The Hidden Side of Health Insurance Sales — And How Mara Dorne Became the Industry’s Outlier

Summary

The Level Up Podcast with Paul Alex

Episode Title: The Hidden Side of Health Insurance Sales — And How Mara Dorne Became the Industry’s Outlier
Release Date: December 6, 2025
Host: Paul Alex Espinoza
Guest: Mara Dorn

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Episode Overview

This episode features Mara Dorn, a self-made regional sales leader in the health insurance industry, podcast host (“BILF”—Boss I Like to Follow), and single parent who rebuilt her life and career from losing it all at 25 to leading billion-dollar sales teams. Paul and Mara’s conversation centers around resilience in the face of adversity, breaking through in male-dominated industries, sales mindset, entrepreneurship, and balancing motherhood with building an empire. The episode delivers candid wisdom for would-be entrepreneurs, especially those hesitant about sales, and offers practical, real-world advice on leveling up one’s mindset and circumstances.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mara’s Origin Story: From Loss to Rebuilding (03:02–08:05)

• Background: Mara shares her backstory—raised in South Florida, she was set to be a lawyer after earning her master’s in criminal justice.
  • “I thought I was going to be like Erin Brockovich.” — Mara Dorn [02:45]
• Crisis Point: In 2008, Mara and her husband lost everything—six businesses, their home, vehicles, savings. She was 25 with a newborn and no career path.
  • “We lost six businesses, six months. The house, the car, the Rolexes. I mean, you name it, quick like that.” — Mara Dorn [03:05]
• How She Found Insurance: While searching online to cut bills, she stumbled into a possibly “MLM-looking” insurance interview and, despite every doubt, took a leap into a field where she had zero sales experience.

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2. Resistance to Sales, Breakthroughs, and the Power of Residual Income (03:30–05:08)

• First Impression: Mara was hesitant, skeptical about both insurance sales and the room full of older men.
  • “There’s no way I’m doing sales. No.” — Mara Dorn [04:04]
  • Introduced to the concept of residual income—work hard upfront, benefit later. The insurance license cost far less than her degree, so she took the risk.
• Early Setbacks: Faced with a male-dominated, often discouraging environment.
  • “This girl's never going to make it. Never.” — Mara Dorn [04:24]
• Persistence Through Failure: Six months with no paycheck; first six months marked by lack of buy-in and half-hearted effort.
  • “I went six months without making a paycheck.” — Mara Dorn [05:01]

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3. Mindset Shifts: Hitting Bottom, Extreme Ownership, and Turning the Corner (08:05–13:28)

• Survival Motivation: Childhood loss and her mother’s example (“put your face on and move forward”) ingrained resilience.
  • “My mom put on the face...No matter what happens, you have to get back up.” — Mara Dorn [09:27]
• Own Your Outcome: Realized she was getting in her own way by not being all-in.
  • “I was kind of one foot in and one foot out... I still have other options when in reality, I had no options.” — Mara Dorn [08:37]
• Critical Moment: After a failed sales trip, her mentor helped her see the errors in her process—not prequalifying leads, failing to adapt, not using all possible products.
  • “You have this clarity—it’s not everybody else, it’s you.” — Mara Dorn [13:16]
• Breakthrough: After adjusting her approach, Mara earned $92,000 in just six months—a pivotal financial and confidence turning point.
  • “I went from making no money to making my first year, I made $92,000 in the next six months.” — Mara Dorn [13:22]

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4. Building Teams and a Billion-Dollar Book of Business (13:41–14:06)

• Growth: Advanced from door-to-door sales to building national teams and crossing $1B in production—making her an industry trailblazer.
  • “I was the second person to eclipse a billion dollars in team production in my company.” — Mara Dorn [14:00]

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5. Tactical Wisdom for Aspiring Entrepreneurs (14:17–15:28)

• Top 3 Needle Movers for New Entrepreneurs:
  1. Embrace Failure: “You’re gonna fall...endlessly. But as long as you use those lessons to build, you’ve won. It’s never a fail.”
  2. Work for Yourself Like You Work for Others: “People are willing to work 60 hours for someone else, but won’t put the same 60 hours for themselves. Makes no sense to me.”
  3. Don’t Fear Commission: “Salary means cap. Commission is endless possibility.”
• Extreme Ownership: Take full responsibility for outcomes—essential for success.

