With husband’s support, Arreola finds success

It has been said that behind every successful man is a strong woman. It works both ways.

With the support and help of her husband, Jacqueline, or Jackie, Arreola will celebrate a year in the insurance business with an open house Sept. 7 from 1 to 5 p.m. at her location at 122 West Second Street in Washington.

'I really love this location because there is so much visibility,” she said. 'I wanted to use my name for the name of the business because people in the community know me.”

There will be gift cards for gas, oil changes and tires to be raffled off at the open house. There will be lots of food and drinks and desserts.

'This venture is a journey with my husband and me,” Arreola said. 'When my husband proposed, he said, ‘I think it is time for us to become one.' That was a great line because it just shows how strong that is. My husband is a man who says that actions speak louder than words.”

Cuahtemoc, who goes by Temo, Arreola has his own business to run, but when two become one, it creates strength, power and shared support.

'My husband helps me nurture my heart, nurture my brain and those are the things that come out, not just in your personal life, but in business,” Arreola said. 'I have someone that not only supports me and my dreams but is my best friend and great support. I know that I can count on him and that has no price.”

There is a price to starting a business.

'If you want something, you go for it but you have to be ready to work,” Arreola said.

Education and knowledge are power.

'My husband is very smart,” she said. 'He asked me lots of questions about insurance that prepared me for having clients. He told me that I was like a fish in water with all of the knowledge I had about insurance. He is very selective and honest about his choice of words so when he said that it really made me want to do this.”

The business was started, thinking it would be part time to go along with her job at the bank, but she quit in December of 2018 to devote all her attention to the business.

'Together we learned how to start a business with the articles of incorporation, getting an attorney and an accountant,” Arreola said. 'We didn't do this to get rich. We know what we want. When you find someone on the same level as you about your life goals, you can't get better than that. He is not just my husband, he is my friend, my partner. He sees things that I don't see.”

Being in the insurance business, she feels an inherent responsibility to her customers. Insurance is basically the same everywhere but the way a client is treated is not.

'I ask lots of questions to be able to give my clients a personalized product,” Arreola said. 'How I take care of you makes a difference.”

Arreola is bilingual, which helps for a couple of reasons. Most insurance policies are in English and she is able to explain some of the finer points. But explaining the finer points is something she does for everybody.

'We love this community and we are here for everyone,” she said. 'We want to make a difference in our community. My husband is a big believer that you have to give before you get.”

When a business has hours of 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, it is giving a lot of its time.

'We want to be different,” she said. 'Our business hours are different. The schedule is supposed to be 10 to 8. I say supposed to because I am always running here and there. It has been a great commitment. I am very passionate about this so I don't see it as working seven days a week.”

Her husband always reminds her not to forget why she is doing this and to take one step at a time and make it a solid step.

'We don't measure success by money,” she said. 'He complements the things I don't see. I feel successful when I know I have given my clients the best customer service. Insurance is very individualized, very personalized.”

Big companies want to give people a quote as quick as possible, but she wants to know about an individual to give them the insurance that is needed specifically for them.

'I feel trust is very important and that has no price,” she said. 'There is a lot of responsibility on me because everybody is different and has different needs.”

It's not what one do, it's why one does it.

'I want to make a difference,” Jackie Arreola said. 'The big companies out there, I think, have become about profit and I want to be about serving my client.”