An Open Letter to Millennials. What do YOU want...from a career? life?

The insurance industry has only 149,000 agents. US population is 320 million. 
Recruiting a new generation of insurance agents is paramount the average agent 
in the industry today is a 60 year old, caucasian male.

I would like to ask you, directly, what it is you want? And what it is you want to do?

What is the work/life balance that will make you happy?

Not being a Millennial myself, I can't pretend to understand your generation any more then you can understand mine (Gen X btw), yet it seems every time I check my news feed there is another article about what you are looking for in life, in your savings and your careers.

Usually written by someone who themselves is not a member of the generation.

So if you could tell me what you want, it will be very beneficial...for both of us!

I am trying to determine, on a generational basis, what it means when someone says, "I want to be my own boss" or "I want to be self-employed".

Do they truly mean it? Do they even know what it entails?

I am asking of course with a particular purpose in mind.

What I Need

In the interest of full disclosure it is important for you to know why I am asking. So let me begin by by telling you...

I have been tasked with staffing up the New England office of PHP Agency ("PHP")

We are a Financial Services company, who's primary product is Life Insurance (I know, I know you are already bored but did you know LI allows tax free gains tied to a stock index but WITHOUT the risk of being in the market?)

Using Life Insurance products we show people how to protect and save for the future WITHOUT the use of stocks or "traditional" retirement products such as a 401k/IRA.

We teach people how to protect and save for their future WITHOUT the use of Stock or "traditional" retirement plans like 401ks

The company is growing rapidly doubling the number of agents to over 5,000 nationwide since I joined in August of 2017 and as a result I am looking to find ways to introduce this to people, without turning them off by their associations with Life Insurance (Groundhog Day?).

PHP is represented in almost every state and Puerto Rico (soon Canada and beyond!) and has been given some very aggressive growth targets for 2018 by our CEO and Founder, Patrick Bet-David.

New England represents virgin territory for the firm and an exciting opportunity to get involved on the ground floor.

I am looking for:

1. people who want to be self-employed and appreciate what that means
2. people who want to work hard and learn a new industry.
3. people who are looking to build something for themselves long-term
4. people who care about others, and enjoy sharing information that benefits them and their families quite possibly for generations
5. people who not just want to be an agent but to build and own their own agency(s)
6. I need entrepreneurs!

I like working with people in their 20s and 30s. They want to learn. They are looking for opportunities and I am told most don't trust the stock market! 401ks! Investment Advisers! Financial Planners which makes it a perfect fit since we teach how not to use them!

Why not learn a way to save that doesn't involve those things? Then share that knowledge with others so that they can decide if what you recommend or what everyone else they know is doing is the better way to go.

I also like working with Veterans transitioning back to civilian life. Vets do really with the system of PHP. Our founder and top guy are both Vets (see below).

Entrepreneurship

My company, PHP Agency (www.phpagency.com) was founded by Patrick Bet-David 9 years ago with 2 simple purposes; teach the middle class about personal finance and create opportunities for those interested in helping those families.

Some of you may be familiar with Patrick's YouTube channel Valuetainment (www.youtube.com/valuetainment) which currently has almost 550,000 subscribers!

On that channel Patrick discusses all aspects of being an entrepreneur and is frequently joined by guests from a wide variety of industries and backgrounds. He also has features from the Biz Doc, Tom Ellsworth (www.youtube.com/bizdoc), and Veteran Entrepreneur Matt Sapaula, of the MoneySmart Movement (www.youtube.com/moneysmartmovement)

Are you entrepreneurial?

As I said above, PHP Agency (or "PHP") is growing like crazy and has very big expansion goals. We are in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and soon Canada with talk of expanding internationally.

Recently, I spoke to some students at a local Business College and when asked what they wanted in their 1st or 2nd job the answer I got depressed me..."something with good benefits".

Here is how our conversation went:

"Benefits?!?!? What type of benefits would you like?"

"Health Insurance and a 401k"

"If I offer you Health Insurance would you take it?"

"No, I am on my parent's plan."

"Ok then why do you want a 401k?"

"It is free money!"

"Do you understand how a 401k plan works? Do you understand the vesting schedule?"

I went on, "how long do you intend to stay at your first job?"

"One or two years at most."

"Ok, so you know that if the vesting schedule on the company match is 5 years you will be giving back 80% of your 'free money' because it isn't really yours until you have vested and that takes 5 years. 'Free money' comes with strings attached to it"

Many people of all ages tell me that they want to be self-employed. The truth of the matter is most people simply don't have what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

Do you?

Can you manage your business without a boss telling you what to do and when?

