My Boy

I was shuffling through my computer and decided to check out my blog that I haven't touched in over 2 years. Can you tell I'm bored at work? I thought the blog needed some upgrades so here are some fresh pics of my boy Jakob. Enjoy!

Another day...another dollar

It has been awhile since I wrote anything, so I thought I should get to it. It has been a year since I was laid off and boy things have changed. I have a new found respect for people that work commission. I have always thought that I was a hard worker. I always got my job done right and never received any complaints from my managers. In fact, I always ranked pretty high in my work force. Being an insurance agent gives a whole new meaning to the word "hard work". Depending on the day that you ask me, choosing to be an insurance agent is either the best thing or the worst thing I ever decided to do, but no matter what it will always be the hardest thing I ever decided to do. The pressure is unbelievable. Everyday is a fight and when I get home in the evening that is exactly how I feel. I have a year and a half left and then some of that pressure is gone, but I won't be in pressure free zone for four and a half more years. It is just a small period of time when you think about it. I keep thinking back to the presidential election time when they were comparing President Bush's pictures from when he entered the White House and when he left. They said it looked like he aged 20 years. Is that going to happen to me? Things have gotten better lately, last month I ranked #5 in the country for new business policy count among Farmers agents. That was great to hear, but I needed to have a big month to hit goal and in order to get that number I was working 10-12 hour days with little time for my family and friends. I'm still looking for that balance so that I don't get burned out. Right now I feel BLAH, I think I am suffering whip lash from last month. There is no room to let off the gas. Its funny, even Farmers calls it run to day light! This weekend I will working the 1st annual Man Show at the IX Center. It should be fun. I am hoping the even t makes my month because I am already missing part of the hunting season. Time to get back to work.

Let the next quarter begin...

My quarter just finished last Friday and I hit my goal!! I was working like a man on a mission. Everything has been non-stop for the last 2 weeks and I am drained. It was exciting though. At one point Magie looked at me and says "is it going to be like this every month?" I told her no, just every three months. Well she can't say I didn't warn her. Hopefully it won't be so bad in the future. I kind of did it to myself, I held a lot of things back till the last month and then I had to scramble to get everything submitted in time. Its a learning process and I learned my lesson. My goal this month is to get 30 policies done before I have to go to California. This way I will have less stress on me when I get back. I need to have 60 new policies by Sept. 19th. Its not as easy as it sounds, but some agents are closing close to 60 policies a month. I will get there eventually. A lot of hardwork now, but it will payoff later!

Deadline is coming up!

Well the good news is I have been very busy lately... the bad news is that I need 15 more policies by June 19th to reach my quarterly minimum, and 7 more life policies by June 30th. I'm working my butt off! This month is very draining, with the cutoff and with trying to get the new office ready. Right now all I care about is the cutoff, the office isn't going anywhere. It will probably go down to the wire and I will have lost all of my hair by then. Then I will really look like my dad. Haha. Its OK old man, just remember bald is beautiful. Farmers is sending me to California on July 19th. This date has changed three times but now I have received confirmation that it is written in stone. Farmers sends their agents there for a week for training and to see the corporate headquarters. From what I hear it is really nice, everything is state of the art. I have never been to California and where we are going it is about 20 mins from Hollywood. I'm gonna have to take a drive out there and see what all the fuss is about. I'm still living the dream!

The Book and Bean

This evening I have a table set up at a local coffee shop called the Book and Bean. I went in there last week and introduced myself to the owner. I mentioned that I was opening my insurance office not far from this spot and asked if I can set up a table to meet people in the community. He was happy to have me. I am going to be raffling off a gift card for the coffee shop for everyone that registers. I think it will be a fun night. Hopefully it goes well and I can do it again. I love coffee shops, people are always so friendly and they have that fresh coffee scent in the air. Not to mention they have real good coffee!!

