IAM1458 – Insurance Planner Helps Business Owners Get the Proper Coverage Needs

Jejuan Courtney owner of JCA Insurance Planners.

Born in Washington D.C. lives in Gainesville Virginia.

Married with 7 children.

• CEO Story: The goal is to educate the consumer and help to enhance their knowledge about insurance, make the proper choices, and achieve the needs that are trying to fulfill. Trying to get rid of the misconceptions happening on the field.
• Business Service: Financial consultation for family and business. Proper insurance for the desired coverage needs.
• Secret Sauce: Explaining to business owners what they need to know. Preparing for the current and the future of the business. Understanding people where they are.
• CEO Hack: Stay educated in the field, through webinars with the experts. Getting ahead of the game. Refresh, taking time to get out of the pressures.
• CEO Nugget: Do to others as they would have done unto you.
• CEO Defined: Able to pour your life experience and knowledge into people around you. Have integrity – making the right choices.

Website: www.jcainsuranceplanners.com

Facebook: jcainsuranceplannersllc

Twitter: JcaInsurance1

Instagram: jcainsuranceplanners

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrXt_ypure8WNONhVZEBEgA

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Transcription

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00:00 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

00:5 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO Podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Juwan Courtney of JCA Insurance Planners. Juwan, it's great to have you on the show.

01:00 – Jejuan Courtney

Thank you, Gresham. Glad to be here.

01:03- Gresham Harkless

Yeah, super excited to have you on. And before we jump into the interview, I want to read a little bit more about Juwan so you can hear about all the awesome things that he's working on. Juwan is the owner of JCA Insurance Planners, he was born in Washington, D.C. lives in Gainesville, Virginia, and is married with seven children. Dewan, excited again to have you on the show, my friend. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:23- Jejuan Courtney

Yes, I am. Awesome.

01:25 – Gresham Harkless

Well, let's make it happen then. So to kind of kick everything off, I know I touched on a little bit, but I wanted to rewind the clock here a little bit more on what I call your CEO story. We'll let you get started with all the awesome work you're doing.

01:35- Jejuan Courtney

Okay. We're here at JSA Insurance Planners. Our number one goal is educating the consumer. There are a lot of misconceptions about insurance that are out in the public. And also I want to help to enhance their knowledge so when they're going looking at insurance and the products and services that are out there, they know how to make good, proper choices and selections of companies as well as the needs that they are trying to fulfill.

02:08 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. That makes a lot of sense. And being able to kind of make sure that when you are making certain decisions and any decisions at that, but definitely around insurance and those aspects, you want to make sure that you're informed. So I love that you have that as a. I feel like it should be like a requirement for all businesses, but not everybody, I imagine, does that.

02:28 – Jejuan Courtney

No, they don't. And like, one of the things that I try to, do when it comes to insurance, especially businesses as well, is to make sure that you are properly covered. Because the worst thing that happens is that you buy insurance and you think, okay, all my ducks are in a row and everything's good to go, and then you have an incident happen and you go to put your claim in and then you find out that, oh, well, that that's not in your policy yet, that's not being covered, that's an endorsement or something that should have been added that we didn't talk about. So now you're coming out of pocket for that particular incident. And now that puts a bad taste in your mouth or on insurance and insurance, you know, companies, and then, you know, you wind up not trusting and that, that hurts the trust level for agents as myself, that's trying to bring on clients.

03:24 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. You see that in so many different industries where somebody's been quote, unquote, burned or they feel like things don't go the way that they expected them to go, so they automatically can blame the actual, I guess, product or service rather than sometimes the ability for people that are really top-notch at what it is that they do to make sure that you actually do have those ducks in a row, not just think you do and have that consultation and understanding. So. So that people are basically set up for success.

03:55 – Jejuan Courtney

Yes. And another thing is also to do reviews of your policies. You know, it's not just signing you up and saying, hey, thanks for buying the insurance from us, and then have a good day. But you know, your business or your lifestyle or different things and aspects of your life are going to change and you need to make those adjustments in your policies or the type of insurance that you cover, you have that you're carrying.

