Christopher W. Cook 2024-04-19 12:26:37
Indiana young pro creates agency division dedicated to the beauty industry
In the insurance industry, certain dedicated young professionals stand out among their peers and are members of an elite squad of individuals. These are their stories. “Dun dun.”
At the start of the COVID pandemic, many of us adjusted our daily lives. We socially distanced, wore masks in public, ordered groceries through delivery services and worked remotely, for those who had been reporting to the office. For this writer, having been previously signed with an adoption agency, had I known my son was arriving in July 2020—we were matched in late May—I probably wouldn’t have spent all my time during the lockdown playing Farm Simulator.
For Crystal Fox, creator and founder of Beauty Queen Insurance, a division of The Smith Sawyer Smith Agency, in Rochester, Indiana, the pandemic found her scrambling for a new career path. “I was in the beauty and makeup industry for about 15 years before going into the insurance industry,” she says.
“When your job is to travel and do makeup and you can’t travel and no one’s wearing makeup, you have to pivot and make a choice,” Fox explains. “An opportunity came up at a local insurance agency in October 2020; I interviewed and started in claims.”
Prior to jumping into the insurance industry, Fox worked with Tarte Cosmetics as the account rep for Indiana, traveling to different Ulta and SEPHORA locations—another change in plans considering she received her Bachelor of Arts in communications and a journalism certificate from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis in 2005.
Having no previous experience in insurance, as Fox started learning the policies and what the agency offered, she noticed that there weren’t any insureds in the beauty, spa or hair salon markets. “I asked if we could write those with it being my background. The idea took off and we created Beauty Queen in the spring of 2021,” she recalls.
In the process of creating the division, Fox reached out to business owners she knew in the beauty industry. “I told them my idea and asked if, when they were starting their business, they had [an insurance agent] who was relatable and understood what they did. They said, ‘no.’ That reinforced to me that I was onto something, and that [Beauty Queen] was needed,” Fox says.
However, things were challenging with her minimal insurance experience.
“For the first year and a half, I begged for a mentor, but the managing principal and a couple other people at the agency couldn’t find anyone who I could relate to, or they couldn’t relate to me or understand what I was doing, so I just felt my way around and figured it out as I went,” Fox says.
“About a year ago, I realized that I’m doing something that not a lot of people have done or understand, and I can make the rules and figure out what works and what doesn’t, and [Smith Sawyer Smith] was supportive.
“I made it my own,” she explains, “and that gives me the freedom to have not only my face with Beauty Queen, but to put my twist on things, because no one’s telling me how to do it. Yes, I’ll make mistakes and I’ll figure it out, but I’ve felt more comfortable knowing that it’s up to me. I’m okay with that.”
Fox adds, “I took a leadership course coached by Jeff Hancher, and he said something that really stuck with me: ‘You might fail, but you’re not failing backwards, you’re failing forward.’ You try something new and if it doesn’t work, you grow and learn from it.”
Three years later, the agency now services beauty industry clients in 46 states and has also received international attention. “We’ve had inquiries from all over the world,” Fox says. “Obviously, we can’t write the [policies], but we’ve had inquiries from Canada, Australia, Ireland, Japan, and Ukraine.
“It’s just nuts how fast it’s grown, mostly thanks to word of mouth and referrals,” she adds.
A year and a half ago, the division expanded its services by providing coverage for permanent jewelry. “It’s basically a necklace or a bracelet that doesn’t have a clasp and you can’t take it off,” Fox says. “It’s hard to find coverage for it because there is miniscule welding involved, so there is a risk for burning.
“A lot of people don’t know where to start with [permanent jewelry], so we really made a name for ourselves in that industry. I’ve even been invited to speak at the Permanent Jewelry Expo (PJX) in Las Vegas in June.”
While running the division has kept Fox busy, she does find value in and recommends getting involved with insurance associations. As an agency, “[Smith Sawyer Smith] is involved with the Indiana Big ‘I,’ and I’ve been to a few meetings and the November conference,” Fox says. “I would love to be more involved, but I’m so busy trying to keep up with emails and quotes and policies, which is a good problem to have.
“Eventually, I’m hoping to learn to juggle [duties] so I can help with insurance organizations, volunteering and so on.”
The same rings true for other organizations. “I was involved with the Network of Women in Business [in the Indianapolis area]; I loved that group, but I had to step away because I couldn’t get to the meetings,” Fox says. “I do love being more active with women networking events or women-owned business events where I can get my name out, but I also feel like they’re more relatable to me. Hopefully in the future I can restart that.”
While keeping busy, Fox has managed to appear as a guest a few times on the Power Women in Insurance podcast, hosted by Teresa Kitchens, as well as the Power Producers Podcast, hosted by David R. Carothers and Kyle Houck. (To learn more about both shows, see the Professional Development article in the May 2022 issue of Rough Notes.)
For a young insurance professional beginning their career or for someone contemplating a career in insurance, Fox recommends starting at an independent agency. “Go somewhere with multiple carriers that you can access and make sure that wherever you go, you’re not stuck in the role that you started at,” she says. “If you want to grow into a different role, they should be open to that. If you have ideas, they should be supportive and listen.
“Also, I put a lot of pressure on myself. Give yourself some grace and a break, and don’t be so hard on yourself.
I have to step back sometimes and remind myself of that.”
When she isn’t doing “insurance” stuff, Fox is a self-proclaimed homebody. “I’m extroverted at work and introverted at home,” she says.
She enjoys spending time at home with her husband, Jeremy, and their Miniature Dachshund, Leo.
“We have a farm, and we have cows, so that takes up some time. I’m a hermit. Any time that I can be home, that’s where I’m going to be,” she adds.
After a long day at the office, Fox wraps things up curled up with a book.
“I will read almost anything, but I don’t like to read scary books or horror books or murder books or anything like that since I read at night; it turns my mind off and I sleep a lot better,” Fox says. “I’m typically more into fiction. I’m also one of those people who wants to physically hold the book; I don’t want to read an ebook on a Kindle.
“I have to put a timer on to stop reading because if I don’t, I will keep reading and then all of a sudden, it’s 2 a.m.,” she concludes.
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