Declaration of Independents

Sharon Emek, Ph.D.

CEO & President
Work at Home Vintage Employees (WAHVE)
Avon, Connecticut

She was a college English professor advising corporate executives on how to be better writers. A few leaps of fate later, she opened an independent agency and eventually started WAHVE—a staffing company that outsources retired insurance professionals as remote workers in firms that need experienced people. Between college campus and current career, Emek, 69, amassed accolades and awards for accomplishments in business, legislative affairs and women-in-business advocacy.

EARLY CAREER CHALLENGES?

As a consultant, I earned a reputation for helping brokers run their businesses. A few acquaintances who were C-level carrier executives encouraged me to open my own agency. At first I tried to buy an agency, but no one would sell to a woman. So I wrote a business plan and opened my agency. At industry meetings, I was often asked if I was there representing my husband or my father.

FUTURE of WAHVE?

Our client base of retail and wholesale brokers continues to grow. The next area to develop is carriers. We have many qualified claims and underwriting professionals who want to work.

WHAT INSPIRED WAHVE?

By the early 2000s, the industry had been experiencing a talent drain for at least a decade. As people retired, not enough new workers were replacing them. Insurance organizations were wondering how to stem the loss of intellectual capital. At the same time, technology advances were already enabling remote work. As a p-c agent also selling life and long-term care insurance, I saw the need for people to have plans for their retirement years, when many people need extra money to support themselves and their loved ones. Also, we know keeping busy prolongs healthy living. I had the idea to capture this retiring talent and channel it into continued productivity. It became a matter of matching the retirees’ professional skills with the growing needs of insurance businesses and setting up a work-from-home model.

CAREER SUPPORT?

ADVICE FOR WOMEN?

Develop confidence. Establish your own entourage—a group of strong women to rely on for support, to exchange ideas with. Find mentors. And in the workplace, be willing to stick it out and prove you’re capable of high-level positions.