Today we’d like to introduce you to Dayren and Jorge Machado.
Hi Dayren and Jorge, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, I’m Dayren Perozo and My husband is Jorge Machado. Our story started in Venezuela, where we were born and raised. We went to the University together and studied Accounting. In 2017, after our graduation we decided that we wanted to live the American Dream, just have better opportunities to grow and develop. One of my best friends, was studying English, here in Utah at UVU. She told me about Utah, the beautiful and calm, that was something we were looking for. She was very welcoming and told me to stay with her. Once arrived, I started looking for jobs, I really wanted at that time to work as an accountant but at the moment, my English was very basic and I didn’t have any experience working in the US, so that wasn’t an option. We both had to start form zero and scale all the way up, we found jobs in a restaurant and learn English.
After a year, Jorge found a job into a car dealership as a salesman and me, I began working for a government contractor in charge of the Insurance Marketplace. The training I received at this company and the help I provided to people, it made me realize I was doing something really meaningful.
Living my life as an adult, I was very conscious about my health. My whole life my parents gave me health insurance and took me to the doctor when I needed it. In my first year here, I forgot how important it is to protect your body and health, you only have one and if that one it’s broken then you can’t function. I noticed that health in general it’s very expensive in the US, and was something that worried me. I investigated and found places where I could get affordable care.
Then I got pregnant and had my baby girl Savannah, I decided to be a full-time mom and prioritize my baby. I don’t regret it! After having my baby and being alone without any family in this country, I felt so sad and depressed, but never gave up even when the COVID pandemic hit. That part of our life wasn’t easy but we had our goals and dreams!
Being so vulnerable help me understand that many people, who emigrated like me, They felt the same way and the thing is that those people don’t know anything about this health system and how they can get care or where to go to be treated for illness or injuries. They’re living a life where the most important thing, there’s families’ health is put in second place.
My husband and I thought about how can we help immigrants to know what we have learned through these years. By that moment I was doing my own health insurance because of what I learned at my job, I knew where to go and how to search for doctors, so we decided to get our insurance licenses and start our own agency.
After that, we named our agency Wize, because we want to give people knowledge and be resourceful so we can help the immigrant community to be conscious about their health and prudent with financial decisions.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it hasn’t. The first challenge was the industry, Insurance industry is hard for new agents, they won’t give contracts if you don’t have experience or a big agency with more than 50 agents, so as a new agent that wants to go independent, it’s about to climb and scale step by step.
We made it through and got our contracts but then it comes the part when you have to work a side job, while looking for people to trust in you and think that you are capable, being younger in this industry is something that makes people doubt your abilities.
And last but not less, raising and taking time to be with our daughter, usually people want you to help them at night when they are out of work, but that means taking the time I can spend with my daughter to help our customers.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Wize Insurance Agency?
Well, Wize isn’t like other insurance agencies you know, we want to transform the industry with a younger perspective, something fresh. We are passionate and determined about what we love! We are always looking for the best for our customers, we want people to feel calm and have peace of mind when it comes to protecting their families and assets.
We specialize in insurance for immigrants. People know us for our efficiency and our ability to solve problems, that’s one of the things that makes us proud, we strive for excellence!
We offer health, life, auto, home and business insurance for immigrants, as well as free advice and information to educate the Latin community.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Consistency, it’s key for success in this industry. At the beginning can be hard, you can feel disappointed but if you try and set small goals, baby steps, with time and patient, you will make!
I wish I knew how hard it is to find resources and mentorship, not everybody is willing to teach you and support you, all others see is competence instead of opportunities, and that’s one of the things we want to change for new agents.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wizeinsure.com/
- Instagram: @wizeinsurance
