Declaration of Independents: Felice Souliotis

By: williamjones
April 2, 2018

By: Jacquelyn Connelly

Felice Souliotis

Vice President
JMD Associates, LLC
Boca Raton, Florida

Armed with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in special education, Felice Souliotis built a teaching career that lasted two decades.

But when Hurricane Wilma hit Florida and insurers started pulling out of the state, her husband, a former IT professional, saw an opportunity to fulfill a desperate need in the community.

JMD Associates “was born out of Wilma. He came in at the perfect time, but he was going nuts,” says Souliotis—and because “teachers don’t really make enough money to support kids going to college,” she decided to join the agency in 2010.

COMMUNICATION SECRETS?

Part of my job was aiding teachers with tools on how to teach the non-typical, sometimes difficult child. Sometimes you’re tempted to communicate negatively, but there’s a way to say, “Listen, I hear what you’re saying and some of it is terrific, but I’d like to redirect you into this line of thinking.” You gain people’s respect by doing that.

STARTING FROM SCRATCH?

We started from a $20,000 book, and we’ve grown the business together organically through our reputations alone.

COMPETITION?

Clients come to me with such amazing mistakes on their policies, and I think that has to do with the sell and crunch mentality. I don’t have that mentality, and I don’t want that mentality in my agency, either. I want my producers to be genuine people who are looking to help their clients—period.

WORK/LIFE BALANCE?

I’m a workhorse. I literally sit at my desk and I’m like a machine. When I’m working, I’m working hard—it’s no nonsense. And then when I leave my desk, I’m done. That’s it—I’m not talking about this anymore.

BOOMER MINDSET?

My husband and I believe that if we grow too fast, then we don’t know our customers. One of the philosophies we’ve taken from the boomers is old-fashioned customer service, and that really works for us.

But there are generational differences. I have two retirees who work as CSRs for me. I recently told one of them we were going to send him to get his continuing education credits, and he was like, “I can’t take off work.” Or he insists on coming in at 9 a.m., even though he doesn’t have to be here until 10. I tell him, “You’re not paid to be here at 9,” but he says, “I have to be here at 9—that’s when the work day starts.”

MILLENNIAL MINDSET?

Now that I’m in my 50s, I have learned and gotten wiser, and I understand you can take a lot from different places to become a better person. I think the millennials are taking a longer time realizing that. Millennials may be able to teach me something, but for now, I don’t have millennial employees. I think they’re taking a longer time to grow.

Photo by Keith Douglas