Lead. Empower. Grow. Podcast: Recent Episodes
First Financial Security
A podcast from First Financial Security, Inc. showcasing entrepreneurs' stories about protecting families and communities from financial risk and life’s uncertainties.
Join us on the latest episode of Lead. Empower. Grow. as we sit down with Efen Thao, a former law enforcement officer from Alaska who made a dramatic career pivot to become a successful business builder in financial services.
Efen shares his unique journey and the common thread of protection that runs through both of his careers. From sharing the challenges he faced in law enforcement to explaining how he helps secure the financial futures of families, Efen’s story is one of resilience, learning and empowerment.
Tune in to discover how Efen found his path to becoming someone's superhero in unexpected ways.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
April is financial literacy month, and Lead. Empower. Grow. has partnered with the Real Secrets of Money program to highlight the importance of financial educators. We have so many great clips of past guests talking about financial literacy and the great work they do as financial educators, so we gathered some of their best pieces of wisdom and advice over the years and put them all in this insightful episode.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Today's guest is a swerve from last week: our host spoke to a young agent on the rise, Regional Marketing Director Thuan Bui. We had a great talk about how important good leaders and mentors are to an entrepreneur's success — not least because they in turn teach you how to lead and mentor your future teams.
Listen to Thuan's energetic story and hear his great "bow and arrow" metaphor for overcoming setbacks in this insightful episode.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Today's guest is a very experienced business builder, National Marketing Director Tou Vang, who has been an entrepreneur since shortly after he came to America from Laos in 1980. When he finished up his schooling, he started gaining experience opening businesses, everything from a grocery store to a used car dealership. For the last 13 years, Tou has been helping people secure their futures and protect their families with life insurance and other financial solutions, and he's as passionate about the product as he is about helping people.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
For today's episode, we had the honor of speaking to Dah Htoo, a Field Vice President who came to the U.S. as a refugee from Myanmar (or Burma, as it was known until 1989) 15 years ago and started dedicating his life to helping refugees adjust to American life.
After working his way through various jobs, he landed as a caseworker for Lutheran Family Services, aiding families who were new to the country. Since then, Dah has transitioned to the world of financial services and dedicated his life to helping others understand how to protect their finances and find peace of mind. Dah talked to our host about how to be there for people who rely on you and what it takes to help families adjust to a new country in this insightful episode of Lead. Empower. Grow.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
In this captivating episode of Lead. Empower. Grow., we sit down with Cindy Rivera, who shares her insights on perseverance, the importance of financial preparedness and how she navigated personal and professional challenges to achieve success. Her story is a profound reminder of the power of courage and the impact one can have when you dedicate yourself to helping people without fear. Join us for an episode filled with inspiration, lessons learned and the drive to empower others on their paths to success.
**After our talk, Cindy realized she had left out part of her daughter's story that she wished to share. We were not able to redo the interview to fit it in the final episode, so she shared some words on what she wanted to add:
"Because we were not aware that living benefits existed until after my daughter was already diagnosed, we never had that protection for her. We never had a chance to use it because we didn't know about it, but we never want other people, especially our friends and families, to miss it when they need it. So that is the reason I also fell in love with the product."
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
It's a new season and a new year for the Lead. Empower. Grow. Podcast, and we couldn't have asked for a nicer guest to get 2024 off to a good start than Choua Yang. One thing becomes clear when talking to this National Marketing Director from FFS: she has a lot of determination and she represents the power of believing in yourself in the face of many challenges. Today, we'll dive into the lessons Choua learned throughout her career and her advice for anyone looking to make a meaningful impact in their life and the lives of others.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
To celebrate Thanksgiving this week, we put together a special montage episode of Lead. Empower. Grow. to feature stories of gratitude that have been shared by our past guests on the podcast over the years.
Gratitude is part of our industry by its very nature — whether it's a death benefit that eases stress at an already painful time, living benefits that save a client from crushing medical debt or simply securing a healthy retirement, just about every FFS agent has a story of a client saying thanks and filling them with pride and joy for the impact they've made by helping people. We dug back through the archives to highlight a bunch of little stories of gratitude as our way of saying thanks to our guests for spending time with us on the podcast.
This episode features the following speakers:
1:37 — Leyna Nguyen 2:49 — Daniela Dubach 4:39 — Bridget Biermann 5:31 — Mark Biermann 5:43 — Alan Guerra 11:06 — Victoria Le 17:29 — Youa Khang 18:49 — Sean Weaver 19:51 — Polly Outhay 21:14 — Daniela Dubach 21:43 — Leyna Nguyen 22:35 — Vicki DiepHappy Thanksgiving!
