Declaration of Independents: Lisa Lemanski

Lisa Lemanski

Principal & Owner
Meiers Lombardini Lemanski Insurance
East Lansing, Michigan

Lisa Lemanski prefers to fly under the radar. She feels humbled by the attention she’s received since the Big “I” National Young Agents Committee named her 2015 Outstanding Young Agent of the Year. A political scientist, Lemanski never envisioned co-owning a small fourth-generation family agency with her husband Will, but “it’s where I belong,” she says.

WHAT’S TO LOVE?

I love working with my husband. I have his back; he has my back. We can create this vision and encourage each other to take it to the next step.

Working with family has challenges, but there’s a lot of pride. We bought our agency from Will’s uncle, Bob Meiers, and his partner five years ago. Bob has become a father figure to us, and we recently brought on my cousin. It’s awesome to share our success.

PERPETUATION?

At times we felt it was hard for [the former owners] to give up managing and let us lead. But we respected their experience and made them a part of the conversation.

Bob’s partner passed away just two years into the buyout. Had we not perpetuated when we did, Bob would have been in a precarious spot. We’re planning now for our own perpetuation. We’re trying to position ourselves so that when it becomes that time, our agency will be the best that it can be.

CHANGE?

We rebranded the agency from scratch. I used creating a new website as my springboard to start social media. And we vlog, because video helps people to feel they know the agent who is managing their risk. We have Film Me Fridays. I film my husband or one of our other producers, in a variety of locations, talking about insurance topics for about a minute.

We also introduced a mobile app for our agency. Customers can access their proof of insurance. They can do a home inventory with photos. If they have an accident, they can use a platform to take photos and complete an accident report.

FAMILY STORIES?

Our relationship with Will’s uncle has deepened so much. Bob and his partner worked really hard to develop the successful agency we bought, and I feel a lot of responsibility to honor him by taking it to the next level. He retired in May.

In the beginning, we pushed Bob to get onto social media. He was reluctant, but now I think we created a monster. He loves social media. That success made him a lot more open to some of my crazier ideas.

ADVICE?

What we put into this industry, we get back tenfold. It’s important to push yourself to do what’s best for your business and to achieve your goals. We are very lucky. We have a fantastic state association, and I am able to work with great young agents who have become really good friends.