Noah chooses the insurance profession as a portal to the American Dream | Insurance business America
“I’m competing… with the big boys and I’ve decided I really like it.”
Insurance News
By Mark Schoeff Jr.
Patience Noah (pictured) decided to pursue her American dream through the insurance industry.
Noah came from Liberia with her family in 2003 when she was 14 years old. Fleeing the Civil War in their homeland, they settled in Framingham, Massachusetts, about 20 minutes outside of Boston.
Even as a teenager, she knew she wanted to own a business one day. She just didn’t know what profession. She attended the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and earned a degree in marketing.
Towards the end of her studies, a mentor suggested she pursue a career in insurance. Noah followed the advice, did some research, and found her first job in insurance sales. Since then, she has worked her way up in the industry.
The topic of insurance initially intrigued Noah because “it’s an industry that a lot of people in my community have nothing to do with,” she said in an interview with Insurance Business America.
After a few years, she liked what she saw on the market.
“There are a lot of options in the insurance world,” Noah said.
“Competing… with the big boys”
Her entry into the insurance industry wasn’t exactly glamorous. She cold-called the first company she worked for all day. Within six months she was a top performer.
“I compete with the big boys and have found that I really like it,” she said.
The experience brought back memories of her time as a college track athlete and high school basketball player.
“I like the competitiveness,” Noah said. “That was one of the things that stood out to me.”
She moved to Connecticut and worked for trucking companies. She then moved to Willis Towers Watson in Boston for just over two years. During her early career, she worked as a customer service representative, account manager and sales manager. Her most recent position as a marketing representative was with Travelers.
Become independent
Although she was successful in sales, she still wanted to run her own business. She founded Patience Noah Insurance in 2019 in her hometown of Framingham, starting as a captive agent.
She only worked as an agent for a few months before striking out on her own. It’s a model she enjoys as she works with individuals, families and businesses on a range of insurance needs.
“There’s just so much you can do with it,” Noah said. “I can grow as much as I want… build a strong sales team and build strong relationships with carriers.”
One of their ongoing challenges is to “demystify the industry,” Noah said. There are misconceptions about being ripped off when it comes to car insurance and visions of door-to-door sales that don’t match reality.
“I love the aspect of educating people,” Noah said. “This industry is much deeper and broader than anyone can imagine.”
Convinces her mother
One of the first people she had to educate about insurance was her mother, who came to the United States to seek political asylum to escape the civil war in Liberia. She then applied for the admission of her children – Patience and her brother.
Like many immigrant parents, Noah’s mother believed her daughter should become a lawyer or go into health care.
“I heard this talk from my mother: ‘If you want to be successful in America, go and work as a nurse,'” Noah said. “That wasn’t my path. If I want to be as rich as I want, I can do it in the insurance industry.”
Overcome self-doubt, promote diversity
As an immigrant and woman of color, Noah is making progress in a profession dominated by white men. Along the way, she had to overcome self-doubt.
“When I first started… I had this limiting attitude towards myself: Oh, you’re a woman [or] “You’re Black, you won’t succeed,” she said. “I have to overcome these voices in my head and come into this room and show up as a professional, not as a woman, not as a black person, but as a professional. As soon as I [stopped] I talked myself out of any chances, the rest was easy.”
The insurance sector is making progress in terms of diversity, Noah said. But there is still a lot to do. She continues to see only a handful of people who look like her at industry events.
“We still need more women in the field,” Noah said. “We still need more women in sales positions. We still need agency owners to invest in their young female account managers.”
She tries to help.
“One of the things I’m trying to figure out is how to hire people in my industry, not just Black people, but young women who have the ability to make sales,” Noah said. “How can I invest in and support young women who want to work for my agency?”
The start of their career may be difficult, but they can find a path as rewarding as theirs.
“Yeah, it’s rough water,” Noah said. “But at some point it will get easier. You start figuring out your niche. You start to figure out what’s best for you.”
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2024-05-17 14:24:22
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