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6. Culture and Leadership: Creating Winning Sales Teams (15:31–16:25)

• Servant Leadership: True team culture puts people first—leaders must genuinely care and “serve your people.”
  • “When I want to show somebody I really want to take care of them, what do I do? I bring them to my house and I cater to them.” — Mara Dorn [16:12]
• Purpose Beyond Self: Build teams around a shared mission and trust. Model: HOPE—Helping Other People Every Day.

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7. Motherhood & Entrepreneurship: Myths of “Balance” (17:38–20:42)

• On “Balance”: Rejects the idea that balance exists—accepts constant tradeoffs but finds ways to blend work and parenting.
  • “Forget the word balance. I have no idea what that even means. All I know is I’m trying to have both go in tandem, and it never does.” — Mara Dorn [18:00]
• Shutting Out Shaming: Faced and disregarded mom-shaming by focusing on her mission, embracing being a late daycare picker-upper to secure her family’s future.
• Grace Over Perfection: Vulnerably admits to imperfection and calls on others to give themselves grace.
  • “Am I the perfect mom all the time? I would like to think, but that’s not true. I’m not. But it’s ownership; I want to be better. No such thing as perfect. Give yourself grace.” — Mara Dorn [20:28]

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8. Advocacy for Women in a Male-Dominated Industry & Next Steps (20:56–22:31)

• Women in Insurance: Aims to empower more women to join and lead in the industry.
  • “When I see there’s not that many women working in the space, it really hurts my little heart...continue to empower women—that they can do anything they want.” — Mara Dorn [21:10]
• Personal Branding: Through her podcast, BILF, and other platforms, Mara seeks to display authenticity, real talk, and tangible proof of what's possible for women.

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9. About the BILF Podcast (21:38–22:19)

• Meaning: “Boss I Like to Follow” — a space for real, unfiltered conversations with entrepreneurs of all backgrounds.
  • “We talk about everything...it’s pretty authentic. We talk about things we probably shouldn’t talk about...it’s real, it’s raw.” — Mara Dorn [21:45]

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10. On Consulting/Coaching and Differentiation (22:19–24:03)

• Why Not Coaching Yet?: Mara’s ambition is to disrupt the crowded coaching space by offering genuine value—but will only enter when she can differentiate and feel authentic.
  • “If I’m going to do something, I want to differentiate myself and I want to give true value.” — Mara Dorn [22:22]
• Paul’s Encouragement: Emphasizes her unique, hard-won credibility compared to many “coaches” and the wide opportunity available.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Resilience Mindset:
  • “No matter what happens, you have to get back up.” — Mara Dorn [09:30]
• On Taking Ownership:
  • “You have this clarity that it’s not everybody else, it’s you.” — Mara Dorn [13:16]
• Why Sales Isn’t a Dirty Word:
  • “Salary means cap. Commission is endless possibility.” — Mara Dorn [15:19]
• Entrepreneurship with Kids:
  • “Forget the word balance...Just stop listening to the noise and the naysayers.” — Mara Dorn [18:00]
• On Giving Yourself Grace:
  • “No such thing as perfect. Give yourself grace. And people don’t want to give themselves grace.” — Mara Dorn [20:40]
• Just Start:
  • “Just do it. Nike said it best. Nothing is stopping you but you.” — Mara Dorn [24:29]

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Key Timestamps

• 03:02 — Mara’s background and 2008 crisis
• 04:05 — Entering insurance, skepticism about sales
• 08:05–08:46 — Survival mindset, influence of mother
• 12:44–13:21 — The “I’m done” moment; mentor call
• 13:22–14:00 — First breakthrough, $92K in 6 months
• 14:43–15:28 — Mara’s top 3 success principles
• 15:57–16:25 — Building culture: servitude and HOPE model
• 18:00–20:42 — Blending motherhood and entrepreneurship, giving grace
• 21:10 — Empowering women in insurance
• 21:45 — BILF Podcast’s purpose
• 22:19–24:03 — On coaching, authentic value, and standing out
• 24:29 — Parting motivation: “Just do it.”

