Nicolette Essary Kasberg

I attribute my success to building strong relationships, staying client-focused, and always being willing to learn and adapt. Over the past five years in the insurance industry, I've enjoyed helping clients navigate challenges and finding solutions that make a real difference.

The best career advice I received was from my peers when I first got into the industry. I was wanting to just get into sales, become a true broker, become a true consultant, and I was very vocal about that. However, my peers recommended that I still had things I needed to learn. They told me to enjoy the service side, enjoy the account management side, and then I would have a natural transition into consulting. Looking back, I appreciate that guidance and value it, because had I jumped headfirst into truly sales and consulting, I would have been swimming up the river. With where I am today, being a director of client services, that advice painted a full-picture approach for me to learn those core skills, develop them, fine-tune them, and now lead a team and work on behalf of our clients as well as our carrier partners.

My main advice is hone your voice in and be vocal for what you need and what you want out of your career and out of your life. You can't necessarily be threatened by those that are surrounding you, as your picture won't always look like their picture, and that's completely okay because it shouldn't. Your life is not their life. The best thing you can be is vocal. You have to just raise your hand and add to the conversation, or vocalize what you need out of your career, because ultimately, you're the only individual responsible for getting that done. Share your perspective and be a lifelong learner. It's okay to make adjustments as you go. You have to know how to advocate for yourself first before you can best advocate for your customers in the insurance industry.

The biggest challenge I face is that because I am a young woman in this industry, and I'm working in a male-dominated world, people often wonder who's this young girl popping into this meeting. But then they come to find out I'm leading the meeting, and I'm on point, and I'm asking valuable questions, but I'm also listening to the answers that are being received. It's really about knowing that I'm going up against something, but not letting it deter me in any single way, and just showing up as I can for myself and my clients and my colleagues as well. When others doubt you because you're younger, it makes sense for them to doubt you, but it's even that much more impactful when you can come up with a solution that serves them and your personal well-being. It's about showing up and showing out, proving that not only do I deserve to be here and leading the meeting, but I'm going to do it to my best advantage.