Creating Work and Building Relationships
I had the privilege to photograph Richard Caranante, owner of RPC INSURANCE, LLC, a brokerage for personal and commercial insurance.
He shared this about starting his brokerage firm, “Independence was a gamble, but it was worth it.”
“When I was 17 years old, I wanted to be in business. I went to work for my local insurance agency. I loved it. Twenty-two years later, I’m still doing it.
I am the first-generation Latino-American on my mother’s side, she is Colombian. My dad is Italian. I am from hard-working people. I have always loved working. I did hit rock bottom at one point but from that time until now, I’ve grown and changed so much as a person. Where I was once negative, I have learned that I can change my mindset. I’ve changed the way I think. I am now positive.
In insurance, I worked for the big companies, State Farm and then Allstate. I grew up in the business and finally felt like I could do it for myself. I felt like I knew enough so I took a leap of faith. That was in 2015.
From the bedroom of my apartment, I began my brokerage firm, slowly, consistently it got bigger and bigger. I moved into a shared space, and then eventually our own office space. We grew little by little. It’s been 8 years.
What drives me is, I want to create a good workspace for myself and my team. I want to work and be busy and create a place where we can make money and have good lives. Building relationships matters to me, with my team and also my clients.
I like to create work where there is no work. I get the phones ringing. I see something that doesn’t exist and seek to make that happen. That’s entrepreneurship to me.
I want to create a good living for myself and my small team at our insurance agency.
With my business, we are heavy on the paperwork. We do a lot of insurance applications but we are rewarded for it. I like to say, ‘You do the paperwork you get paid!’
Something I would tell my kids or my younger self is, to keep working hard! If you dedicate yourself to working hard every day, you can do whatever you want as long as you’re happy and profitable. The sky is the limit! Do what makes you happy. And keep a strong work ethic!
I met Alissa in our local networking group at a Christmas party. She reached out to me through a follow-up email and when I saw the email, I decided to make an appointment with her.
She was great. Made me feel at ease. It was my first experience getting a headshot. It was a good experience. I’ll be using my headshots on LinkedIn social media platforms and emails.”