Today we’d like to introduce you to Cierra McNulty .
Hi Cierra, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started working at an insurance agency at 15 years old in Graceville, Florida. At that time, I was just a file girl and took payments. Once I turned 18, my boss demanded that I begin “earning my keep” and required that I obtain my license. I always wanted to work in insurance, but my parents were adamant that I get a college degree. I sold insurance while in college to earn a teaching degree in Secondary English Education. Once I graduated, I began my teaching journey. It was not a career that I enjoyed. After enduring it for 6 years and obtaining a master’s degree in the process, my old boss asked me to return to his business and run his second location. Just a few months into that, a life tragedy completely turned my world upside down. I left the panhandle and moved to central Florida. I stepped away from being an agent and worked as an agent’s assistant for a short amount of time. I just didn’t <span style=”background-color: rgb(178, 214, 243);”>enjoy</span> not being the agent and at the heart of the conversations with each client. I had grown up in an independent agency and thought I would give being a captive agent a try. I realized really quickly that I was very bored with that. <span style=”background-color: rgb(178, 214, 243);”>One</span> day, standing in my boss’s office, he said something that struck a nerve with me. From that moment forward, I knew it was time to follow my childhood dream and open my own agency and start building a business for my own family. During that time, insurance was at its absolute worst. People thought I was insane to want to try and open an agency with the market in the state that it was in. I didn’t care, though. After telling a friend about my plans, he said, “Cierra, when everyone jumps out of the boat, you jump in. Go for it!” I prayed and prayed and made an agreement with God that I would give this dream up if my husband wasn’t on board. I love my sweet man, but it is rare he buys into my crazy dreams. I gathered my courage to speak with him, and to my surprise, he was 100% on board. I decided to open a Goosehead franchise. I flew out to Texas to learn all about the company, and my husband and I sat through so many phone calls. Every step of the way, I was waiting for him to tell me it wasn’t a good idea. I was prepared to give it all up the second he said he wasn’t comfortable with it, but he never did. The whole entire journey, though it has been extremely hard, I have felt God’s peace and comfort. There are very few times in my life that I have been able to say with 100% certainty that my plan and God’s are aligned, but the two that stand out the most are the neighborhood my husband and I chose to buy a house in and opening a Goosehead Insurance.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has absolutely not been a smooth road. First, I am a woman in a very male dominated industry. The struggles that come along with that are unreal. Goosehead Insurance is different in the sense that we don’t market a significant amount. We focus on building relationships with loan officers and realtors to help get their clients to a seamless closing which can be very difficult to do in a town that you recently moved to. I have been blessed to work alongside some amazing people, though. Some of the people I have met through this journey have become wonderful friends and <span style=”background-color: rgb(178, 214, 243);”>even mentors that help guide a lot of my business decisions</span>. I even have one that I often joke and tell him that I would like for him to <span style=”background-color: rgb(178, 214, 243);”>be the person to speak</span> at my funeral. It’s been a tough journey, but all things worth having usually involve some sort of growing pains. I built my agency from the ground up. Thankfully, being part of a franchise, I have tons of resources, but I have been the one to build the partnerships with the loan officers and realtors. I have been the one to foster those client relationships and work countless hours to find them insurance. And for the first two years, I did it as a solo agent. I left an amazing team to come work on an island by myself which was very hard mentally. Every single hardship has been worth it, though. I am fortunate to have parents that have instilled an unbelievable drive and work ethic in me. They are also entrepreneurs, so I lean on them greatly. My husband has been an <span style=”background-color: rgb(178, 214, 243);”>insurance underwriter</span> for years, and some of my closest friends are in the insurance industry. I truly have an army of supporters who have rallied around me.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in building relationships <span style=”background-color: rgb(178, 214, 243);”>and teams with </span> loan officers and realtors to make <span style=”background-color: rgb(178, 214, 243);”>our</span> clients’ journey to homeownership a seamless and memorable one. Purchasing a home can come with a ton of challenges <span style=”background-color: rgb(178, 214, 243);”>whether</span> we are looking at the home itself and the things that need to be fixed to even insure it or figuring out how to financially make the insurance work in the mortgage. By building those teams, the realtor, loan officer, and insurance agent (myself), we work to figure out how to put the puzzle together for our clients. By working together, we can solve so many issues without burdening our clients, so they can just focus on moving into their new home which should be one of the most exciting times of their life. Additionally, working with investors is another awesome perk of the job. I get to be a part of them building a legacy for their family. I don’t only work with homebuyers, though. I specialize in auto insurance, boat insurance, motorcycle, umbrella, life, liability. All of these different types of insurances allow me to really become a part of my client’s families. I love getting the call that a client just got a car for their new teenage driver or hearing about a client’s new boat or motorcycle purchase! I get to protect some of their most valuable assets all while journeying through life with them during some pretty monumental times.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I grew up in a very small town in the panhandle of Florida-4 square miles big and just a few thousand people. I never in a million years would have dreamt that I would live here. I love it, though. It is truly a melting pot and still has a very small-town feel. So many people are connected in so many ways. It is sort of mind-blowing.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Kaley M L Photography
