Brianna Rowland
Brianna Rowland’s Insurance Journey
The everyday life of a primary parent to children can be challenging. Sometimes, it may feel overwhelming, but chores still need to be completed, food must be on the table, and provisions must be met for the family. Second-year insurance agent and single mom Brianna Rowland has always worked diligently to support her two young children. In the past, she has worked as a certified nurse assistant and double jobs as a medical assistant in a clinic and then as a nightshift hospital phlebotomist. Once she ventured into the insurance business, she found new ways to set an example and provide for her children.
In July 2023, Brianna was working in marketing for a hospice. While attending a marketing event for her employer, Brianna happened to sit next to the right person at the right time. One connection led to another, and Brianna Rowland met the General Agent (GA), who would eventually become her upline, Hugo Santana. Mr. Santana spoke with Brianna about how Empower Brokerage benefits him and his agents. He encouraged her to partner with the FMO, attend their free licensing class, and get licensed to sell insurance products. Brianna was inspired to do so and signed up for the next licensing class offered by Empower. The McAllen native attended the two-day seminar and passed the state licensing test on her first try. By the end of September, she had completed all the contracting necessary to sell for the annual enrollment period (AEP) that October. Brianna did not waste any time as she completed her first sales during the first month of AEP.
She admits there were challenges to being a new independent agent. “It was rocky at first because you have to build up your client base, so it took about six months before I knew I was stable,” explains Brianna. At about this time, Brianna’s other employer ceased operations, so having a second career in insurance sales was a blessing. “It worked out perfectly. I thank God that I even got licensed to begin with because I would not have had a backup plan.”
Brianna has concentrated mostly on Medicare and ACA sales and has been so successful that she has met the personal business goals she set for herself. Within a year of earning her license, Ms. Rowland secured an office space and created an LLC for her agency, BR Insurance and Advisory, LLC. Currently, she is aspiring to become a GA. Brianna is also expanding her sales efforts with life insurance products.
All these advancements in her career developed with the help of Empower Brokerage. “I was really impressed by how they train [agents] and start you off for success,” declares Ms. Rowland. The second-year agent also says she appreciates that Empower is interested in seeing partnering agents grow, just as she progresses to the GA level. The Empower Brokerage tools and resources are also vital to agent success, and Brianna understands that. In addition to her upline, Ms. Rowland knows she can find a specific insurance product specialist among the Empower staff and seek their guidance. Brianna also speaks well about the Rio Grande Valley directors. She praises Regional Sales Director Matthew Huerta for always having the right answer to her questions. Additionally, Brianna is grateful to Regional Sales Director Claudia Howard, National Director of Business Development Monica Quintana, and Maribel Santana, the wife of her upline Hugo Santana, for being her biggest cheerleaders in her work. “Those three women are the hype behind my confidence,” says Ms. Rowland.
Interacting with Clients, Goals, and Advice
Brianna is naturally sociable and quickly learned how to best approach potential clients with simple conversations about a person’s life and family. She also utilizes social media and has obtained clients via her Facebook business page and Instagram. Ms. Rowland also has acquired customers through many referrals and received positive reviews online. She strives to achieve new goals each year, and she sees the sky as her limit.
In five years, Brianna hopes to be a flourishing GA with about 15 agents working under her. She believes quality over quantity is most critical. Ms. Rowland says she envisions herself focusing on those downline agents by being available to answer their questions and helping them reach a level where they can support their families. She hopes to help other young women like her find confidence and independence in building a career to support themselves and their children.
What advice would she give those agents when they start insurance careers? She will encourage them to tough it out even though the income might be difficult to come by at first. Brianna saw first-hand that once an agent learns the insurance language, knows how to close a sale, and builds a client base, then that agent will be positioned for success. “I will have high standards for anyone starting because if I did, then so can they,” states Ms. Rowland.
Brianna Rowland and Family
Brianna Rowland’s Family Life
As a child, Brianna moved around quite a bit. Her stepdad served in the armed forces, which led to the family getting transferred to different locations every three years or so. She has lived in Texas, Florida, England, Portugal, and Arizona all before age 12. She gained some stability in middle school and high school when she spent six years living in Hawaii. After 11th grade, her stepdad retired, and the family moved back to the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), where she completed her senior year at Sharyland High School.
Upon moving back to the RGV, she was eager to learn Spanish and over the last 10 years became fluent in the language. Brianna is very proud of this accomplishment and feels speaking the language is a crucial skill for a South Texas agent. She has even received compliments on her Spanish despite not growing up in South Texas. Furthermore, returning to the RGV allowed Brianna to reunite with her biological father. Now, they are inseparable, and he remains one of her biggest support systems as a mother and insurance agent. She is also thankful for her grandparents’ unconditional love and support with no judgment throughout her journey. “[My dad] is so proud of me and always makes sure I know that,” says Brianna. “Making your parents and grandparents proud is probably one of the best feelings in life aside from meeting your babies for the first time in the hospital.”
Brianna has established roots in South Texas and developed a career that is on the rise. What keeps her pushing forward to the next goal? “My children,” exclaims Brianna about her son and daughter. “They are my motivation inside and outside of work because they need to have a good example.” The proud mom further shares, “I want my kids to know that they can do whatever they set their mind to with hard work and dedication so that, in the end, they never have to depend on anyone. They’ve seen me at rock bottom, but they’ve also seen me double up every single time I tripped and fell along the way. I lead them by example every chance I get, not only with work but with self-worth and life skills. I’m trying to raise well-rounded human beings.” Certainly, the well-being of Brianna’s children is her priority, and she also treasures spending quality time with them. She is fascinated with all they say about everyday activities or their trips. “I don’t think anyone has ever made me laugh as hard as my kids do. It is just funny taking them out into the world,” says Brianna, who looks forward to traveling more with her children. She also values the flexibility of her work schedule, which allows her more time with her youngsters. As an independent agent, if one of her children falls sick, she can change her work schedule to accommodate the situation. “I remember being so scared to get fired from jobs because my son had to be picked up from daycare or miss days due to fever or sicknesses,” says Brianna. “I am my own boss now, so I can stay home or bring my children to my office. It’s so convenient.”
Brianna Rowland’s hard work in insurance sales has benefited her family a great deal. Everything seems to point upward for Brianna, and we eagerly await to see what the future holds for her.
Agents
We hope that this agent spotlight on Brianna Rowland is useful to you.
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Joey Hinojosa graduated with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and a master’s degree in mass communications. He began working at Empower Brokerage in early 2022 and enjoys being creative in his writing, photography, videography, animation, and other projects.
