Billyard Insurance Group (BIG) has expanded its horizons into Alberta and the east coast, taking it one step further to becoming a national brokerage.
Cody Douma, vice president of BIG, said that initially leadership believed they would need headquarters or regional leads in each location, but BIG’s well-established remote working model has allowed brokers to conduct business regardless of location.
“We began conversations with brokers interested in exploring the BIG model and what it would bring to their own provinces,” he said.
After successfully creating an office in Edmonton, BIG’s operations team and director of business development noticed the potential to scale quicker than anticipated. Douma mentioned that BIG is projected to have six offices in Alberta within the next eight to 10 months.
With an initial focus on Edmonton and Calgary, BIG grew into the Red Deer market, opening an office on November 01. “We want to be a predominant brokerage in Alberta and hope to have 10 locations in the province by 2022,” he said.
The next step for the brokerage was growing into the east coast. Douma explained that the brokerage was approached by contacts in Bedford, Nova Scotia, and began looking at strategies to expand the BIG brand meaningfully in the province.
After the success of BIG’s Alberta expansion, the team saw an even faster turnaround in Nova Scotia. With a strong strategic model already in place, the next move for BIG was setting roots in Moncton, New Brunswick.
“We had a great model that was appropriate for the market, our operations team was able to scale within eight months,” said Douma. “In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, we would like to have two to three offices centred around major townships and communities.
“Each province had a unique set of challenges when it came to different regulatory bodies and specific relationships with the market, but our communicative approach helped make our partners comfortable,” he said.
“We don’t operate like a traditional brokerage in many ways, so we ensure our companies are aware of approach and understand why we effectively scale so quickly,” Douma noted.
BIG’s team uses a combined approach of providing resources and guidance to support its partners as the brand grows.
“We try to create relationship touchpoints consistently, because, as we’re scaling, we don’t want to lose culture or that personal touch that has helped make us successful with our partners,” Douma explained.
“We always aim to put our brokers ahead of the brand,” he continued. “At the end of the day, BIG stands behind our brokers with great processing and technology, providing them with what they need to confidently build relationships with clients.”
BIG aims to give its people the best home possible and Douma said the brokerage’s culture has allowed it to drive the brand forward.
Read next: Dreaming big
Douma noted that the next step for BIG would be to grow into Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. BIG has set its sights on becoming a national brokerage and has managed to grow organically in a small period, with 60 offices and counting.
