This article originally published on InsNerds.
Today we feature a guest article by Mitchell Sharp, Marketing Associate at Workers Compensation Shop.com .
My journey from being a kayaking guide to the halls of a commercial insurance agency
My entire life I have searched out for variety in every aspect of my life. As a child and teenager, I played three sports that kept me busy and occupied year round. During college, I pursued a degree in Parks and Recreation. This allowed me to experience as many new types of recreation as humanly possible. After graduation, I got a job with the YMCA. With this organization, I lived in three different time zones and worked with people from every continent except for Antarctica. This path led me to a job as a sailing guide on a 70-foot sailboat in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, then to working as a ski instructor in the Rocky Mountains and finally to working as a ropes course facilitator in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. Throughout this journey, no matter what I was doing, I eventually got bored with what I was doing. I got bored because I was doing the same thing every day and interacting with essentially the same types of clients. Even though I was being paid to help other people play on their vacation, I eventually got bored with what I was doing.
While working for the YMCA, I eventually met a girl and fell in love. In order to keep her and our families from worrying too much, I decided to find a line of work that did not require a helmet. Because of this, I went back to school, got a second degree, and found a home in the insurance industry. Needless to say, I did not expect this industry to be exciting. I was fully prepared for a change of pace, and I was pleasantly surprised by the people I interacted with on a daily basis. The insurance industry allowed me to get out of the rut of interacting with the same types of people and doing the same activities over and over again. Now, I am excited every day by the way this industry allows me to interact with so many different types of people.
Working in marketing for an insurance company has allowed me to interact with business owners from several different industries, backgrounds, and even different parts of the country. I love how one interaction may be with a business owner from a large metropolitan area, and the next interaction may be with a family business in rural America. I grew up in a small town and hold a special place in my heart for the rural small business owner. These people are the backbone of our economy, and insurance has allowed me to interact with many of them in so many different ways. I also have lived in a city and know how much commerce takes place in our metropolitan areas. I enjoy interacting with these business owners and helping them with their unique risk management needs.
Also, the variety of working with people from many different geographic areas has gotten rid of the boredom I experienced in previous jobs. It has allowed me to keep the work I do fresh and exciting on a daily basis. No matter how dull explaining a workers’ compensation insurance policy may be, it is rewarding to find a way to help people from all walks of life. That is what excites me on a daily basis.
As I have gotten more involved in the insurance industry, I have come to realize that everyone interacts with the insurance industry in some form or fashion. Regardless of whether it is in their business or personal life, everyone has to purchase some form of insurance. This is a fact of life that is not going to change any time soon. Because insurance is a necessity of life, it makes the industry much more recession proof than many other industries. I remember the recession that occurred earlier this decade, and I know a lot of people who were laid off. I do not wish to be in their shoes, and I feel the insurance industry offers unique possibilities that make it a more durable industry to grow my career.
Working with people from different geographic locations and industries has ignited a passion for insurance that was missing in all of my previous jobs. The diversity of products and the necessity of the product has opened up my career to interacting with business owners in all parts of our economy. This diversity and the strength of this growing industry are why I love the insurance industry.
About Mitchell Sharp
Mitchell Sharp is a Marketing Associate at Workers Compensation Shop.com. Mitchell has a passion for commercial insurance, social media and digital marketing. He wants to use his knowledge of these subjects to benefit the small business community.
Mitchell Sharp is a Marketing Associate at Workers Compensation Shop.com. Mitchell has a passion for commercial insurance, social media and digital marketing. He wants to use his knowledge of these subjects to benefit the small business community.
