FAIRBANKS INSURANCE BROKERS INC. 19 www.ceotodaymagazine.com ambition born out of painful regrets from prior business experiences. It’s amazing what happens when a little faith meets relentless ethical devotion and tremendous discipline. As my story unfolds, I hope to show others that with a little hope and change, anything is achievable if you put your mind to it. What landed you in the insurance industry? I came into the insurance business as the product of a crippled economy, a failed job interview, no money, little education, and a freight train full of multi-syllable “tion” -ending adjectives: determination, desperation, motivation, frustration, inspiration, rejection, and my all-time favorite word - aspiration. As we all may remember, a little over a decade ago, our world’s economic system collapsed ensuing a sequence of events brought on by a doomed housing market. I had become a broken, defeated man, further burnt to the ground by a greedy business partner who took what little I had left. I was forced to leave California and return to my family’s home-state which forced me to sleep on the floor of my mother’s home. I worked as her housecleaning assistant scrubbing toilets and earning just enough pennies to keep food in our stomachs and gas in my tank to take us to our next house to clean. Staying alive and getting by for the next day became my only focus. Needless to say, the economic collapse of 2008 negatively impacted the lives of millions, myself included, and a poor business partnership kicked me when I was already down, but something quite amazing happened to me during all of this that would never be undone. With brutal delivery, I received a hardline reminder, a street lesson of pure grace and gratitude which would slap a stark reminder straight across my face for the rest of my life. Nothing is given nor certain. Everything in life is a gift, and for the first time in my life, I have truly discovered the experience of authentic gratitude. I promised myself I would never forget this, and to this day I haven’t. A Turning Point With the economy now in free fall and seemingly no improvement on the near horizon, I remember thinking, “Man, this is the textbook definition of hard times. I’ve got to break out of this! I must do something, anything, to improve our living situation and quick.” It was time to get my mother and I into a better living situation by seeking a new means of financial stability. I knew that it wasn’t going to happen cleaning toilets. I needed to find something where I could utilize more of my head and less of my hands. During those tough times, it would have been pure insanity to leave the safety net of my mother’s home, had it not been for one day in particular on a job when I overheard my mother was being mistreated and belittled by a job-owner. To me, this was the final straw. I began with a basic Google search, “What is a great way to make money in sales without a college degree?” Google answered, “Sell Insurance.” Me: “What type of insurance is incredibly difficult to sell to where most agents avoid it altogether?” Google: “Contractor’s Insurance.” Me: “That’s the one I’m going to do!” Eight years and twenty-five hundred clients later, I am doing exactly that! My mother, my first employee, left her cleaning business and now works side by side with me to this day. My Second Greatest Gift Looking closer at how my Insurance career began, I initially struggled a great deal to get hired by an insurance brokerage. Getting someone to believe in a person without a college diploma or high school education was very difficult. I remember a friend of mine constantly bragging about his success within the industry and asking him to get me an interview with his manager. To this day, I remember the smirk on his face when he laughingly joked that his boss would not even take my call if I was inexperienced, not driving a 911 or already making six figures a year. I replied, “I may not have a fancy car, or any car, nor do I have a penny to my name, but I have something far more valuable than money or cars. I have absolutely nothing! I’m desperate, I’m starving, and I am willing to start from the very bottom to learn.” A man like myself, filled with ambition and absolutely nothing to lose has only one place left to go - up! And at lightning speed. I told him, “Get me in the door and I will not let you down. I will grow your company; I promise you I will change your life.” And with those words, I never heard from him again. I thought to myself, this is bittersweet, but great blessing in disguise. In life, nothing is handed to you. If you want something badly enough, you need to go out and make it happen. And that is exactly what I did. Two weeks later and with a little under $300 to my name, I was on my way back to California. Shortly after, I filed as an s-corporation with the secretary of state and founded Fairbanks Insurance Brokers Inc. Two years later, I have made back everything I lost and then some. When it comes to seeing out new talent, what key factors do you look for in your hiring practices? First and foremost, I tend to stray away from hiring brokers who hold previous experience within the insurance industry as they tend to be difficult to re-train. I believe you “can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” To me, an “old dog” represents anyone of any age unwilling to be malleable. Yes, old dogs tend to have a great deal of experience, however that doesn’t always mean they will adopt the ethical standards which are non-negotiable requirements for working with me. Old dogs can also have expectations that I will not care or try to accommodate. We are “Safe business builds longevity and a concrete foundation. If people believe in you, they will stay with you not only in business, but in life.”
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