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Today's guest entrepreneur is Area Marketing Director Julie Lor, who was an emcee for one of our General Sessions at this year's Leaders Convention 2023. Julie talked to our host about her life serving her community as a health worker before she built her business, what it means to be a people person and what it means to "learn to dance in the storm," which gave us some new vocabulary for overcoming adversity. Find out exactly what we mean by listening to this insightful episode.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Youa Khang, a Senior Marketing Director from Sacramento, is the 2023 winner of First Financial Security's Give Back Visionary of the Year Award, which is given to honor entrepreneurs who impact their community through charity, volunteer work, financial education and other efforts that go above and beyond their duty to help other people.
Youa does her charity work through the Saving Angels, a nonprofit that's focused on financial literacy, and a lot of her curriculum is focused on financial psychology. It's a fascinating topic that we discuss for most of this amazing episode, and she can teach you a lot about what it takes to break a habit and learn to make your money work for you.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Today's episode departs from our usual interview format to present a highlight reel of some of the entrepreneurs who spoke at Leaders Convention 2023, First Financial Security's annual summer event where business builders from all over the country come to together to learn from each other and network with other leaders to reinvigorate their businesses.
Some of these voices will be familiar as former guests of the podcast, while some will soon be featured on Lead. Empower. Grow. All of them are inspiring entrepreneurs in their own right. If you've been to Leaders Convention before, this episode will remind you why it's so exciting to go each year—and if you haven't been yet, this will give you an idea of all the special energy in the room.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Hispanic Heritage Month falls between September 15 and October 15 every year in honor of many Central and Latin American countries who gained their independence in this span of time, and our guest today, Regional Marketing Director Rina Ramos, is making it her mission to bring financial security and peace of mind to the Hispanic community. Rina was the perfect guest to honor this important time, sitting down with our host to talk about everything from overcoming cultural barriers to how she translates financial concepts from English to Spanish.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
This brand new season of Lead. Empower. Grow. comes right in the middle of a record-breaking year for First Financial Security, Inc. — and a lot of those records were broken by today's guest. Leyna Nguyen, one of our newest Executive Field Chairman, kicks off our season with a lively discussion about the 11 diamonds she reached in one short year, her years of helping people through her non-profit work and how the FFS mission to help all people find peace of mind brought her out of retirement to a life full of purpose.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
For today's episode, I spoke to National Marketing Director and social media expert Michael Henry, who — as one half of the business team M&M Wealth Associates with former guest Matthew Wu — touched on the importance of having what he calls a "running mate." A running mate is an accountability partner: someone who picks you up when you're down and pats you on the back when you succeed, balancing out your strengths and weaknesses. Michael handles the social media and marketing side of the partnership, so he also shared how he racked up 70,000 followers on TikTok by talking about life insurance and the best ways to reach younger generations.
Follow Michael on Instagram and TikTok: @mmwealthassociates
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
In perfect timing with Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, our host of the Lead. Empower. Grow. Podcast sat down with Field Vice President Yvonne Nguyen for a lively talk about the importance of shared language when teaching about finance and the undeniable power of diversity in a sales force. Listen to our enlightening discussion about the importance of seeing results, how the best sales are made through telling a story and the hope we have for the finances of the younger generation.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
On this special episode, our guest is not only an incredible FFS entrepreneur but also one of the truest testaments to the power of living benefits. National Marketing Director Karen Baker sat down with our host to talk about surviving cancer amidst a global pandemic — and clued us in to how her business did not even skip a beat. Find out how on this great episode of the Lead. Empower. Grow. Podcast.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
It's the first episode of Lead. Empower. Grow.'s 2023 season!Today we talk to the one and only Javier Rodriguez, Executive Field Chairman out of Southern California and one of FFS' greatest business builders. Listen as Javier shares his peerless advice, insight and strategies for success — which include the importance of policy renewals and becoming a personal example of the power of the product.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
On this week's episode of Sales Edition with Andy Cowan, our Director of Sales interviewed Senior Marketing Director Chi Luu from Southern California about how she optimized her referral process to launch her business to the Top 15 in Personal Points.
Chi walked Andy through her sales process step-by-step and explained her she manages to close 80% of her sales after the first meeting. Don't miss this insightful discussion covering everything from how to ask for referrals to the art of cross-selling.