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Where to Find Mara Dorn

• Website: maradorn.com
• Podcast: BILF on YouTube, Spotify, Apple
• Social: Search “Mara Dorn” on all major platforms

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Final Takeaway

This episode is a masterclass in grit, reinvention, and unapologetic ownership. Mara Dorn’s journey, told with vulnerability and wit, is a powerful blueprint for anyone—especially women—looking to break into sales, rebuild from rock bottom, or lead teams with integrity and heart. Her lessons: embrace falling forward, trade security for upside, put people first, and silence the critics, especially the one inside your own mind.

“Nothing is stopping you but you.” – Mara Dorn [24:29]

Transcript

[Paul Alex]

You're about to make a trade, which.

[Mara Dorn]

You do, you listen to, is it get optioning those options.

Or let's do a little research. Learn [e-mail] TradeSmart we lost everything. We lost six businesses, six months. The house, the car, the Rolexes. I mean, you name it. Quick like that. Like a good wife. I went online trying to lower our household bills. I walk into, like this room that looked like a multi level marketing scam. He's like, did you ever hear of this term called residual income? I was like, no. What is that look? Basically what you have to do, work really, really hard on the front end and you get to live off the fruits of your labor. It went six months without making a paycheck. I had this introspective moment of like, it's not everybody else. And that's when I went from making no money to making $92,000 in the next six months.

[Paul Alex]

Hey, guys, welcome back to Level up podcast. This is Paul Alex. Guys, thank you. Once again, we are top three in all categories today. Today's actually September 2, 2025, and we're currently number one in business. Now, guys, we have a very special guest here. She has a very, very important message for all you female entrepreneurs and male entrepreneurs as well. But she is the host of a podcast called bilf. Okay, B I L F, which is phenomenal. I love the name. We're going to go into that. She also is currently building her personal brand. All right. But also she is a powerhouse in the actual health insurance industry for having over 17 years of experience coming from no sales experience, guys. So for all you naysayers that say, hey, I don't got no naysay. Sales, I don't want to do sales. This story is for you. Okay. In 2008, she actually lost everything. And was she able to come back from rags to riches now and was able to build, build a life, what I like to call life by design. Okay. It's gonna be a phenomenal interview. All right. Welcome to the show. How are you?

[Mara Dorn]

I'm good. Thanks for that intro. You made me sound really good.

[Paul Alex]

I mean, you gave me the info. So, I mean, only speaking the truth here. But with that being said to my audience, who doesn't know you, number one, introduce yourself and give us a little background on who you are.

[Mara Dorn]

Sure. My name is Mara Dorn. My formal title, which is just the title really, I am a regional sales leader at an insurance company, health insurance company, and my background is exactly what you said. You know, life has a funny way of working itself out, even when you think it. It's not supposed to. So, you know, I come from South Florida, so I am born and raised here. And, well, not here, but a little bit further north. And, you know, my trajectory is I was supposed to be a lawyer. That's kind of what I thought I was going to do. I have both a master's degree and an undergraduate degree in criminal justice. So I thought I was going to be like Aaron Brockovich. Who ever remembers who that is. But that's what I thought I was.

[Paul Alex]

We do, we do.

