Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Katie Batres. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Katie , appreciate you joining us today. Alright, let’s jump into one of the most exciting parts of starting a new firm – how did you get your first client who was not a friend or family?

My first client ever was technically my mother. I like to share that first because even though she would support me with any business i’m in, I know that the product I was able to educate her and set up for her, truly changed her future. Sometimes the people closest to us are the ones we should be helping first. However, outside of my family/friends, my second client was a complete stranger on Tik Tok. How did I find someone interested online? I simply dedicated time to post one new piece of financial education a day. I came across a young woman in college who was looking to transfer into the financial field. Through helping her become an agent, we got to sit down and talk about helping herself first and foremost. We looked over products and services that could possibly help her at her young age. We were able to find an amazing product that would help her build tax free wealth, and simultaneously have protection in case she got ill or passed away. This was an eye opening experience, since most people at her young age never think about the future. She is now set up and on her way to having a prosperous retirement with ease! This also proves that social media can be a great tool when starting your own business no matter what industry you are in! As long as your represent yourself well online, you will find those who are looking to work with trustworthy people.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have a 7 yr. history in the entertainment industry before the pandemic shut down my entire career in 2020. It gave me a lot of time to think about what I wanted my future to look like. I realized that no one in my industry at that time had any sort of plan for the future financially. This worried me, especially knowing I wanted to have a prosperous life with my husband and future kids. I had the opportunity to learn about finances. I took it! Mainly because I wanted to learn how the wealthy get on the right path and stay there for generation after generation. Although my passion for it started as a means to just serve my own knowledge, I grew an even stronger passion for helping others once I saw how it impacted their lives. The financial game is just like any other subject, if you want to get good at it, you either have to take time to learn a lot of new information (which is what I did), or you can just pay someone else to do it for you. I love what I do in finance because our company helps families 100% complimentary. This makes us easily accessible to every type of person. We also focus on really educating our clients, not just getting them set up with a product or service they don’t understand. Whether you are looking for ways to build wealth, save on taxes, or get protection, myself and my agents are happy to hop on a Zoom call and support inside and outside of regular business hours!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn many things coming into my financial business. One thing I grew up thinking was that I was being a bother to someone if they turned me down twice. What broke this idea in my mind was something my husband and I experienced earlier in the year 2023. We had reached out to a friend via Facebook a few times to catch up. Of course, I also wanted to see how we could help him on the financial side of things. After a few reschedules, we decided to leave it alone. About a couple months after we decided to not move forward with our “reach outs” to him, we found out he had passed a way in a car accident. This left his mom with a huge debt and a “GoFund Me” account that never reached its goal for the funeral. It was very heartbreaking to see the aftermath of a family falling apart due to finances. We understand that money will never replace a family member, but with insurance being one of our biggest products, we also understand that a policy could have left a huge impact on his surviving family members. This had us realize that when someone isn’t ready for the products or services we are offering, it is only a “no” for right now. We can never forget about them, and will continue to check in. We do this because we know when a family is finally ready for us, we have the power to truly change their lives and their families lives.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe what people see online is a huge factor of how you build your reputation. Of course, how you treat people and the type of service you give them all play a part, however, that is only once they get a chance to meet you. If you are like me, most people will find you online first. They will fully judge what they see. When I transitioned into the finance field, I made sure that my social media reflected that. I made sure I looked like the expert of my field. This doesn’t mean you have to only post about your business. I love posting about traveling, our lifestyle, family, etc., but that’s because I also want people to see me as a real person who can help them. If it’s all about business, people may think you are a fake account or not someone they can relate with. At the end of the day, all business is a relationship business. I took up the discipline to post 3x a day on TikTok, 1x a day on instagram, and 1x a day on LinkedIn or Facebook. It was a heavy load of content at first, but this only had to be done for about a year for me to have a solid foundation of trusting clients and new agents join the company.

Contact Info:

• Website: msha.ke/katiebatres
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katierose.bae/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-batres-30b626b7/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@wealthwife?_t=8iZRVXQKzfe&_r=1