Want to know how our top salespeople are running their businesses? Tune in for more episodes of Sales Edition with Andy Cowan, coming each month on the Lead. Empower. Grow. feed. If you want to increase your personal production, you won't want to miss it.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
On this inspirational episode of Lead. Empower. Grow., Regional Marketing Director Shenita Jones — you might know her better as "S.J." — came on the show to talk to me about her beginnings in financial services: from her life as a serial entrepreneur to 20 years in the insurance industry to finally finding the right products that can be used to build generational wealth for the people in her community. Enjoy this great discussion all about her secrets to success: being true to herself, true to the vision of helping other people, and how to achieve whatever you can see through the power of belief.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
On today's episode, Regional Marketing Director Vicki Diep of Team Resilience in California sat down for a great conversation about bringing life insurance to the Asian community and changing the face of insurance in the process. Vicki is dedicated to helping families for the sake of helping them and brings an inspiring energy to our talk about everything from the stigma around life insurance to the difficulty of selling financial products as opposed to tangible goods like houses and cars. Hear how she overcomes these obstacles and more in this enlightening episode of Lead. Empower. Grow.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Welcome to the first episode of Sales Edition with Andy Cowan, our new Lead. Empower. Grow. mini-series featuring our very own Director of Sales interviewing top leaders about how they reach such high sales numbers.
Our first guest is Field Vice President Tony Jackson out of Charlotte, NC, who was gracious enough to talk to Andy about where he finds his leads, how he connects with prospects, and how he leverages his book to close so many sales. Tony gave some valuable insight on his entire process, including the F.O.R.T. Method of talking to prospects and how he gets people to join him for a conversation.
Want to know how our top salespeople are finding leads? How they are connecting with prospects? What their appointment process looks like? Tune in for more episodes of Sales Edition with Andy Cowan, coming each month on the Lead. Empower. Grow. feed. If you want to increase your personal production, you won't want to miss it.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Sean and Kim Weaver run their business as the perfect pair: Sean, a pastor, is the people person while Kim, a former engineer, runs the numbers. Together, they protect families from potential hardship by making sure they have the financial solutions they need. On today's Lead. Empower. Grow. episode, join us for an interview with the Weavers about how they started in the industry and what drives their business forward.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
On this episode, our Lead. Empower. Grow. host sits down with Michael Hatter, a Senior Vice President who will be leading a sales panel at the upcoming Leaders Convention 2022 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino on July 28. We were lucky enough to get a sneak peek at what he might discuss from stage, as well as a book recommendation to all who work in the industry entitled Who Moved My Cheese? and how those lessons inform how he protects his clients.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Our guest today is Matthew Wu, who sat down with Lead. Empower. Grow. for an educational discussion about what it means when inflation rates rise, uncertain market conditions and how it all combines to affect retirement planning. A former I.T. specialist who started a business in financial services, Matthew shares his lively passion for helping people find financial solutions in this enlightening episode.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Our guest today is Alan Guerra, a minister from Southern California who started a business to provide financial security to other pastors and their congregations. Alan spoke to Lead. Empower. Grow. about how he came to see the importance of life insurance, and his work providing retirement solutions and peace of mind to people across the country.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
For this episode, we interview Holly Or, an entrepreneur out of Charlotte, North Carolina and a member of former guest Polly Outhay’s business team. Holly spoke to the inspiring example that businesswomen can set, and her episode focuses on the importance of representation, both on stage at FFS events and through the members of her own team, which consists of women who are giving back to their Cambodian community in North Carolina.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Today’s special episode is a first — instead of interviewing an entrepreneur from the field, the hosts of Lead. Empower. Grow. spoke to First Financial Security’s Director of Sales Andy Cowan so he could share his expertise with the field.
Andy has been with the FFS Home Office for six months after formerly being a sales trainer for life insurance carrier Columbus Life. Throughout his career, he has helped many salespeople find success. In this episode, he shares his most essential pieces of advice and gives a glimpse into what’s coming in FFS’s future.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
This week on Lead. Empower. Grow., our hosts are joined by sister entrepreneurs Polly Outhay and Ali Bouasavatdy, two Senior Marketing Directors who run their business out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Polly and Ali have a unique perspective, and their discussion touched on the importance of diversity in the workplace, the flexibility that comes with running your own business and how 2022 will be the Year of the Tigress.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Our guest on this episode of Lead. Empower. Grow. was named one of Forbes 50 Over 50 in Investment in 2021, sharing the list with powerful women like Vice President Kamala Harris and Barbara Corcoran. Shirley Luu, Executive Field Chairmen with FFS and head of Shirley Luu & Associates, joined us in the studio to give us her master tips for recruiting, share her origin story in the financial services industry and spill some secrets from her book IUL ASAP.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
This week on Lead. Empower. Grow., we sat down with Daniel and Clare Abuga, Regional Marketing Directors who have made such an impression working together that they have earned the nickname DanClare in the field. We spoke to them about how important building generational wealth can be for immigrant families, as well as their unique sales philosophy that they call "the power of one hour."