[Mara Dorn]

Just making sure. So that's. I, you know, that's where I was headed. And unfortunately, in 2008 when I graduated, the economy had plummeted. And at that time, I was already newly married. I had my first child and we were desolate. We lost everything. We lost six businesses, six months. We lost the house, the car, the Rolexes. I mean, you name it, quick like that. But, you know, at that point, we were very young. I was 25 years old at that point, and we were drowning. And like a good wife, I went online trying to lower our household bills. One of the highest bills at that moment were our health insurance premiums. Put an inquiry. And this girl comes, she sells me health insurance. I never thought twice about it. Boss calls me Monday morning and says, hey, you want to come to an interview? I'm like, I thought this was like a quality assurance call. Like they were just checking to see how she did. And I walk into like this room that looked like a multi level marketing scam. There was hundreds of people in this room and they were talking about insurance. And I didn't know, I knew nothing about insurance. Zero. And they're going on and on. I jet out. The guy, he finds me at the end of the hallway and he's like, well, what'd you think? I'm like, absolutely not. There's no way I'm doing sales. No. And he's like, did you ever hear of this term called residual income? And I was like, no. What is that? And he's like, look, basically what you have to do, you work really, really hard on the front end and you get to live off the fruits of your labor. I'm like, no, this doesn't sound right. He's like, I'm telling you, but all you need to do is get your 215, which is your health, life and annuities license. And it was a lot more affordable than my master's degree. So I took a long shot and I started, I started in an industry that I knew nothing about. I didn't know that it was predominantly white, older male. Had no idea about that. And I remember like the first day I walk In, I'm young, 25 year old. I always say I'm like the hottest. No, but I was this young 25 year old girl that was, you know, ready, spitfire. And I just remember the whole room looking at me like, this girl's never going to make it. Never. And I wish that I could tell you that I did really well out of the gate, but that's not the truth. I failed many, many times until in fact, I went six months without making a paycheck.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, that's amazing. And that's amazing, amazing story. So 2008, you go from losing absolutely everything with your former husband and at that time, 2008, you're 25 years old. Okay. Were you a stay at home mom and your ex husband ran the business or did you guys both run the businesses?

[Mara Dorn]

I mean, I had just, I was trying to figure out because I was going to school, so I had just gotten my master's degree, so I thought I was going to law school. But the reason I didn't go is because there was no money. So he was bringing in the income at that time and I was trying to transition and go to law school. But then 2008 happens. There's absolutely no money to go.

[Paul Alex]

And what was your mindset during that time? I mean, you're, you're, you're a brand new mom, you're, you just got your master's and you're, you were supposed to go to law school. You had all these hopes and dreams of, of being a lawyer and making it happen and then for all that to get taken away. I've spoken to hundreds of entrepreneurs and one thing I consistently see them struggle with is their sales process. It's a total mess. A bunch of scattered information spread across tools and systems with no clear view of what's moving. That's where today's sponsor, pipedrive comes in. The number one CRM tool for small to medium businesses. Pipedrive brings your entire sales process in one simple centralized space, giving you guys a crystal clear, complete view of the sales process and customer information. So you stay in control and close more deals faster. Guys. Teams are using pipedrive to close an average of three times more deals per month. Every team does things a little differently. And I love that you can fully customize pipedrive to fit my team's unique sales process and strategy. And we can all work from one platform it all centers around the visual sales pipeline, where you can see every single deal, what stage they're in and what needs to happen next. Since everything is in one platform, pipedrive makes it easy to unite your team, keep track of sales tasks and stay on top of your leads. It's so powerful. It's a simple CRM built by salespeople for salespeople. So join the over 100,000 companies already using Pipedrive right now. When you use my link, you'll get a 30 day free trial. No credit card or payment needed. Guys, just head over to pipedrive.com forward/levelup to get started. That's pipedrive.com forward slash levelup and you could be up and running within minutes.

[Mara Dorn]

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[Paul Alex]

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[Mara Dorn]

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[Paul Alex]

What was your mindset? Were you like, okay, this is it, Like, I'm screwed. Like walk us through that.

[Mara Dorn]

At that time, you know, there was no option. I mean, that's kind of the way that I grew up, that there was no option. And I had a child, so I knew that no matter what was going to happen, I had to take care of my child. That was like do or die didn't matter.