So it's a great idea to do reviews. I try to do yearly reviews with my clients if not at least like every two years. Because you got to think about it, the rates are changing, they go up and down between companies as well as, you know, there are different aspects of the business. For instance, Covid, you know, Covid was a big eye opener for a lot of owners, business owners as well, because of the fact that, hey, I'm closed and I can't pay my employees, so, you know, the insurance company needs to pay me because I'm closed. Well, that's something that wasn't covered because it was a pandemic and a lot of people not understanding their insurance policies and the coverage that they had didn't realize that until it was basically too late. Now how do you get covered for a pandemic or something like that? There's just no coverage insurance for right now.

So that's something that's being looked at because after 911 the same thing, you know, the terrorism coverage came out after 911 because we had never had to really deal with that here in America where, you know, something like that happened and you lost your business because, you know, the fires or whatever happened surrounding that area. So it's something that's been talked about, it's been looked at as far as how the insurance companies can incorporate that. Okay, the next upcoming pandemic, I mean, how do we, you know, get set up for that financially? What would that cost the average policy owner to ensure that? So that's something that's, you know, out there. But as of right now, I don't think there's anything available for like pandemic, the next pandemic that's coming.

06:32- Gresham Harkless

Yeah, that makes so much sense. So I know, you know, you covered some of the ways that you kind of work with the clients. I want to make sure that you covered all of those ways that you kind of work in and serve the clients. And then ask you a little bit more about what I call your secret sauce, which you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique.

06:48 – Jejuan Courtney

Well, here at JSA Insurance Planners, I do what I call life stages. So I take and look at where you are now in the stage of your life and then we look forward to making sure that you're, that you have the proper coverage that you need for the moment. But your future coming forward, especially business owners, you know, what's your succession plan? I mean, how are you going to get out of the business? I mean, who's taken over? If you were to pass away suddenly, who's taking over the business? How is it going to get money? Do you have the proper life insurance or do you have a buy-sell agreement in place? I mean, these are things that you need to know. If you became disabled and you couldn't work, you know, how's money going to come in? Do you have a disability plan? You know, short-term, long-term disability.

So it's different aspects of insurance that I try to sit down with the business owner for today. And then also in your future, are you set up? Are you prepared? Because that's the whole thing is the preparedness piece that you know, you can't stick your head in the sand and say, well, you know, I'll get to that down the road because you don't know what's going to happen, especially in your business over the next year or two.

09:06 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, we definitely don't know when you know that thing's going to happen. So you can't say, you know when it happens because often, you know, if you wait till then, often it could be too late. So I love that preparation. Please. And I love how, you know that aspect that you kind of spoke to where again, you know, forgetting about the human aspect of business, you kind of understand where people are along their journey and help them to understand what are the steps that they, maybe they should start to consider. Like you said, business succession, you know, life stages, you know, getting married, all those things that happen and what that can mean and trying to prepare as much as possible for those next things. So I love that, that approach in that aspect.

09:43- Jejuan Courtney

Exactly, exactly. And you know, it boils down to just taking the time. We're all busy, you know, and we're all trying to, you know, we're chasing the carrot, we're trying to get it, make it happen. And it's easy, you know, at the end of the day you're tired and you know, you have, you may have your family that you have to deal with or different things that you're dealing with. Maybe you're grinding out two jobs or three jobs or whatever you're doing and it's, it's hard to, you know, take that time out, to sit down and think about that, you know, so then that's when I just try to take some of your basic information that you give me and then work with that to try to put a plan together. You know, this is what, you know, these policies or this service is going to cost you. You know, maybe financially you're not in a place right now, but what can we do to make adjustments so that, you know, you do have the finances available to take care of your insurance policy needs? What do you have to have in place?

10:47 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And it's so important to kind of have that as something that is a priority. But I love that you work with and for lack of a better term, meet people where they are to make sure that they can take those awesome steps. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that you feel makes you more effective and efficient?