Still Plugging Along

I am in the process of starting up a networking group called BNI. I have attended a couple of meeting at other chapters but unfortunately I am locked out of thise groups. The groups are only allowed to have one person per profession in the group. My profession is obviously property and casualty insurance and apparently that position goes pretty quickly. So I was confronted by the area manager and asked if I would be interested in starting my own... at first I thought I'm not sure but I really like how the BNI system works. I was talking another agent that started his own BNI group and he was telling me about 40% of his new business last year was from his group. Thats pretty group. So I'm trying to get that started, so if anyone knows of any professionals that depend on referrals for their business that me know. Here is the website so they can check it out http://www.bni-ohio.com/. Recently at the one BNI group I attended I met a graphic designer and she is going to make some flyers for me. I had to get photographed again to get some shops that she can work with. The photographer... also from the BNI group gave me a great deal. I got about 20 photos for only $100. I will some photos let me know what you think.

Here is the picture that is on the wall at the Farmers Training facility. They hang pictures of all the agents that go career. I am somewhere around the 25th agent to meet all the requirements and go career since the center opened in 2006. According to the records, I now have a 90% chance of making it!

Passed My Test!!!

Thank God!! I am now an official Farmers Career Agent. The test was difficult but since I studied so much for it I knew it. I had 4 meetings lined up for me pending on me passing the test. I signed my official contract with Farmers 2 days after passing it. They told me I have 90 days to find my office space... in other words get out of the training center. Its great though... I am official. Since I passed my test I now have the ability to offer mutual funds and investment products to my customers. I can do 401k rollovers and Roth IRAs, its pretty cool. I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things now. I stopped trying to sell for about a month and now I have to get everything moving again. Especially since I have to hit quarterly goals, its part of my contract. Farmers is sending me to California at the end of May. They are going to give me the business owners 101 training. That should be fun, but from what I understand I won't have any time to see Hollywood. They are going to keep me busy the whole week down there. Anyways on a different note, I saw my first playoff game ever on Saturday with my dad. The Cavs kicked Detroit's butt by 18 points. I have high hopes for Cleveland to take it all this year. Hopefully they won't let me down again!!

Bought more time

Only a couple of days. I called to see if I could switch my test time to later time in the day on Saturday the 11th but they had no time available. So now my test will be on Monday April 13th. Two more days to study and I am happy about that. I have several different study material that are designed to help me pass the test. Its funny because I will take the practice quizzes from one book and do great and then I will take a practice test from the other material that is supposed to be the same subject matter and I won't do as well. I think they have several trick questions in these test. Its all multiple choice but when you go over these questions it seems every answer is right, I just have to find the answer that is most right. What a headache. I think I am done studying today... let me re-phrase that I am done studying today. I have three appointments tomorrow and one is at 9am. Now that I think about it, I have no idea why I did that to myself. 9am is too early!! A friend of mine that is also an insurance agent, wants me to go and check out some office space with him tomorrow. He wants me to share an office space with him. It sounds like a good idea, we can share expenses and that would be a big help. The space he found is on East 9th downtown. I never thought about going down there. I will go and check it out and see what the offer is, but I am not crossing my fingers or getting my hopes up. To be honest I am still leaning towards have my own branch. We will see what happens.

missing in action?

Maybe just a little bit... I've had my nose buried in a book studying for the last 2 weeks. I am taking my series 6 exam on April 11Th. Needless to say I have to pass, it is a must. My agency is doing as good as can be expected. Its a little slow right now, but I haven't done a lot of marketing since I have been studying. I went and saw some office space this week. Looks pretty promising. I like three spots. Two of them are large enough for me and an office manager. The other spot was large enough for me and 2 others agents to go in together and possibly save money on the rent and expenses. I need to find the other agents still though. The location I like the best was a storefront. It was around 650 sq ft, perfect for me. It was $700 a month all utilities included except electricity. I'm gonna keep looking, I don't know if you have noticed but there is an abundance of office space available. Location is very important to me and although I don't want to drive too far to work, I will if the office location is great to bring in business. Well my little break is over, I have to get back to the studying!!