So I just remember thinking like, this is crazy, but I'll go back to law school. I'm going to keep going, I'm going to go. It doesn't matter. So when I got into the insurance industry, I was kind of one foot in and one foot out. And that's why I didn't make money for so long. I wasn't fully bought in. I'm like, oh, sales. You know, it's very cliche. You know, I didn't grow up. I grew up either a lawyer or a doctor was respectable career, not a salesperson. So I was kind of teeter tottering, like, you know, I still have other options when in reality I had no options.

[Paul Alex]

And, and to go back to.

The sales portion, who, who did you have a mentor growing up? Was it, was it your parents who basically put you on that mindset of hey, you either gotta be a lawyer or you're nothing?

[Mara Dorn]

So my dad died when I was really little. I was 6 years old when my dad died. He was 38 years old and young guy, young guy, young guy, not healthy, but Ends up dying. We're on vacation. Thanksgiving vacation. Dies on Thanksgiving. And I remember coming back, like, from Atlanta. We were in Atlanta, coming back to Florida, and my mom just being like, she. There she was like, she just lost her husband. She's left with this little girl. And my mom put on the face, and it was kind of that mentality going forward. Like, things happen. It's really sad. But no matter what happens, you have to get back up. You got to put your face on, and you have to move forward despite, you know, the pitfalls and the downfalls that are going to happen. So I think I always grew up with that mentality that, yeah, life is going to happen, and I experienced it so young, but, you know, what goes down has to come up, right? When you're at your lowest point, you can only go up from here. So I kind of grew up with that mentality.

[Paul Alex]

So. Because your mother. Your mother instilled that mentality in you. Is your mother your best friend?

[Mara Dorn]

Best. And my daughter.

[Paul Alex]

But, yeah, I love that. You know, I'm very. I'm very close to my mom. My mom was also a single mother. Raised me since I was two. At the end of the day, she. She was the man. She. She was the mom. But she showed me everything. Right. She grew me. She. She raised me to be tough.

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

She raised me to be hard.

[Mara Dorn]

My mom, too. Yeah, Same thing.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. So it's good. So shout out to all the mothers out there. You guys are the hard moms.

[Mara Dorn]

The hardcore mom.

[Paul Alex]

The hard mom. That's right.

[Mara Dorn]

The hardcore mom that used to show up in the movie theaters, coming down the aisles looking for me when I shouldn't have been there. That was my mom.

[Paul Alex]

She tried to keep you out of.

[Mara Dorn]

Trouble all the time. Yes.

[Paul Alex]

She did a good job.

[Mara Dorn]

She did a really good job.

[Paul Alex]

I love that. Okay, so you had your mom. She was your mentor. So you had that mindset, almost like that winning mindset that I am going to win no matter what. So 2008 happens. You lose everything, but you have a child and you're like. Like, I have to provide for my child. So you go into the mentality of going into health insurance, but you have one foot in and one foot out. I always see when that happens with anybody across the board. We're all humans, but when that happens with everybody, it's almost like you're doing yourself a disservice. Do you agree?

[Mara Dorn]

100%, I agree.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. We have this saying here. You have to burn the boats.

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah. You have to.

[Paul Alex]

You have to Burn the boats and go all in. Especially in sales, especially in health insurance. Because it's not easy, right?

[Mara Dorn]

You have to go 100% all in. It's a big risk, but you have to do it. Otherwise you'll never, ever succeed, ever.

[Paul Alex]

So when was your first big win in health insurance? Do you remember back?

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah. Yeah. I went six months, like I said, without a paycheck. And I'm here six months into this, and I had an appointment. And at that point, we didn't do anything on the phone. We drove, like, literally had.

[Paul Alex]

No way.

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah, we had a. We had to print out MapQuest. Like, it was horrible. Because if I had four appointments and I had to get to appointment D, but I still. But BNC canceled. I still had to go to BNC to get to date D. It's horrible. But nonetheless, I make this appointment, and it's 45 minutes away from my house.

[Paul Alex]

Wow.

