Kristin Johnson > Office Co-Manager

"I don't know where else I could have worked where the opportunity to co-manage an office for one of the oldest Wall Street-based firms, in one of the largest cities in the world, would be given to someone still in their twenties."

My first exposure to First Investors was at a spring career fair that was held on my college campus. I was three months away from graduating and still had no idea what I wanted to do. Staying at the job I had throughout my four years in college was not an option. I worked for a real-estate company as a property manager and had hit a glass ceiling at the age of 22 years old. I knew I needed to find a career that would allow me to grow.

I didn't really know what to expect when I walked into the office for my interview. I remember listening to Cheryl Cousino describe the position, and then Brent Cousino interviewing me. The one thing that stood out in my mind as I left was that FIC had a tremendous opportunity for individuals to provide an important service to society and to grow a business, especially within management. I was offered a position and gladly accepted.

After graduating from the University of California, San Diego with a B.S. in management science, I completed my training in August of 2002 and began the process of building a client base. I knew that this task would not be an easy one and welcomed the challenge. I received the guidance and support that I needed from Brent and Cheryl, as well as from my family and friends. I learned early on that people want to work with you if they have a problem that needs a solution, they find you credible, they like you and they know you care about them. I also learned that our profession would never become obsolete because sound financial health is just as important as physical health.

After a year of working with clients, I began walking down the management path. I started recruiting and mentoring. I knew that this side of the career track was where I wanted to ultimately be. Seeing a representative that I mentored gain a new client was more fulfilling than gaining a client myself.

The five years that I worked out of the San Diego office gave me the experience and tools needed to build and grow a startup office. I had seen my office go from being ranked in the fifties to a top-20 office in a very short period of time with a group of representatives who were just beginning their careers. Solid training, a strong team, holding each other accountable and good communication, were just some of the characteristics that led us to that success.

In the spring of 2007, my now husband Stu Johnson and I packed up our cars and moved to the site of our new office. Shortly after, the office officially opened and Stu and I were promoted to Division Managers. During the past eighteen months we've tried to replicate the systems that we learned from our respective offices and even created some of our own. We've definitely made our fair share of mistakes but I feel they've made us stronger and have allowed us to move forward.

Being a new manager, one thing I've learned is that it's important to have the right people with the right attitude within an office. Wyland, a world-renowned marine artist is quoted saying, "There are two types of people—anchors and motors. You want to lose the anchors and get with the motors because the motors are going somewhere and they're having more fun. The anchors will just drag you down."

I feel very privileged to be part of the First Investors family. I don't know where else I could have worked where the opportunity to co-manage an office for one of the oldest Wall Street-based firms would be given to someone still in their twenties. I want to thank Cheryl and Brent Cousino, Dennis Snoozy, Cindy Bordeaux and Forrest Strickland for their guidance and support. I also want to thank our entire office for all of their hard work. Most of all, I'd like to thank Stu and our families for all of their love and encouragement. The beginning of our office is looking promising. I am excited to help all the representatives in our office develop successful professions and grow into future leaders.

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