One for the books

Today was a very historic day. President Barack Obama was sworn in and a new era has begun. I must say I am excited about the changes that may lay ahead. I know the new president has a lot on his plate but I am sure he will at least get us turned in the right direction. It is like a new beginning for everyone. I am looking forward to what this new year brings. Changes are coming, and things can only get better. (I hope) My new career is taking off nicely! I had a meeting last week with the management team and it appears that my hard work so far has not been unnoticed. They have me projected to go career (own my own branch) on March 1st. They told me if I get my series 6 license within the next month that they will lower my requirement of 45 policies to 30 policies and give me $5000 when I do go career to get my business started. Needless to say I was excited and I am up for the challenge. So far I have 14 policies and I have appointments set up for the end of the week. I'm really happy that this is going well for me. I really do enjoy it a lot and I can see the possibilities that this job can bring. Changes are definitely coming this year and so far it looks like it is for the good.

Time is Flying ...as usual

I can't believe its already 2009! Christmas was a blink and news years was just fast. I guess it always goes quicker when you are busy. Well I am a fully licensed insurance agent. Feels good to say that. It was the being n November that I decided to jump into this career and time has flown by since then. I was officially able to sell on December 29Th. since then I have 7 policies under my belt and 3 more appointments this week. I have been very busy lately. I really enjoy my job and I am thrilled at how well its going so far. The goal they gave me was to have 8 policies my first month. The goal I set for myself was 20 the first month. I am really excited about the possibilities that this career can bring me. i have a feeling though that it is going to get much harder. Right now sine I am working out of the corporate office they are giving me free leads, and the leads are great, but I know they are going to stop giving me the freebies soon. I am just starting my marketing plan this week and hopefully it generates some new business for me. I'll let you know how it goes!

Finally Done

I finally passed my last test today... I now have all the requirements to get licensed as an insurance agent. I have been going to class for the last week. It is very interesting. I have to say I think I am going to enjoy this career. I still have a lot to learn about being self employed but as far as the actual job goes, I think I'm ready. After I finish this blog I am going to register with the state and my license should be sent to me in the mail. By the end of the week I will be able to give quotes. Well here goes... sink or swim time. I've always enjoyed swimming.

sweet pictures

found these pitures online.....

Ultrasound day

I had this day marked on my calender for over 2 weeks. It was going to be one of the greatest days of my life. Today was the day I was going to see my baby's heart beat and get our 1st picture in the womb. We actually got to the doctors office a half hour early. We were so excited. Today we found out our baby's heart stopped beating. We met with our doctor on Nov. 17th and we had an ultrasound then and our baby measured at 6 weeks and 5 days. That day I got a glimpse at my baby's heart beat and today there wasn't one. Our baby stopped growing at 7 weeks and its little heart stopped beating sometime there after. We were instantly crushed. In my head I actually thought the doctor was joking with us and any second she was going to say "just joking." How silly is that? But that is what happened. I was in instant denial. A lot of people aren't ready for children when they have them. Many people don't want children for what ever reason. I know what challenges come with having a child. I know how selfless and patient one has to be. Believe me... I was ready to be a dad. It has always been a desire of mine. When I think of the future, I think of Magaly, myself and our children. There has never been any alternative to that. I think that it why I was instantly crushed. My future was coming to fruition and now its gone. We had a predicted due date and we picked out the baby's crib. Our excitement was built so high, everyone was so happy for us. It was going to be so great. I could picture future holidays. I could see our family days together, just the three of us and how much fun we would have. Its amazing the things you could imagine when you're so happy. Our baby was more than half way through the first trimester. It was almost in the clear. Only God knows what happened. I am not a much of an emotional man, and when I say that I mean I am not much of a cryer. But today was enough to shake the foundations of my tears, even if only for a moment. We will try again, just not any time soon. God knows the desires of our hearts. Today was supposed to be a happy day, but I guess we will have to wait a little longer. Keep us in your prayers.

I was about to BURST!!