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
The hosts of Lead. Empower. Grow. interview Mahider Mulugeta on this week's episode. Mahider is an Area Marketing Director who has been at the forefront of helping families secure their legacies through financial education. We spoke to Mahi about his success, including his background in storytelling and how he uses those skills to promote financial capability to families in need.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
This week, the hosts of Lead. Empower. Grow. sat down with Executive Field Chairman Bridget Biermann, who works alongside Mark Biermann as one half of the fastest growing EFC team in FFS history. We spoke to Bridget about her experience bundling policies into benefits packages, how to anticipate her clients’ needs, and how she helps her team overcome challenges in the field.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Field Vice President Yetti Esatu sat down with the hosts of Lead. Empower. Grow.this week for a lively discussion of real estate and insurance. We talked to Yeti about informing her fellow realtors about the importance of life insurance, how to stay educated on the latest financial products, and how her experience in the housing market helped her adapt to the changes of 2020.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
The two top producers at First Financial Security sat down with the hosts of Lead. Empower. Grow. this week to talk about their long run of success and what it took to become the inaugural Chairman's Club members. Victoria Le and Corey Vuu have built an incredible team over the years, and they gave us insight into what they look for in recruiting, the resilience their team has shown since the pandemic began and how to overcome fear to find success.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
This week, the hosts of Lead. Empower. Grow. sat down with Senior Vice President Paula Duncan to talk about how she shares financial solutions and opportunities with those who need them. Before joining FFS, Paula's career spanned everything from handwriting airline tickets as a travel agent to some old-school podcasting experience in radio advertising. We spoke about the ever-evolving nature of business, the balance of technology and people skills and more.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Senior Marketing Director Bee Lee is our guest this week on Lead. Empower. Grow., and she shares her inspiring story of studying for her insurance license as a single mom in the housekeeping business . She also shares her advice on maintaining a positive mindset and the importance of events like Leaders Convention to the growth of her business in an enlightening conversation.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
This week features Area Marketing Director Abiyel Hewitt who stopped by to talk about the benefits of being your own boss, how technology has been helping financial education and helping teachers with their retirement through his book Teacher’s Guide to Tax-Free Retirement.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
National Marketing Director Brandi Bridgett is on this week's episode to talk about how she built the perfect daily routine, how to thrive as a woman in a male-dominated industry and what sharing the umbrella means to her. Join our conversation.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
This week, we sat down with Executive Field Chairman Bob Brotherton to talk about his interesting journey before joining our industry, his unique perspective on mastering the cold market and how to lead with the opportunity when approaching prospects. Join our conversation.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
This week, we sat down with Field Vice President Daniela Dubach, who gave us an interesting perspective on what it was like to move from Europe to America to become an entrepreneur. In our interview, we discuss the differences in financial education between the two continents, financial vulnerability with regards to gender and how to present yourself responsibly on social media. Join our conversation.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
This episode features Tony Jackson, a National Marketing Director at First Financial Security who sat down with us to talk about his success in financial services. We spoke to Tony about the power of integrity in our industry and the importance of having a strong support staff behind the scenes. Join our conversation.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
This episode, we sat down with Pahoua Xiong, a Senior Marketing Director at First Financial Security who reached her first diamond in December of 2019. We spoke to Pahoua about the challenges and benefits of working for herself as a woman in this industry, her goals for 2021 and how she’s been able to use the latest First Financial Security tools to grow her business. Join our conversation.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
For our first episode, we sat down with Mark Biermann, a familiar speaker at our national events and one of the fastest producing agents in FFS history. We spoke to him about his transition to our industry, the importance of positivity for his success and how a quick response to the pandemic helped his business. Join our conversation.
To connect with a First Financial Security agent about entrepreneurship opportunities or products and policies, visit our website.
Tune in Monday, April 5 for the full interview with First Financial Security entrepreneur Mark Biermann.