Her Story
About Talia
I've been in sales and customer service for close to 20 years, with about 10 years specifically in the insurance industry. I got my 2-15 license in early to mid-2017 when I was pitched by American Income Life about the opportunity to make my own income and develop residual income. I was tired of always being somebody's employee and dealing with how women treat each other in business - I've never been the type you can push around, so working independently seemed perfect for me. I started going door-to-door collecting wet signatures, but when I got pregnant with my daughter Sage, my husband and I pivoted to work for a friend's small business. After getting screwed over there, my brother connected me with his barber, Danilo Atensive, who was my original manager, and I started at U.S. Health Advisors. That's where I found my real passion - discovering that there are so many alternatives to the ACA and group coverage, and people really don't have to be boxed into a corner. Our first paycheck was $3,600, and I was hooked. I knew this was the business where I could do what I want, talk how I want, be my own person, and help people. I was at U.S. Health Advisors for a couple of years, but you hit a glass ceiling in male-dominated sales organizations where they pick their favorite girls and that's it. One of the reps decided to start Best Insurance Group, so I went with him and started my own group. By the time it closed, I had 125 agents. The organization closed because my regional flipped the business and started his own agency after we had developed a partnership with another carrier. I stayed loyal to the carrier and worked at American Fidelity, which was a very bad experience - I still don't understand why women are so awful to each other sometimes. For about a year now, I've been selling insurance on an individual basis, and we actually just won a trip and got back from St. Vincent's. I'm about to build up my team again. Today, I work as an independent 1099 broker, and every day is different, which I love. Some days I have appointments or meetings, but usually I look for people on Facebook or X who are looking for insurance. I typically look for people who are relatively healthy and overpaying through the ACA - it might not reflect in their premium, but it does in their deductible and everyday use. I offer alternatives like medically underwritten products, supplements, and true catastrophic plans. I have my own little portfolio of products I offer, and I'm trying to build a team again. The best part is that some days when I just want to pick up and go to the beach with the kids, I can - I'm not tied to a desk or beholden to anybody.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Talia
01What do you attribute your success to?
My best accomplishment and what I'm most proud of is having a family and staying married. There are a lot of things that can test your relationship, and we went through a lot of adversity when building a team, especially with the situation that happened at that last brokerage. Keeping my children alive and fed, clothes on their back, and nurturing my relationship with my husband - that's the most important thing to me. We've had a roof over our heads for almost 10 years, and I'm very proud of that. I would do it all over again, and I'm so happy that I have a husband that is supportive. I don't feel like the culture we're in right now is very pro-women and hate men - I think we should all kind of like each other, because there's crappy women and crappy men, but most men just want to protect. For me, my best accomplishment is staying married, being faithful, growing a family, and being able to homeschool them. We're home, we're building a business together, we're teaching them about independence and that you can build something as a family. I just want to leave something for them to build if they don't want to go to college.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I love helping people and saving them money that can help them retire. A lot of people I help want to retire early, and their main concern is COBRA or being on the ACA. I love being able to give them options so that they can do whatever they want to do with their life - they don't have to be beholden to a company just for insurance. I enjoy taking people off the ACA and helping them find coverage that suits their family needs and their budget. When they save money, or they're able to go to a doctor and find freedom in their network, and when they love their benefits and they call you and give you a referral, it's such a good compliment. Some of these people, I'm freeing up $1,100 a month on the high end, and $7,000 on a deductible yearly - that's a lot of money. It's exciting to have people feel free, not tied down to a network or a specific plan. Giving people knowledge about how insurance works really does empower them, so they're not afraid of the system or worried about stuff. On the flip side, I'm home and there for my kids. I think that's so important that I'm home. We're building a business together, we're teaching them about independence, and that you can build something as a family. I just want to leave something for them.
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