A Different Direction: How a Sudden Sale and a Cancer Battle Empowered Tara Piatt to Build Her Own Agency   

Walk down Main Street in downtown Richmond, Indiana, and you'll find the offices of Farmers Insurance – Tara Piatt Agency tucked into Suite 2 at 630 E Main St. It's a modest storefront with an outsized mission: to guide families through some of life's most uncertain moments with the same care Tara Piatt would offer her own. But to understand how Tara built this agency, you have to go back to the day everything changed — the day her old agency sold, and she found out the same time as everyone else. 

A Diagnosis, a Decision, and a Different Direction 

Tara didn't set out to become a business owner. She was working as a Benefits Specialist at RMD/Patti Insurance Agency, a role she'd stepped into back in October 2015 after earning her degree from Indiana University East in Richmond. The work suited her. She was good at it. And then, with no warning, the agency she worked for was sold — and she learned about it the same day as everyone else. 

"I didn't like the direction things were going," Tara recalls. "I didn't want to work for a company that was only interested in large accounts. I like small town insurance and helping my friends and neighbors." 

That alone might have been enough to push her toward something new. But Tara was navigating something far heavier at the time: she was in the middle of battling breast cancer. 

"That in a way empowered me to decide to go a different direction and do my own thing," she says. 

It's a line easy to read past, but hard to fully absorb. Most people, facing a cancer diagnosis, are focused on survival — not launching a business. Tara did both. She transitioned to an independent agent role in late 2020, and by July 2021, she had officially established her own Farmers Insurance franchise. Six months later, in January 2022, she held her grand opening in downtown Richmond. Today, the agency holds certification as a women-owned small business, offering property & casualty coverage, Medicare and Marketplace healthcare plans, and financial services that include mortgage origination through Rocket Pro. 

It's the kind of origin story that could easily become the headline. But for Tara, the diagnosis isn't the point. What she built because of it is. 

Insurance, the Way You'd Explain It to Family 

Ask Tara what sets her agency apart, and she won't talk about rates or carriers. She'll talk about how she treats every client — like family. 

"I guide my clients in the exact same way that I would guide my own family," Tara says. It's not a slogan to her — it's a standard. As a mother of three, Tara understands firsthand what it means to protect the people you love, and that understanding shapes every recommendation her agency makes. 

That same instinct extends beyond her own clients and into the small business community around her. "I work with a lot of very small businesses and startups, and there are many businesses that I feel we've grown together over the last five years," she explains. Having built her own agency from nothing, Tara knows exactly how fragile those early days can be — and she makes it her job not just to insure these businesses, but to advise them on what coverage is truly essential now, and what can wait. 

"I know how hard the beginning can be," she says. "The goal is to help small business owners insure their businesses, but also to help advise them to what is essential right now and what can be added later, so they don't spend themselves out of business before they even start making money." 

Leadership That Lets People Run 

Tara's team may be small, but her leadership philosophy is clear: hire well, then get out of the way. 

"I'm a big proponent of hire the right people and stay out of their way," she says. That philosophy shows up most clearly in her relationship with Jenny, a key member of her team. "Jenny and I both do very different things, and the best I can do to support her growth is to give her what she needs and let her run," Tara explains. "Not everyone is made for that — some people need to be micromanaged, or they just don't get things done. That would never work for me." 

It's a leadership style built on trust rather than control — one that reflects the same philosophy Tara applies to her clients and the small businesses she advises. Give people what they need, then trust them to do the work. 

That trust extends to how Tara defines success itself. "We're really just a couple moms here," she says of her team. "I like providing a job where we can work and do the things that have to be done, but also we get to pick up our kids from school every day, and be there for the things that actually matter. I think that matters more than anything." 

Building Slow, Staying Steady 

Insurance isn't a business of overnight wins. It's built on residual income — relationships and renewals that compound gradually over years, not months. Tara is candid about how difficult that climb has been. 

"Building a business that is based on residual income is really hard, but rewarding," she says. "It starts slow and it grows, and it's always felt like it's never grown fast enough. But regardless, it's really about just showing up every day, moving the needle, and staying focused regardless." 

That persistence didn't come without self-doubt. Tara admits she spent her early years wrestling with impostor syndrome, wondering if she truly belonged in the role she'd carved out for herself. 

"Don't question it — believe in yourself and keep going," she says, reflecting on the advice she'd give her younger self. "I feel like I spent the first couple years dealing with impostor syndrome, wondering if I could even actually make it happen and if I belong. But over the years I've stayed busy, and people have stayed needing me, and all that worry and self-doubt was for nothing — and probably has held me back more than I even realize." 

The Power of Women Supporting Women 

Tara is quick to credit the network of women around her for helping her push through the hardest moments of building her agency. 

"Women love to support women," she says. "There have been women in positions along the way that have helped me keep going, send me referrals, or just stop by for encouragement — make me feel seen. Even that little bit helps inspire you to keep going." 

That spirit of mutual support isn't just something Tara has received — it's something she now extends to the small business owners and startups she works with every day, many of whom are navigating their own uncertain beginnings. 

What's Next for Piatt Insurance 

Looking ahead, Tara's plans remain refreshingly grounded. There's no ambition for rapid expansion or a chain of locations — just steady, sustainable growth. 

"We just want to continue to grow as a small town insurance agency," she says. "Hopefully next year I'd like to bring on a new person, but mostly we just want to continue to grow and be able to do what we do in the community — especially as the other agencies continue to sell." 

That last point carries weight. Tara knows better than most what happens when a local agency gets absorbed into something bigger, something less personal. It's exactly what pushed her to start her own agency in the first place. Now, as other local agencies continue to consolidate, Tara's commitment to small-town, relationship-first insurance feels more valuable than ever. 

Connect with Farmers Insurance – Tara Piatt Agency at 630 E Main St, Suite 2, in downtown Richmond, Indiana, and discover what it means to be guided like family.