Building a Successful ACA Agency in a Market That Never Stands Still
- Feb 11
- 5 min read
Running a successful ACA agency in today’s environment is not for the faint-hearted. For agency owners working within the Affordable Care Act (ACA) market in the United States, the business isn’t just about selling policies. It’s about staying ahead of regulatory changes, supporting clients through complex decisions, and managing intense periods like Open Enrollment, when demand peaks and the margin for error is slim.
These realities were at the heart of our latest online learning session with Kristina George and Brandon Elliott, two experienced leaders who work closely with ACA health insurance agencies across the country. Their conversation focused on what it really takes to build an agency that doesn’t just survive change but remains stable, compliant, and profitable over time.
The Reality of Running a Successful ACA Agency
If you operate in the ACA space, you already know that change is constant. Regulations evolve, subsidies shift, carriers adjust offerings, and clients often arrive confused, anxious, and looking for clear guidance.
For agency owners, this creates a unique set of pressures. Open Enrollment, the annual period when individuals can enrol in or change their health insurance plans, compresses enormous responsibility into a short timeframe. Agencies must be fully prepared, well-staffed, and operationally sound to handle volume without compromising compliance or service quality.
During the session, Kristina and Brandon speak about how many agency owners find themselves stuck in the day-to-day, reacting to client needs, policy updates, and administrative demands, with little time left to step back and think strategically about the business itself.
What Builds Stability When the Market Keeps Shifting
Kristina and Brandon both highlight the importance of structure. Rather than focusing on tactics alone, you have to build the foundations that support long-term success for health insurance agencies. Agencies with clear systems, defined roles, and repeatable processes are far better equipped to manage the pressure of Open Enrollment and ongoing regulatory change. Structure reduces last-minute decision-making and allows leaders to focus on direction rather than constant firefighting.
Education is another critical point: agencies which invest in understanding the ACA landscape in depth are better positioned to serve clients well. Clear knowledge leads to clearer communication, stronger trust, and more confident decision-making, especially when clients are overwhelmed by choices they don’t fully understand.
Kristina also mentions a very important thing nobody pays attention to - the value of learning alongside peers. Running an ACA agency can feel isolating, particularly when decisions carry legal, financial, and ethical weight. Engaging with other agency owners allows leaders to compare approaches, pressure-test ideas, and learn from shared experience rather than trial and error.
A Practical View on Competition
While digital education and webinars are convenient, certain conversations are simply more effective in person.
Health insurance is a relationship-driven industry. Nuanced questions, real-world scenarios, and complex compliance issues often benefit from discussion rather than one-way instruction. In-person environments allow for deeper dialogue, shared problem-solving, and the kind of informal exchanges that don’t happen on a screen. This belief is what led to the creation of their upcoming in-person ACA Masterclass in Nashville.
Inside "Honky Tonk Healthcare" Masterclass: Why it is the Place to Rethink Your Agency
The name "Honky Tonk Healthcare" was chosen deliberately. This masterclass was created by Kristina George to reflect two realities at once: the complexity of running an ACA health insurance agency and the value of stepping out of your usual environment to think clearly and strategically.
Why Nashville?
Nashville was selected for practical reasons. It is a centrally located, easily accessible U.S. city that supports focused, in-person learning without the distractions of large conference hubs. The city’s pace encourages conversation, reflection, and connection.
As Kristina says, changing your environment changes how you think. Nashville offers the right balance of energy and focus to step away from daily demands and work on your agency, not just in it.
What “Honky Tonk” Means in This Context? This is not about nightlife or music clichés.
In Nashville, honky tonks are working spaces where craft is developed through repetition, discipline, and experience. They are places where people learn by doing and improve through real-time feedback.
That philosophy shapes this masterclass.
Honky Tonk Healthcare is about practical learning, open conversation, and sharing real experiences from the field. It values participation over presentation and depth over surface-level advice.
What to Expect from the Masterclass
This is not a conference.
It is not a sit-and-listen workshop.
And it is not a traditional retreat.
It is a hands-on masterclass designed for ACA health insurance agents and agency owners who want to actively engage with the material and with each other.
Participants can expect:
Structured, expert-led sessions with Kris George and Brandon Elliott
Practical discussions on agency structure, compliance, Open Enrollment preparation, and growth
Real-world scenarios drawn from current market conditions
Opportunities for questions, shared problem-solving, and peer learning
Time to step back, reflect, and gain clarity without daily operational pressure
The Setting
The masterclass will be hosted at the Kimpton Aertson Hotel, a boutique hotel in the heart of Nashville.
Rather than a convention centre or generic meeting room, this setting allows learning, discussion, and informal conversations to happen in one place. Smaller groups, direct access to the hosts, and continued dialogue beyond the sessions all contribute to the depth of the experience.
Who’s Leading the Experience
Kristina George, the founder of Next Step Insurance and the ACA Academy, where she supports agents in building compliant, scalable health insurance agencies.
The Masterclass will feature Brandon Elliott, the founder of InsureBoost, helping insurance agents improve systems, lead generation, and long-term agency growth.
Together, they bring complementary perspectives grounded in real-world agency operation and education.
The Role of WE Group
This masterclass in Nashville is hosted by WE Group. WE Group is a global experiences company that designs and delivers high-quality, in-person learning and connection experiences for leaders, educators, creators, and organisations.
Evolving from Woman Explore, WE Group was created in response to growing demand from women, men, and mixed groups seeking more intentional, well-executed real-life experiences beyond traditional events. What began as retreats focused on women has naturally expanded as business leaders, educators, and organisations requested the same level of care, structure, and delivery for broader audiences.
WE Group supports experiences end-to-end. This includes venue selection, logistics, insurance and liability coverage, attendee support, and marketing infrastructure, allowing hosts to focus on delivering meaningful content while participants fully engage without distraction.
The company works across a range of formats, including:
Masterclasses and workshops
Professional education and industry intensives
Business and leadership retreats
Community and client experiences
Curated unique themed experiences: Culture, Fashion, Cuisine, Wellness, Music, Sports, Lifestyle, etc.
Each experience is intentionally designed to support applied learning, real conversation, and meaningful connection, rather than passive attendance.
A key strength of WE Group is its global reach and operational capability. Through established partnerships, including a global relationship with IHG Hotels & Resorts, WE Group has access to thousands of venues across more than 100 countries. This enables consistent, professional delivery across diverse locations, whether for first-time hosts or established leaders.
At its core, WE Group is built on the belief that the right environment enables better thinking, stronger connections, and more meaningful outcomes. By combining thoughtful design with reliable execution, WE Group creates the conditions for experiences that move people and organisations forward.
From Insight to Action
Our digital session offered a glimpse into the thinking behind this experience. The Nashville masterclass is where those ideas are explored in depth.
If you work in the ACA health insurance space and want clearer direction, stronger systems, and practical insight you can apply immediately, this is an opportunity to learn in the right environment, with the right people. To learn more about the Honky Tonk and Healthcare Masterclass in Nashville, visit: https://www.womanexplore.com/join-a-retreat/aca-academy
Watch the full conversation here and let us know what you think: Honky Tonk and Healthcare