[Mara Dorn]

And I make it. I drive all the way there, right? I drive, and in my mind, I'm like, this is it. It's either gonna happen or it's not. So I drive 45 minutes, and I pull up to this house, and it's like a dilapidated house. And at that point, we can only sell people that were insurable, not people that weren't. So this guy comes out completely overweight. I mean, just you could tell he was not insurable. Then I'm like, all right, the wife. So the wife comes behind, right? Trucking along behind, worse. So now I walk away with no checkers. At that time. We took a check. I walk away with no check. My ego completely bruised. And I get in the car and I'm like, I'm done. This is it. I'm done. This is it. I'm done.

[Paul Alex]

You're sitting in the car, you're like, I'm done. I can't. I can't do this.

[Mara Dorn]

I'm done. I'm out of it. So I called my mentor, who's my best friend at the time. I call her. It still is Train. I call train. I'm done. I'm done, I'm done. She's like, all right, okay. She's like, let's just walk through the appointment real quick. Like, what happened? She's like, mara, did you realize that it was 45 minutes away? Said, no, didn't do that. She goes, mara, did you pre qualify them before you went? Nope, didn't do that either. She said, mara, you know, you have another product that you could have sold them for uninsurable people. Didn't do that either. So I hung up the phone, and that's when, you know, I had this introspective moment of, like, you know, you have this clarity that it's not everybody else, it's you.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Mara Dorn]

And that was it. I went from making no money to making my first year. I made $92,000 in the next six months.

[Paul Alex]

And what year was that?

[Mara Dorn]

That was in 2000. 2009, I think.

[Paul Alex]

2009. To make over $90,000.

[Mara Dorn]

That is at the end of the year. Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Oh, yeah. That's. That's. That's good money. That's good money. Back then.

[Mara Dorn]

At the time.

[Paul Alex]

At that time, it was great money.

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah. I saved my family. Thank. Yeah, thank God. Because that was it. That was the turning point for me. I knew it. I went all in. And that's when I. I climbed the entire ladder, went, you know, door to door. Then I ended up building teams. Now here I am 17 years later. I was the second person to eclipse a billion dollars in team production in my company.

[Paul Alex]

That's what I'm talking about.

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah. Built teams all over the U.S. i have offices everywhere, and that's what I'm doing.

[Paul Alex]

I love that. I love that. So let's go back into the beginner stages of this, especially because a lot of people that listen to this, typically, they listen to the level up because they're trying to level up their mindset.

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah, right.

[Paul Alex]

They're trying to start entrepreneurship. They're trying to go ahead and start something to build financial freedom just like you did for your family and kids. Right, right. So what would be some key needle movers? Okay. If you were to talk to your old self in those six months that you didn't make money, what would be three big needle movers that you would tell yourself that you now know after doing a billion dollars in revenue off of health insurance?

[Mara Dorn]

I would say, get ready. You're gonna fall. Not once, not twice. Nothing. I mean, it's gonna be endless. You're gonna continue to fall, but as long as you take those lessons and you use them to build, then you've won. It's never a fail. Never. It's a success. That was number one, I would say. Number two, I would say what kills me is that people are willing to work 60 hours for someone else, but won't put the same 60 hours in for themselves. I don't understand that because Makes no, no, no sense to me.

[Paul Alex]

I love that.

[Mara Dorn]

And the last thing I would say is, don't be scared about commission. Never be scared. That does not. That's not. Yes, I get it. It's a scary term. But what is salary? Salary means cap commission is endless possibility.

[Paul Alex]

Wow. So taking extreme ownership, going ahead and being accountable.

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You're a big believer in that.

[Mara Dorn]

Huge.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[Mara Dorn]

Not everybody else.

[Paul Alex]

And what would you say takes.

To build a winning culture?

[Mara Dorn]

I would say no culture. You need buy in from everybody. And you have to really believe in people. You know, no matter what happens, you. It's not about the me. When you take on something where you're trying to build a sales force, it no longer. You have to have a vision greater than yourself and a purpose far greater than your own.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Mara Dorn]

And you have to know that the people have to come first in your culture. And when they feel it and they believe that you're there at 100% for them, that's when the culture takes on and it's giving back. Like, we have a model called Hope helping other people every day and servitude. You have to serve your people. It's not uncommon to find my salespeople in my house. It's not. And it's not for any other reason. But when I want to show somebody that I really want to take care of them, what do I do? I bring them to my house and I cater to them. That's a big thing for me.

