Gonyo has worked every role in an independent agency—from working the front desk to producing—before starting her own agency at 32 years old with “minimal money in a tiny little office," she says. Today, Blue Line Insurance has four branches and 15 employees, 14 of whom are women.
Kelly Gonyo
Owner and Agent
Lake Placid, New York
Gonyo has worked every role in an independent agency—from working the front desk to producing—before starting her own agency at 32 years old with “minimal money in a tiny little office," she says. Today, Blue Line Insurance has four branches and 15 employees, 14 of whom are women.
“I'm proud to be a woman in business. I'm aware that I am one of few women in my state that have started a scratch independent agency," she says. “I've learned a lot from other women in the industry, and I've also learned a lot from men in the industry as well."
Gonyo serves on the Big I New York board of directors and will become the chair in May.
Why start an agency?
I wanted to build an agency where people could buy insurance and truly understand what they were purchasing—where it wasn't a transaction and truly focused on relationships. I also wanted to create a place to work in my community where I could hire people who wanted to spend their entire careers with me and my agency—hire to retire.
Challenges for women in insurance?
We talk a lot about women in leadership roles, and I would like to change how we view the word “leadership" and recognize women for what they already do, both professionally and personally. Yes, I own the agency, but my team is leading the agency's success through all different roles, and quite frankly, we should recognize that more as an industry. The women in my agency are leading and inspiring me every day by the endless support they give me.
Leadership opportunities for women?
I believe there are opportunities everywhere for women in our business, depending on what success means to them. If you want a chance to work in this industry and work toward a leadership role, I think it's important to work for someone who wants to see you succeed, wants to see you grow, and pushes you to be your very best.
How did you get started in insurance?
I was a service writer at a Ford dealership back in 2001. Two of my clients were agency owners and frequently came into the shop for service. Little did I know these guys were going to be my future boss. They called and offered me a receptionist position, which was a cut in pay, but helped me see the opportunity for growth. I accepted the position, and the growth never stopped, which is where I was able to get all of the experience to open my own agency eventually.
To this day, one of the things I instill in my agency is the belief that you start from the ground up and you build your foundation. From there you are able to choose what direction within the agency you want to go, while understanding each and every step along the way to make an agency flow as a team. I believe that this is the path to working alongside me in a leadership role to continue advancing our agency.
How did you start your own insurance agency?
I don't think there's a role I didn't work in at the independent agency before I chose to go out on my own. As I learned more about the moving parts of an agency, I realized I should be doing my own thing. At 32, after a few major life changes, I knew I had the experience, courage and drive to start my own business. I also had a great support system with family and friends that always kept me moving forward, no matter how hard it could be, especially on a very low budget. Building my own company rather than helping someone else build theirs was something that I wanted, so I took a single computer and a cordless phone, and I put the plan in place to start building the agency one policy at a time. I enjoyed that I was constantly challenged, always learning, and never got bored. I built my foundation, policies, and procedures and set the stage to bring on more talent to grow and expand.
Biggest lesson learned as an agency leader?
Don't take it too seriously. Insurance can sometimes be very mentally taxing, as can running a business. You have to learn to have fun along the way to survive the hard times. You need to have a business plan and stick to it, and it's the driving force behind meeting my goals and ensuring that the agency stays on the growth path and my team can continuously grow.
Never forget the two most important pieces of this: your clients and your team. Take care of them, and they will take care of you! Always make decisions that are in the best interest of both, and you will never go wrong.
Importance of community involvement?
The customers who trust doing business with our agency are our true bosses. Without them, we couldn't do what we do. I believe in giving back to the very communities that give to us. I stopped a lot of traditional advertising a long time ago and started contributing to local community events and causes that my team is passionate about and wants to support. In addition to the Big I New York board, I also am a member of many local organizations as well. As the agency leader, my role is to be out in the community and show that my agency is involved.
Sometimes I feel like I should talk about that more, but at the same time, our community knows we do it. They can rely on us to always be there to support whatever's going on in the community. And in turn, people like to do business with us because they know we give back.
Involvement in Big I New York?
When the opportunity came up to join the Big I New York board, it made sense to be able to invest my time back into the very organization that does so much for independent agents. A fellow board member once told me that I would get more out of being a part of this organization than what you give, and they were so right. It's truly a privilege to serve this organization, and what New York continues to do makes me very proud.
I encourage anyone that is interested in getting involved to reach out to your state association. I can't express how much your voice with advocacy on a state or federal level is important now, more than ever. It's also very rewarding to know your voice makes a difference for your clients as well.
Goals for the next five years?
I always said that I wanted to retire when I was 50, which is creeping up on me, but I truly enjoy my role as agency chief financial officer now and allowing my team to continue operating the agency. I will continue my focus on volunteering within my community and industry, especially over the next year as incoming chair for Big I New York. I also didn't anticipate that I would love this journey as much as I have, so I might even have another acquisition in me yet as well. We have acquired three local and long-standing agencies, and I love that we have become a resource for the agents out there who are rooted in our communities and don't want to sell to the larger outfits because they care about the team and the community. It's something I've become very passionate about, because I truly believe the independent agency has so much importance in our communities.
Favorite part about being an independent agency owner?
I love watching the growth. Sometimes I think back to the day that I opened, with zero customers. And now we have four branches and a team of 15 across three counties in upstate New York. I also love to hire new talent and watch them grow. I love seeing them have their wins, and the light bulbs go off, and they're like, “I love this."
AnneMarie McPherson Spears is IA news editor.
