Business Leader: Faith Is the Key to Success

Rosie Paulsen’s Good Faith Insurance Services is growing so fast in Pasco County that the sole proprietor may create a franchise and expand to Hillsborough County.

But Paulsen's story was not always one of success. She transformed a daunting situation after divorce into an opportunity.

Now this small business owner wants to share her message of good fortune and achieving the American dream.

“I do have to say that after four years in business, we never have been in the red,” said Paulsen, who helps clients navigate Medicare health insurance coverage to suit their needs and wallets.

Paulsen, 43, also remarried, and her new husband is a pastor. A native of Ecuador, she is founder of the Pasco-Hernando Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Although she makes a special point to educate the growing Spanish-speaking population about Medicare insurance, Paulsen said that at least half her customers are non-Hispanic.

“I have developed a loyal clientele because I'm not happy until my clients are happy and have the type of policy they need and can afford,” said Paulsen, the mother of three children.

But what makes this small business woman’s story extraordinary is how she was introduced to the insurance business.

Paulsen chose to be a stay-at-home mom, after working for American Express Travel Services in Tampa for nine years.

But divorce changed everything. She had to rely on food stamps and welfare temporarily. Paulsen entered Workforce Alliance, a county training program to get people back to work quickly.

She landed a job at Humana Insurance and worked up to being a licensed agent. A go-getter she was a natural at sales.

After four years, she felt ready to take a leap to start her own small business as a licensed insurance broker.

"I believe God was taking me to a higher level. I felt a calling," she said. "People were losing their jobs, and I left mine. It was a testimony to my faith in the economy of God."

By 2011, she left shared space and opened her own office. She later applied for a micro-loan through the Pasco Economic Development Council's fledgling program for very small businesses.

It was an arduous four-month process of documenting business growth and projections. The loan is for credit-worthy businesses that might otherwise not qualify for financing simply because of their size.

But winning the loan – the first for a Pasco female business owner – enabled her to grow Good Faith Insurance Services and hire a staff member. Business is so strong now that Good Faith Insurance draws clients from Pasco, Hillsborough and Hernando counties.

Paulsen said that she wants to try to replicate her business model – offering outstanding customer service and a range of options for insurance – in a franchise model.

Paulsen regularly holds seminars about Medicare options. She hosts appreciation parties for her clients and often gets referrals from them.

"I don't consider myself a sales person," she said. "I'm an educator."

For more information

To learn more about Good Faith Insurance Services, call 813-345-4331. Email: rocio@goodfaithis.com