[Paul Alex]

I love that. You know, I have a very similar concept. I mean, you've been in entrepreneurship way longer than I have been an entrepreneurship for the past five years now. But one thing that's really worked where I can always say has built my Navy Seals of my teams. Right. Has been actually having them move into with me. Even with my wife, I was like.

[Mara Dorn]

That'S a little risky. I've done it. I've done it. But it's really risky.

[Paul Alex]

It is risky, but obvious. They have to have a little bit of experience with my company. Like, I have to know them, build a relationship first. I'm not just going to get, you know, a random. Yeah, no, I get initial employee. But somebody that's like, really had some skin in the game. Like, I see they're investing in themselves. I see that they need that mentorship one on one. Right. Because they'll probably don't come from a family of entrepreneurs. Right. So the ones that I have been able to do that with, it's been a winning recipe for me every single time because they. They literally see that and they feel that and they're like, dude, this person cares for me. And then they put those beliefs and core values into Else. Right. So I'm a big believer in that. So you have three beautiful children.

[Mara Dorn]

I do.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[Mara Dorn]

I do.

[Paul Alex]

So let's talk about motherhood and entrepreneurship now.

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah, let's go ahead. Let's talk about it. Let's go ahead and talk about it.

[Paul Alex]

So what would you say is one of the key characteristics that it takes for you to be not only a successful entrepreneur, but also be there for your kids?

[Mara Dorn]

I would say forget the word balance. Like, people use that word so often. Balance. I don't even know what balance means. I have no idea what that even means. All I know is that I'm trying to have both, you know, go in tandem, and it never does. You know, when the kids are doing great, the business is falling. But you know what I try to do to balance. Balance, you know, whatever that means. But to. To get them both going, they like to incorporate one with the other. You know, I thank God. And that's the beauty about being an entrepreneur, is that you have the availability to bring the kids to work, you know, so I don't really care. And the other thing I would say is I don't really care what other people have to say about me. I went through a long time of mom shaming. Oh, you're working all these hours. Well, yeah, I. Yeah, I am. And, you know, keeping your kids in daycare. I probably was the last parent to pick up my kid. Absolutely. But stop listening to the noise and the naysayers just stop. And both. Once you weed that out and you know that there's no such thing as balance, I think they work together. This episode is brought to you by indeed. You're ready to move your business forward. But first, you need to find the right team. Start your search with Indeed sponsored Jobs. It can help you reach qualified candidates fast, ensuring your listing is the first one they see. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs are 90% more likely to report a hire than non sponsored jobs. See the results for yourself. Get a $75 sponsored job [e-mail] podcast. Terms and conditions apply.

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[Paul Alex]

Yeah, and I love the fact how like Direct and open. That you are. You know, I meet a lot of entrepreneurs, but the fact that you own up to, like, mistakes or.

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah, I just don't care. What you see is what you get.

[Paul Alex]

No, which is good. Which is good. You know, I always tell people, hey, just be open. Close mouths, don't get fed.

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

At the end of the day, real.

[Mara Dorn]

Own it, own it, own it. It doesn't matter. Am I the perfect mom all the time? I would like to think, but that's not true. I'm not. I'm dropping the ball just like everybody else. I'm going through the common struggles, you know, am I. Am I the perfect boss all the time? Probably not. No. But. But again, it's ownership. You know, I want to be better. I try to be better. There's no such thing as perfect. Give yourself grace. And people don't want to give themselves grace.

[Paul Alex]

I love that you have to give yourself grace. So now that you've been able to, I guess, create such a name for yourself in the health insurance, what is your plans with personal branding?

