Allison Walker

I would say my faith is probably the pillar of that, and then my husband and my close family and friends. My faith really grounds everything I do, and having that strong support system from my husband and the people closest to me has been essential to whatever success I've achieved. They're the foundation that allows me to do what I do.

The best career advice I ever received actually changed my entire career path and got me into insurance. I was working in nonprofit PR, and my husband has worked in ministry since we've been married - we're not really stuff people, we like nice trips but we're not the multiple house type. I was talking to the principal of the first agency I worked with, and he told me something that completely shifted my perspective. He said, 'Allison, it's okay for you to make a bunch of money and give it all away. There's nothing wrong with making a shit ton of money and giving it to whoever you want. Do whatever you want. It's okay to make a bunch of money.' That was huge for me because I had always kind of associated making a bunch of money with hurting people or taking advantage of people. But he helped me see that as long as you're helping people get what they need, and then you're helping people with the money that you make, then what a blessing, right? That advice freed me to pursue a more lucrative career without guilt, knowing I could use that success to help others.

I would say pay attention and learn everything you can. And get back up, because I think resilience is the most important quality in a person. Being able to have a hard day, have a hard week, have a hard season and be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and recover from that is just the most important thing. And find a mentor, find somebody that has been where you've been. Unfortunately for me, it's a primarily male-dominated industry, so most of my mentors have been men, which is fine, but I think there's so much opportunity in the insurance industry for women. It really is a great industry for women to get into, especially young women. It's just so male-dominated that it can be a little overwhelming sometimes, but that's also why there's such great opportunity for women who are willing to enter the field.

This is a really industry-specific answer, but we're entering into a soft market right now, which basically means that insurance is getting cheaper. That's good, right? People like that. But it also makes it messier, because there's so many people shopping their insurance, and there's a lot more workload for underwriters and for agents. So the workload is increasing without seeing a lot of increase in actual dollars. I've been in insurance since 2017, and it's been a hard market the entire time, so this is the first soft market of my career. That's the new challenge, or I like to say the new opportunity - that's how I've learned to put it from my PR background.

I would say integrity and doing what you say you're going to do - that matters with customers, with family, with everyone. Authenticity is also huge for me. I think authenticity has gotten me very far. It's funny, because I'll be what I think is too much of myself, but people tend to love that. I'm often surprised because I think I'm way too much, but people find it charming or endearing, and they tend to buy from me or enjoy my company. I guess it's just refreshing to be able to be myself and to be appreciated for that. I think the more that you try to fake it, people can see through that, and they can't trust you. So integrity and authenticity are my core values. I definitely believe in admitting when you make a mistake and admitting if you need more information, but as far as acting like you have it all together, that's kind of nonsense.