Freed Maxick’s Post

Occasionally my business overlaps with my friendships, and I love it when that happens.... Julie and I first met in 2002. We waited tables together at an Italian restaurant here in my hometown. Julie is one of the most kind, welcoming, genuine people you'll ever meet. If you know her, you can't help but love her - that's just who she is. I came from the chain restaurant world of Ruby Tuesday (are they even still around anymore?) to this fine dining restaurant and felt completely out of my element. I didn't know how to open a bottle of wine (heck I was 19 and probably drank Boone's Farm back then), or about the variety of seafoods and pastas we offered. Jules took me under her wing and graciously taught me everything she knew, up to and including how to tie a tie (part of our uniform). Little did she know, she also taught me how to create an awesome customer experience, how to run a team, and how to lead by example. Jules went on to marry a successful chef and restaurant owner, but years later when he decided to sell the business and go a different path, Jules was ready to try something different. HYI was looking for a PL Account Manager and I knew Julie's personality, work ethic, and customer service skills would make her a perfect fit. She had all the makings to be successful, she just needed to learn the insurance piece. She wasn't sure she could do it - but I promised her that on the right team, I knew she could. One of the things I love about Joe Lapi is that he keeps an open mind. He also trusts me. When I presented Julie as a candidate 3 years ago, he said "If you like her for this, I'll talk to her." She was offered the job that week (even edging out a candidate who HAD experience). Today my dear friend who spent her entire adult life in the restaurant world has made a total pivot into insurance, and has a successful new career path ahead of her. If you're a retail agency always wondering where your next awesome AM is going to come from, try keeping an open mind. Go for the person who has the right attitude and checks SOME of the boxes. Planning ahead instead of waiting until the hire is a 5 alarm fire will afford you the time to train folks like this. I promise you it will result in some of your very best hires. I think Joe and team would agree, Julie's been an asset to HYI - not just professionally, but in keeping with the awesome culture he's creating over there. Cheers to 3 years, Jules! 🥂

Our employee stories series continues to feature more La Clinica employees and explore who we are, what we love, what drives us, and how we work. Up this week: Zulma Larios

🎉 Celebrating 10 Years with some great people 🎉 This month, I’m incredibly proud to celebrate my 10th anniversary with Penna! As I reflect on this milestone, it’s impossible not to think about everything that’s contributed to this journey – the people, the challenges, and the moments of fun and celebration (including, hopefully, a lovely lunch to mark this special occasion 🥂✨). Ten years is a significant chapter in any career, and it has given me the opportunity to truly understand what keeps employees engaged and inspired to stay. For me, it’s been about: ✅ Reward and recognition moments – Feeling valued and acknowledged goes a long way, whether it’s a kind word from a colleague, achieving shared goals, celebrating milestones like this one, or having a laugh along the way. ✅ Development and stretch – I’ve been challenged, encouraged, and supported to grow and develop (even at my age!), taking on opportunities that stretched me and built my confidence. ✅ Support when it mattered most – Working through the pandemic was tough, but it showed me how much resilience and tenacity we all have. Having an organisation that stood by us during those times and quickly adjusted to the challenge made all the difference. ✅ The relationships – Over the years, colleagues, candidates and clients have become more than just professional connections; they’ve become friends, mentors, and key parts of my career and life. I’ve learned a lot over the past decade: the importance of tenacity when things don’t go as planned, the value of building strong and authentic relationships, and the significance of being part of an organisation that invests in its people. As I look back on this journey, I feel immense gratitude for the experiences, the learning, and the support that have shaped the professional (and person!) I am today. Here’s to the next chapter and all the opportunities ahead. 🌟 To those starting their journey, I’d say this: find an organisation that gives as much as it asks, surround yourself with people who lift you, and never stop pushing yourself to grow. You’ll be amazed at what you can achieve! Thank you to everyone who’s been part of my time at Penna so far – here’s to more rewarding years ahead! 💼✨

