YAC Spotlight: Vianey Butterfield

When and why did you decide to pursue a career in insurance? 

• My best friend in high school worked at a State Farm office, and she always talked about how great it was to work there. So, at the end of my senior year, I also got a job there as a receptionist. The owner, Jane Butler, quickly became a mentor and like a second mother to me. I also think I ended up liking it because I have ADHD and anxiety. Those two together are a great package because insurance is all about thinking about what bad things could happen, and my anxiety and ADHD do that automatically, so I consider it my superpower. When I realized that, I decided to pursue a career in it, and I’ve been doing it now for almost 14 years.  

Who has made the biggest impact on your career up to this point? 

• I have two. The first one is Jane Butler because she was the one who allowed my love of insurance to grow from the beginning. She retired after I was with her for three or four years, and I bounced around to different State Farms agencies, but none of them compared to her. When I decided to go from captive to independent, I stumbled across another agency owned by Jason Heacock, who introduced me to a different portion of insurance and made a large impact on my life as well. The combination of both of them was really important.  

What advice would you offer college students unsure of majoring in Risk Management? 

• I feel like it depends on the individual. But one of the most important things is to be open. I like to talk openly about my anxiety because that’s one of the superpowers I have that has helped me with risk management. Something that you feel like is a negative thing you struggle with is actually very beneficial on the insurance side. You can use what you thought was debilitating and use it as a superpower, then get paid doing it. You don’t have to change yourself—you can just embrace that beautiful part of you. 

Tell us about the importance of building and maintaining relationships in the insurance community as a young agent.  

• Relationships can help you keep up-to-date with the ever-changing world of insurance. I have a lot of access to other agents around Florida, and social media helps a lot to keep in touch. Everybody has their lane or their experts, so it helps if you ever have questions. It’s just a good hub of people to talk to, stay informed, and chat about insurance in a way you may not be able to do with friends without boring them to death.  

What is your favorite aspect of the job? 

• It may sound super corny, because everyone says this, but it’s true: I like helping people insure their businesses because it’s their baby. Especially people with small businesses. They’ve dumped all their money and energy into it, and I get to help them sleep better at night. The moment when it really counts is when they do have a loss because that's when you know that this intangible product that you've been selling them is finally kicking in. My favorite part isn’t when they have claims, but when I can say, “Don't worry, it's covered.” 

How would you help the next generation become interested in a career in insurance? 

• When most people think of insurance, they think of their grandpa in a suit. That’s not what it is anymore or what we want it to be, and through my social media, I try to show that it can be fun, too. You can be young, you can be a woman, you can be a person of color—there's so much more diversity now. 

In your opinion, what is the most valuable skill that a young agent can have? 

• An open mind is number one, and I would say number two is honesty. Just having an open mind is a lot and I think that’s a skill not a lot of people have. They like to just stay in one lane and live there or just stick with what they've learned growing up. But the world is different now. Even when it comes to insuring businesses, you must have an open mind. People have some really interesting businesses now, and I love it. I don't always know how I'm going to insure it, but I'm going to make some calls, and I'm going to figure it out.  

What do you do for fun? 

• I love riding my bike around town. My therapist told me to do more things that my childhood self liked to do, you know, make my inner child happy, which ultimately makes you a way happier adult. Aside from that, one of my other favorite hobbies is just kicking it with my dog and my hubby, going to the beach, and going out. 

How would your best friend describe you? 

• My friends always say the first thing is that I am honest and the second thing is I'm very caring—which is not to be confused with kind. Because my honesty isn't always kind, but I do care for you. 

What is your biggest pet peeve? 

• People that chew with their mouth open and smack their food. And the second one that’s up there, too, is people who use the wrong form of “there/their/they’re” and “your/you’re.”