The MindHER Podcast with Mandi Casey
What if the way you think could change everything? The MindHER Podcast with Mandi Casey helps women reset their thoughts, lead with intention, and create a life and business they truly love. Honest conversations on mindset, leadership, and personal growth—created to help you grow with purpose.
The MindHER Podcast with Mandi Casey
021: The Power of Curiosity | How One Step Can Change Everything with Natalie Taylor
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Mandi is joined by Natalie Taylor, CEO of Trinity Insurance Group, who shares her inspiring journey from classroom teacher to stay-at-home mom to leading a thriving insurance company. Natalie opens up about what it really looks like to pivot in your career, follow curiosity, and step into leadership even when you don’t feel fully ready.
They cover it all:
- The power of staying curious and embracing change at any stage of life
- What it means to grow into leadership one step at a time
- How motherhood shaped Natalie’s approach to delegation, communication, and team building
- Letting go of control and learning to trust others—at work and at home
- Navigating self-doubt and redefining “fake it till you make it”
- Why leadership is ultimately an act of service
Natalie also shares real-life insights from the insurance world, how she leads through challenging seasons, and the mindset shifts that helped her fully step into her role as CEO.
If you’ve ever felt like you’ve outgrown your current season, questioned your next step, or wondered if it’s too late to pivot—this episode is your reminder that your dreams don’t expire.
Connect with Natalie & Trinity Insurance Group:
Website: https://www.trinity-insurance-group.com/
Instagram: @trinityinsurancegroup
Facebook: Trinity Insurance Group
Follow Mandi & The MindHER Company:
You are listening to The Mind Her podcast where mindset, leadership and personal growth come together to help you create a life in business. You truly love.
Mandi CaseyWelcome Natalie. We are so glad that you are with us today. For those listening who don't know you, would you give them a little introduction to you both personally and professionally? Like tell them who you are and how you got to where you are right now.
Natalie TaylorYes. Hi. I am so glad to be here. Thank you for having me. I am Natalie Taylor, the CEO of Trinity Insurance Group. We offer personal and commercial insurance to most of Oklahoma, also to Texas. We love working with small business owners and just helping families find the right insurance for their needs outside of business. I'm a mom of four, been married 22 years, Oklahoma native, and I'm just so excited to be here.
Mandi CaseyHow did you first get into the insurance world? Because that's not your background, right?
Natalie TaylorCorrect. So I was an education major teacher for many years and then took a major pivot, stayed home, and we joke that I just raised a bunch of kids because that's what it was for about a decade and I loved that very much. But as that season of babies and that came to a close, I started to get this feeling of. I'm ready for something more. That's not to diminish my job as a mom or diminish that season of my life because it was important and I loved it.
Mandi CaseyMm-hmm.
Natalie Taylorremember telling my husband, I'm ready for a little bit more. So the opportunity came for me to become an insurance agent, and I decided to kind of lean into that, enter more of. You know, that corporate world or business world particularly, which is something I hadn't done.
Mandi CaseyYeah.
Natalie Taylorum, lo and behold, that's kind of morphed into a whole thing that even then I wouldn't have seen how quickly my life changed from that first step of, I think I'm gonna study and take this test and then I'm gonna really lean in. And here I am, the CEO of the company,
Mandi CaseyYeah.'cause when I first met you, you were still just an agent. You weren't even the CEO
Natalie TaylorI realized, and look back on this, I didn't take the test and start this to become the CEO. It was. One little step at a time. Let's see. Let's see. And then, oh, I like this. Oh, there's more to this. Oh, this can change. So it's been a constant kind of evolution through those few steps.
Mandi CaseyWell, I think you said something important there for women listening is that it's the staying curious and being open to the next opportunity and seeing where it goes. I think so often we get stuck and like, well, this is just how it is,
Natalie TaylorRight.
Mandi Caseythis like mentality that we can't change. For the woman who's listening, who's in that season of like, I'm curious and I, I feel like I've outgrown where I'm at, but is a little hesitant about looking or keeping those doors open. What would you say to her?
