Proving that size does not matter, Tanya Boyd, president and CEO of Tanya Boyd & Associates, LLC, in Sunnyvale, Texas, has continued to double her business year-over-year with only five employees at her disposal, adding 50 new group and 100 new individual clients within the past 12 months.
“Tanya has employees who love working for her,” says Walt Podgurski, owner of Daily Insurance Report. “She allows flex time and she understands the need of work/life balance and how crucial it is.”
Boyd is one of EBA’s Most Influential Women in Benefit Advising. To select this year’s honorees, EBA editors asked readers to submit the names of thought leaders who are making their mark on the benefit business through their unique approaches to client relations, benefits technology and/or mentoring other women. From the dozens of submissions received, the editors chose 30 benefit advisers to recognize for their outstanding achievements.
Boyd has worked in the insurance industry for more than 27 years and during that time she has held a small-group certification, acquired a chartered benefit consultant designation and is a Soaring Eagle of the National Association of Health Underwriters. Leading Producers Round Table.
“She stays on top of industry changes attending many industry events each year and stresses the importance of communication both internally and with clients,” Podgurski says. “She is always looking for new outside-of-the box ways to help her clients, and puts them first.”
Aside from raising two daughters, Boyd says her greatest accomplishment is the ability to start a business on her own completely debt-free. “I never had to buy one lead and 11 years later, my business is 100% referral based,” she says.
Kelly Morgan, HR director and account manager for Tanya Boyd & Associates, says Boyd operates her business as a caring and giving individual and is a boss who is willing to go to the extra mile when her employees’ are dealing with a personal crisis, which is why her small team remains so devoted.
30 leaders whose unique client management strategies, innovative data manipulation and other industry-leading skills are transforming the field
“She takes that extra step to not only give us the training that we need, but ensures that our personal lives are met and fulfilled as well,” Morgan says. “Not every boss does that, and I’ve come from bosses who only want you to work, work, work, and [they] give nothing in return.”
Morgan adds that working for Boyd does not feel like an employer/employee relationship, but more like a partnership. “When people come into a company they are usually names and numbers, but with Tanya we are a family,” Morgan explains. “When people ask me about Tanya’s company I tell them it is my company because Tanya gives us the empowerment that the business is ours too.”
Boyd says she’s proud to empower women. And with her company being almost 100% female operated she strives to inspire their productivity by leading as a strong role model.
“Tanya belongs to an agent group that specifically supports women in the industry and knows many women nationwide with whom she shares ideas with,” Podgurski says. “They all guide each other with recommendations and pats on the back.”
Boyd admits there are challenges. “We are growing and the time constraints that come with fourth-quarter requirements and with compliance laws ever changing, there never seems to be enough time to have the client be educated and informed about what they need,” Boyd says.
Podgurski says Boyd has been the major player in building a successful woman-owned enterprise serving the business needs of clients. “The force of her personality combined with her leadership and focus on personal growth has helped her organization climb to new plateaus every year,” he says.
Within the next five years Boyd says she wants to recruit at least three more employees that share her vision of caring and growth. “I want to continue to find innovative ways to alleviate the stresses we see in a volatile market today and have the best team to implement the solutions," she says.
