Latest / Energy is Currency Podcast / Ownership, Not Doership: The Business of Insurance with Cheri Martinen
Transcript
- Alexis: Hey y'all, I am back with another really good interview. I'm very excited about this one. And I'm sure y'all think I say this about every episode. And I mean it for every episode because I genuinely value connecting with business owners and with people who are in their own lane and in their element, people who are minding their business. That is my favorite. Today I am connecting with Cherie Martining. Cheri Martinen: Martinan. Alexis: Martinen, Sheree Martinen. My apologies. I really value saying people's names correctly, so 'cause with a name like Alexa's I've been called everything but and now with the little Alexa, the little things, the little recording thing. So Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. I have Siri. I have Siri, everyone like, yeah, as soon as they say Cherie, Siri's like, How can I help you? Alexis: Exactly. Okay, so you understand. So I'm with Cherie today. And she is she's really cool. She's built her own business, participates in family businesses, sells her own sold her own business. She's done a lot within the insurance realm. So I'm gonna let her give you better details than I have. And then we're gonna have a fun chat from there. So Cherie, the floor is yours. Cheri Martinen: Awesome. so where do I start? I went to school, I did a lot of things, and then when I got out, I knew I wanted to start my own business because my parents are both entrepreneurs. So Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: I started helping my mom in her business, which was an insurance, and Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: all of her friends were like, You're really good at marketing, like I wanna do it too. But then they were like, This is really hard. Alexis: Gotcha. Okay. Cheri Martinen: And so what I started doing was actually working with my mom's friends to help them expand their marketing and expand what they were doing in their businesses. And I did that for quite a few years, Alexis: Awesome. Cheri Martinen: working from home as a freelance business owner. And then Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: I I hired like my own people for copywriting and things like that. I started to grow. but my mom came to me and she's like, hey, we're gonna sell the business. And I was like, who are you gonna sell it to? And she's like, these guys in New York, they're interested. And I knew the guys because I'd been working with her and I was like, no, they'll ruin it. They're not the right fit. And she was like, Well, what are you gonna do Alexis: Okay. Okay. Cheri Martinen: about it? And I said, Hold my beer. Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: And I went and I got my property and casualty and life and health insurance all in one month, which is quite a bit of work. it's Alexis: Yes, it is. Cheri Martinen: in the state that I was in, which is Washington State, it's Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: 40 hours of training and then a proctored exam for each property casualty and life and health. So I would study for an entire week, then take the test, and then I studied for entire week and took the test. And then I moved me and my husband home. Back to my hometown and I started in the business. I think my first week they didn't have a desk for me, so they stuck me in the conference room in the corner. Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: Just gave me like an application and was like, call these people and pull this application out. Like really like from the ground all the way up. Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: after working in the business with my parents, I purchased it because I have great timing. I always tell people I have great timing. I purchased it right in the middle of COVID. Alexis: yeah, you definitely had a great time, Cheri Martinen: yeah. Great, great timing. And I went from my mom and my dad owning it to just me. So we had to do a lot of change, obviously, to make the agency run and continue to run. And then after running it for a few years, I was approached by a larger organization called One Digital. And all the other people that have ever asked to bias, they just seemed like Sleazy or like just not right, just very money motivated. But for the first Alexis: Gotcha. Cheri Martinen: time, I I felt like I met a company that just like liked people. They saw like the real reason why we're in this business is to Alexis: Gotcha. Cheri Martinen: help people and to help our communities. And I felt like I aligned with their mission. So I sold the agency to them in 2025. And I've been working with them Alexis: Cool. Cheri Martinen: ever since. So A little journey. Alexis: That journey, and you know what? I love that your journey started out as a child. I come from my mom was also an entrepreneurship in commercial real estate when I was a teen, and that definitely inspired me to have my own business. What was it like living with two entrepreneurs as a child? What was that like? Cheri Martinen: it's funny. people always like what you hear at like the top of the stairs, you know. No, like kitchen discussion was insurance. So kitchen Alexis: Hey. Cheri Martinen: discussion was like insurance policies, what went wrong with that claim, employee Alexis: Gotcha. Cheri Martinen: issues, are we are we doing raises this year? Things like that, right? Like, Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: And I think so like some of it is just goes over your head. Like when I was a kid, I think my main job was stuffing envelopes. So Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: my mom would do big marketing campaigns and she'd print out like literally stacks. And I would sit there and stuff all the envelopes and put make it lumpy mail while I was a little secretary. Yeah. And it's like stuffing Alexis: You were her little secretary. Cheri Martinen: envelopes and filing. Like I needed to do that really young. Alexis: Okay. Okay. I love that. I but you know what I because we're gonna have we're gonna continue to have more entrepreneur families. Like even if you have a full time job, nowadays you have to have some kind of extra income, some type of self employment to make things to to have a, you know, sustainable lifestyle. And we're gonna have more kids that are gonna be doing emails and cold calling and stuffing the mailboxes and