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You can find Kim by going here: tinyurl.com/ybykmyxn

How Kim Acosta Went From Being a Struggling Single Mom to a Successful Entrepreneur

A guest on a recent episode of the Local Talent: The Entrepreneur’s Handbook podcast, Kim Acosta is a tough nut. She comes from a poor Hispanic family in West Virginia, and she eventually moved to Texas to live with her aunt and uncle. She’s had an unusual career, as she was a professional cake decorator and she also launched her own waste management and home maintenance company. She’s now a representative for LegalShield, where, as she puts it, she “Helps lawyers go to heaven”. You’re unlikely to come across two Kim Acostas in a lifetime! 

In a detailed and moving interview with podcast host Jason Setzer, she shared some of the life lessons that helped her to get where she is today: 

“You Gotta Get a Personality, and You Gotta Figure Out a Way”

Kim’s family didn’t have a huge budget to spend on clothes, so in the summer Kim could buy only two outfits that were supposed to last her for the whole school year. Other school kids teased her for not having designer jeans and a huge wardrobe, but Kim believes that this helped her to develop a thick skin and personality so that she wasn’t just defined by her appearance. Today, this personality helps her to connect with a wide range of people from all backgrounds, to understand their needs and how they tick. 

The other advantage of having only two outfits per year? As Kim says, “If you want clothes, you gotta go work for them.” From a very young age, she would babysit, mow lawns, and do odd jobs to earn money for herself, which helped her to develop a strong work ethic. 

“I Got Out There, and I Worked It”

Kim spent years developing her professional network, and would always make sure that she had a personal connection with a potential client before she pitched her services to them. She was never taught how to network but had to learn it by herself through observing others. She prefers an old-school approach to building relationships so instead of connecting via social media, she knocked doors, joined professional membership groups, and attended meetings regularly to listen to the concerns of others. 

Kim’s approach has really paid dividends as she’s found that relationships she built over time with local businesses have often led to these businesses using her as their first port of call when they’re eventually ready to buy legal insurance. 

“I Had to Be Able to Sleep at Night”

Kim really cares about her clients, a lot. Many of her LegalShield clients have been with her for years and she’s seen them through adoptions, divorces, bereavements, and bankruptcies. She wants to be there to support them, and she knows that the money they spend on their legal insurance represents an investment, and it also symbolizes their trust in her. So when corporate told her that they were increasing the cost of their legal insurance plans, she fought back to protect the interests of her clients. 

As she explains, she could have sat back and enjoyed the extra money and incentives from LegalShield such as exotic trips and bonuses, but she knew that it was crucial for her happiness and peace of mind to put her clients first and to keep their payment plans at the same rate. 

“That’s What Gets Me Going”

Kim’s not afraid to put in the hard work and fight for her clients, but where does she find the strength and energy to keep going? Kim is very clear about what motivates her, and for her the appreciation of her clients is what gets her out of bed in the morning. Having this in mind allows her to keep striving for success, and to keep pushing so that her clients get the win they deserve. 

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