Whew!! I'm glad the word is out... because 2 weeks is too long for me to hold good news. Magie and I announced on Thanksgiving day that we are going to have a baby. The last 2 weeks have been crazy! I was afraid to post anything because all that was in my mind was the baby. I literally avoided blogging. So I'm glad the word is out. We have an ultrasound on Thursday this week and we should be able to see the heart beating. I can't wait to see it, it is going to be awesome. We found out that Magie was pregnant when she was almost 6 weeks and now she is just over 8 weeks along. According to our handy dandy baby book the baby's organs are just about complete and the arms and legs are forming now along with the baby's eyes. Magie is dying for the baby to have blue eyes like my eyes. We have decided on names for the baby. If the baby is a boy we will call him Jakob Emmanuel. If she ends up being a girl :( then we will name her Sofia Adriana. I really hope the baby is a boy. I don't know why but I always wanted a boy first. Either way, we just hope the baby is healthy and we want one of each anyways. I can see it now... the baby will probably have Magie's curly hair and my blue eyes. Poor kid will probably be short because mom and dad aren't too tall. It is going to be a lot of fun! Everyone is so happy for us. We have so much planning to do. Its crazy! We should find out the babies sex in January. At that time we will be able to start decorating the baby's room. The baby's due date that we were able to figure out on line is July 15th. After our ultrasound on Thursday we will know the exact due date according to the doctor. Magie has been craving Mexican food non-stop and she has been so tired lately. It really funny to count how many times times she has to pee. The one day she was so frustrated because she went and came out and only about 5 minutes went by and she had to go again. Time seems to be flying by lately... before we know it this baby will be here. I'm so glad we have such a great family and wonderful friends. They have all been a big support. I know Magie really needs that, I can only imagine the emotional roller coaster she is on right now. Well I know I will have tons more to tell you all this week. I have to take 3 state exams this week to get licensed. So its study time for me all week. Wish me luck!

Another case of the Mondays!!

Today seemed to last forever... I had my first class for my property and casualty test. This material is so dry I almost fell asleep. It would probably help if my teacher wasn't so dry but what can you do. I have to learn it. My plan is to take all my state exams by December 1st. We shall see if that happens. Its so hard to study at home because we only have 1 computer here and my wife is also in school. I usually let her use it but that leaves me very little time to use it. I am sure everything will work out. I cant wait till Thanksgiving!! Even though we will be driving around all over Cleveland... you cant beat good food. It snowed pretty good today. Probably the most snow so far this year. Coco loved it! He was running around like a crazy dog out there. We only had maybe and inch or 2 but it was enough to cover the ground. Well the Browns are winning right now and I am thinking about calling it a night.

I'm still here...

It has been awhile since I last wrote... Man I have been BUSY. First of all I passed my Life Insurance proctor on Thurs of last week. I have been trying to study to get a test in by the end of the week for the Heath Insurance part but we will see. I start my in class lessons for the Casualty and Property Insurance on Monday and that goes through the end of next week. I'm on it and working hard. It is a lot of info to cover in such a short period of time. It has been really hard to study this week because I am stuck with Jury Duty this week. So far it has been very boring there. I have yet to get on a case, so it is a lot of sitting around. I have been studying there but for me it is easier to study online and take the practice test as I go. I wish I had a laptop because the building is wireless and then I know I could get some work done. i come home from Jury Duty and I am just whooped! It is very draining to sit around all day and do nothing. I'm still really exited about being an insurance agent. I have got to get these test completed. Well I am off to study up. Get back to ya soon.

