hi Steve how's it going go ahead Courtney how are you doing good good thanks for taking some
time to sitting down with me answer some questions definitely always happy - all right so I'll just
jump right in then sure all right so where did you go to school I went to school at a gravy in
college and I went to school actually to be a history teacher initially went for actual the
actual teaching teaching degree for about two years wasn't my thing so then decided just to
major in history thought about being a comic professor or something like that but I went to
school and got a degree in history okay so then what made you switch from being in history to
wanting to be in the financial industry good question so after school was thinking about
what do I do next do I go back to school to get a masters where I can be a college professor or
something like that and a friend recommended that I get my insurance license and tried the insurance
industry out so I did it went got my license failed the first time when I took the test by 2%
because I overthought things way too much but then took it a couple days later passed it and then I
had my life insurance license nice so then where did you learn the ins and outs of the business
so when I first got into the industry I was at a company for about nine months which was just
final expense sales medicare supplement sales was not my thing very pushy on the sales side after
that worked at two firms one was an individual planning firm where my role really transitioned
into designing policies for consumers so the financial advisors would say hey Steve here's
a case I'm working on I want you to model it and design the policy also started there with one of
the major insurance companies and then from there worked at another company for someone else which
my role was the same but designing policies for corporations so got a lot of experience of how
big banks and corporations and CFOs want policy structured learned a lot of the ins and out which
was fortunate to talk to people executives that big major insurance companies as far as how that
software really works and maximizing cash value interesting so then what means you kind of wake up
one day and just say you know what I'm gonna start my own business yes so after working for people
so I got into the industry in 2011 and worked for other individuals midway through 2013 because 2014
actually that's when I had the other role and did a little bit of stuff on the side as far as trying
to get my own business going and just wasn't working out with the other individuals so decided
to start on my own my dad helped me in the sense that he had a garage and there's a piece of that
garage which I could fit two people myself and one part-time assistant so started there I just
kind of went for in the beginning and that that's how I that's how I started on my own thanks so I'm
sure that was expensive to start up oh where did you get the money for that yeah so starting on my
own I don't really have anything saved up I lived at home so my expenses for next to nothing so uh I
maxed out my credit cards trying to get everything going the beginning that's that's where I came up
with the money credit cards so you're married now obviously and so what did your wife said and think
of you starting the business yeah so my wife and I have been married now for four years Tara and when
I started the business we were still dating and we dated for a while primarily because I didn't
want her to work so as I was trying to start the business she said okay she was extremely patient
with me because we had a goal to get married married sooner than we act did but we couldn't
because we didn't have the funds at the time so she was she was great she was patient with me and
she still is so I would not have been able to do any of this without her it's awesome we loved her
so what was your biggest failure yeah I'd like that question so the biggest failure would have
to be probably about a year after I went on my own had a big case where it came through came through
marketing they're interested actually out in the Midwest so I flew out there prepped everything and
just bombed the whole deal changed my whole style and everything I was overthinking things just blew
it would have been a nice nice case as far as propelling the business but completely bombed
it that would have to be it they're looking at a large annual payment going through the policy
I was a company yeah that was that was what I learned a lot though and hired a business coach
shortly thereafter to help me yeah yeah so what do you love about what you do yeah so at this point
the policy design creating policies for maximum cash value that was my background that's fun but
what I have the most what brings me the most joy the most fun to use that that phrase is as agents
and employees have come on and then doing well them really making a good living getting good
cases and such having activity seeing other people succeed in helping them do it that's
that's been fun and then as we've grown we've grown out of our space getting them offices as
we're expanding going into other locations that's fun too but seeing other people actually make it
that's that's been more fun than actual policy design modeling no lack of stuff that speaks
volumes about you so if you had any advice to give someone who's maybe contemplating starting their
own business or getting license like what would what would that be yeah good question so honey is
everything so the biggest holdup and once for me as well as I would always overthink things before
hiring someone before spending money on marketing before buying a sales training program or hiring a
business coach which can be expensive don't wait for it's more or less if something can help the
business grow I view it as spend the money even if you have to take some debt out to do so not saying
going to dead right away don't take that that that to the heart necessarily but definitely go for it
and don't overthink things and have it slow you down speed is everything make educated decisions
thoroughly look into it but don't don't let things slow you down or advise people saying I just hold
up slow down now you want to be quick when you look at companies if you look at Amazon or a
big company they make decisions quickly and they move fast even if they borrow to grow initially so
copying really all I do is copy what big companies and other individuals do to grow fast that's how
I look at it so we're copy the people that I've already figured it out just copy them and you'll
be ok that's great advice well thanks to you for taking time out never seen it definitely likewise