SPEAKER_01 0:00

How do you write off insurance? How does a business owner take insurance? What are the best ways to do that? Why should I have an HSA if I'm a business owner? How do I basically pay less in taxes as a business owner using health insurance? Do I need life insurance to take out a business loan?

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of Connections That Matter, where we highlight Northern Colorado's best networkers. And today I have a great guest, Lola Davidson. Lola, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Awesome. Well, Lola, uh, you are an awesome health insurance rep, but a good connector of people. So for those who haven't met you yet, tell us a little bit about what you do.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Yeah, absolutely. So I own a health insurance brokerage. Uh we are full scale. We work with individuals, small businesses, and our goal is to make health insurance as affordable as possible in an age where that's getting harder and harder.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Oh man, I uh I you know I think a lot for health insurance. I think a lot of people can relate or uh open enrollment comes in and they're just uh shocked by what it costs. So um what is navigating the marketplace and options like for a lot of families in northern Colorado?

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Um for a lot of families in northern Colorado, it's very difficult. So especially marketplace, it takes into account households. So if somebody has gotten divorced, has stealth children, has a blended family, we see a lot of difficulty in actually uh a lot of what would be considered waste with that is people overpaying, um, just not classifying households properly. Um, just general health insurance, we see a lot of people working with payroll companies or people that are captive agents. So instead of being able to cost compare basically unbiasedly, they're getting incentives for working with specific carriers and giving them that business. Um those are probably the two biggest struggles we see or things that people aren't aware of, per se.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

So, what was your decision uh between going captive and being a broker? And what are the opportunities and challenges going the route you chose?

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Yeah, that's a really good question. So I did start Fortune 500, which is corporate. Um, and then you are captive and I train sales teams. Doing that, while all companies do have programs that are good in their own way, not one thing is a good fit for everybody, and I will like to help everybody. So as a broker, I can really look at I'm a very numbers person, not more emotional person, as we know from the little test that I did. Um, where like I think people was like last. And I was like, yeah, that should probably be higher up there. But so a lot of times we just look at the data and we're saying, okay, who has the best benefits and the best rate for this group's needs instead of, okay, I like this person the best or I have the best relationship with this carrier. Um, so we just care more about the data.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Well, when we did a one-to-one, you shared a stat with me that kind of blew my mind that uh just a lot of people who start into health insurance are not currently in health insurance. There's a lot of turnover in there, and it takes uh a certain something special to make it a career or to make it something there. So why do you think you have one one? Remind me what the the actual statistic is. But then uh why do you think you've been one of the few percent that is uh stuck with it?

SPEAKER_01 2:57

So the statistic is nine out of ten people that start in health insurance don't make it past the first 12 months, and then it basically goes down from there. Uh part of that is that we are commissioned, we lack a lot of support, a lot of regulation. We are less regulated than property casualty. Um health insurance firms don't pay a base salary. You don't get the benefits that you get when you're W 2. Um, almost all positions are 1099. So that really limits the amount of people that are willing to take second jobs like I did because you have a passion for it, or that have a trust fund behind them where they can step into this career and not make money for the first couple of years. So it really limits it. You really have to enjoy it and you have to be able to connect with people and understand the health insurance. Yes, it is a lot of numbers, it is a lot of data, businesses. It is very important to do that in a budget-friendly way. But also, I sit down with people for 10 minutes and know everything that's wrong with them. I know about their kids, I know how old they are, I know what health problems you have, I have your social security number. Like you're very intimately involved with that person, and that's also something that we take a lot of care for to be empathetic and understanding, especially given the frustration that we see a lot now, is to really take people's circumstance into account.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Um, and that's I think how we've continued to stay in business and what's kept me in the industry.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Well, I think it's intuitive that you said, well, you know, when you're getting started, it's not it's not the easy button when you get started. A lot of people have to get through that early thing, but uh there needs to be some kind of mechanism to help you bridge the the two. And so if somebody is starting a business and it's like, man, the revenues it's coming, but it's low, or um, you know, my consistency is up. I have a good month and then a bad month until I've had this really base of consistency. What are some tips do you have for somebody to keep going until um they have a longer track record?

SPEAKER_01 4:39

Well, A, don't buy a house and then decide to go work a commission job. Like, pay attention to the circumstance of your life. Like, don't pop out a couple kids and be like, yes, now's the time where I'm gonna try to go, you know, work 100% commission for something that you don't even know about or 100% of what you're getting into. The other thing is health insurance specifically can be very pyramid schemey in a lot of ways sometimes. So working with either a brokerage or a reputable carrier with reputable management is very important. You see a lot of like locally owned agencies, so even P and C like State Farm, you can have two state farm offices across from each other run completely differently. So, really, the managements and the benefits and incentives and training offered varies on every single different agency and really representative. Um, so due diligence.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

Sure. Well, a lot of entrepreneurs they they quit their corporate job to start their own business. And in the corporate job, you generally have the corporate health plans and there's a certain amount of options, and then you're on your own, you're like, I don't know how to navigate this, I've never been on the marketplace before. And so is it just as easy as talking to someone like you, or would you have any tips for somebody looking to secure coverage on their own for the first time?