11:12 – Jejuan Courtney

I would say I try to stay educated in the. In the field. So I try to make sure that I can connect with as many webinars that are available, because these are experts in the field in that particular industry that I'm trying to cover. You know, so I want to make sure that I stay up to par with, you know, the newest and latest technologies. You know, like now they. A lot of insurance companies are going with the apps that you put in your phone so that when you drive around, they can see how your driving habits are and help you with that to try to lower your insurance rates.

So just things like that that's coming down the road so that I'm ahead of the game with things like that. And also I try to take time out to refresh myself as far as my mindset. So I try to, you know, take the time out to get away from all the pressures of the business itself and work on me.

So that's the first thing in the. In, the morning. A lot of times I will like, for me, it's. It's reading my Bible and spending time in prayer, listening to some relaxing music, and then I'm ready to jump into the day. I don't jump into my day first and then, you know, try to put that time of reflection in somewhere during the day because it's just too crazy. It's too busy. At the end of the day, I'm too tired. So I start my day off with that, you know.

12:51 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. Would you consider that to be what I like to call a CEO nugget? It's a little bit more word of wisdom or a piece of advice. You might have mentioned this already, but it's something I usually say you would tell your favorite client, or if you were to hop into a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

13:07- Jejuan Courtney

A nugget that I would say is kind of like the golden rule. Do to others as you would have done to you. So when I think of other people, I want to know that if I was in that situation where I didn't have enough of what I needed, you would stop by and say, hey, I noticed that you're lacking and I have. Or I can show you how, too. So I want to take time out. I want to take a moment and show you that I want to help you out so that you are fully whole in that situation.

13:43 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely appreciate that. And I wanted to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different, quote, unquote CEOs on this show. So, Joanne, what does being a CEO mean to you?

13:54- Jejuan Courtney

A CEO to me means that I'm able to pour my life experience and knowledge that I've known into the people around me that work so they understand, especially in this industry where you're getting a lot of sensitive information. So it's integrity. You have got to be that person that would do what's right when you're alone in the dark, as they say, because that's where your true essence comes out.

So I try to pour that into anyone around me that as a CEO of this company, that looks how I run it, look at how I do things and how I try to not only just do the best of my ability, but do what's right, make the right choices. Because there are opportunities where, yeah, I could say to you, Gresham, this is the best policy because I know I would make a higher commission off of it. But it may not really be the best policy or product for you.

And if I know that this product over here, maybe it's a little bit less and my commission will be a little bit smaller, but it's the right policy for you. Then as a CEO owner, I have to make that decision to do what's right for my clients, not what's right for me, that I think in my pocket first. So that's what I try to steal into everyone, is to do what's the right thing.

15:28 – Gresham Harkless

Definitely appreciate that definition. Dejuan, of course, I appreciate you for pouring into us today. So what I want to do now is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know and of course, how best people can get a hold of you to find about all the awesome things that you're working on.

15:43 – Jejuan Courtney

What I would say is here at JSA Insurance Planners, like I said, our goal is to educate and to help the consumer make the right decisions when it comes to insurance and how to select it. We are constantly trying to bring on more insurance companies that we work with so we can provide more services and products for our clients as well as we are. You know, the best way to get ahold of us is you go to our website, insuranceplanners.com or you can give us a call at 703-727-2929 or email us at jcainsurancemail.com, awesome, awesome.

16:30 – Gresham Harkless

And to make that even easier, we're going to have links and information in the show notes so that everybody can get a hold of you and reach out before, you know, they come into those times of need, hopefully, to make sure that they're well taken care of. But I love that last part about the education piece and how that's your mission and the bedrock of everything that you all are doing. Because I think when you start to kind of lead with education, you start to really inform people so that they can end up making those best decisions. But you know, you always, you know, hate to hear those situations where people didn't know.

So I love that you, you know, you're pouring into so many people. You're letting them know about all the awesome things that, you know, they could be doing to prepare. And I appreciate you for, of course, sharing that today and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

17:11 – Jejuan Courtney

Well, thank you, Gresham. It's been a pleasure to be on your podcast today and I really appreciate you.

17:19 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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