[Mara Dorn]

You know, one thing for me in the health insurance space is being in a male dominated space. That was a big thing. I don't even think I realized it was male dominated until years later. I just worked with people. But when I see that there's not that many women working in the space, it really hurts my little heart. So one thing I'd like to do is continue to empower women, young women that they can do anything that they want. I love the Nike slogan. Just do it. And our, you know, our biggest. Our biggest critics are ourselves. We get in the way of ourselves all the time. So that's. My next step, is to continue to empower women. I mean, everybody, but primarily women. Young women.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. I mean, you gotta feel everybody, one niche, and that's fine. So let's talk about your podcast now, Bill, what does that stand for?

[Mara Dorn]

Boss. I like to follow.

[Paul Alex]

I love that. Boss. I like to follow. And then what. What do you talk about in your podcast?

[Mara Dorn]

We talk about everything. I mean, we talk about. It's a pretty authentic. I like authenticity. So, you know, when someone comes on, we talk about things that we probably shouldn't talk about. You know, the Miss Nomads that you can. It's sometimes inappropriate, but it's real, it's raw. If somebody's trying to promote their business, I want them to talk about their business. And it can be a boss in any. Right. So we've had a whole gamut of different people. People come On.

[Paul Alex]

I love that you have the podcast going on. You have the health insurance experience. I mean, you have all the social proof. Why haven't you started either a consulting agency or a coaching program? I'm serious.

[Mara Dorn]

Because there's so many coaches out there, and if I'm going to do something, I want to differentiate myself and I want to give true value. Yeah. And until I, you know, until I'm at a point where I can give true value and I differentiate myself from everybody else.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Mara Dorn]

Then I don't feel comfortable doing that yet.

[Paul Alex]

I mean, I don't think I've heard of one female entrepreneur. Correct me if I'm wrong. Female entrepreneur that has done over a billion dollars in revenues and has built sales teams, has children.

[Mara Dorn]

Layla Hermozi. She's done good.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, she has. But the thing is, Layla is in a different niche. Yeah, that's the thing. Right. And also, she's built everything from, like, gym launch to supplement companies with Alex. Right.

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

So at the end of the day, it's a different niche.

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah, you're right. You're right.

[Paul Alex]

And I always tell this. Look, you and Layla can. Can actually be in the same industry. Does that mean that her audience is gonna buy from you and your. And your audience is gonna buy from hers? No.

[Mara Dorn]

Right.

[Paul Alex]

Everybody's attracted to different people, and there's more than enough people out there. And that's the thing, you know, it comes down to owning it. Right. I think. I think you have a massive opportunity. I mean, I've. Me, myself, I've worked with so many people that have less and they've made more in consulting because of their experience. But, I mean, you. You have the. The keys to success right here.

[Mara Dorn]

Honestly, I just don't want to end up on that podcast with. Or not the podcast, the ig, where they make fun of all these people that are busters. Yes. I don't want to do that. Typically want to end up there, I think.

[Paul Alex]

I think typically with them, they target people more like. Let's say you're 21 years old.

[Mara Dorn]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

And you're showing the. The cars. Come on. At the end of the day, we're in Miami. Yeah. Who doesn't have one of those cars? Right. So, I mean, as long as you're more real, I think you'll be more than fine.

[Mara Dorn]

I appreciate that. Maybe soon to come.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. You should really think about it. But with that being said, where can our audience actually find you?

[Mara Dorn]

Well, you can find me on the Bilfpod, on YouTube, on Spotify, on Apple. You'll find me there. You can also find me at Mara Dorn. You can find. You can go to my website maradorn.com I mean just type in Maradorn M A R A D O R N E and you'll find.

[Paul Alex]

Love it. And then a few words of encouragement to have people level up in 2025.

[Mara Dorn]

I would just say exactly what I said before. Just do it. I think Nike said it best. They have the best slogan in the entire world. It's just do it. Nothing is stopping you but you.

[Paul Alex]

Absolutely. And that's the level up guys. Leave a five star review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. Thank you again for the 4 million downloads. Back in August. We're looking to shoot to 5 million downloads. Nice and steady wins the race, guys, so we're getting there. With that being said, guys, my name is Paul Alex. This is the level up. We'll catch you on the next one. Peace.

[Mara Dorn]

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