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Single Mom Turns Life Around by Becoming Life Insurance Agent
In pursuit of the American Dream, Sharon Joyeau and her husband, Ancil, migrated to the United States from Trinidad West Indies in 1989. Five years later, Ancil was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died within 11 months.
Heart-broken and financially-strapped, Sharon became the sole caretaker of their son, Shaquille. “I was left to take care of burial, pay a mortgage, take care of Shaq, and all other living household expenses on the meager income of a dental office receptionist,” recalls Sharon. “I had to make a very difficult decision to send him to my parents in Trinidad so that I could put my life back together.”
After struggling for the next four years and ultimately finding herself in the unemployment line, she serendipitously received a phone call from someone at New York Life Insurance (www.NewYorkLife.com). After a brief conversation, Sharon signed on as an insurance agent. “From that day on, I never looked back,” she says. “I believed fear of the direction in which my life was heading never allowed me to look back.”
Sharon quickly rose through the ranks at New York Life, thanks to her hard work, determination, and the support and training she received from the company. “Seven years later, I was able to get Shaquille back. I was even able to be president of his school's PTA for three years,” says Sharon, who resides with her 14-year-old son in Brooklyn, New York. “I was able to keep doctor's appointments. I was able to take vacations.”
Although Sharon serves all markets, she focuses particularly on the African American and Caribbean American populations. She comments, “It has become evident over the years that there is a lack of understanding of the benefits and the need for having adequate life insurance.”
Sharon feels good knowing that she is preventing her clients from experiencing the same hardship she did. “Through New York Life, I have been able to save my clients from the same fate, paying out death benefits ranging from $25K to $500K,” she says. “Most of all, I was able to increase my income to $120K this past year, all while working from home on my schedule.” HBM
Previously published in the June 2007 issue of HOME BUSINESS® Magazine, an international publication for the growing and dynamic home-based market. Available on newsstands, in bookstores and chain stores, and via subscriptions ($15.00 for 1 year, six issues). Visit www.homebusinessmag.com
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