Natalie TaylorI love the word curious'cause I really do believe that dreams do not expire, but something in my thirties and in that stage almost made me think maybe they do. Like, I've missed the mark. I can't change now, and that's not true. But the curiosity piece is so important, especially in my story, because I didn't dream as a little girl of being the CEO of an insurance agency, right? Those were not words I spoke. I didn't even. That wasn't even in my vocabulary 10 years ago. So the curiosity place is what opened those doors for me. I'm gonna take this step and I'm gonna take this step, and then I'm gonna allow myself to dream. What would it look like if, and I think I'm ready to take that lunch.
Mandi CaseyAwesome. I love that for you. So tell me like what has being a mom and then even being a teacher and a mentor to people, and then now stepping into the season where you're leading people and you're running this company, what do you think that's taught you most about yourself?
Natalie Taylorfirst I love education. Obviously I was an education major. I loved teaching a lot of having, uh. Children that are young is teaching. So that was a really good part of my job. Now that has come with me. I love being an educator. I spend a lot of time educating. If it's my team, if it's my clients, those around me. What it's taught me about myself is. Little bit of outsourcing how to let go of things
Mandi CaseyYeah.
Natalie Taylorreally focusing on the big picture. I started that transition a little bit in the having children face. Um, I could be control of everything when I had one. I couldn't be in control of everything when I had four.
Mandi CaseyRight.
Natalie Taylorsame thing. In my business and that when I started, I thought I had to do it all and I had to be in control. And my Enneagram one really leans into that
Mandi CaseyYeah.
Natalie Taylorhard. And what I've learned and what I'm still learning and leaning into is that not having all the answers is actually a little bit of freedom. I don't have to do it all myself. I cannot do it all myself. So I'm giving myself grace, personally and professionally to find the people who are better in some areas than me and give me the freedom to do the parts that I am good at and love
Mandi CaseyMm-hmm.
Natalie Tayloralso still being successful because I have the right, you know, team members and team members at home, and team members at work is a big part of that.
Mandi CaseyI think that's a big distinction for anyone listening because so often we think about delegation as being something that you do professionally, but talk to us about different ways that you delegate at home as well.
Natalie Taylorit's simple things and I constantly telling my kids, these are life skills. These are life skills. So, because.
Mandi Caseywill listen.
Natalie TaylorYeah, someday. And when they're doing their own laundry in, in their twenties, they'll remember this. Um, little things like we have a weekly chore chart and on Sunday everybody has a different job for the house. Their room is also their responsibility, but you're also gonna do a family chore, and we're all gonna take turns with those chores. Every Sunday it's 15 minutes, but when everybody does that, it saves me an hour. Those types of things. We do our own laundry. We are responsible for getting our things ready for school and with giving that delegation, there also has to be that natural consequence of what's going to happen if you don't pull your weight. We're still kind of going through that. So if you forgot your school Chromebook, I'm gonna give you some grace that first time. But the second time, you're gonna have to solve the problem. That's hard.
Mandi Caseyskills.
Natalie TaylorYeah, exactly. But that's also hard for the mom heart, right. Of um, the phone call, I forgot it again, and I'm on the other side saying. Okay, man, a really rough way to start your day. I hope you can find a solution at school. I can't make it up there, right? So,
Mandi CaseyYeah.
Natalie Taylorum, also a, a incredible amount of open dialogue with my husband
Mandi CaseyMm-hmm.
Natalie TaylorI'm a stay at home mom. I obviously take on a bigger role at home. I was happy to do that. That was where we sat in those lanes. He was building his career. I was home. We're still in constant conversation about how that looks a little different now that I'm also working full time. Um, and while I have the flexibility in some ways, he's my partner in all of it. And so we, it's just open dialogue.
Mandi CaseyThinking about how you started out as a teacher and then a mom and stay at home mom, and then moving into the agent world and the CEO, how has your leadership style like evolved over time and maybe even the way that you communicate with others or your husband? How has that shifted?
Natalie TaylorI have seen so much of leadership remain the same, even though who I'm leading is changing.
Mandi CaseyOh, interesting.
Natalie TaylorAnd I mean that by I, I love this quote by Simon Sinek that says, so many people think that being the leader is being in charge, and that is incorrect because being the leader is caring for the people in your charge.
Mandi CaseyMm.
