  By Michele Bupp
It wasn’t too long after Mark Weeks started working as an environmental economist in 2001, analyzing soil erosion and air quality, that he realized how much he missed people. In fact, the 28-year-old remembers days when he had no human contact at all. Because of his passion for investing—not to mention his father’s 25 years in the business—the self-proclaimed “people person” gave up his steel-toed boots a few years ago to work alongside his father, Jim Weeks, LUTCF.
Today, father and son run the Jim Weeks Agency in Palmetto, Ga., located just outside Atlanta, offering multiline products, life insurance and financial planning. “I like working with dad because he’s a great teacher and has confidence in me,” he says. “Together we offer everything a client may need financially. He mostly does P/C, which takes care of people’s immediate needs, and I pick up where he often leaves off.”
Terrorism and a hurricane
Even though the State Farm agent has been a producer a relatively short time, Weeks says he’s had “quick, hard lessons” that have taught him more than he thinks he could have learned at any other time in American history. He tells why.
“I got into this business only a year after 9/11, when people were scared,” he says. “They didn't know who or what to trust. I took the time to educate people—to win their loyalty if I could, so that when they were ready to invest again, they would think of me. And it worked.”
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| A positive outcome from all this adversity, Weeks says, are the close professional relationships he's developed with many clients.
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Just when Weeks was earning the respect of potential clients and beginning to envision his future as a successful agent and advisor, Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005—not far from Atlanta—and Weeks again had to reaffirm his commitment to his clients.
So with his father's encouragement and a few loyal customers, Weeks has survived two American tragedies early in his career. A positive outcome from all this adversity, Weeks says, are the close professional relationships he’s developed with many clients. “Its almost like we’ve weathered the storm together,” he says. “They know I’ll be here no matter what happens around us.”
Why he likes annuities
Being a source of strength for his clients has greatly influenced his choice of products. He believes that annuities have many advantages, including:
- Clients don’t need to come up with money to invest in annuities. They can roll over their existing investment retirement accounts.
- The death benefit with newer annuities is great because 10 years down the road beneficiaries get the full amount of return—the highest value the account has grown to—on their investment.
- With annuities’ 72-T, clients can borrow money from an annuity through a series of equal payments and pay no penalty.
- Annuities are creditor-protected. The only other product that ensures money can’t be taken from a client if he gets sued is life insurance.
Diverse clientele
Weeks prides himself on his wide range of clients—blue collar and office execs between the ages of 35 and 55. Most of his clients are single, and more than half are women. To attract new business, he says he has relied on mainly referrals from his current clients and his firm’s P/C clients. Today he has several hundred active customers.
Giving back
Now that Weeks’ business is off the ground, he has taken on more local community involvement. His most recent and noteworthy commitment is chairing an annual golf tournament fundraiser for Southwest Christian Care, a hospice in Union City, Ga. His local association, NAIFA-Atlanta South, has cosponsored the event for years.
Weeks is also eager to continue his education. He plans to earn a law degree in the next five to 10 years. “The more the financial industry grows, the more we need to know about the law,” he says. “I'm affiliated with lawyers, and I rely on them for their expertise. Lately I’ve recognized how much I want to become one myself. That way, I’ll know financial services more thoroughly, and I can take my clients the whole way through the process.”
MARCH 2006
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