SPEAKER_01 5:52

So if you just quit your corporate job and you're trying to open a business, um, number one thing would be Medicaid. If you don't have an active salary coming in, basically immediately platform Medicaid. The worst thing they're gonna do is say no, and then it's marketplace. And that's just a matter of finding a marketplace representative that you feel comfortable working with. So whether that is me, almost anybody that does individual health insurance does marketplace. Uh most people won't last very long. Um so we see a lot of problems where somebody will start working with a broker, even companies, and the next year they won't be able to contact that person because they didn't make it through and just closed out their business. The company now gets the commission. Um, so we do a lot of not internal takeover, but basically taking over work that somebody started.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

Well, I think that's relatable. A lot of people have been orphaned by their sales rep. Hey, I did the business, I had a good rapport, good relationship, and then now I need to update my account and that person's moved on or moved up or had in a different career all the time. And in a networking thing, consistency, building those relationships, not only to have somebody that you know is going to be there a year from now, but to also, if you're gonna send your clients, you want to send them to somebody with the same level of consistency as well. So has networking really helped your business? And who are some people that you've collaborated with that have uh helped you get to where you are today?

SPEAKER_01 7:05

Yeah. So networking has really helped me because health insurance is not we're kind of like lawyers where people think we're really scary. Um like I feel like I don't really look like I'm traditionally, you know, a health insurance broker. I work with insurance or whatever work in insurance. Um, but really building like the personable, like humanity side of it, where like, yes, health insurance sucks. Health insurance is expensive, it's scary, it's not fun for like 99.9% of the population, but we're the one percent that enjoys it. So come to us, let us, you know, take care of you, service you, and we can actually show, we do a lot of in-person stuff. Uh, we'll do Zoom, but we prefer to actually be able to show you what we're doing. So that way you can kind of see like, oh, this is the best plan. This is my other option. So you have like that visual and not just the conceptual understanding. Um, so as much as we can do hands-on and show people the actual programs and understand why we're doing what we're doing is really what we try to do. And networking is a good way to get somebody that comfortable with you. Because, like I said, health insurance is very intimate. Telling me what problems your kids have, very difficult subject. You know, somebody getting diagnosed with cancer, heart attack, strokes, we see a lot of worst-case scenarios. Um, so people just being comfortable enough to ask for help in those situations.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

Yeah, and I think they come to you, it's like, well, which doctor's covered or what's there? But having somebody that actually really gets their financial situation, their familiar situation, their hopes and dreams, their family history makes you a powerful refer giver because you have that deeper level of connection with your clients than somebody who's maybe just has a brick and mortar, they come and go, but you're having those those close conversations. Um, is that a heavy burden at all sometimes?

SPEAKER_01 8:40

I mean, I wouldn't say necessarily for me personally. I understand that I mean that's pretty much in every job, especially like medically or where you're working with sensitive information. Um, but at the end of the day, I'd rather people come to me than anybody else because I believe that I can help them the best. So in that terrible, you know, unfortunate situation, we're providing empathy, we do house visits, we can make a lot of accommodations that other people can't to make that situation as easy as possible.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

Um, we also learn a lot from people, which makes us really good referrals. So we know if we're going to somebody's house and they need a painter or whatever that looks like, we're able to make those connections for people, which everybody likes, helps everybody, which is awesome.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Sure. Well, I hear a story a lot. You know, I mean, I'll pretty much talk about costs. I'm like, well, I can't afford to get sick. I can't afford not to have insurance, but I can't afford to get sick either. And um I know uh you know a lot of people will just tough it out and not actually go see a doctor uh um until it's too late, you know, or there's something there. Um so what do you what do you do when um I mean, is it just selling them a policy and saying, hey, here's how to use it, or is it really coaching them on their health or their the way they take care of themselves? I mean, uh what is kind of the scope of what you do?