getting the mailers together and things like that. I think that is such I think that is such intentional exposure. I think that's excellent exposure because you introduced them to the environment and the mechanics of it where they understand that no, this is a part of the process. Because on the opposite end I see a lot of people who are jo to your point, who are more money focused, who are about the job, and you can't get them to stuff an envelope. You can't get them to make a phone a cold call. You can't get them to They don't want to do the dirty work at all. So I love that the dirty work was normalized. Go ahead. Cheri Martinen: If if you don't want to do the dirty work, you can't be an owner. You got it. Like it's it's funny because it totally is. Like when you're the owner and the toilet breaks, you gotta you're the one with the plunger. I don't know how else to say it. Yeah, now you're the plumber. Like they say, Alexis: Now you're the plumber. Yes. Cheri Martinen: owners wear mini hats. It's very true. Everything from Alexis: Yes. Cheri Martinen: shoot, the internet's not working to what's going on with our phones to the bathroom. It is all yours. Alexis: to the website, to the accounting, to the Cheri Martinen: Congratulations, you own it. Alexis: The customer acquisition and it it's a major undertaking. But I love how Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Alexis: families I love to see entrepreneurif entrepreneurship in small business families because everybody plays a role and those that type of responsibility shows up even if they don't own their own business. Like my stepdad owned a restaurant and he was awesome with his restaurant. When we were we did a party for my nephew a few months ago and we all piled in and just got back to restaurant. work and it was I was the prep we had you know we had a prep person we had a sh a a sous chef Cheri Martinen: You guys like had the prep line. Yep. Alexis: we had this person and everybody naturally filled those roles it wasn't a ooh I don't do that kind of stuff ooh they didn't make it we didn't make it feel like it was beneath us to throw our hands in. But that's because we have been primed for it. So I I think that's really really cool. Okay and then You got a cool life. Don't sleep on her. Y'all, don't sleep on this one. Okay, so Cheri Martinen: Ha ha ha. Alexis: you saw your parents, you went off to school, did your own thing, and then you came back as the the community marketing consultant. What was that like? Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. You know, starting a business from scratch is hard, but I will say it was nice working with my mom because she was very kind and introduced me to a lot of her friends that were looking for my services. but Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: here's a tip for anyone who's going after the insurance industry. you have to learn where your customer is. And my customer is always at the bar. So I would go to big conferences with my mom, share a room with her, which is really cheap. I wouldn't go to the conference itself, but I sure would sit at the bar. And wait for everyone to come out. And then I just say, Alexis: For research. Cheri Martinen: like, hey, yeah, like, hey, what are you like, what are you doing? Like, what are you working on? I I wanna do this big thing, but I don't know how I'm gonna do it. I'm so busy. have you thought about hiring a freelancer? I'd love to help you with that. Like, you know, just like always selling. but you have to know where your market is. Mine just happened to be at the bar. Alexis: Okay. I mean honestly you gotta your people are gonna be your people wherever they're your people at. So I think it's really Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Alexis: cool that you found them in that transitional space where they're still processing information, digesting it, decompressing, and then you show up as a, you know, hold my beer and and as a solution, you know? I think that's brilliant. Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Alexis: I hope after this episode we see a uptick in restaurant revivals and bar revivals where people are like, That's that's where my people are Cheri Martinen: You gotta know. Alexis: That would be cool. So Cheri Martinen: You gotta know where they are. Alexis: what were some of the challenges you experienced in your freelance space? What was that like for you? 'Cause it sounded like it was a lot of fun. Cheri Martinen: freelance. So it was, it was fun, but freelance, it's fun, but it's also hard. So freelance, you're always going from contract to contract, right? And like the real gig is like you want somebody that's gonna contract with you for six months to a year. You want that recurring income. Very similar to insurance sales, right? You're getting Alexis: Right. Cheri Martinen: that recurring income, not just that one big purchase. so you're doing that, but I think the hardest thing for all freelancers is that you're doing while building. So you're taking the call for the new customer while fulfilling all of the orders yourself. It it's hard because you're never you never have that second person that maybe is really, really good at bringing customers on while you're doing the doing or vice versa, right? As soon as you get that Alexis: Gotcha. Cheri Martinen: like as soon as you have enough income to be able to hire so that you're not doing both all the dang time. That's Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: like next level. Alexis: Yeah, I totally agree. Cheri Martinen: 'Cause then yeah, it's hard. Alexis: Yeah, because like We only get two arms. Like very simply, we only get two arms, we only get one mouth, we only get one brain. And I think what burns out a lot of entrepreneurs is that constant multitasking. Your brain you are using left, right, front, and center all day, every day. That's unsustainable. So I it's important to start building a team. I always talk about the example of the four members of a team where you have your farmer, that's the person who stays on the property, make sure that it goes well, weathers the storm, they're gonna be there forever. They may not always make money forever, but they're gonna be there forever. But you need a hunter. You need somebody that's gonna go out and bring you back some dinner. Okay. The issue with them is that they have the issue Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. You need protein