Back home

What a crazy week. I left for hunting on Tuesday last week and got back in town yesterday early evening. I had a great time. When I got down there on Tuesday I hurried up and put my hunting gear on and stood in the creek for 2 hours. It was real windy that day. The gust must have been about 30 mph. I saw Uncle George's truck pull in right as the sun was going down. I thought great, we have a deer to go find. They left their stands early because the wind was blowing so hard. So about 10 mins after I left the creek bed we looked outside and saw deer in the field. That's just my luck! They show up right when I leave. From Wed. thru Friday no one saw deer in the woods. It was real strange, usually is down or at least spotted every other day. I was getting nervous because I knew I had to come back on Sunday. Saturday was my last hope. I had 2 arrows in the air on Saturday... both misses. When I told my wife her first words were you suck, then she told me I was deer repellent. Thanks for the support dear... I appreciate it. Saturday really was great. All week long I was waiting for a day like Saturday. We work up at 4:30am and we were in our tree stands by 6:00am. On the way to our hunting spot which is called "Way" we spotted 6 deer in the fields and crossing the roads. We knew it was going to be a good day. At about 9:00am I m sitting in my tree stand and I hear CRACK! I jump on my radio and I ask Uncle George if he just shot his bow, nothing he isn't responding. He is in a tree that is only about 80 yards from my tree stand. So I keep radioing him and finally he says real quick "she is gonna pop out right in front of you." I stand up real fast and pick up my bow. I heard him shoot and here comes a deer jumping right in my path. She was about 50 yards from me. Its kind of a far shot and I usually only practice up to 40 yards because its a far shot. Well like I said the pressure is on I go home on Sunday So I shoot. At the time I didn't is there was a hit. Uncle George radios me saying "did you just shoot?" He knew it was far from his tree stand. While all this is going on Kevin, Uncle Georges friend radios that he just shot a doe. We sat in our stands for another hour. Uncle George came over and I told him where I shot and he went to look for the arrow. I getting down out of the tree and he comes over to me and said he cant find the arrow but there is a boat load of blood over there. I walk over there and notice that the blood is going backwards from my shot. It was then that we realized Uncle George actually shot the deer. He tells me that if he the deer he either slit its throat or gave real bad bloody nose because he saw his arrow and he thought it was a miss. We mete back at the truck and go look for Kevin's deer first because we knew that deer was gonna die for sure, and we weren't sure the bloody nose was gonna kill the deer. We couldn't find Kevin's deer so Kevin looking and following the blood trail while uncle George and I looked for his deer. I find my arrow and it was buried right underneath the blood trail. My shot was short. We good good blood the way and found the deer at the bottom of a creek bed. He actually shot the deer in the cheek and my have sliced the deer are tube and it suffocated. Later that night I hunted the property since we had seen deer coming in everyday to the field. We saw as man as 6 deer in the field on more that one occasion. I was set up on the hill and saw 3 deer about 6:00pm come my way. They passed me by too quickly and went to the field. I was about 40 yards from the fields edge and I knew my only shot was in the woods before they got into the field. I radio the guys at the cabin to make noise to scare the deer back in the woods. I knew that they would come right to me. No answer on the radio. I thinking what the heck I was just talking to those fools and they said radio them if I needed the deer scared back in. No answer. I'm losing light ta this time and I'm watching the 3 deer have in the field. Finally one deer comes close to the edge but quickly starts going back. It was about a 65 yard shot..maybe 70 yards. But I figured if anything else I possible scare them back in the woods and get another shot. Well I over the doe and by the time the deer made back to me I had no light. So unfortunately my trip was unsuccessful, but I sure had fun. I forgot my camera at home so no pictures this time. The season is long from over so I have more time.

What a great day so far

I am leaving today to hunting for 5 days. I can't wait! I have never gone to the cabin for more than 2 nights before so this will be different. My goal is to get 2 deer this week so that I can take some time away. I come back on Sunday in the afternoon. So that has had my spirits up for the last few days. The really great news is that the job I was waiting to here back from called me this morning and want me to pursue a career with them. I delayed my hunting trip for a couple of hours and I am going to meet with them before I go. I am going to become an insurance agent. The company is going to set me up to take the test to get my state license to sell insurance and after I get them... then I'm off. Selling insurance to every possible person that I come across. I am really excited about it. To me it was a no brainer. I love helping people and I love meeting new people. It just fits for me. Now I have 2 hours before I meet with them and I still have some light packing to do. At least now I have sometime to clean up around the house before I go. My wife will be happy with that. I don't know what she is gonna do without me for a week, but I'm sure she has it all planned out. See you in five days!!!