Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Hogue.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jennifer. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in Oklahoma in a small town outside of Tulsa. I had dreams of becoming a professional ballerina. I auditioned and was accepted to many ballet schools around the country. I attended these during the summer as well as dancing for Tulsa Ballet Theatre during the school year. The highlight of my dance history was being the lead dancer in Swan Lake – a framed picture in our home gives me proof for my daughters to believe that was me! I was also Valedictorian of my high school, a fact that proved super hard to convince my parents to skip college and go straight to New York. We finally agreed on Southern Methodist University. A school that had both excellent academics and a great dance school.
Fast forward to a torn ACL while skiing in Vermont and very bad grades in pre-med classes- I found my comfort zone in the business school. Graduating with a B.B.A. from Cox School of Business, I very much enjoyed my majors of Finance and Marketing. Studying in the French Rivera for my French minor was not bad either.
Unable to sit still and stare at a computer for long periods of time, I found myself in a telecommunications sales roll. From there- and over a 14-year span – I worked my way to the supporting the largest accounts in the company. I loved the combination of learning about and helping businesses while being in a competitive sales environment. During this time, I met my husband and we have three amazing children together.
As my career progressed, I got the urge to “lean in”, to sit at the table as Sheryl Sandberg says. I accepted a job to move into corporate life. I found just what I had looked for – a seat at the table. Much to my surprise, I didn’t like it. Because it was a corporate job – much different than sales – it seemed that to be successful, the job required me to be in the office from 7am to 7pm.
Having three young children – being away from them and my husband seemed to stress me more and more each day. Missing breakfast to be at a 7:30am meeting just didn’t give the same satisfaction as being able to drop them off a school myself and then catching up on the work later (which seems ridiculous – what ever happened to trying for work/life balance – whole other topic for another day).
Fast forward again – I decided to take matters into my own hands and really go for what I wanted. To start a small business. And what better one than insurance! I know, it seems crazy, but having a financial/business mind – it really seemed to be the perfect fit. I’m able to help people and their businesses. I’m in the community, so part of building my business is to be out of the office meeting new people, supporting local schools, non-profits and businesses. The ability to make decisions that have an immediate impact on the company is exactly what I dreamed it would be… and more.
I’m sure I work more total hours than when I was in corporate life, but having the flexibility to see my family more truly makes is worthwhile. I have no guilt attending the parent teacher meeting, PTA meeting or any of the other volunteer activities. Life changing!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Somewhere along the way, I lost (or never had) the understanding that 1st impressions and personal brand are extremely important if you want to get to the next level. I guess I wanted people to value me and my strengths, not just how I looked. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen that way in business. People want to work with other people that have their act together. I’m not talking about being beautiful or handsome either. I learned the hard way that being perceived as polished and professional takes a lot of work! I started what has and is a journey of bettering myself. I read – a lot! People like Arianna Huffington, Maria Bartiromo, Oprah, Sheryl Sandberg, Jen Sincero (gotta have some laughs) are all so motivating to help us see that we can always be improving and we have so much to offer the world.
The struggles of a small business are real. Without my husband and family cheering me on and helping me back up when I’m down, I would not be telling the same story as I am now. They have done everything from put furniture together, move in filing cabinets and vacuum my office on a Sunday! They inspire me each day and I am truly grateful for their love and support.
Please tell us about Hogue Insurance Group.
At Hogue Insurance Group, we look at the bigger picture with you to prepare you for life’s curveballs. I started on this journey to be the valued agent – the one that not only sends birthday cards, but one that really gets to know clients and suggests products that can improve their lives. We provide home, auto, life, and business insurance to residents and businesses.
Based in Dallas, our insurance agents aim to make every interaction a positive experience. Our goal is to make buying insurance as pleasant of an experience as possible. We really try to meet our clients however they would like to communicate. Even if that means texting. We know our clients are busy and the goal is to make sure they have the correct amount of coverage for their situation. That’s really tough to do through a computer. Even if they generate a quote online, we always follow up to make sure we have talked through the coverages with our customers.
And since we are local, we specialize in knowing our neighborhood. We know the difference in true hardwood floors that might be original to the home. We write hard written notes, we know our customers by name. We just love being the local insurance agency. Customers still come to our office to pay monthly payments. It might sound a bit backwards, but it is definitely a value of which I’m proud.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think Dallas is an amazing place for all businesses. We have so many large corporations based here – which brings more people buying homes, shopping at local businesses and restaurants.
There are so many awesome people here – the outpouring of help and support from Dallas residents to help victims of Hurricane Harvey is truly remarkable. I’m proud to call Dallas home.
A big part of my business is networking, and I have been so overwhelmed with the amount of potential business networking groups in Dallas. It’s just a matter of getting out there and finding which ones work well with your business.
Like any major city, traffic is a challenge. I’m excited to see progress made on transit systems and easier ways for us to get around town.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5757 W Lovers Lane #221
Dallas, Texas 75209 - Website: www.hogueinsurancegroup.com
- Phone: 972-404-0303
Image Credit:
Lost Pearl Creative, LLC.
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