Communities Grow Together on Elevate Springfield featuring Kylie Miller

Summary

In this conversation, Robert Ferriell interviews Kylie Miller, an insurance professional and member of Women Entrepreneurs of Central Illinois (WeCI). They discuss Kylie's background in the insurance industry, focusing on Medicare and the importance of personalized client experiences. Kylie shares insights about WeCI, emphasizing the support women provide to each other in business. The conversation culminates in details about an upcoming fashion show event aimed at promoting local businesses and fostering community connections.

Takeaways

• Kylie Miller specializes in Medicare and health insurance for retirees.
• Personalized client experiences are crucial in the insurance industry.
• Women Entrepreneurs of Central Illinois (WeCI) supports women in business.
• Networking and building relationships are key to success in business.
• Kylie has grown more confident through her involvement in WeCI.
• The upcoming fashion show will feature local retailers and models.
• Community support is essential for small businesses to thrive.
• Events like luncheons and workshops help women learn from each other.
• Kylie encourages kindness and support within the community.
• The fashion show aims to bring together local businesses and the community.

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Transcript

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Welcome to Elevate Springfield, where we will dive into strategies and stories that help you rise to your full potential. Each episode, we'll talk about how you can take intentional steps to elevate your life and your business while making a meaningful impact on those around you. Along the way, we're gonna bring in the change makers from our community that are already elevating. We'll bring the actionable strategies, you bring the discipline and follow through, and together, we can elevate Springfield. Alright, let's go, Springfield. Time to 10X your day, y'all. Time to level up, time to crush it. Hey, you are listening to the Elevate Springfield Podcast. Robert Farrell here, certified 10X coach, speaker, and mentor. Here to bring you actionable strategies. You bring the discipline and follow through it together. We're going to Elevate Springfield. Well, you are listening to another segment of Communities Grow Together on the Elevate Springfield podcast. As you know, we drop these segments each week. The Communities Grow Together segment will touch on all things nonprofit associations and how we as a community are working together so we can all grow together. This segment is brought to you by David Hilst, American Family Insurance Agency over on West Wabash. Whatever you need insurance-wise, whether that's business, life, home, auto, or anything in between, hey, David and his team can take care of you. Give them a shout, or hey, stop by and visit them over on West Wabash. These segments are quick hits of actionable strategies and what's going on in our area to help you level up and grow together. Be right back after the break. Looking for personalized insurance with hometown care, David Hilst, American Family Insurance Agent is here to help you protect what matters most: your family, your home, and your dreams. Whether it's auto, home, life, business, David and his team are proud to serve the Springfield community with trusted advice and reliable coverage. Local service, real relationships, peace of mind. Call today or stop by their office. They can build your dream protection plan together. Call 217-726-6343. And we are back for another edition of Communities Grow Together, brought to you by David Hills, the American Family Insurance Agency. Hey, anything you need, insurance-wise, commercial or personal, David and his team will take care of you. Give them a shout or head over to their office over on West Wabash. In the studio with me today, we've got Kylie Miller from two places really American Republic Insurance, but then also WeCI, that's Women's Entrepreneurs of Central Illinois. Kylie, welcome and thanks for coming by today. Hi, thanks for having me. Yeah. So we're going to talk about a cool event you guys have coming up here really soon. But before we do that, let's just learn a little bit about you and what you do outside of WeCI. So, Kylie, tell us a little just a little bit about your background. I'm in the insurance industry. I don't want to touch home and auto. My main focus is primarily health and diving in even deeper, a little bit more so focused on folks who retire or are turning 65. So the Medicare market. So anybody retiring who is looking at Medicare supplements, Medicare Advantage plans, prescription drug plans, it's kind of my whole gig. Anything that anybody would lose throughout retirement, whether that be a cancer policy, life insurance, dental vision, it's a one-stop shop at our office. So I really like to make sure that those folks are taken care of because some of those conversations, folks don't realize that they're losing certain things through that process. So I want to be there to be able to answer questions and also help walk them through what they could need during this time of transition. Absolutely. So you're from around here? I am. I'm from Auburn. I was born and raised there, grew up there, graduated from there. I currently live in Verdon, Illinois. So not too far down the road. Um I love my hometown. So I just also like to reach out to the small communities to help older folks who are there just to