Natalie Taylorthat is what I want to constantly have at the forefront of my leadership. With my team, with my clients, with my family is caring for them, seeing their best, pulling out their best. That doesn't come without confrontation. That doesn't come without hard conversations. Pushing in in those ways too, but constantly seeing the best in people is so important in leadership, and I've watched myself evolve again, still working towards this, of. They might not do it my way, but their way still works and that way is still good. And so, and seeing that side of people and learning from them, that can be my 7-year-old daughter and that can be my team members, but I can learn from them just like I hope that I'm presenting something that they're learning from me.
Mandi CaseyYeah. What do you think? One thing, what do you think one thing you've learned from them would be,
Natalie TaylorFrom my team is. Being a really good listener, I have an incredible team member that is an exceptional listener, and so many times in our industry and people come to us with the questions they want us to give the answers, they, they trust us to provide what they need. And so it's easy to say, this is what I would do. This is what I would suggest that being a listener. Makes it so much more personal to them knowing that their needs are met. When it comes to my children, what they have taught me is it takes a team. We all bring our different strengths in every single way.
Mandi CaseyYeah. Okay. I wanna circle back to the being a good listener, because I imagine as an insurance agent that you get some really interesting, phone calls and conversations.
Natalie TaylorYes.
Mandi CaseyGive us one of the most interesting conversations or problems you've had to solve as an agent?
Natalie TaylorI love that we are problem solvers. We are educators, problem solvers, puzzles, pieces. A lot of people don't understand, and this is completely understandable, the amount of liability that they carry. And from little things like, oh, I want to drive for Uber Eats. It's just not that easy. Your insurance needs to reflect your lifestyle, or I have a pool and I rent it out on the weekends. It sounds so easy in theory, and we all want to believe nothing bad will happen, that there is a major amount of risk analysis in what we do. Hoping the worst case doesn't ever happen, but being prepared. If it does.
Mandi CaseyMm-hmm.
Natalie TaylorSo those are a lot of conversations that we're constantly having of this raising awareness that is not what people are thinking about when they're coming for insurance.
Mandi CaseyYeah, I imagine that philosophy carries over into the way that you lead as well, of like, Hey, we want to imagine the worst case scenario and just hope it never happens, but know that we're prepared in case it does.
Natalie TaylorI've seen as I've come into CEO role, how analyzing risk has also made me a better leader
Mandi CaseyMm.
Natalie Taylorand not, not because I'm focusing on worst case scenario, that that's not it. I'm gonna be prepared for worst case scenario and set my business up in a way that it can move through worst case scenario, but I'm also gonna analyze. Betting on myself a little bit too. I can take the next step and I can push myself through the next door. I can invest in myself, in my company, in my team, because I know the risk of not doing that.
Mandi CaseyYes,
Natalie TaylorSo I am, I'm going to analyze both sides of that, not just worst case scenario, but let's analyze best case scenario.
Mandi CaseyI think a lot of people forget that.
Natalie TaylorExactly. And it's, it's come slowly, right? It's come slowly, but when I've. Decided where I want to invest or what my team needs, what do I need to focus on as a leader? Some of that can come with a big investment time, finances, to get to the next step. There has to be some shifting. Well, I can analyze what does it look like if I do it. More importantly, what does it look like if I don't? That's helped me become a better risk taker because I'm willing to analyze both sites.
Mandi CaseyYeah, I think people need to understand that there is a cost associated with not through, right? And it's costing
Natalie TaylorRight?
Mandi CaseyMaybe it's freedom or energy or revenue,
Natalie TaylorYep.
Mandi Caseyto look at that side as well.
Natalie TaylorExactly. Exactly.
Mandi CaseyYeah. So, okay. I wanna know whenever, um, if there was a pivotal moment for you as you kind of made those transitions through your life from one season to the next, where you really had a mindset shift that allowed you to see yourself in that CEO seat as a, a leader and an entrepreneur, especially coming from, you know, teachers are in corporate world, but it's definitely a different dynamic than being an entrepreneur. So when did you start to shift and see yourself in that role?
Natalie TaylorI had one day that I became the CEO, and I remember telling my husband tomorrow morning, I want you to look at me and say. You're a CEO because this is my first day. It's I'm marking the day. What's funny about that is I didn't really feel like the CEO the day it happened. Right? I woke up that Monday the same. I had gone to bed on Sunday, so when I come to one pivotal moment, I think it was actually a couple of small things that when I reviewed the year. I was like, oh, I'm completely in the CEO roles. Now I'm in that seat.
