The things I do or say today remind me OH so much of my parents. My mom and dad both work in sales, real estate and insurance respectfully. I followed in my father's footsteps and joined the insurance profession at the wise age of 24. At that juncture of my life I hadn't yet realized my "calling".
Shortly after joining a family agency, All American Insurance, in 2006, I decided to return to college to complete my bachelor's degree in marketing. I couldn't afford to quit work and go to school, so I maintained a full-time job at the agency while attending classes. Shortly after resuming classes I received an offer from a non-profit insurance association to work as their marketing representative. I accepted, feeling the job was more in my field of study and would offer me the opportunity to explore the insurance industry without standing in the shadow of my father's agency.
I joined Independent Insurance Agents of Nebraska and quickly fine-tuned my marketing skills working as a change agent. In a few short years our board was able to establish new programs and initiatives that changed the association forever. Our association's involvement in social media really began something of a movement within our organization. Social media became a passion for me. I finished my degree and learned I was pregnant with my first child in the summer of 2010.
The previous year my father had fallen ill. Thankfully he recovered, but his illness struck a chord in my siblings and me. I felt as though I should return to the agency to be slowly reintroduced to his clients and staffers. The insurance industry can be very broad, and I really wanted to focus specifically on jewelers and jewelry insurance. I couldn't bear to leave my passion of marketing and social media, so I started my own small marketing business, Busy Lizzie's Brainstorming.
My website is dedicated to the things I'm passionate about: creativity; jewelers and their work; marketing, particularly interactive marketing; and of course my kids. I've written blogs for both work and play and have found that I can't do just one or the other. Not only do I get bored, I’ve found the readers get bored too. You can plan to see posts about ALL of my favorite things, each separated into its own category and area. I'm coming from a few years of thinking and planning for my site. I want it to be a landing place for people looking for a wide range of advice and experiences. I have spent countless hours surfing the web looking at umpteen million websites that talk about either work or play, and I don't know about you, but I don't have the luxury of a separation between the two.
Despite my vow as an angry adolescent to never become my parents, I’m taking on a lot of their qualities- and that’s probably a good thing. I've got lots of ideas for this place. I hope that you'll join me on this journey and find something you enjoy.
Do you have a work/play separation or not? In what ways are you becoming your parents?