kind of give back. Yeah, absolutely. So why insurance in the first place? What got you into the business? An accident. Initially, when I sat down with Holden Houston, who is who trained me, um, he's one of the managers at the office. I was basically interviewing to be his assistant and help out on the sidelines. And by the end of the interview, I knew I didn't really want to do what he needed me to do. I was more than willing to help out where I could, but my end game was to do what he did. I'm not really sure what switched in my head, but I ended up here and I'm very grateful that I did so. There you go. Enjoying it then? I am. I actually wanted to be a preschool teacher. Now I'm educating on the other spectrum of things, which is cool, but no, I really love it. I love my job, I love what I'm doing. I like educating folks, I like helping people, and I get to do that from where I'm at. Awesome. So did you ever do anything with preschool as a preschool teacher? No, I got my degree, and I've, I mean, I've had a background of babysitting and working in daycares and things like that, but nothing long term, nothing really stuck. Okay. Well, walk me through just real quick a client experience. So somebody comes in and they need some insurance from you, whatever they're talking about. What do you walk them through? I first try to figure out exactly what they're looking for, what their needs are, because everybody's different. Not everybody's health is the same. Some people are healthier than others. Once I have baseline on what their needs are, I kind of go through and walk them through the process on what they could need, what they may need, and just help them evaluate from there. It's very complicated. It can be very confusing. Answers can sometimes be hard to find. So to simplify it for them and break down what Medicare pays for, what their gaps could be and leave them vulnerable, I try to point that out so that way they know and are aware of those things. And then from there, we can figure out how to fill those gaps, whether it be somebody is prone to cancer in their family. So let's prepare for that. They have diabetes, let's see how we can structure your insurance that way to help benefit them in the long run. Um, because things are expensive. No doubt about it. Yes. So I just want to make sure that they're taken care of to the best of my ability and to make sure that they're happy with it as well. Because if they're not happy, I'm not happy. And you guys are an independent agency, right? So you can work with a lot of different insurance carriers too. We broker out. So we have access to lots of different carriers, most of them well known, the popular carriers that everybody's aware of, which really I think works to our advantage because we do have the ability to shop around and really take a look at all the options, not just a few, which is very, very beneficial. It also helps us because we know the backing of each company. What are the rate increases this year? What has this company done in the past, not just this year, and really give us an idea on what could go on in the future to help those clients as well. And we can help them from the start just by knowing that information. Right. Any uh misconceptions that people might have about the Medicare market that when people are transitioning into that phase, anything they should really be thinking about? Are you kidding? Every person that walks through my door is confused and they read one thing and then they read another. It's all very complicated and confusing. It really helps to have a person who does this for a living. Um, and that is their primary focus as well. You can get supplements anywhere. You can do it yourself. There's lots of other insurance agencies in town who offer them. But if you have somebody whose primary focus is helping folks on Medicare and retirees, you're gonna find somebody that has multiple answers to the questions you're asking, a background of knowledge to help prepare you for the future as well. And I think that's super important and what kind of helps us stand out from others because not everybody does what we do, how we do it. Um, everybody's different. So it's very important to have that person. Well, if somebody wants you to be that person, where do they go to find you? You can call me at 217-2065998. I do use my personal cell phone number. It's the easiest way to get in contact with me. I do have an email address as well, Kylie.medicare, the number one at gmail.com. And if you go to airisagency.com as well, our agents in the Springfield area can be found there. Awesome. Yeah. Well, let's get into WeCI. Yeah. We've talked a little bit about it before on the show, but remind everybody again what WECI is. So WeCI are women entrepreneurs of Central Illinois. It is a small knit group in Springfield who are just filled with women who are trying to support other women in the business industry. It's hard enough being in the business industry as a woman, it can be even harder. So we just support each other. We have different events, we have different get-togethers, luncheons, things like that, just to help come together as a whole. We help each other learn new things and help navigate different things in business. Um, when we have luncheons, we have different people speak and talk about their strengths and weaknesses in business areas so that way each one of us individually can be properly prepared, which I think is highly important. Um, I like that it's a smaller knit group because I