Brie Lopez

I attribute my success to relationships. I think a lot of people - you know, sometimes I have imposter syndrome, but then I realize the difference between good and great is that relationship and just the outgoingness or your character. I've seen people that are great, you know, but they can't work a room, or they can't publicly speak, or things like that, and those attributes are so important. So I think just your character and the relationships you have with people are very important. At my job, we have a quote that we go by, and it says 'be of service and the money will follow.' We always like to pride ourselves on the fact that, again, the relationship part - that if you're doing the right thing or offering your client the right product or things like that, the money will come second. That's not what's important. It's that relationship, it's making sure that someone's taken care of.

The best career advice I've ever received is 'be of service and the money will follow.' That was our CEO's saying - he passed away recently, but we still hold that dear to our hearts. This advice has really shaped how I approach my work. It's taught me that no matter who you are or how much money you have, we are all the same. My CEO, Patrick Rodriguez, was a millionaire, and you would have never known he was a millionaire. He was never stingy with his money - he was all about feeding the people. He would always tell us 'feed the people' - if they're hungry, give them a bite to eat. He was all about servicing the community, and that's what set him apart in our industry from different field marketing organizations. He really set the bar really high and showed us that the relationship is the core of a business, and with those being good, your business will succeed. Putting people first and treating them the right way is so important.

I would say to have grace on themselves, to be confident, and to just go for it. Go for the things that may scare them, but look ahead. I know particularly when I was working at a different company, I didn't really like it, honestly, but I knew in order to push myself into the next position I needed to be in, or just to move myself forward in my career, I had to do the hard things in order to excel myself. So basically, I would like to say, even when it's hard, you know, do it, because it's gonna benefit you in the long run. So be confident, go for it, and just, you know, even when it's tough, stick it out, because it's gonna benefit you in the long run if you stick to it. Don't have fear of challenges - you can learn while you figure it out.

The opportunities are endless. I feel like there's so much growth in this field because there's just so many different pockets or positions you can take on. You can choose to eventually be a broker, or you could choose to be a carrier rep, or you could choose to work with a medical group - there's just so much potential on what position you could take on. As for challenges, I think it's just that work-life balance can be a challenge sometimes, because we put so much into our job, or we pour so much into our brokers and our clients that sometimes it's hard to separate that from personal life. But I do love what I do, so it does work out at the same time, but I do like to keep it separate if possible sometimes.

I do believe in the work-life balance. And then I do believe that just being kind in everything you do is important. One thing I learned being in this industry for so long is that expect the unexpected. You never know who you're gonna come across who might potentially be your boss one day, or you will work closely with. So I say be kind to everyone and just not to burn any bridges. At my job in specific, we have a quote that we go by, and it says 'be of service and the money will follow.' So we always like to pride ourselves on the fact that, again, the relationship part - that if you're doing the right thing or offering your client the right product or things like that, the money will come second. That's not what's important. It's that relationship, it's making sure that someone's taken care of.