Happy New Year from your friends and colleagues at NAIFA. I hope everyone had a joyful and restful holiday season. While the beginning of 2017 provides us opportunity to reflect on our successes of the year gone by, NAIFA remains focused on the hard work ahead and the many things still to be accomplished. 

It’s that time of year again to think about change, improvement, and new achievements for your company in the New Year. But we know from research that 92% of all New Year’s resolutions fail. So you might ask yourself: Why bother? However, instead of giving up, you should make resolutions in a more effective way. There are many reasons why business resolutions fail. Having studied and worked with successful companies for over three decades, I know there are some secrets for success. So to get your company off to a great start, consider these tips:

As small and mid-market businesses gear up for the holiday season, they are optimistic about sales and predict growth for the next quarter and into 2017. This is according to the American Express Holiday Growth Pulse, a survey of 1,502 small and middle-market businesses across a variety of industries. Specifically in the retail industry, nearly six in ten (59%) small-business retailers think holiday sales will be stronger compared to last year, and 34% think they will be roughly the same as last year. Small-business retailers (companies with fewer than 100 employees and annual revenues of $250,000 or greater) are not alone in their positive outlook – 81% of middle-market retailers (companies with $10 million to $1 billion in annual revenues) also feel sales will be stronger than last year.

The Travelers Companies, Inc. recently announced the results of the Travelers Risk Index, an annual survey that provides insight into the most pressing concerns of American consumers and business leaders. While fewer respondents believe that the world is becoming riskier, there are shared concerns about cyber threats, the demands of a changing workforce, and severe weather.

Evelyn Gellar, senior vice president at Empire Wealth Strategies, a Penn Mutual New York agency, was elected president of the Women in Insurance and Financial Services. WIFS is the only association within the insurance and financial services industry devoted to promoting the advancement of women.

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Falls Church, Va., Dec. 7, 2016 – Connie Golleher, CLTC, president of The Golleher Group, LLC, of McLean, Va., has been elected to serve on the Board of Trustees of the National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors, a federation representing the interests of life insurance agents and financial advisors.

Dear friends,

By Ayo Mseka
Reprinted from the 2016 November/December Advisor Today

Hundreds of financial professionals made their way to Atlanta last month for the 2016 National African American Insurance Association Conference and Empowerment Summit. During this jam-packed event, attendees were engaged and inspired as they listened to the best in the business deliver powerful lessons on self-empowerment, succeeding against all odds, and moving to the top in today’s challenging business environment.