Each week on “Around Town,” our host talks to members of the First Coast community who are making an impact in their part of town. Today our host Sarah Olson spoke with Joshua McCuen.
Joshua McCuen
Owner of Iron Feather Brokerage Group
Website Address: www.ironfeatherig.com
Short company description:
Iron Feather Brokerage Group is built on one simple belief: our clients always come first. We genuinely love the people we serve and protect individuals, families, and businesses as if they were our own. With strong roots in Northeast Florida and Joshua proudly based in St. Marys, Georgia, we deliver personalized insurance and benefits solutions with access to well over 100 top‑rated carriers. Built Tough. Covering What Matters.
Transcript:
Sarah:
Welcome back to another episode of Around Town. I am your host, Sarah Olsen, and today joining me is Joshua McCuen of Iron Feather Brokerage. Welcome.
Joshua:
Yes, ma’am.
Sarah:
Thank you for having me. And you took a little drive down here to Jacksonville. Where’d you come from?
Joshua:
Our office is in Brunswick, Georgia, but I drove down here from Saint Mary’s.
Sarah:
So that’s not too bad.
Joshua:
No, that’s not too bad.
Sarah:
So tell us a little bit about Iron Feather Brokerage. You are in three states, correct?
Joshua:
Yes, ma’am.
Sarah:
All right. Tell us a little bit.
Joshua:
We’re in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. Looking to this week, maybe next week, expand into North Carolina.
Sarah:
Oh, nice.
Joshua:
Yeah.
Sarah:
So, Tar Heel State.
Joshua:
So this was a very grassroots, organic startup. I worked for two other companies in the insurance industry, in life insurance, and I just got to the point where I wanted to expand out on my own and implement my own ideas. Very grateful for the background. Of course, I worked for some great companies.
Sarah:
Yeah, but you have an interesting story. You kind of hit a bottom. Do you mind being vulnerable?
Joshua:
Oh no. I’m all about being vulnerable. I love it.
Sarah:
You hit a bottom. You have a really strong faith in Jesus, and that transpired into the business and the people that you work for. Dig deep.
Joshua:
So at the end of last year, about two weeks before Christmas, I was on my way — but just to back up a little bit — the way things are structured in the life insurance world, if you lose business, you have to pay it back.
I went through a hard time and lost some pretty important accounts. I owed the company between $40,000 and $50,000. Then I got put on a list where I couldn’t get paid until the policies had actually issued. There’s a lot more to it, but it cost me and my family not to be paid for almost 11 months.
Sarah:
That is hard and heartbreaking and stressful.
Joshua:
Yeah. We went through all the things you really can’t imagine. We’re still in a phase where we’re kind of rebuilding now.
I was on the way to a meeting, going through Pecan Park, and I thought, this is going to be the client that pulls me out. They canceled and said they were going a different way. I just completely broke down. I said, God, I don’t know what you want me to do. I’m doing everything I can, and nothing is really happening.
Sarah:
You almost just felt it.
Joshua:
Yeah. And I heard one word in my spirit: brokerage. I knew it was Him. I knew exactly what He was saying immediately. But I thought, that’s great, but how do I do that and not starve to death along the way?
He put me in contact with a lady I knew from the agency I was at before. I called her and said, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I feel like I have to call you and ask what you’re doing now. She told me. I asked what they actually do. She said, I help people start brokerage groups. I said, no way.
Sarah:
Just like that.
Joshua:
We got our license and everything, and we’ve been in full swing since January 14th.
Sarah:
You just didn’t look back.
Joshua:
It’s all been so effortless. It’s been so suddenly. It’s been so fast that there aren’t really words to put on it. I haven’t had to strive to do anything.
Sarah:
And you do right by your customers. So tell everybody exactly what you write.
Joshua:
Everything from life insurance to fixed annuities to Medicare, health care, supplemental health care. As of the 19th of this month, we can now do everything related to property and casualty.
Sarah:
That’s huge. And you’re not about the dollar. You’re about helping and servicing people because of where you came from. You understand people’s troubles. You have a team.
Joshua:
I do. I’ve got a few little groups of teams. I’ve got great SMEs in the back office who make this thing run. My partner’s name is Miles Kilby. He’s a phenomenal accountant. He came to me at the right time and asked if I wanted to open a firm together. I said I just got this word from the Lord, and this is what I’m supposed to be doing. It matched perfectly.
I’ve got two or three awesome agents and an awesome back office team.
Sarah:
And you have someone who specializes in veterans.
Joshua:
We do. Her name is Felicia Stanley. She owns Veteran to Veteran. She helps disabled veterans get their full amount of disability. She’s the guru. She really gets in there and fights for them.
Sarah:
Right. But you found talent and partnered with her. She’s on your website as well.
Joshua:
And the link to her website is in her bio.
Sarah:
You mentioned a customer story about a lady on a fixed income.
Joshua:
That happened just yesterday. She was making $21,500 a year and had multiple duplicate policies and things she didn’t need. I don’t know if you’ve heard of Myron Golden, but he said our first purpose is to please God, and our second is to create value for people. The way you do that is to serve.
That’s what I did. She was paying $71 a week in insurance. Multiply that out monthly — it’s a lot for someone making $21,500 a year. I asked if she felt like her checks were disappearing. She said yes. I said, I think we just figured it out.
I was able to save her about $50 a month.
Sarah:
That may not be a huge moneymaker for you, but it is for your heart.
Joshua:
It just made me smile.
Sarah:
That’s awesome. I can’t thank you enough for being on the show. I’m so glad God put us in the room together.
Joshua:
Absolutely.
Sarah:
To learn more about Joshua and contact him with Iron Feather Brokerage — his website is fantastic — go see him and learn more at PropertySolutionsTV.com.
Joshua:
Dot com.
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