Owner Brett Schmit started the business in 2018 after working as a Farmers Insurance agency for six years.

His team at his independent business includes all family members currently — either related by blood or marriage — with the lineup of account manager Brandon Schmit, personal lines sales manager Mitch Sieve and part-time office assistant Jill Schmit, along with Brett’s wife, Mandy Schmit who does marketing and community outreach part time for the business.

Brett decided working independently was the best option, even though he had to lose contact with his previous clients for at least a year, because Schmit Insurance Group is now able to work with over 20 companies instead of just Farmers.

This allows the business to be more client focused by giving Schmit Insurance Group the ability to offer a variety of products that best suit their clients’ needs and helping them keep clients for a long time — not just leaving once a single product no longer matches their requirements.

“We want to be able to serve our clients,” Brett said.

Brett and his team help clients to find the auto, home, life or business insurance that best protects their assets, while also getting the best deal because they can compare and have competition between multiple different insurance providers.

And the clients don’t have to pay Schmit Insurance Group a single extra dime, as Brett and his team makes money from the insurance companies they work with through commission from sales.

And Schmit Insurance Group makes sure to give some of that money back to the community it calls home through its referral reward program.

Each quarter, the insurance group chooses a local nonprofit to donate to. Every time a person is referred to Schmit Insurance Group and asks for a quote — even if they don’t purchase anything — $25 is donated to the chosen nonprofit.

Currently, Schmit Insurance Group is donating these referral reward funds to the Winona Area Humane Society.

Earlier this year, Schmit Insurance Group was able to donate over $1,000 to Ready Set School through this referral program.

While some people warned Brett not to work with family when he opened the business, he has had no regrets. He shared that working with family has actually been one of his favorite parts of owning the business.

Brett’s not worried about business harming the bonds present, as he said, “I don’t know what could really ruin that relationship.”

And, while Brett may be the sole owner of the business, he hopes everyone he works with views the business as their own, too, as he hopes they take pride in their work and the business’ overall success.

To help support this mindset, profit-sharing happens each year at the business and Brett works to avoid micromanagement of anyone and to be open with people he works with about the status of the business.

And, in the future, Brett believes there will be opportunities for those working there with him to gain some ownership.

Additionally, in the future, Brett looks forward to continuing to expand the business and hopefully hiring more people to work there that he can trust fully.

“Right now, we’re building a great foundation,” Brett shared about the work so far at the business.

Schmit Insurance Group is located at 1159 Gilmore Ave., Ste. 1, in Winona. For more information, visit www.schmitinsurance.com or go to their Instagram or Facebook pages.