like building relationships. And when you have that smaller group, you really can get to know the people you are doing these things alongside with. I think it's very important to have those conversations and relationships that you don't always have in some of the bigger groups. There are so many networking groups in Springfield. You know, it is very important to find those relationships and the people that you can trust. So I really like that we are just women supporting women, trying to get out there and just have fun with it, also. Absolutely. So, how long have you been involved with it? About three years. So not as long as I've been doing my job. Yeah. Okay. Everything kind of happened at once for me. I've really been put out of my comfort zone a time or two, i.e., this. Right. Um, but I'm here, I'm just trying to navigate it all. And everything that I do that puts me out of my comfort zone really pushes me the next step. Yeah, that's what I was gonna ask you. Do you find that because typically what happens there when you get outside your comfort zone and you really stretch, that's where the growth happens. So have you seen that? I have seen that within myself. I am very socially awkward. It is, it can be hard for me to talk in a group setting. So being thrown into some of these groups three years ago, I didn't talk much. I didn't want to talk much. I was very shy. I feel like I've kind of flourished a little bit. Um, I feel like I was very outgoing in high school, but as I've grown into an adult, I've become more sheltered and more closed off. So being a part of these groups has really helped me. And those relationships that you build in in these groups has also helped me because it's helped me meet new people and have new friends and more people to count on if you need something. So it's been a big impact in my life, I would say. Absolutely. And it helps build that confidence too. Like you said, you feel like you don't want to talk in front of groups, but have after you've been a part of that, it really breeds builds that confidence in somebody to be able to do it. Yes. What are some of the before we talk about the main the event you guys have coming up soon, what are some of the other events you have? You had talked about the luncheons. What are some of the the topics that you guys discuss there from the speakers? It can vary. Sometimes we have our own women within the group talk. We've had somebody talk about Google Business, we've had somebody talk about Canva and walk us through how they use it for their business. Canva is one that I use often too for flyers and things like that. Super helpful. Yeah, it it is super helpful. And it was really neat to see how somebody else uses Canva in their day-to-day because people can use it differently, which I find very intriguing. So it was nice to learn some new things. Um, we've had one of our speakers talk about AI and how that works in their day-to-day life. I didn't realize how you can use AI in different manners. I don't think I will be doing that personally, but it was really neat to just learn about and see how they use it and how if you set up an account, you can it can learn to talk like you and things like that. Scary. Yeah, it's crazy some of the stuff it can do now. I mean, just the efficiency side alone is is super helpful. But like you're talking on the agents, it can. It can get to a point where it sounds like you, it looks like you. Yeah, yeah. Terrifying. But it's it's always really nice to hear our different women speakers talk about either their business or things within their business that they utilize that help them just operate more efficiently. So it's really cool. Um, I think we have somebody coming to speak in July, or we're going there, and that's gonna be really neat. So I just I look forward to each and every meeting that we have. Some of them are more social. We've been gearing into doing more evening events, so just socializing and networking, and that's been really cool because I feel like we have more folks come in the evening time than during the day. Sometimes it can just be harder with the city. Yeah, hard to get people out during the day for lunch and stuff. Yeah. So to actually see more of us in one place in the evening is super cool. It's just nice to see faces that we don't always get to see. Absolutely. Well, you have uh an event coming up on June 11th here, so tell us about it. Yep, it is the local focal fashion show. Um, we have invited multiple local retailers to be a part and show off their clothing in the event, which is so super cool. There are retailers coming that I hadn't heard of before and hadn't even walked in their store. So I'm very, very excited to see the clothing that they have to show off. I love clothes. I have a problem, but it's gonna be so fun to see different businesses show off their clothing and the models that are gonna be walking are friends of the businesses. I always like to bring people together as much as I can, especially when it comes to small businesses. So this will be an exciting time. We have somebody coming all the way from Carlinville. We have several retailers in the Springfield area. It's just gonna be really, really neat. It's gonna be the first ever time we do something like this, a fashion show. So I'm very excited. I think it's gonna be a really cool event. I just hope we get as many people there as possible. It's gonna be at the venue 1929, very nice, which is uh over on Fifth Street. It's a really neat space. It's a really nice