Mandi CaseyMm-hmm.
Natalie TaylorBut I had so many hard setbacks that first year, which I believe is somewhat to be expected as you transition from one role to another in, in a company that it was me going. I showed up every single day. Every day I still got up, and while it took a long time to solve some problems, I took a step forward every day. So it's really the end of the year review that I was like, oh, I totally feel it now. But it wasn't one day in June that was, I'm here. It was an more so, right. It was more so in review. And I think it's important to point out, there was a lot of. WA internal wavering at the beginning of this too. The I can do this. I deserve to sit in this seat. I will figure this out. Having to tell myself that in hard seasons, I don't have to tell myself that anymore. I'm not having to remind myself.
Mandi CaseyOkay.
Natalie TaylorI am fully aware that I am where I'm supposed to be and sitting in the right seat.
Mandi CaseyI love that. For you, what would you say to the woman who is in that head space right now where they might be wavering every day and don't know what showing up looks like today?
Natalie TaylorThat's a, a hard one and a good one. There is this idea that we have to fake it till we make it.
Mandi CaseyYeah. I.
Natalie TaylorAnd I really thought that was the case. I think there is an important part of that, and then I think there's a part of that to let go. I am gonna fake it till I make it. If I'm walking into the room and presenting myself, I really am. I'm not gonna waver in my appearance, in my presentation, in what I have to say and what I believe, even if when I'm sitting in my car before I enter, I think I can't do this. I'm not ready for this. I'm not prepared. So there is a little bit of fake it till you make it in that, and that is just pushing myself to show up. So I'm gonna do that. The flip side of the fake it till you make it that I don't like
Mandi CaseyMm-hmm.
Natalie Tayloris thinking I have to do it all.
Mandi CaseyMm.
Natalie Taylordon't have to do it all, and little things for me, were hiring someone to take care of my marketing, my social media, my content creation. Having someone come in and help me with that, I'm not gonna fake it till I make it on that. That's not using my gifts. That's not the good CEO mindset for me. So there's two parts of that. I am gonna push myself to do the hard things and be. In the room where I need to be. I'm also gonna be accepting of what is not my strong part and bring somebody in who can speak to that better.
Mandi CaseyI think that's important.'cause so often the, we have to do it all alone, especially as an entrepreneur, is a mentality that I see a lot of women carry. And when we look at really successful CEOs, like as Sarah Blakely for example, she didn't do that. She delegated, she hired. So if somebody is in the seat where they're like, I recognize this isn't my strong suit and I don't want to fake it till I make it here, but I can't afford to hire yet. What's your recommendation for them?
Natalie TaylorI've just been in that head space before. That goes back to, for me, it was weighing and analyzing when I say I can't afford it. I really can't afford not to.
Mandi CaseyOkay.
Natalie TaylorI, I did this in, in two big areas, really bringing in marketing. I didn't, I didn't think I could afford it. And then I just really look at the numbers. Okay, let's break it down. What does that mean? Over 12 months, I couldn't afford not to, and I'm also not just looking at the finances, but let's talk about your time. What is your time worth? Sometimes we can't put a a dollar amount on that, but your time is also precious and should be used appropriately. I also flip the switch when I brought in help for childcare. I can't afford not to have help with my kids during the summer. While that does cost money, I have to be able to work or I'm not doing anything. Well, if I'm trying to do this and this and the other thing and that part, nothing is successful because everything is just surviving,
Mandi CaseyYeah. How do you outta that survival mode? I mean,
Natalie Taylortaking,
Mandi Caseyhiring help, but like is there something else?
Natalie Taylornaming it. Allowing myself to sit back and say, okay, this isn't working. As CEOs, as entrepreneurs, that's a hard conversation to have with yourself because while you're juggling all the plates, you're also telling everyone, it's fine. We're fine.
Mandi CaseyYes.
Natalie Taylorwe also have this internal dialogue. Well, it's supposed to be hard. It's supposed to be a lot of work, and there are so many seasons that it is going to be that I have slept with my laptop. I have worked the 12 hour days. That is not sustainable, but there are some seasons where I allow that to happen, but then I have to make space to come out of it and I have to call it what it is and have an honest conversation with myself. And then sometimes that's also with the people around me that I need some help. I've let this go. Let's kind of reevaluate.
