Lori Steinbeck

I would say the biggest thing is being accepting to change, because if there's anything gonna happen in the insurance world, something's gonna change. If you're not able to accept change and go with the flow kind of thing, the people that weren't able to do that are no longer in the industry. Another thing would be just keep working hard. I'm kind of a person that leads by action instead of my words. I don't need the 'hey, look at her' kind of thing - I would rather them see she's doing a good job and be respectful that way. My work speaks for itself. I grew up on a farm, so it was instilled into us all while we were growing up to work hard and you'll get what you need to be. Your rewards will come if you keep doing the work.

I grew up on a farm, so it was instilled into us all while we were growing up to work hard and you'll get where you need to be. If any advice, that would be what it was - just work hard and your rewards will come if you keep doing the work.

You might have to start somewhere near the bottom and prove that you're able to prove your worth. Even though you might have a degree in one area, like I have an accounting degree and I'm doing insurance, just keep applying yourself and keep pushing the ceiling. As long as you keep pushing, eventually you're going to be able to push through that ceiling and somebody's going to recognize you, and you can get promoted that way. A lot of hard work and proving yourself is involved for anybody, really, but especially with women. Most people that do insurance did not go to school for insurance - I've worked with several people that have history degrees, it's just they landed that job because that's what happened. You may not be able to go in doing that specific thing you want right away. You gotta get your foot in the door first. There's not only underwriting, there's claims, there's all kinds of stuff. You can go into marketing - there's a lot of marketing positions where you're writing up the flyers and stuff like that. But you may not be able to go in doing that specific thing, you know what I mean? You gotta get in.

In my professional life, continuing education is important - a couple years ago, I got my MBA at age 50 for my 50th birthday, which was a lot of hard work doing it at an older age while still working full-time. As far as personal life, faith and my kids and grandkids are most important. I have 14 grandbabies - that is the height of my value, the most important thing is spoiling the grandbabies. I also have livestock, cows, and I raise Australian Shepherds, so fur babies also. Family is something that I value in my life.