Cheers to ONE Environmental Managing Principal J. Rusty Field PE who is celebrating his 15-year work anniversary! Back in 2009, Rusty envisioned a customer-centered company that prioritizes lasting, meaningful relationships over the bottom line when he and his partners founded ONE. And the rest is history, as they say. Learn more about Rusty on our blog! https://bit.ly/3yJdDxF

It's always a party at Door No. 3! Hat tip for celebrating 30 years in business. I'm grateful to be part of writing this current chapter. From a new business perspective, it's no small feat to grow an agency. For 30 years, no less. Striking the right balance of growth is a delicate dance. Providing excellent care for your existing clients while running ahead to cultivate new clients. Building a sticky culture where top talent wants to stay while creating demand to grow the bench. Marketing for others, while also marketing for yourself. Staying heads down in the work while staying up on constantly evolving trends. You get it. Holding all of these tensions is the daily work of growth. It's the daily inputs, those little disciplines that compound over time. Keep at it today!

We are celebrating our 1st year 🎗 Here is what I wish I knew before starting Credit: at the beginning stage, your company will not have any credit. Therefore, it can be extremely hard to move freight, unless you already have a big driver base that trusts you. In many cases, you can offer the drivers payment before the delivery, and they will still refuse to book, because of lack of trust. Niche down: choose a small niche, and start doing research. Learn the common issues that shippers face in this specific niche. Come up with solutions to those issues. Focus on these solutions, when doing cold calls or sales in general. Overhead: As you start growing, you will get many calls and emails from companies offering services (tracking services, TMS, marketing, customer leads, business optimizations, credit improvements, etc.). Most of these services will have a binding contract, meaning you will not be able to cancel these services unless the contract ends (some can last up to 3 years). Think twice, before accepting any of these services, because most of your customers can switch to a competitor in any day. This can result in a situation of low cash flow and high overhead, potentially leading to bankruptcy.

Some dates are always special such as today, the date when we launched Silver Talkies Club six years ago in 2018, based on the inputs from attendees of our events. They wanted to meet more often, know their co-participants better and have more fun and engaging opportunities. Hence Silver Talkies Club was born in a time and age when active ageing, loneliness and isolation among older adults were not spoken about or discussed much in our country. I was in fact told by many peers that I was playing in a small niche field. Fast forward to 2024, almost every new player in the senior care space is looking at addressing similar issues with similar models. Did we start too early or did they start too late? I think it is immaterial for as they say that all's well that ends well. What is most heartening for me is to note that in the pic below all the people who became members in 2018 are still members in 2024, with the exception of one member whom we lost a few months ago. Six years of relationship still doing strong! So we must be doing something right:) Cheers to healthy ageing! #olderadults #activeageing #seniorcare #healthyageing #anniversary

It's been 20years of Clarity, Simplicity, and Integrity. We appreciate our talented team and all our loyal clients over the years. #communication #publicfinance #climatechange #sustainability

As we near our 10th Anniversary celebrations at CM Advocates LLP, these are some of the most important lessons that I have come to embrace: 1. Don't try to be better; be different. In other words; always think differently; and often inverse. 2. You should be ruthless when it come to execution. Concerning this point, I wish to borrow these two quotes: (a) “Ideas are easy. Execution is everything.” – John Doerr (b) “Strategy without execution is hallucination.” – Thomas Edison 3. Always be bold and courageous. Never give room to fear or self doubt. In the words of Peter Drucker, “The best way to predict the future is to create it." 4. Resilience and agility are critical and indispensable skills or attributes in life and in business; therefore, cultivate them. By these I mean that we should always be ready to respond quickly to any disruptions or change. On this point, here is my favourite quote from the father of the rainbow nation, Nelson Mandela: "Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again." And this too: "When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven't."~ Thomas A. Edison

If you’re looking for loss of medical insurance as a trainee pilot, Stein pilot insurance comes as a recommended supplier by many CAE Cadets! Loss of medical insurance will protect your training investment if you were to lose your class 1 medical during training. I’d encourage all Cadets to take it out. #pilottraining