What inspired you to start your business?
My family had a very bad experience with our insurance adviser after our 5-month-old daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor. They say when the s**t hits the fan you learn who’s really got your back, and they didn’t. I discovered a lot of not very nice facts about how a number of advisers in the industry operate and it certainly was not in the best interest of their clients. This was an experience I was keen that no one else should have to go through. I don’t believe it is too much to ask that when someone puts them self out there as an adviser that they are working for you and not their bottom line. I am a firm believer that by putting your clients first and treating them like your own family that the reward will follow.
With an MBA and over 16 years in the medical industry behind me, I am uniquely qualified to advocate for my clients at claim time or to get better terms.
Looking after people and their families and business’s is what gets me out of bed. Knowing that I am making a difference and putting people in a better position by doing what I do so that they don’t have to experience what my family did.
Tell us about your business?
We tailor insurance solutions to individual needs. We are your one stop shop for everything insurance. I believe in getting advice from specialists in chosen fields and insurance advice is no different. We even have specialists in each area of insurance.
People don’t realise how much policies can differ between insurers and it’s our job to educate clients on those and allow them to make informed decisions. My mission is to see families better insured with cover that is relevant, affordable, and tailored to their specific needs and goals.
We are not a transactional business we are a “relationship” business, in it for the long haul, not the quick commission
What do you love about running your business?
The people I meet. My clients truly are an extension of my own family. I can choose to be boutique in order to best serve my clients. They are not a number in a big firm and I know each and every one of them personally and get to experience their journey alongside them.
What have been some of your biggest challenges?
Changing people’s perceptions that all advisers and insurers are the same. They are not! The level of care/service/empathy you receive from one provider and or adviser to another can be vastly different and even mean the difference between a claim and no claim.
The industry has opened itself up to a lot of moral and ethical dilemma’s because of the way it operates, leading to a number of people being in it for the wrong reasons and under qualified. It’s going through a lot of change presently for the betterment of the industry as a whole and those it is there to serve which is great.
New Zealanders as a whole are very underinsured. Shifting that perception that the government will be there to bail you out in your time of need. With an aging population, this is becoming an even bigger headache with standards of care slipping especially in our health care system.
Do you have a favourite quote?
“Walk With the Dreamers,
The Believers, The Courageous,
The Cheerful, The planners, The
Doers, The Successful People
With Their Heads In The Clouds
And Their Feet On The Ground.
Let Their Spirit Ignite A Fire
Within You To Leave This World
Better Than When You Found It.” Wilferd A Peterson.
also “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” Eleanor Roosevelt.
Who inspires you, and why?
My daughter Mia because of what she had to endure and mostly with a huge smile on her face. She made me a better person, taught me, true unconditional LOVE. She taught my family and friends what was most important in life, and that health, happiness and those we care for should never be taken for granted.
What growth have you experienced being in Venus?
The incredible and nurturing support helping me truly believe in myself. That what I do and stand for is valued. Most of my growth has been within myself such as removing the negative self-talk and self-limiting beliefs. This, of course, comes through in how you show up in your work.
Women are redefining success and growing businesses on their terms: What does success look like to you?
Making a difference! Changing people’s lives and circumstances for the better through education. Doing all of this and still being able to be there for my own family.
What’s your favourite pastime when you are not working?
Spending time in the great outdoors with my family. Adventures!
Joanne (Jo) Walker
Trebla – Life Decisions Made Easy