Mandi CaseyI think that's important.'cause so often the person we're lying to the most is ourselves,
Natalie TaylorMm-hmm.
Mandi CaseyBecause we don't
Natalie TaylorYep.
Mandi Caseythe thing that we already kind of know. Um, we're afraid that if we say it out loud, like somehow that changes things. And in fact, I think that that gives us freedom in the naming it, right? Because then
Natalie TaylorThat's right.
Mandi Caseystart to make different choices.
Natalie TaylorRight. That's right.
Mandi CaseySo I wanna know, especially in the insurance world, and as a leader in the insurance world, talk to us about maybe a time something didn't go as planned and how that impacted the way that you lead now.
Natalie TaylorSo in our industry, especially in the last. Last few years, if, if any of your listeners are not in Oklahoma or Texas, the insurance world here has been very rocky. Even if you're not in insurance, you are a consumer, so you're very aware of what it has looked like. And so for the better part of three years, which is also about the time I became the CEO, I was just delivering bad news. On the daily, uh, policy changes, premium changes,
Mandi CaseyOh yeah. We've
Natalie Taylorincreases, exactly. Increases that can be really draining. On my end to keep having these hard conversations. And it felt like for about a year, we're talking, nine out of 10 were difficult, and one was like, whew, okay. This is great news. So you, I, I get, I, I, I see people at their worst. A lot, whether that's me telling'em they owe more money, they're in a car accident, they're filing a claim on their home. I'm, I'm just seeing'em in these hard spots. I have really not only had to develop a thick skin, but going back to that good listener
Mandi CaseyMm-hmm.
Natalie Taylorbeing sensitive, it's not towards me. Sometimes it might be they, they don't know where else to send it.
Mandi CaseyRight, right.
Natalie TaylorBut it is my job to take it. To hear it, to be understanding and try to provide a solution. So that's a hard part that I've navigated through. But on the flip side, after some very hard conversations, I mean people hanging up the phone, loud voices. Unkind words,
Mandi CaseyYeah.
Natalie Taylorof them now are still my clients because they know I'm here and I'm constant. And it reminds me of something you and I have talked about before, which is it always pays to take the high road.
Mandi CaseyYes.
Natalie Taylorthere is no rebuttal that I'm giving when they're mad at me. There is no defense that needs to be taken unless something is completely misconstrued. Would I, you know, say, Hey, I'd like to. Change this a little. It's my job to listen and it's my job to take the high road, and now that we're coming out of that season, it has paid dividends because my clients are still here and now even more so there's a deeper trust.
Mandi CaseyI think that that comes into effect not just with clients, but with family members or with friends, when you have to have those courageous conversations. That's what I like to call difficult conversations. it always pays to take the high road and. I love that you are able to discern that this isn't necessarily against Natalie or like directed toward Natalie, that they're just in a stressful situation and you happen to be the closest person in proximity who is getting the brunt of what they're feeling that day. And I think for leaders, sometimes that can be really hard to distinguish, but really a powerful leadership move for the way that you lead going forward.
Natalie TaylorI made the shift to the CEO. At the same time, the insurance industry really changed, and I can be really thankful for that because it's made me a much better leader
Mandi CaseyMm-hmm.
Natalie TaylorI hope to be the next five years that doesn't have a hit like that.
Mandi CaseyYeah.
Natalie TaylorIt's good to go through the hard, it's excellent to go through the hard, especially at the beginning when there is no way out here I am, I am in this, so I have two options. I can sit and be sad or take offense, or I can get back up and we can keep moving forward.
Mandi CaseyYeah, I think that's a really important, um, distinction there as well is that when you think about some of the most successful CEOs, and not even the most successful CEOs, but the most successful companies, right? They're gonna face seasons where the economy is in recession. And the economy is booming. Right? And you have to be able to navigate and pivot those different seasons, not only as a brand, but as a leader in that season, to keep your people on board, to keep the company moving forward. And you do that so well?
Natalie TaylorThere is riding the waves of the seasons because every company goes through that. So that's why, again, I'm, I'm glad the hard season was first because it also makes you appre appreciate the, the easier season.
Mandi CaseyYeah, it does. Um, okay, so I wanna know, looking ahead, what impact do you hope that your work and your leadership will create?