Do you have the internal drive and ambition to get up every morning and do what it takes to succeed even if no one will know if you hit the snooze bar several times?

America is known as the "Land of Opportunity" not of good jobs with benefits!

You are 7 times more likely to be a self-made millionaire in the US if you were NOT born here! Why?

The Industry

Look at the quote I started this article with.

The number of Life Insurance agents in this country is lower then it has been in decades. Why? The Insurance industry has done a bad job of recruiting new talent from younger generations.

Insurance Industry is the 1st "Life Style" Industry

Insurance is not sexy. Making money is! Creating a business from scratch is!

Know what is even sexier??? Helping families protect their loved ones and build financial security for the future while doing it!

Can you make money in this industry?

A MAJOR area of opportunity to become an entrepreneur is an industry that most everyone is not paying attention to. Insurance goes back thousands of years and has never been super-innovative or sexy. Yet, the US insurance industry is the largest in the world, in terms of revenue, exceeding $1.2 trillion in 2011.

1 out of 4 insurance agents in 2018 will be gone. Nothing wrong with this industry, they’re just retiring. Over the past 40 years, the insurance industry has done a poor job of recruiting agents losing them to Wall Street, technology and other attractive fields.

The country is approaching 320,000,000 people and we have fewer in this industry then in decades!

MetLife recently sold their entire sales force to MassMutual. They didn't go out of business they just don't need Employees selling their products for them. They now market their products through channels of Independent Agents who earn commission for the products they sell.

Ryan Hanley, CMO of Trusted Choice and a young guy talked with Matt Sapaula recently about the opportunity of the Insurance Industry (he is on the home and auto side of the business) and how he got started as an ultimatum from his potential Father-in-Law.

"Making $250/policy is not as exciting as closing a multi-million dollar Real Estate sale but when you do a few a day, 5 days per week all of a sudden $250/policy looks better and better"

Getting Started

Unlike many other industries, or even other companies within this one, there are few barriers to entry and low upfront cost.

It doesn't matter what your degree is in, or even if you went to college. Both Matt and Patrick joke that they have "PHDs...Public High School Diplomas".

Veterans do very well using our system. Both Matt (Marines) and Pat (Army) are Vets and do tremendous outreach to that community.

The cost of getting involved is minimal and most of it is based on what your home state charges you to be licensed.

However, you can start training BEFORE getting licensed and that allows you to hit the ground running. The state insurance license just means you can legally sell insurance, it doesn't mean you know how!

Imagine what would be involved if you wanted to be a plumber. You would need to apprentice, then eventually get a licence. Once licensed you would need tools, supplies, a truck, insurance, marketing, etc. etc. etc.

In insurance your costs are the optional class you can choose to take for exam prep. The exam and the license. That's it.

Congrats you're an agent in your state but don't sit on your ass and think the phone is going to start ringing...it ain't!

Also, don't make the mistake so many of us did that believing that now that you are selling insurance your family and friends will be your first clients...they won't be! They have known you for years and they know you don't know anything about insurance. They remember you as the kid/person who did X with Y. None of which instills confidence in the financial wisdom you hope to impart.

What they will do for you is help you practice. Ask questions to hone your skills. Get you comfortable to talk to real potential clients.

In Closing

I would encourage you to watch the following videos and think about entrepreneurship and my industry as a whole.

I would also urge you to consider ways to grow wealth that NOT in the Stock Market or controlled by the IRS.

Many of the people I work with got involved not with the idea of starting a career in a new industry but they sat with someone to review their own personal situation. Then they wanted some of their friends or family to also hear to confirm what they heard and help them. At some point, they were going out and telling people how important insurance products are. And so on...

I believe that there is no better time to look for opportunities to go into business for yourself.

There are 4 key areas if you want to be as successful as you can be:

1. Learn Sales - no matter what you do you need to sell it. Sales people are some of the highest paid professionals with the smallest amount of education debt (advanced degree NOT required!
2. Become an Entrepreneur - you won't get rich working for someone else. The new tax laws favor 1099 income.
3. Choose the Right Industry - low competition, need low barriers to entry
4. Choose the Right Platform - don't reinvent the wheel! you wouldn't buy a McDonald's and bring your recopies with you. The system works capitalize on it!

Patrick's channel is a great resource for ANY industry you want to get involved with.

I hope that some of you will provide me feedback so that I can better communicate why I believe it is an incredible time to get into the Life Insurance industry and why the younger you are the easier it is to make that choice!

This is Patrick's video on being an entrepreneur.

This is a video about researching PHP Agency. There will always be skeptics but google the people at the table and the people in the video as they talk about the business, the company and the industry.