have a great attitude. A good attitude, yeah. Well, be be able to take the hits, you know, because you're gonna have hits and and you're gonna have things that throw you off balance. You know, it's okay to have a day of or an hour or whatever, 10 minutes of frustration or disappointment, or whatever. Like I don't I think a lot of times our society is geared towards only pay attention to the happy ones. You know, we you look at a picture online, you know, if somebody's Instagram, they're oh my god, this is so great. Well, you're seeing one second, you know, one snap of the camera. How did the rest of their day go? You know, how many how how many times did they take that photo before they got it right? Yeah, you know, and that's that's the thing I think a lot of business people when they're trying to get into it, they don't understand is like, hey, you're gonna have those hits. Don't worry, it's okay, it's normal. Get back on the horse, keep moving. Yeah.

Nick Houpt: 44:59

Yeah, I think when it comes to attitude also, too, it's I was listening to a psychologist and she was talking about mindset and the body, and she was mentioning how as long as you're seeing, and I'm gonna butcher this, but she she was talking about being f fully in mindfulness in the good and the bad, and she said when you're experiencing the bad stuff, then you are fully present and mindful of what is going on, so not to look at that as a bad thing, right?

Mike Chimento: 45:43

You know, and that's you know, philosophy and Buddhism they both teach that, like you know, that embracing the moment, you know, the Romans used to say more fate, love your fate, you know, even the bad thing that hey, this was prescribed to me, and and I can fully embrace this and realizing that it's not gonna last forever. Yeah, and I I just thought about it, I kind of butchered what I was talking about when I I brought up that Buddhist guy for uh the secret, because that's where I was going with that. Sorry about that. But the way he explained it was really, really good. He's like, it's not just about focusing on what you want, it's like what you're doing is you're changing your frequency to receive what you're wanting. That's that's where I was trying to go with that. Yeah, so he's like more focusing on the process of fine-tuning your frequency to fit that realm, you know, of where you're trying to go. Because you know, if you're trying to do something different than you've ever done, and all your circle of influence has ever done, you're gonna end up not having much in common with that circle of influence. Right, you know.

Nick Houpt: 46:40

Let's talk about that. I uh because with me, I dealt with that when I first started my first business, and and it was like friends were dropping like flies, you know, but that was also back in college, so you had a ton of friends that weren't really friends, it was just you know drinking buddy college friends and that kind of stuff, you know. So, how has your sphere of influence changed in the time frame of working for someone, starting your own business into now?

Mike Chimento: 47:12

A bunch. One thing I I think it's a normal process as you get older and your priorities in life start to change, other people's priorities lives are also changing. I think that's a normal process. But again, you know, the the sphere changes too, who you're hanging around. So, you know, I've had a few different groups of people that I'd say were like really we were tight-knit friends, and then sometimes, you know, it just kind of breaks apart, you know, people get distracted by whatever. And but yeah, I'd I'd definitely say like most of my friends now, people like us, you know, people who are self-employed, and and we have the same challenges in life, we have the same accomplishments, you know, the same kind of goals. And it's those conversations, you know. If you're having there's nothing wrong with your old friends, it's not like you dislike them or wish ill on them or anything like that. It's just you don't might not have as much in common anymore. They're still talking about high school days, and I'm you know, dreaming of all these things, and I'm working on my goals and what I'm moving towards, and sometimes they don't they don't align anymore.

Nick Houpt: 48:10

Yeah, you know, yeah, and I think that's a hard thing, and that kind of comes to the attachment piece of it is not be so attached to the old memories and the past and everything, you know, and and kind of move forward because I've there have been so many times where I tried to hold on to a relationship because I'm like, well, they've been there for a long time with me, and it's just like you don't even have anything to talk about anymore.

Mike Chimento: 48:32

Yeah, and that's what I said, especially if they're not having if they're not growing as well, yeah, and they're still having the same conversation. It's like, you know, hey, I I'm with you, but dude, we we figured that out ten years ago.

Nick Houpt: 48:45

Like I had I had a mentor tell me he's he would always say, change the people around you, or change the people around you. Yeah, and I always that stuck with me since I was in my early twenties. And some people were like, I don't really get it. And it's like change the people around you, like physically change who's around you or change yourself for the better to influence them to make changes. Yep. And I I just that always sat with me and I always really like that. Do you, since we were talking about books and stuff, do you have any books that you recommend people read?

