By Esther Pipoly, CEO & Founder, LOLA

I worked in the employee benefits division for 20-plus years, and throughout that time, I had the benefit of working with many insurance brokers. When I exited the insurance industry to start LOLA in 2016, I had a lot of insight into brokers who worked for their clients and brokers who showed up and left.

I have always had respect for Brokers because they were the hunters, and we (Account Managers) were the day-to-day problem solvers and managers of relationships. Since 2016, when I started LOLA, I have had the privilege of meeting some of the Best Industry Professionals across the country. Professional women and men who genuinely do their best for their clients and their teams. They seek out the next best product, investigate and find new and improved solutions for their clients. They always want to learn more to be the Best. So WHY am I writing about this?!

With that said, I was eating brunch this past weekend, and who should walk in but one of the WORST brokers I ever worked with, and for~ I immediately felt sick.

Until that moment at Sunday brunch, I had tried entirely to forget about this old broker/boss. But WHOA, the flashbacks and memories of working for a very unpleasant person came over me like a wave. As soon as I saw him, I could not push past the memories of a time I had tried to suppress. 

Immediately the memories came flooding back: while we were presenting to a client, he kicked me from beneath the table; another time, he scolded me for an error, and there were incidences of this person in my face breathing down my neck. I watched him make promises to new prospective clients of things he nor I could not produce. There were so many things, but I should stop here ~ I had tried to erase him, and the time we worked together from my memory.

The Fall season is about change, and while this BLOG is not about the leaves turning or the weather finally getting cooler, it is about change and looking back on my life and career. In that Brunch moment, I realized I had gone through difficult moments in my career. And therefore, creating LOLA was so important to me. As I walked out of the restaurant, a small part of me thought ~ Thank you for reminding me how strong I am. Welcome, Fall. Change is good.