Meet Ethan Orenstein

We recently connected with Ethan Orenstein and have shared our conversation below.

Ethan, we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?

I put a pretty high value on self-care. I believe you’re setting yourself up for failure without it. If I’m not feeling good internally, externally, mentally, etc. – how can I be effective in the other things I’m doing?

For me it looks like spending time with my wife, kid, and dog, surfing, exercising, going outside, doing something creative, and eating tasty food.

When I’ve got a good baseline of self-care and I’m feeling good, I’m a million times more effective in my business, relationships, and everything else.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m happy to announce the launch of Wave Arcade Insurance Agency, a San Diego boutique agency specializing in small business insurance policies, classic & high-value car collections, and more.

After launching Wave Arcade as a surfboard fin and artwork business about 10 years ago, it has evolved into more than I ever could have imagined at the beginning.

The path towards including insurance services was certainly not a traditional one, but it has given the agency some really unique qualities and perspectives that I don’t think you’ll find with your typical insurance agency.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Three things that have help me so far have included staying curious, being comfortable with the unknown, and reframing failures.

If you’re venturing out on your own or chasing a new idea, you are bound to face a lot of uncertainties and a lot a failure. Figuring out how to operate in that space and leverage those things to your advantage is key.

Staying curious is big too. I think too many people think they have all the answers or default to “the way it’s done.” That’s rarely sustainable, and can be a huge roadblock in the face of challenges that arise.

None of those things are easy, but I think it’s a matter of recognizing and analyzing your immediate response/feeling/reaction to a given situation. This is helpful for both thinking about problems and managing your fear/stress of the unknown.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

As Wave Arcade Insurance Agency enters into its first months of operation, I’m excited to partner with new business owners to help them with their coverage, scale, and grow.

Before making fins and posters (and during), my job job was building websites and digital marketing (lead gen, SEO, PPC, etc.). As I ventured into the insurance business gathering more leads and managing more customers of my own, I realized how fragmented and often disjointed the process of building a website, setting up lead forms, analyzing/testing/tracking, and turning those leads into customers can be.

I’m nearly finished with a modern software solution for this that will take a lot of the headache out of managing your business’s digital presence, generating and tracking customers, collaborating with employees/contractors, and growing your business. My role as an insurance agent and small business owner myself puts me in a great spot to help other business owners with a number of challenges I’ve faced myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wavearcadeinsurance.com/