space. I did a walkthrough last week. So it's just gonna be really nice to see everybody come together, all of the women supporting women. It's open to everybody. I think we're gonna have some children there. Some might walk, others I just want to attend. Um, so it's gonna be a really, really cool event for everybody. There's gonna be different vendors who do bring things to set up shop there so that way people can really look around and shop afterwards. There's gonna be appetizers, there's a cash bar, there's non-alcoholic drinks, networking. It's gonna be really, really neat to have it all come together. Very cool. So it's June 11th. What are the times there? The doors will open at five, and the game plan is to have the models start walking at 5 30. Okay. So hoping as everything goes to plan, doors open at five, everybody can get settled, get something to eat, find a seat, chit-chat a little bit, and then we can kick things off. Sherry Plummer with CLP is actually gonna be our MC. Oh, yeah. Um, she has a great personality. Yeah, yeah. She's gonna be awesome. So she's emceeing the whole thing for us. And then in the middle of all the models walking, the retailers are also gonna be able to speak about their clothes. The retailers that are gonna be joining us are SGK, Shayna Gibbons Keeley. We have Springfield Vintage, Studio on Sixth, Better with Bubbly Boutique, which is out on Wabash, I believe, out on the far end, Inspira or Inspira. And then we also have my sister's closet coming all the way from Carlinville. Um it's gonna be really cool. Each retailer is gonna be able to speak about their clothing that they're wearing. They're each coming with their own models to show off their clothing. I think a lot of the retailers have chosen folks that have come into their store and purchased their clothing, which is super awesome. It's just gonna be nice to highlight different retailers and businesses that are around the Springfield area and even in Carlinville, um, because I'm getting out that way for my business as well. And I thought might as well find somebody there to bring in to participate. So I think we're all very excited. Like I said, it's the first annual fashion show we've had. So crossing our fingers, it goes well and we can have another. Let's fill the place up, Springfield. So exactly. In terms of people showing up, attendees, do they need to have a ticket? Do they RSVP? Do they just show up? So we are asking that we have folks RSVP. It's thirty dollars to get in to help us cover the venue space. You can go to we see springfield.org slash fashion to RSVP. We're asking RSVPs for food purposes. Super simple. We do have tickets available. If anybody's interested in coming, we have these tickets for door prizes. We're gonna be having door prizes available that we're gonna shout out throughout the process of the fashion show. So that's gonna be super fun. It's just gonna be exciting. It's gonna be fun for everybody, and we're just hoping we fill the seats. Love it. Yeah. Now get out there, Springfield. June 11th, five o'clock. Make sure you get your ticket beforehand. Was this your brain, child? Who how'd this come to be? I will say it was my brain. Yeah. It was an idea that I just threw out there. I just wanted to see if it would stick. It did. It had a lot of positive feedback. Uh, I think we're all getting nervous the closer that it gets that we're not gonna have a good turnout just because that's how things can go in Springfield. You never know what's gonna work and what's not. They really can. Yeah. Yeah. I'm hoping that it all pans out and we fill out the place because it was my idea and I'd love to see it flourish and then maybe it becoming a new thing that we we see can do annually. Yeah. It's gonna be exciting. Very cool. Yeah, that'll be great. Well, Kylie, I like to ask all my guests this is there anything we could do community wide to help all of us here elevate Springfield and the surrounding communities. Be kind to one another. When people aren't nice to each other and hateful, it doesn't go very far. And it actually can make a huge impact on somebody. I'd rather make an impact kindly than angrily. Yeah. It's important that we all stick together. The world's hateful. Yeah, it is. So let's stick together, Springfield. Yeah, let's do it. Well, Kylie, remind everybody again where they could go to work with you insurance-wise, and then where they could go to uh get tickets to this event or check out WCI. Yeah. Um, I work for American Republic. It's an insurance agency. We have an office on Chatham Road, 400 Chatham Road, suite 200. My cell phone numbers 217-206-5998. And to RSVP for the local focal fashion show, go to whece springfield.org slash fashion and RSVP today. We're hoping we see so many familiar faces and new ones as well come out and really have an exciting evening on June 11th at 5 o'clock. There we go. Well, Kylie, appreciate you spending some time with us. Thank you. Come on, Springfield, get out to the local focal fashion show. Well, we're gonna let Kylie get back to elevating Springfield, but for the rest of you, we'll be right back. Hey, Springfield, when it comes to reliable, high-quality roofing, you don't want to leave things to chance. That's why you should reach out to Acosta Angeli Roofing, your local roofing expert serving Springfield and surrounding communities, from quick, dependable repairs to full replacement, from residential to commercial, they are your trusted pros. 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