Being A Lone Woman In Insurance, How Donna Lavigne Made Her Mark

03/10/2020- Meet Donna Lavigne, the owner of the Donna Lavigne Insurance agency in New York and a pioneer in the industry. She talks about life in the insurance industry when there were fewer women, and how she learned to balance family and career life.  In this episode of The Power Women in Insurance, the host Teresa Kitchens haves a sit down with Donna as she shares the ups and downs of her insurance journey. She also shares how she found out that her main calling was to help women become successful. Listen in to learn the qualities that keep a successful woman going even when her health fails her. “I never really had any difficult people because I did not tolerate any.”- Donna Lavigne “You can’t fake genuine.”- Donna Lavigne  Top Takeaways: The challenges of learning alone as a woman in a man’s world. The qualities of a successful woman who makes business happen. Having a purpose of helping women. Learning to the art of letting go of unproductive employees even when it’s difficult. Understanding how to handle clients- both the easy and difficult ones. Key Moments: [1:06] Why it wasn’t fun to learn alone with no one to share ideas. [1:42] Donna shares the qualities that made her a successful woman and hopes other women could emulate.  [8:05] She talks about the aha moment when she discovered her purpose was not to sell insurance but help women to be free and unafraid.  [15:10] What makes a great insurance policy? A story to relate. [18:12] What is Donna Lavigne’s insurance journey? [25:49] The challenge of finding good employees when you have a kind heart.  [30:33] She talks about resources and people that supported her through her journey. [34:56] How she operated and handled intolerant people.  [43:08] How to create a relationship with employees by treating them with the ultimate respect. [46:33] Why you need to know your perfect client. [48:38] Is the insurance industry a good place to be? [50:16] What Donna missed in retirement. [52:57] A future dinner meeting with 50 women to share their stories.  [54:22] Sharing to help women- and the importance of the IOA and connections made there.  Visit the Power Women In Insurance Instagram Page! HERE Connect With Teresa! Sterling Insurance Group's Website: https://www.sterlinginsnow.com Teresa's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teresa.comerkitchens Sterling Insurance Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sterlinginsurancegrouptx/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sterlinginsurancegroup/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sterlinginsurancetx/ Donna's Deets:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dmlavigne10