When NAIFA President Bryon Holz graduated from college during the recession of the early 1980s, career opportunities were few and far between. So, when his high school biology teacher, who had left teaching a few years earlier to become a financial advisor, offered to have Holz come work with him, Holz accepted. He planned on staying until he found his “real” job, but he fell in love with helping families plan for their financial futures. Four decades later, it’s safe to say he’s found his calling.

Working Together 

Holz founded Bryon Holz & Associates in 1983 as an independent agency. He was able to recruit, train, and manage his team while selling insurance at the same time and that early experience, he says, allowed him to grow his business while becoming a better leader.

From the beginning, the team at Bryon Holz & Associates focused on building strong relationships—both with their clients and with each other—and their multi-generational approach sets them apart from other agencies. They send out birthday cards—not just to their clients, but to their clients’ children as well—and host an annual movie event and ice cream social for clients’ families. “We invite them to bring their parents, their children, their grandchildren, and their grandparents," says Holz. “We want to make sure that everyone is involved. It's important to let them know who we are and that we're there to help them.”

NAIFA’s Political Advocacy 

Holz’s professional life is centered around NAIFA, he says, and political advocacy is NAIFA’s most important role. Early in his career, he joined the board of NAIFA-Tampa. Not long after, he was asked to represent the chapter at NAIFA-FL's legislative day. The experience was eye-opening, he says. “I got to meet with our elected officials and found out that they listened, that they cared, and that it didn't matter which [political party] they represented—they represented their constituents. I found that refreshing.”

Holz encourages all NAIFA members to get involved in NAIFA’s political advocacy by attending their states’ legislative days as well as NAIFA’s Annual Congressional Conference in Washington, D.C. “[Congressional Conference] is the coolest thing,” he begins. “Go with your NAIFA friends. You'll have a great time, and you'll see how important and valuable it is for us to be there.”

A NAIFA 100% Agency 

Like many, Holz’s first introduction to NAIFA was a chapter luncheon. He became a member because he saw it as the mark of being a professional, but he stayed because he saw that NAIFA Nation is stronger as a whole. “It's important to see that we're all together, like molecules in an organism,” he begins. “We need to be connected to each other.”

Holz is excited to share with his team one of the most valuable benefits of NAIFA membership—the NAIFA community. Members rely on each other for advice and best practice ideas and refer clients outside of their practice areas to fellow NAIFA members, says Holz. The team will also be able to take advantage of NAIFA’s Centers of Excellence, LUTCF designation and LACP certification courses, and NAIFA's Leadership in Life Institute (LILI).

In addition to the agency’s agents and advisors, the non-licensed staff at Bryon Holz & Associates will receive the full benefits of NAIFA membership. “We believe in supporting NAIFA so much, and all that it provides both our team and our profession, that we’ve even had two non-licensed staff members as NAIFA members over the past several years,” he says, adding, “It was a no-brainer.”

One NAIFA 

Holz emphasizes the importance of working together as one NAIFA Nation. "The only way we can be a winning team is to be on the same page and work together,” he begins. “That's why we needed to be together 100%. We're on the same team, and we're on the NAIFA team, and we're NAIFA proud.”

We're excited to welcome Bryon Holz & Associates as a NAIFA 100% Agency and look forward to working with the team to protect Main Street USA.