Mike Chimento: 49:21

Depends on secret. Yes, totally. I've never personally read it, so I can't say anything good or bad about it. I there's a bunch that I like. Uh again, I I typically read like philosophy and stuff. Depends on what you're trying to learn and and you know, stuff. Uh I personally enjoy Marcus Aurelius. I don't like the I don't know if it's the same translation or not, but I've heard I've seen like the book covers where it says, oh, like learn how to think like an emperor. I'm like, that's totally missing the point of the book if you've read it. One book I think is good for perception and understanding perspective and things is uh Turning the Wheel of Truth. I think it's by like a John Sakuto, something like that. Uh, but it's a book on on Buddhism, but it's just explaining like the first section of Buddhism, like how your mind works. And then you realize that most of us are the same on how our minds work. So if you realize how my mind works, then you can see, well, maybe that other person isn't being the way I'm perceiving them, and maybe I'm not being the way they're perceiving me. Mm-hmm. You know?

Nick Houpt: 50:26

Yeah, that podcast I was listening to the other day, too, about the statistics and studies that they were doing. It they did this study where it was they asked people how other people thought about different things in the world, and it was all like really negative of like, oh, they're trying to be famous, oh, they don't only care about themselves, this, this, this. And then it asked all these same people they wanted out of their lives, and it was all the same. And it was like, I want to be involved in the community and I want to help people, and right, and so you have these misunderstandings of the mindsets and the thoughts of everybody else, which is really based on the experiences we've had and the belief systems we've created and everything along those lines. So if I am someone, I feel like we went deep this second half now. I think we're like in the flow now. If I'm someone that's sitting there, and whether it's sales or not, how can I work on myself to shift my mindset to better understand how other people's minds work?

Mike Chimento: 51:39

In today's world, it's almost impossible with so many people. I think a lot of people have become so polarized where it's you agree a hundred percent with everything that I say, or you are the actual devil and I hate you. And I think people just need to go back to you know, having conversations. Uh, another big thing I see on that is like social media, for instance, where everything is based on an algorithm. So if you only like one kind of thing, that algorithm is going to realize to only show you things that align with what you like. Well, you're not learning anything. You can't possibly see a different perspective if the only thing you talk to, the only people you talk to are people who perfectly think the way you do. And the only thing you look at social media is everything that aligns with your algorithm. So I think people just need to go back to having civil conversations and actually wanting to learn, you know, why do you think that way? Yeah. You know, hey, let me explain to you how my way, maybe we come to a better understanding.

Nick Houpt: 52:39

Yeah, I think that's what it is too, is no one wants to understand each other. It's just you're right, I'm wrong, you're you're wrong, I'm right. And no one can just have a conversation understanding that everyone's entitled to their own opinions. Yeah, right. Yeah. And so we're we're kind of winding down here. Is there anything that you'd like to share that we haven't talked about?

Mike Chimento: 53:02

No, not really. You know, it's open enrollment, so if anybody has insurance questions, they can call me. Uh, as far as balanced well-being, you know, I've known Nick for a long time and you do a good job, and you always have a lot of wisdom at all all your events that you go to whenever you're speaking, you always hear that little nugget. I'm always looking forward to like, okay, what's Nick gonna bring up this time? I appreciate that.

Nick Houpt: 53:21

Yeah, definitely. Um where can people find you if they do need insurance during open enrollment and stuff? And talk about open enrollment a little bit for the listeners because some people might not even know what open enrollment is and why they need to know about it.

Mike Chimento: 53:38

So open enrollment's when you can either enroll in insurance initially, or if you have insurance and you want to change it, that's when you can. And you're right, a lot of people aren't really super familiar with that concept, and they try to wait until something has happened. And I'm like, okay, you know, I have to go through the questions because you have to fit a criteria outside of open enrollment to get insurance. You have to have a qualifying life event. So if you don't have that happen and you call me in the middle of June and you haven't had insurance all year, and now all of a sudden you're pregnant, or you know, you're scared, you have some pain going on, you're scared you don't have insurance, you're not gonna be able to get it. So open enrollment's very crucial time uh to make sure you have everything set up for the following year, because basically you're probably gonna be stuck with what you have unless you have a very unique scenario that allows you to change insurance. And those scenarios are not based on health. That's unfortunate, but that's that's the way it works. You can't say, oh, well, now because I have cancer, I'm willing to spend 50 bucks a month for my health insurance. So it's basically it's that time of year. It's always at the end of the year. For people over 65 on Medicare, it's between October 15th and December 7th. And people who are under 65, it's from November 1st to December 15th. They do extend it into January normally, but that coverage doesn't take effect till February. So most people try to get it done to have it take effect the first of January. So that way it's set up for the rest of the year.