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Um so it really depends on what someone's open to. So I'm not gonna start telling people to lose weight anytime soon, but like as far as like actual health and what you should do, we kind of leave that up to people. But if you like alternative medicine, then we focus on polities that cover that route. If you prefer going to specific doctors, we go that route. We try to make it as individualized as possible. We're listening to you, we'll provide you suggestions, you don't have to take them, but we're providing them for a reason. So, you know. Um, but really we try to let a person do what they want with their health insurance and how they feel comfortable to do so.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

And you work with a lot of business owners as well.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Business owners is more where the coaching comes in. Um, there's a lot of misconceptions with health insurance. We help a lot of people, especially first-time business owners, write off how do you write off insurance? How does a business owner take insurance? What are the best ways to do that? Why should I have an HSA if I'm a business owner? How do I basically pay less in taxes as a business owner using health insurance? Do I need life insurance to take out a business loan? What kind of life insurance do I need to take out a business loan? Like, there's all of these moving pieces, especially in businesses, that like especially if you were fortunate enough to work corporate and never have to deal with something like that, it can be a lot. And then people don't touch it and then their employees don't have health insurance.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

So it's kind of like the thing that you got to get over. It's largely beneficial. You just have to hire the right person and also, you know, due diligence, look into it a little bit. Um but yeah, business owners is where we do a lot of the educating.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

So what is that uh, you know, sales process like when you're targeting B2B, you know, uh rather than uh a family who just needs coverage uh for something.

SPEAKER_01 11:27

Yeah, absolutely. So businesses a lot of what we do is being competitive. So we see a lot of times where somebody signed up with health insurance. For example, I'm working with a dental office out of Fort Collins, hasn't heard from their broker in four years, uh, hasn't done an audit in four years. They have two members of staff that left two years ago that they're actually currently paying for on the invoice. Um so just things like that, we're like, this poor HR lady was not trained in insurance. Like it is fully illegal for HR to be shining anybody up for insurance ever. Like you can't do that. You can't send in the state required benefits papers, you can't sign people, like that's not okay. So we go and do a lot of compliance work. Um, take over, make sure businesses aren't at risk of being fined. This happens a lot during open enrollment. If you haven't reviewed your policies, things like that, we come in. Okay, is this still a good fit for the demographic that you now have? Is somebody pregnant and expecting a baby? And we need to offer a lower deductible plan to meet that person's needs. You can do things like that, you just have to be aware. Uh, we do primarily work smaller sector because employers do have a good idea of what their employees are going through. If you know, if somebody has cancer, an employer's gonna know. And we can tailor it to that by having that conversation on an annual basis and actually saying, okay, does this make sense? Um does a lot, especially financially for a business.

SPEAKER_00 12:39

Well, people network because they want to grow and uh, you know, they're maybe they start as a solopreneur, hire a VA, and then all of a sudden they get a couple of employees. And running a business is different now, but having a trusted advisor, somebody who could walk them through that is um, you know, a huge part of actually being able to get to to where you want to go. Uh what are your goals for your business, Lola? Where are you where do you see yourself?

SPEAKER_01 13:01

So we currently work Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska. We would love to move a little bit more south, actually, for Colorado. Um, so really just growing, expanding business, um, obviously networking. We want to start giving back to the community. Now we're at a place where we can do that. So we've been taking on a lot of community projects. Um, we're working with the Bob Lew and Fort Collins, which is a theater that lost a lot of federal funding recently and helping sponsor some of their events. Uh, same with Animal Friends Alliance out of Fort Collins. Um, so really just trying to build that community relationship, but also invest in things that we're passionate about as a company, um, such as animals and the arts. Um so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:37

Love it. Well, if somebody wants to get a hold of you, maybe uh uh well, you told me, like I was thinking you started open enrollment, but you're like, please don't start open enrollment start way before open enrollment. So when's a good time to reach out to you? And then if I want to reach out to you, how do I do that?

SPEAKER_01 13:51

So legally, the law is that brokers have to reach out to you 120 days in advance before renewal. Otherwise, they are breaking the law and you are legally not getting the time you need to make changing decisions.

SPEAKER_00 14:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

So if you have a November enrollment, basically you want to start looking three months out. Same with December. Basically, three months out is when cell phone is the best way to contact me. I'm a texter. Chronic texter. Um, you'll get the fastest response that way. Um, so yeah, if you just have my phone number, you're good to go.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

Yeah, you want to give it out? Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

I love giving out my phone number. Um, it's gonna be 864-991-5008. And I promise I am local to Colorado and not South Carolina.

SPEAKER_00 14:29

Yeah. Well, if you uh if you haven't heard from your health insurance broker in a while, reach out to Lola. Uh, and also if you're another Northern Colorado business owner that cares about animals, cares about the arts, cares about building genuine relationships and wants somebody who's gonna be uh really solidified and passionate about their business, Lola is your girl. So Lola, thanks so much for coming on the show and uh we'll see you around Northern Colorado.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

Sounds good. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

Hey all, thanks for watching. I love networking and building relationships with other Northern Colorado business leaders. So if you want to come meet some of these podcast guests, meet me, or meet some other amazing entrepreneurs in Northern Colorado, I would love to have you attend one of our next events. Uh, go in the podcast description. There's a way so that you can see our upcoming schedule. And maybe you could be a future podcast guest as well. Thanks.