too. Alexis: with them is that they have a lot of buyer's remorse because they hunted people down to get them to come in. It's like, no, I was scared. So I said yes. And that's okay. And then you need your customer service person. That's the person who makes everybody feel good. Are they the most talented person? No. Will they be there forever? Also, no. But everybody's gonna feel a lot better when they are there. And lastly is the The radio tech. I tend to fall in the radio tech role because once you're good at something you get highly specialized, highly knowledgeable and you speak the language of that But you can't speak that language to other people. So nobody wants the customers can't talk to you. They're like, she's speaking Greek. I don't know what she's saying to me. Is there somebody that can translate? You know? So I though Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Alexis: all four of those people are essential to a sustainable business. But the hunter and the farmer, those are your top two folks. You're gonna need both of them. Cheri Martinen: And you have to be that person when you're a solopreneur or you're just starting out. Like you have Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: to be everybody. You're like you said, you're the accountant, you're the bookkeeper, you're the salesperson, you're the delivery, service delivery person, you're also the customer service rep and like and the Alexis: Right. Right. Cheri Martinen: tech. You're like you're like you're building your own website, you're building your own funnels, you're doing the strategy, like all of it. Yeah. Alexis: And that's cool. I think that's really cool. so Cheri Martinen: My call my mom called it the MBA that didn't that didn't cost as much as an MBA. She's all this is a live MBA. I was like, yes it is. Alexis: It certainly is. Definitely. And I I've been in entrepreneurship as long as I went to college. Cause I I was I I was blessed with the opportunity to go to school and have my own business at the same time. And I felt like I was doing a dual MBA like every week. It was like, yeah, I had a 18 page paper here, but I also had 18 clients this week too. So babe, Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Alexis: I'm tired. I've done all the learning I can do. This is so cool. I'm laughing because I Cheri Martinen: Ha ha ha. Alexis: think it's just so cool to be able to work with your family. There is something so endearing and just genuine and and kind of I don't know, there's just a genus a qua about being able to connect with your family members. 'Cause there are the few people in the world who genuinely have your best interests at mind. And to be able to build a business and move it generationally, that's a lot of people are aspiring to do that. How did it feel transitioning the torch? from one hand to the other. What was that like for you? Cheri Martinen: my mom always says me and my dad are fire on fire. We're both so passionate. there are days. There are days. I like have vivid memories of me being just so frustrated with my dad, and my dad being so frustrated with me, and my mom just sitting there being like, both of you need to take a breath. Alexis: Speak up for me just a little bit more. Cheri Martinen: they were saying, both of you just need to take a breath. Just be like, Yeah, okay. Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: It was not easy. I think for me and my dad, it was a learning experience. My mom is much more graceful. she Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: just always has been. Sh and it's like it's a changing of roles within a family, but also a changing of like your ego and who like who you think you are. Alexis: Hmm. I get that because in your dad's eyes you're still his little girl. You're still his little baby. And you're like, Dad, I'm a big dog and he's like, But you're my little big dog And it's like how do you how did y'all find balance? Cheri Martinen: And you know, yeah, I'd come in and be like, hey, have have you done this before? Like, let's do this. And they'd be We tried that once, it failed. Well, how did you try it? Well, I don't remember. It was like, well, let's try it, you know, like Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: all these like little things. we're both trying to make the business better. And I I think we did. sorry, what was the question you just asked? I don't think I answered it. okay. Alexis: No, you were answering it. We were talking about like, you know, how did it feel carrying that torch? What was it like transitioning with your family and taking over the roles? Cheri Martinen: Yeah. it was like, you know, it's slow because obviously I started just down to the bottom with everyone else. But Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: as I took on more and more responsibility and they gave me the stuff they didn't like doing first, right? So like they were like, here, have Alexis: Of course. Cheri Martinen: HR, like here, have tech support for the office, here Alexis: Gotcha. Cheri Martinen: take care of take care of the stuff we don't like. Alexis: Right. Cheri Martinen: yeah, which is normal. Alexis: Well I mean technically Cheri Martinen: Y yeah. It it's normal. it was a l a big weight to carry in some ways to like Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: fully get everything on board, but also really exciting. It was really exciting to be able to take the business to the next generation and to see it continue to flourish and to support our staff and everything that they have worked so hard for and for so many years and continue to build and continue to do. So a lot of Alexis: Whoa. Cheri Martinen: that a lot of it is yeah, it's pretty special. Alexis: I think so. I really do. I think so too. What was it like navigating your first few independent years during the pandemic? Cause that was a weird time. We had a a lot of shifts in everything. How did how what were some of your experiences with that? Cheri Martinen: I remember just talking to my dad being like, Have you ever had this happen before? Like what what do I do? What should I do? And both him and my mom were like, No. No. I don't know what to do. You were on completely new ground. No one has ever seen this before. I had Alexis: Okay. Okay. Cheri Martinen: My daughter was like two at the time. And so I sent everyone home, as we all did, right? So Alexis: Are you a little influenced? Yeah. Cheri Martinen: everybody went home. We were not a remote office before this. We had like one or two remote Alexis: okay. Cheri Martinen: employees, but never like the entire office. Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: So sent everyone home. we built those clear plexi glass, like Alexis: Yeah, the plexiglass and all the hippos. Cheri Martinen: because we're a retail office. So when we reopened, everyone was in masks. I remember I hired people that I hadn't seen their face. Right? Like I Alexis: yeah. Cheri Martinen: like was literally hiring people, and like the first time I saw their mouth was like a year later. Alexis: I remember that and I Cheri Martinen: Like Alexis: w I remember being a little taken aback like And it's so funny because you fill Cheri Martinen: I know, I like, that's what the rest of your face looks like. Alexis: in the blanks on your own and it's like whoa that Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Alexis: didn't match what I was thinking And it's it's nothing against them but the more delusional the perpet the person you never know what we created in our thoughts, you know? So Cheri Martinen: Yeah, so I you know, we did all that just as the owner. You make the decisions that you think are best with the knowledge you have at the time and try to keep Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: everyone safe and healthy. and I know it depended on what state you were in and where you were. So like we Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: were more rural, so like we went back to work sooner. Alexis: okay. Cheri Martinen: just because, you know. Alexis: So I'm here in Atlanta and we were only shut down for six weeks. Cheri Martinen: Yeah, we were in Oregon we were shut down for months. Months. Alexis: I don't I very few people were open as quickly as Atlanta was. Atlanta, Geor the state Cheri Martinen: Mm. Alexis: of Georgia, maybe Florida opened up super soon and it was terrifying because if we didn't know what was going on. We just knew it was plastic and and and I had my clients do their temperatures and fill out waivers and luckily Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. Alexis: my space was built out where a lot of the accommodations were built into the structure of my salon and it it it saved me. Let me be very clear. It saved me 'cause most of my space was already six feet everything was already six feet apart anyway, just organically and that made a total difference on who was able to open and who wasn't but it was so unprecedented that it it took a minute to figure out like okay so how do we do this and we're learning how to Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. Alexis: do this while we're doing this to your point earlier where it's like you're working your business and working on your business at the same time, you know? And it's like that was crazy. Cheri Martinen: It definitely was. It was like, what's Zoom? It was like how to introduce Zoom to everyone. but i I think it changed our culture for the better. When we had people move, it wasn't like they had to disappear. Like we could keep them. Like Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: It it opened up to new doors. It it changed how we interact with each other on a daily basis, like Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: not always in person. And it was okay. We Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: like really our my business anyway, probably flourished a little bit after because Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: of just how we adapted. And that says, Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: I guess, a lot about the people I work with. Alexis: For sure. I definitely noticed Because of the measures that I put in place and the practices and the guidelines that I was like very fixed upon, that pre that created a new sense of trust with my clientele. Like it's one thing to be you Cheri Martinen: Mm. Alexis: know, talented and got good business practices, but in unprecedented times are you gonna stay are you gonna remain integrous? Are you gonna still look out for the customer's best interest? Are you still gonna Cheri Martinen: Mm. Alexis: operate with You know, with intention, integrity and and morals, you know. Cheri Martinen: With like integrity. Yeah. Yeah. Alexis: And I think the pandemic definitely questioned who was who was here for the money and who was here for the people, you know. Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. Alexis: For sure, for sure, for sure. So let's switch topics a little bit. I myself, hmm, am getting I'm learning I'm taking courses so that I can do my own licensing exam for insurance, because I think it's such a necessary tool for financial management. And that's in that's in so many different areas. We're not just talking about life insurance or retirement insurance or health insurance. All of the if you have good insurance, you're effectively managing your money a lot better with those things in place. So I'm gonna give you the floor. Give us the skinny on the on the insurance. Cheri Martinen: Alright, so I say this all the time. Insurance is a financial product. So Alexis: Boa Laura. Cheri Martinen: I say this, sorry, maybe I should plug this in. I don't think it's working. Let me try. Alexis: Mm-hmm. Say something. Cheri Martinen: are you there? Okay, can you hear me still? It still sounds the same, huh? Okay. Okay. Alexis: Yeah, I'm here. Yeah, this is good. No, this is good. Yeah. Cheri Martinen: all right. So I say this all the time: insurance is a financial tool and it should be treated as such. So people look at insurance as just paperwork, right? Just like I Alexis: Mm, okay. Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: have to do this to drive my car, or I have to do this to have a mortgage, or I have to do this if I have an employee, or I am a business, right? I have to have insurance. What you're really saying is that you don't think protecting the financial asset that you've spent years building is worth and like worth the time, right? And it is, it is. You have built a business. You need to protect it. You have built a home for your family. If it disappears tomorrow, you should have the available funds from insurance to replace it so Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: you have a place to live. A car, that's the first one most people get. That is an expensive piece of equipment. A car is not $10,000 anymore. They're $40,000 or $50,000, and that's a cheap one. We're not talking about the Alexis: Yeah. Yeah. Cheri Martinen: $200,000 cars. Okay. Like Alexis: Right, right, right. Cheri Martinen: if that asset disappears tomorrow, you can't get to work. You can't pick your kids up. You can't do all of the things you gotta do. So insurance is making sure that you can keep going after a catastrophe. And it's not perfect. I know it's not perfect. I sell health insurance. I see struggles with health insurance and home insurance, as well as even business insurance, because the trick with insurance is it's all about what's in the policy. So a lot of people fall into the gap of saying, Well, I bought insurance but then it cover what I needed it. And it's like, yes, but like, did you tell them that you had a second car? Like, were you paying for that second car? Or did you say, Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: I specifically really want towing and coverage? This towing coverage is really important to me. What they say, Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: they don't say that. They say, I need Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: to lower my premium. I can't afford that. So the agent takes off towing coverage. Alexis: Mm, gotcha. I'm realizing Cheri Martinen: Right. Alexis: there's a lot more negotiation involved in insurance and a lot more Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. It's all customized. Alexis: Yes, you definitely have Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. Alexis: to understand and advocate for all of your needs. Like as I'm reading through Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. Alexis: different things and I'm studying my materials and I'm becoming a professional, I am realize like, I didn't realize I could do that. Or I should definitely be doing that. Or that's what that means when you say this and you say that. And that makes a total Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. Alexis: difference. And not to say that insurance aren't insurance agents aren't communicating, but I do feel like it there's a lot of accountability. ability that the that the applicant needs to participate in there's a lot of education that you need to show up with before participating in it and that way you can't say you've been misled if you don't even if you're completely unaware how do you know you're being misled you know so at least if you have some foundation you gotta have some kind of foundation Cheri Martinen: How like how do you know what you're yeah. Yeah. Alexis, you're like literally lining me up. Okay, so this is why I wrote a book. It's because l This is why I wrote the book. Yeah. Alexis: Okay. Okay. Tell us about the book. Y'all, she has a book that she just released. Ooh. Tell me about it. Cheri Martinen: Well, it's about to come out. Yeah. So I realized that we're having these same conversations about educating our customers over and over and over again. And it's not their fault. It's not anyone's fault that you didn't learn about insurance at school, or it wasn't like the book you pulled off the shelf to learn more about. Like, I get it. but I realize Alexis: Right. Yeah. Cheri Martinen: that a informed consumer is a better consumer, right? This is Alexis: Sure. Cheri Martinen: like If you know more about EVs, you might be a better consumer of EV cars, right? Like this is basic stuff. Alexis: No. Cheri Martinen: So I wrote a book. It's called Covered, The Smart Buyer's Guide to Home, Auto, and Business Insurance. It is a basic, but I feel like it's the things that we get asked all the time. Alexis: okay. Cheri Martinen: And it's fun stories. It's not boring, I promise. I even had the editor. Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: The editor came back to me. She's like, I thought this would be boring, but I really enjoyed it. And I was like, yay, right? Winning. and it is on Amazon. I'll give you the link, Alexis, so you can you can send it out. Alexis: that's wonderful news. Yeah. Please, I'd like a copy. Yes, please. Cheri Martinen: And then I'm gonna put this in the universe. I would like to be a best-selling author. And to do that, Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: I need people's help. So when you read the book, leave a review on on Amazon and tell more people about it. And really, yeah, I wanna be, I wanna be the best-selling author. Help me. Alexis: Yes. Yes. You heard the lady. Leave the confused. You can. You I honestly declarations like that are what get people to those places. Being definitive and and I love that you made the declaration because now I feel obligated to participate in it. The more people know the more people I have no, she said this. We have to help her. But like please Cheri Martinen: Please help me. Alexis: Do your homework, friends, because that's how we get people to the the areas that they want to get to is by being honest about what you want to receive and experience. I think that's excellent use of your energy. I do. You know, this is energy as currency. We're always gonna transition about how you can turn how you feel, what you think, what you're experiencing into your revenue, into your accomplishments. In declarations, do it. You can we're gonna look back on this episode in six months. be like yep Cherie did it she did it so I'm gonna say congratulations Cheri Martinen: Ha ha ha. Alexis: in advance I think that's really cool because honestly your Cheri Martinen: Thank you, Alexis. Thank you. Alexis: book is so important people don't know what they don't know until they realize they don't know it and meanwhile Cheri Martinen: Mm. Alexis: you're paying for ever you're paying for your ignorance every day Cheri Martinen: Yes. Alexis: Literally, your ignorance is costing you money every single day. The the longer you participate in things without some type of education, I think it it it's to your detriment. And there's only but so much stuff you can wing your way through. Insurance is not wingable. Trust me, friends, I'm on this exam course and the exam course is taking me. I'm not taking it. It's taking me, it's biting chunks of my soul away. Because Cheri Martinen: Ha Alexis: it's very heavy material, right? And so you just gotta be honest. Like, you can't just, I'm gonna do a Right? Your Cheri Martinen: It's true. Like, be nice to your agent. Alexis: agent went through a lot to get here, friends. Okay, you think they were sitting at that bar because they like the alcohol? No, they needed to decompress. This was heavy material. And and I very much mean the last part. This is heavy material. Because to your point. You don't need insurance until it's a catastrophic event. And so what you're doing is paying for the certainty of I can handle catastrophe. Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. Alexis: And I this is my favorite phrase that pays we are in Scotch bonnet spice level in this economy right now. It's the we're top tier. It's red, our faces are red, we can't breathe anymore. Where's the water? A lot is going on where these insurance policies are gonna make a difference. Just climate change alone. Think about the way the insurance policies are changing in Florida and California, which Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. Alexis: is encouraging people to move to different cities and states. All of Cheri Martinen: Mm. Alexis: Those things have a rollover effect. the hurricanes, the the flooding, the crazy winters, the mudslides, all of that plays into homeowners' insurance. And then we're getting Cheri Martinen: Yep. Alexis: a new disease every six months. That's tapping onto our health insurance. Like we really have to Cheri Martinen: It's true. It's true. Alexis: be proactive about what we're doing. And I look at it like this. Do you want to save money for the catastrophe or where you're paying like maybe a couple hundred dollars to protect yourself? Or do you want to pay in full for a catastrophe while you're experiencing the catastrophe? Cause that those are two different things. To experience Cheri Martinen: A hundred percent, yeah. Alexis: a catastrophe and to pay for it at the same time are two different tragedies, my friend. Cheri Martinen: And as a business owner, Alexis, I know you know this, like I always Alexis: Oof. Cheri Martinen: tell people, I was like, business owners, we don't pay once when we make a mistake, we pay multiple times. So we pay financially when there's Alexis: Infinitely. Cheri Martinen: a mistake, we pay with our egos. And then and then we I was like, Alexis: We pay with our sleep and our cortisol levels. Cheri Martinen: and then we pay with our health. Alexis: We pay with those newly formed bags under our eyes. This is Hermes level Cheri Martinen: There's yeah. Alexis: bags, okay? So you definitely have to be mindful of what you're investing into. And sometimes you're investing into your ability to relax, your ability Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Alexis: to be an old person. Social Cheri Martinen: Yes. Alexis: security is an a suggestion now. Do you have A permanent resource for you to be an older adult. You know what I mean? And it can't be your kids are gonna take care of you because the kids aren't able to move out of the house yet. So who's gonna pay for what? You know, like we have a lot of different issues that we Cheri Martinen: Whole nother issue. Whole nother issue. Alexis: could tackle with this. And insurance has a tendency to address a lot of those things, but more often than not, people don't understand what all is involved. Cheri Martinen: Yes. It's a very large contract. I get it. It's like Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: I tell people like you want to be bored, read your insurance policy. It's, you know, 60 to 200 pages of legal jargon. Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: will you be surprised at some point? Yes. Yes you will. Alexis: For sure, for sure. Cheri Martinen: and you don't need to. That's why you have people like me and Alexis that are working to be agents to help you. And that's the whole Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: point. That is literally why our position was created was insurance companies were like, we're tired of explaining this product to people. So they were like, let's use brokers and agents to help, right? Yeah. I mean, like, well, Alexis: I'm through history lesson. Okay. That makes sense. Cheri Martinen: it was originally about ships. Right? Ships going off port and like if you put all of your grain on a ship and it went Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: away and then you knew spices were coming back that you could sell and support your family, what happened if that ship Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: was lost at sea? What happened if it was robbed in the process of coming back? That was what insurance was originally about was shipping goods. Alexis: Gotcha. Cheri Martinen: But it grew to fire insurance when there was fire brigades. And if you paid Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: a fire brigade, they'd put your house out. If you didn't pay a fire brigade, they'd watch it burn. Alexis: Wow. Like I I always felt like there was Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Alexis: a little bit of mob protection level to it, you know, we'll we'll take care of you, you know, but I didn't realize that it went that far back. Cheri Martinen: Yeah, long time ago, England. Like, yeah. Yeah. Lloyd's Alexis: Okay. Okay, England. Cheri Martinen: of London is actually the first insurance company ever created. They Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: were on the docks doing it back then. They are still in business. They still have a high rise in downtown London today. And you can still go and visit them. Alexis: that is so cool. They're called Voids of London. Lloyds of London with an L. Okay. Gotcha. Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Lloyds of London. Mm-hmm. With an L. Alexis: Huh. I've never can things just exist. You don't always consider how or when that started, but things just exist. I never knew that. That's such good information. Hmm. Okay, come through England. Cheri Martinen: Ha ha ha. Alexis: So what would you advise people, okay, after people read your book, because that's the first step. First step is Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. Yep. Alexis: read her book and give her a review. First two steps. The third step is what advice, what would you advise advise them to do for their third step? Cheri Martinen: This is super simple. Do an annual review with your insurance agent. Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: Like when your renewal comes up, tell them about improvements you made to your home. Tell them about new things that you've done, whether that's replace the windows, put on a mother-in-law suite. If you bought a new car, you're gonna have to tell them. if you're running a business, are the sneaky things that get businesses is expanded services. Alexis: Mm. Cheri Martinen: So you might be like, all like when you first bought insurance, you might be like, all I do is decks. And then you're doing decks and fences. Alexis: Mm. Cheri Martinen: Your insurance policy is only there to cover the decks because that's what you told us you did. If you're doing Alexis: Right. Cheri Martinen: decks and fences, we gotta know. So any expansion Alexis: Gotcha. Cheri Martinen: of service, like in the salon industry, it would be like all we do is hair, and then like suddenly you got like a hair and a nail tech. And then like Alexis: okay. Cheri Martinen: maybe you got like a hair, a nail, and then an esthetician, right? Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: You expanded your services, your insurance policy needs to change too. Alexis: That's excellent advice. So definitely stay up to date and in communication with your insurance agent so that they can keep your policy as accurate and covering as possible. That's excellent information. If someone doesn't have insurance and they've read your book and they left your review, where should they start in finding an agent? Cheri Martinen: So I'm currently working with One Digital. We're a national company, which means there's Alexis: wonderful. Cheri Martinen: literally 6,000 agents waiting to help you right now. Yeah, push through. We got you. Alexis: Push through one digital. Cheri Martinen: headquartered, Atlanta, Georgia. Like, yeah. Yeah. Alexis: is it? The headquarters is out here? Okay, cool. Cheri Martinen: Like, so reach out. There are people that want to help you. We are here. Like if you want to use one digital, that'd be lovely. Tell them you heard of from me and that you reached out because of me, that helps me too. otherwise, you know, go to Alexis Alexis: Maybe. Cause I'm gonna be honest, I'm gonna tell on myself. I I took I'm taking this exam because I wanted to be more knowledgeable. Now am I prepared to be a seller or an agent and help other people? No. That is not my desire. So my desire Cheri Martinen: It takes years. No, yeah. Alexis: is to partner with people who are more knowledgeable and just help bring the people in. Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Alexis: I have great networks I'm connected to, wonderful communities that I've embraced that have embraced me. I just want to be the here's a room and I brought snacks. I'm more the charcuterie person in the experience, you know, so I have meats and cheeses. So Yes. Please. Okay. Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Just I was like, just Google me. Just be like, hey, I need a quote. I'll help out. Alexis: So okay, so let's talk about agents for a second. What advice would you give to an agent who's in the entrepreneur side of things? What would you recommend for them after they read your book and they leave your review? What would you recommend? Cheri Martinen: If you're an insurance agent, obviously I'd love to meet you. One, because we're always hiring and looking for great talent, really. Like there, we're always looking for new people coming into the industry that want to help people because that's what we're Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: doing every single day. We're helping businesses and we're helping homeowners and people live their lives and feel secure that tomorrow will come, right? That's Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: like what we're doing. so If you're an agent and you've ever thought about working with a people forward group, think of me, reach out to me, I'd be happy to put you in contact. Or you can literally go to One Digital's employee, they have an entire page of open jobs. I'm not joking. Alexis: do. Cheri Martinen: the entire industry is looking for amazing talent. We have Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: a wealth of people in my dad and mom's age who are now in their 70s who are looking to do something else with their time, like pickleball. Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: but for the rest of us who are still here, we are looking to build strong, strong networks of people. Cause a lot Alexis: Gotcha. Cheri Martinen: of what insurance is is knowing people and creating creating the the place. Alexis: So what makes one digital like what makes them different? What makes them the top tier one? I know that they're people Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Alexis: oriented, but what's some of like the systems, if you can share, the systems that they implemented Cheri Martinen: Yes Alexis: that makes being an agent and a an applicant more easy? Cheri Martinen: So one of the things that I have written on my desk from like a book I read a while ago, it says, what can we give to business owners over and above what others are doing? And when Alexis: Mm. Cheri Martinen: I went one digital, I felt like they really did that. So as an insurance Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: agency owner, I was just selling insurance. But I could see that my business customers needed more, right? They needed Alexis: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: like a whole group of people around them to support them. And I didn't have, I didn't have the capabilities to hire the staff to do that. For them. But one digital does, Alexis: Gotcha. Cheri Martinen: so not only do they do property and casualty insurance, they also do employee benefits. So if you have employees and you want to take care of them and their families, they also do HR services. So if you're a business and you need help with your employee handbook or a sticky situation with an employee, or you just having a question that you're not really sure what to do, or you got a letter from the state regulator, all those things they can help. Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: With in the HR department. And then they also have a wealth management team that helps with 401ks. So making sure your employees can retire after they've been with you for 10 years, as well as helping you as the business owner set your finances up in a way so that one day you can retire when you're ready. So Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: it's a whole team of people that are really good at what they do working together to surround one business and really keep them protected. Alexis: That like I love how advocated and covered that sounds. You know, it very Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Alexis: Like to your point, like they're people centered. So it it sounds like they've built their business off of really making sure that people are are advocated for and that you have all of the things that you need. Because no one else is asking business owners to retire. No one else is helping business owners or entrepreneurs with any of the things that are come that come along with being an employee. And unfortunately, Cheri Martinen: Mm-hmm. Alexis: when you're an entrepreneur, you are definitely employee, but to a business that doesn't have any of the other benefits. Cheri Martinen: I can tell you as a business owner, every once in a while I had to call a business HR lawyer or like a as in a business owner, I'd have to call an HR lawyer and be like, I have this happening. And they'd be like, Alexis: Yeah. Cheri Martinen: All right, it's gonna be $200 an hour. Like, you know, being able to have a team of people that you can just call on, yeah, it just it makes all the difference. When you're in a sticky Alexis: It does. Cheri Martinen: situation, yes. Alexis: Yeah. Everybody needs to get her book in and get the reviews in because we I'm I'm emphasizing that because you need to be at the forefront of a lot more conversations. For sure. Cheri Martinen: Thank you. I appreciate that. Alexis: Especially in the entrepreneurship world, we are I feel like I have to clean my algorithm every other day because I'm being hustled. You should start this business, start this bus. I'm like, wait girl, hold on, Savannah. One at a time, Cheri Martinen: Ha ha Alexis: you know? But there no one is saying this is how you stay protected, this is how you manage your money, this is how you can safely and intelligently and financially exit your business. A lot of people's exit strategy is burnout. Cheri Martinen: Which sounds terrible. That's like the worst case scenario. Alexis: And that is all horrible plea Okay, you can't just you can't just die off, Cheri Martinen: Yeah. Alexis: you know? You gotta There are other options Cheri Martinen: The whole like and I think that is like the difference between being like a solopreneur and choosing that, like choosing to be a solopreneur versus like running a business and creating the systems in place that have Alexis: Yes. Cheri Martinen: the business run without you. Because if you have systems in place that run without you, you then have a you have an asset to sell. Whereas Alexis: Mm-hmm. Cheri Martinen: if you're a solopreneur and everything is done by you, you don't really have any asset. You are the asset. Yeah. Alexis: Then you are the asset. You are the asset. Yeah. Yep. Cheri Martinen: then you're still selling your time, right? and so yeah, it's it's ownership, not doership. Yeah. Alexis: Right. And th and a lot of people haven't heard that. A lot of p we don't market it that way. And a lot of people are scared of insurance for whatever reason. There's a little bit of fear around insurance because of this laziness that you you know you mentioned earlier where they're just money oriented and not necessarily people oriented. But the conversation needs to the narrative needs to shift dramatically if we're gonna have such high entrepreneurship in this country, especially. Like everybody has their own something, but it's if you're gonna build the if you're gonna go through All of the work of building the LLC, building out the product, marketing, advertising, investing, operations, building teams, then you deserve the investment to be protected as well. I think that's really cool. Cheri Martinen: Yeah, I agree. Alexis: Where can we learn more about you? How can we how can we work with Cherie? Cheri Martinen: shree martinen dot com. I kept it real simple. Alexis: Okay. So that was easy. Okay, I can handle that. Cheri Martinen: I was literally like, you can Google me, you'll find me, shere martin.com. If you want to just learn a little bit about insurance through your social media feed, like you were saying, if you want to train your algorithm that you would like to do have educational content, you can also Alexis: Please. Cheri Martinen: you can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I post Alexis: Okay. Cheri Martinen: all the time in those locations so you can learn little bits about insurance along the way. and YouTube. I'm on YouTube too. Yeah. Alexis: And you too. Okay. That's wonderful. And your book is out on September fifteenth. Cheri Martinen: Yep. It is. A couple days. Alexis: And it is available on Amazon and everybody is very well informed on the next steps. We have to read her book and we also have to leave her a review. Okay? So we can do that for you. Yes. Cheri Martinen: Yeah. The review. The review. Alexis: The review is the important part. Reading it is the important part. Cheri Martinen: Yes. Yeah. Alexis: And then reviewing is also the important part. Everything is important. Everything has high priority. Everything goes on the first Cheri Martinen: Yes. Alexis: list of priorities. This has been a pleasure talking to you. I could literally sit and either talk to business all talk about business all day with you. I want to hear more about you and your dad. Cheri Martinen: We did. Alexis: I can just picture the theme coming from the ears. I know y'all had a good old time. But just how entrepreneurship has been such it's been a conduit for you. And I think that's really, really cool. And no matter what industry you've been a part of, entrepreneurship seems like it's been a part of the the whole experience. And I think that that is you have a leg up in the game a lot of people don't have access to, for sure. Cheri Martinen: It's true. Alexis: For sure. Cheri Martinen: Very blessed. Alexis: For sure. So we're gonna have to have you back in six months so we can do a celebration for your bestsellers edition. Yes Cheri Martinen: Yay. Alexis: ma'am, yes ma'am. And remember your energy is your currency. Use it wisely. We are available on Spotify, YouTube, iHeart, Apple. think we're on Pandora, we're on Amazon. We're the the show is on a lot of locations. So y'all stream it, check it out, enjoy it. It's some good content, okay? And I will catch you all next time. Thank you so much, Sherry. Thank you for joining us again. Cheri Martinen: Thank you.