Nick Houpt: 55:03

Okay. So if people do want to talk to you about insurance, how can they find you?

Mike Chimento: 55:09

Typically, honestly, I just do like my phone number and email. I haven't done a whole lot online and and I bought my domain name. I've just been so busy. I haven't set up a website. I know I need to. I think part of the reason I haven't is just because of my tenure in the industry and how many people I know. And um, you know, so I do get a lot of referrals and I do everything on an individual basis because you know if like if you just emailed me and said, hey, send me a quote, I'd like no. And people think you're being rude, it's like, well, no, I don't know what you need. I need to talk to you. You know, it's important that I speak to you at least five, ten minutes on a phone just to get an idea of who you are, where you're at in life, what needs are we trying to address? You know, how do I best serve you? And if I don't talk to you and have a conversation, I have no idea how to help. So what is your phone number and email? Sure. So my phone number is 386-878-6408. And my email, it's Mike at the Camento Group. And that's my last name. So it's spelled C-H I M E N T O.

Nick Houpt: 56:16

Awesome. So at the end of our episodes, we do a speed round called Balanced or Unbalanced. Okay. And so this is where I ask you questions. You tell me if it's balanced or unbalanced. If you want to go in depth a little more, feel free. If we want to keep moving, we just keep on moving. Sound good? Let's do it. All right. Balanced or unbalanced, working late every night to grow your business.

Mike Chimento: 56:44

It depends on how long. I mean, during open enrollment, you just kind of have to. Uh, but if you're doing that every day throughout the whole year, I'd say unbalanced. Unbalanced.

Nick Houpt: 56:54

Attending as many networking events as you possibly can.

Mike Chimento: 56:58

I'd say pretty balanced. It it does depend, I think, like we were talking about earlier. Even you said, you know, like when you first get started, you gotta be everywhere. After that, you'll kind of see like, you know, maybe this group doesn't really give me as much as I had hoped for. Maybe it's kind of a waste of time, money. Maybe it takes too much time to get, you know. Yeah. Yeah.

Nick Houpt: 57:17

And like with me too, with kids now and stuff. It's like, I'm not gonna go to this thing where I see the same people all the time. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Building friendships with your clients. Balanced. Uh saying yes to every opportunity that comes your way.

Mike Chimento: 57:35

I guess that could be balanced, especially when you're first getting started. Depends on the opportunity, right? Not all opportunities are good. We've all come across the you know, that everybody tries to sell you a pike dream. Yeah. Yeah.

Nick Houpt: 57:48

Uh focusing on the money, not the lifestyle. Unbalanced.

Mike Chimento: 57:55

For me, for me, it's unbalanced.

Nick Houpt: 57:57

And a lot of people might feel other ways. This is funny. Taking one full day off a week. Very bad. At least one day. The guy that takes a month off. Trusting relationships over contracts. Unbalanced. Unbalanced. I'm like, I wonder what he's gonna say. Yeah. Having a mentor or coach as a self-employed professional.

Mike Chimento: 58:24

I'd say that's balanced for most people. I don't really feel I have a mentor or coach now. Uh, but when you're first getting started, it's you know, definitely good to have somebody that's good to lean on because you know they're not all mentors are good mentors. Sometimes they'll teach you bad habits or they'll be lying to you, whether it's willingly or unwillingly, they might not know that they're lying to you. They're just misinformed themselves.

Nick Houpt: 58:47

Yeah. I used to have a guy that said with you saying that, he used to say, practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent. And I was like, oh, that always stuck with me. Because he said, because he was like, the wrong practice will not make you perfect, but it'll make you permanently wrong in what you're doing. Yep, exactly. And I always thought that was a a good nugget to take away. Yeah, I'm gonna remember that one. So balanced or unbalanced, coming on the life well balanced podcast. Definitely balanced, balanced. That's what I like to hear. Hey man, this has been awesome. Yep. Uh, I truly appreciate you coming out and hopping on here with us, man. So always a pleasure. And if you need insurance during open enrollment, I highly recommend Mike. He did our insurance for our whole family. And uh, man, it's just always a pleasure sitting down with you, brother. The Life Well Balance podcast is proudly supported by Cole PR software consultants. Cole PR helps small businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations bring their big Ideas to life through custom software, AI-powered solutions, and seamless system integrations. Whether it's building smarter workflows, creating secure digital platforms, or scaling your technology with confidence, Cole PR combines global talent with practical delivery to make innovation accessible and affordable. Visit ColePrsc.com to learn more about future proof solutions built for today.