Natalie TaylorI see so much possibility. That is so exciting to me because again, 10 years ago I didn't, you know, walk out of my bedroom and say, I am gonna be the CEO of an insurance agency, what I have, what I dream of in my future. Is something I haven't even named yet.
Mandi CaseyMm.
Natalie Taylora possibility that I don't even even know where it goes, but allowing myself to be open when I also look, I hope in 10 years I look back and my kids are proud.
Mandi CaseyMm-hmm.
Natalie TaylorMy my husband and I are celebrating. There's so much goodness and I've, I've had to really talk to myself through this, through what many people would call mom guilt, and that is. So real is switching that in my head to, I'm getting to show my kids how I'm building a company and they're coming up beside me. I'm showing my daughter. You can be a mom and a business owner. I'm showing my boys, dad and I are equal players in this because we both work and we both love our families. So if I can feel successful in that, when I look back, I will really feel like I've hit the jackpot.
Mandi CaseyThat's incredible. And I think you're right, that is something a lot of women struggle with is that guilt of, um. Should I stay at home? Should I work, can I have a family and a business? Right? And, and they wrestle with that frequently. So I love that you are turning what could be a negative thing and really leaning into it as a lesson for your children.. What is your team working on right now? Is there anything that you wanna share with our listeners that we haven't covered?
Natalie TaylorSo we do an exceptional campaign. I'm gonna call it a campaign. Every year we focus on a nonprofit. As a way that we can give back to those in need in our community. We love our community. We are members of our community. We are raising our families in this community. And so for the month of April, we are partnering with Remerge, which is a women's nonprofit in Oklahoma City, and doing a big give back campaign for them so that every quote we provide, we are sending a donation. For them and then we are partnering with them the rest of the year. We are working there Back to School Bash. We are getting involved with the women there and also just being a part of the community. So we are so excited about that part and we're so blessed to be able to do that in our company as a way to give back. It really does bless us incredibly to be able to do it.
Mandi CaseyIs that something you've always done?
Natalie TaylorThis will be our third year of doing that, and it is amazing how everything changes when you're giving back. It puts a fire on in us. But it's also the community around us is so engaged in that they look forward to it. They're very involved in it now. They know it's coming. I've already received an email. What's the comp? What's the nonprofit we're working with this year? So everyone wants to give back. Not everybody knows how. So this is a great way to not only shine a light on an incredible cause, but to get people involved.
Mandi CaseyAnd for those of us listening that want to get involved, how do we, how do we do that?
Natalie TaylorAbsolutely. So you can find our social, and I'm sure that will be linked, but you can reach out for a quote and all that we ask is that we provide a quote and we just need that information from you, which you could find our form on social, on our website. Once we provide you a quote, we send the donation. It's just that easy. If you're not in a place where you need a quote, somebody around you does. So sharing that, you can share what we post, but then also just telling people in, reaching out for a quote yourself.
Mandi CaseyOh, that's so easy.
Natalie TaylorVery, we hope so. We're trying to make it as easy as we can.
Mandi CaseyYeah. Yeah. And I think it's always good to shop around for, um, insurance every couple years anyway, just to see what's out there and compare. So what a really easy way to get involved and donate to a, a nonprofit at the same
Natalie TaylorAbsolutely. That's right.
Mandi CaseyAwesome. So I love to close out every episode asking my guest what is the best piece of leadership advice that you've received?
Natalie TaylorMm-hmm. There's so much. I think leadership is an act of service,
Mandi CaseyHmm.
Natalie Taylorand that goes back to being a good listener. Loving people, caring for people, but leadership is an act of service, is something I keep coming back to.
Mandi CaseyI love that leadership is an act of service. Amazing. Natalie, thank you so much for being here with us today. Where can our listeners find you or follow you or get more information about you or Trinity if they want to know more?
Natalie TaylorThat's wonderful. It would be@trinityinsurancegroup.com. That's our website. Find us on Facebook at Trinity Insurance Group and Instagram at trinity ig.
Mandi CaseyPerfect. We will be sure to link all of those in our show notes that our listeners can easily find you. Again, thank you so much for your time this morning. I loved having you on. To everyone listening. That's all we've got for today. Until next time, sending you so much love and gratitude. Thanks for listening.