 
By Lucretia DiSanto Jones
You'd never think that Adam Solano, a NAIFA-Chicago
member, would have had a hard time finding a job out of college.
But he did.
"I got out of college in 1992. I was waiting
on tables at Red Lobster. It was a tough year for college grads.
The only people getting hired were accountants," he says. "I
applied to 10 law schools, but my LSAT score was average, no matter
what I did. There was a lack of jobs, a lot of people were staying
in school, and I didn’t get into graduate or law school. Then
life’s events tend to shape your life. I answered a MassMutual
ad in the paper when I was home in Minneapolis spending time with
my folks. I went in, interviewed and asked, 'Why not?'"
Now 35 years old, Solano is with First Midwest
Insurance Group in Des Plaines, Ill. He became a NAIFA member in
1996 at the urging of an industry veteran. “A MassMutual colleague
of mine, Ace Ellis, a long-term MDRT and NAIFA member, essentially
pulled me aside and told me that membership and involvement in the
industry are part of being successful,” recalls Solano. “So
I did it.”
He clearly has no regrets. “It was, from
a professional standpoint, one of the best things I could ever have
done. It’s one of those decisions in my career that I am most
proud of,” he says.
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“I
have four kids all under the age of six who want to play all
the time. They’re exhausting.”
— Adam Solano
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Involved at all levels
Solano serves NAIFA on three levels. He is on NAIFA-Chicago’s
local board as the membership chair, on the local's executive committee
as vice president, and on the national membership committee. While
some may get tired just thinking about Solano’s NAIFA involvement,
it’s just one piece of his very hectic life.
“When I hear colleagues or friends of mine
say they don’t have time to do something, I often try to put
it in perspective for them,” he explains. “I let them
know I have four employees, and I have four kids all under the age
of six who want to play all the time. They’re exhausting.
But I’m the local membership chair and executive committee
vice president, and I’m on the national membership committee,
and I still make MDRT every year. If there were anybody who has
an excuse not to have the time, it would be me. I make the time.”
The best and the brightest
Solano believes without a doubt that his NAIFA membership has contributed
to his growth and success in the business. “I have friendships
with some of the best and brightest in the industry. There are a
lot of great folks here in Chicago. I feel like I have a lot of
coaches, and I can call on anybody for advice, professionally or
personally,” Solano says. “You will face some major
decisions in your career. To have access to people who have made
the same types of decisions in their own careers and to get input,
feedback and counsel from them is priceless.”
Reasons to belong
NAIFA offers three big reasons for YAT members to join, stay and
get involved, according to Solano: camaraderie, leadership and advocacy.
“NAIFA offers younger folks—the YAT
crowd—camaraderie. It gives you a sense of belonging to an
industry, not just to a company system. You can sense it at the
local and national meetings, and that can help a young person really
grow personally and professionally,” he says.
NAIFA also offers leadership opportunities. “This
industry and the world overall are in need of leaders who want to
make a difference. If you want to help create meaning, significance
and purpose in your life, NAIFA offers a lot of things like LILI
(the Leadership in Life Institute) and leadership opportunities
on the board,” says Solano, a LILI graduate.
Advocacy is perhaps NAIFA’s greatest benefit.
“There are things going on every day that I am completely
oblivious of that could change how I enjoy my business, how I run
my business. Understanding what’s at stake could be the greatest
benefit for young advisors,” Solano believes. “The camaraderie
is great but can be replaced somewhere else. The leadership is fabulous
but it could also be replaced somewhere else. Our bread is the advocacy;
the camaraderie and the leadership are the butter.”
March 2005
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