What are your main priorities as a young agent?
I have a wife and 19-month-old daughter. Work/life balance is very important to me. Spending my time serving the community and church also are very important. It isn't easy to separate personal time from work, especially because all of my clients have my cell phone number. When I get home at night I turn off my phone for the first one to two hours, and this helps me disconnect from work. I am diligent about spending time with family on weekends, and we try to get away and completely disconnect at least twice a year.

What legislative issues interest you?
I am interested in changing the experience modification system for workers' comp. The system can be harsh on companies that have more than 20 years of good claims, as a few bad years can send their experience modification up 75%. I wish there was a way to reward companies for a proven track record longer than 3 years.

What advice do you have for struggling millennials?
I see millennials wanting a high starting salary, and only the responsibilities of a 40-hour week. They must be prepared to work hard, and when more than 40 hours are needed, they should step up. I also think Gen Ys need to come into the business ready to learn. This can be tough and quite humbling, but it will help build relationships in and outside of the office.

What are your future goals in this industry?
Eventually I would like to get into strategic planning and agency management. My experience may help young people starting in this industry: I was 21 years old when I first started selling. The prospects I met knew more about insurance than I did.

How did you determine that insurance was a viable career choice?
Working with business owners, specifically in protecting their assets, provides a lot of satisfaction. There is no better feeling than providing the right coverages, unique to a client's business, and in the event of a claim seeing how the policy responds appropriately. I know I am in the right industry because I wake up each day and look forward to what the day brings.