Today we’d like to introduce you to Ebony Ruffin.
Ebony, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Life always begins with a sequence of events that we don’t necessarily understand the “why” at that moment but later in life, we have an “ah hah” moment that bridges the gap between then and now in life. My journey with life insurance began in Montgomery, AL. Growing up in the south, there was a community feel in the neighborhood. I recall at that time the “insurance man” coming to my grandmother’s house and sitting on her beautiful old school furniture and discussing life insurance. As a child, I knew the person and topic was of importance because no one and I mean no one, was allowed to sit on the living room furniture. Anyone from the south understands how grandparents are about their nice living room furniture. After a few visits with the insurance man, I always remember my grandmother rolling up the paperwork and placing the documents in her hiding location in her bedroom.
Fast forward to 2001, my mom decided to purchase life insurance for me as I prepared to go off to college. Now one may think, what a way to send your kid off to school but my mom is the smartest and most financially savvy woman I know. She taught me how to be financially responsible at a very young age. Years later, I was at home checking the mail and a life insurance statement arrived in the mail. My mom was smart and not only made me the insured but also the OWNER of the policy, which is key in life insurance ownership. I opened the mail and noticed a cash balance. Now my younger self said, “wow all of this is my money.” My mom explained to me that she had purchased a whole life insurance policy for me through USAA and because I was young, healthy and we had other products with USAA, the cost of insurance was super cheap. She explained that I was not to withdraw the cash balance unless I was ready to use the funds for something really important in life that I could not finance through my own savings or low-cost loan.
With that being said, I decided not to withdraw the cash from the life insurance policy. At the age of 23, I purchased my first home and I was tempted to tap into the cash value but I did not. I learned to use my excellent credit to finance the home and allow the cash value in the life insurance to continue to grow. As life continues, I met a lady in DC who spoke with me about living benefits. At that time I was not familiar with living benefits as a rider to life insurance. But sure enough, months later I received a letter in mail from USAA explaining that a form of living benefits was being added to my life insurance policy. I later reached back out to the same lady who shared the concept of living benefits with me and she introduced me to life insurance with living benefits offered by National Life Group. I did my research and later purchased my own policy, got licensed and appointed. I began a passionate mission in life to increase the awareness of life insurance across the globe.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Life insurance will never present a smooth road to success. It’s a topic of death that no one wants to discuss. People either feel ashamed that they do not have life insurance, or they assume life insurance costs too much, or they procrastinate, or they do not know what to look for in a life insurance agent. The list can go on and on for why there are so many barriers to a smooth road in life insurance. My road to success with life insurance required work, dedication, consistency and me accepting the role I was assigned in life. This role is bigger than me as a life insurance agent. The role is about the people I can touch that will actually listen to me and they trust me to teach them about life insurance and actually do business with me. I accept being the vessel to change the narrative of life insurance. I had managed by business the old school way, which is word of mouth. But I knew that social media was an integral component to grow beyond my personal relationships. I quickly booked an Instagram Strategy Session with Sharon Beason of Womeneur and I must say this strategy session changed the trajectory of my business on social media. I created a name for my self that was synonymous with life insurance. The road became smooth once I was clear on my target market and the image I wanted for my business on social media. From this point, it was all about consistency, professionalism and being ready for my clients once they tapped the book button.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Ruffin Consulting Services story. Tell us more about the business.
Ruffin Consulting Services is a business consulting firm providing life insurance solutions to families and business owners. I, Ebony Ruffin, am the founder and managing member of Ruffin Consulting Services. I hold the license and appointment that allows me to transact business as a life insurance agent. I am your #1 life insurance agent changing the narrative of life insurance because I understand how to convey the message of life insurance in a way that empowers the buyer and equips them with the knowledge to speak with confidence on why life insurance should be an essential component to their financial plan.
I specialize in term and permanent life insurance with living benefits. When one thinks of life insurance, Ebony Ruffin is the name that comes to mind.
Most recently InTuit highlighted me during Small Business Week as a “girl on fire” who is shining the light on life insurance.
What sets me apart from other companies is my ability to seek first to understand the needs of my clients, my ability to speak the language of my clients and focus on educating the them on life insurance and lastly giving the control to them to move forward with confidence on their decision to purchase life insurance. In addition, I am with my clients through each phase of life; therefore, they can call me directly months or even years later when they have life-changing circumstances that require a change in their life insurance coverage.
I am my client’s agent for life.
Life insurance is more than a death benefit and can be designed to provide income while living. To learn more check out the Life Insurance 101 Course here.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I define “luck” as my “gut reaction” to something or someone in life that leads to a sequence of events that could turn out great or just horribly wrong. I have experienced many gut reactions in my personal and business life and I must say that feeling is one that I have learned to listen to more often in life. I am thankful that many opportunities have been because someone or my tribe of supporters believed in me and they believed in me because of my consistency and commitment to my business and other people in business.
For example, I received an email from VoyageATL stating that Sharon Beason of Womeneur nominated me as a woman who is a hidden gem and has an inspiring story. Days before receiving the email from VoyageATL, I literally was on the website reading other’s stories and feeling inspired to continue my journey and cheering for them from my computer. I had a dream that was this huge celebration and I too was in the magazine as a feature but I had no idea how I got there. Days later VoyageATL emailed me. I cried when I received the email. I reached out to Sharon of Womeneur to say thank you and her response was “Ebony, I’ve witnessed your progressive journey. You’re consistent and a hard worker and I couldn’t think of a better person to recommend.”
Pricing:
- Gurl Get Your Life™ Guide – $29.99 Free Shipping – #1 Guide to Buying Life Insurance Like An Industry Expert
- Life Insurance Consultation – Free
- Gurl Get Your Life™ Strategy Session – $125 – Strategy session for licensed life insurance agents seeking tips and guidance to expanding their life insurance business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ruffinconsultingservices.com
- Phone: 1-888-9RUFFIN
- Email: eruffin@ruffinconsultingservices.com
- Instagram: @ruffinconsultingservices
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruffinconsultingservices
- Other: https://ruffinconsultingservices.com/book-your-consultation
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
