"As I grew into the industry, I started to realize how the insurance industry is furthering societal good through the facilitation of risk," says young agent Shawn Fitzgerald. "The indemnification of loss is a societal good, and that makes me feel good about what I'm doing."
Shawn Fitzgerald
Principal
Melville, New York
Age: 34
Go-to drink order: Black coffee
Desired superpower: To be in multiple places at once
Favorite candy: Not a candy guy, but growing up Milky Way and Twix were my favorites
Why did you choose insurance as a career?
I learned very early on that the more you put into the insurance space, the more you'll be rewarded. As I grew into the industry, I started to realize how the insurance industry is furthering societal good through the facilitation of risk. The indemnification of loss is a societal good, and that makes me feel good about what I'm doing.
What's the best part about being an independent agent?
You get to prospect and work in niches that you're passionate about and enjoy. If you're passionate about restaurants, you can build a niche in that. And then five years later, if you don't love it as much but you've started to love fine arts, you can pivot into that.
Restaurants is a niche I'm definitely passionate about. I also have some family members that are in the construction space, so I know it very well and it gives me extra motivation to want to help people. If you're going after markets that you're passionate about, it's going to give you a big advantage over your competition.
Advice for other young agents?
If you do the right thing and do what you say you're going to do, you'll be leaps and bounds ahead of your competition. And something my mentor shared with me is: Keep It Stupid Simple (KISS). We love to complicate things. Keep it simple, execute your plan and have patience because you're not going to make a ton of money in the first couple of years.
Role model or mentor?
Billy Williams is a phenomenal resource and a mentor of mine. When I first opened my agency, I called him and we had an open conversation where he gave me a few hours' worth of advice just because I reached out to him. I think having a mentor or role model is one of the most important things you can do. If you like the way someone is running their business and they're ahead of you, there's nothing wrong with reaching out and asking to talk shop. So many people are willing to lend a hand and offer advice—not everyone is just after each other's clients in this industry. Most people are cool and they just want to help.
Work-life balance?
I opened my agency in 2020 from scratch. Right now, I'm definitely working way more than I'm living my life. But that being said, I enjoy working a lot because that's helping me achieve my goal of building a legacy. Figure out what you want to achieve, what your end goal is, and then reverse engineer your work-life balance goals from that. One year I might work super hard and then three years from now I hope to spend more time with family. There's really no wrong answer, as long as you're happy and your energy's in the right place.
What do you love about insurance?
Helping and educating other people who want the right coverage is very fulfilling. A bit selfishly, I get to help and educate others while building a legacy for my family. I talked to another agent about the mentality you need to be a producer or start your own agency, and he told me that we must have a “hunter mentality"—go out and get what's yours. I love that philosophy.
AnneMarie McPherson Spears is IA news editor.
