Meet Cynthia Rodriguez | Independent Health Insurance Broker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cynthia Rodriguez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cynthia, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Ever since I was a young girl I was surrounded by business owners. It all started with my grandfather, he owned a small record shop in North Philadelphia, then eventually my mother, uncles and aunts all began opening business’s in that same street where my grandfather’s shop was located. I would spend most of my days after school helping with the business’s and eventually as I got older working for my mother full-time. Throughout the years, I was able to see how invested they all were and how much effort they put into growing their business. My mom would always tell me, “there is nothing better than being your own boss because you have the ability to hold yourself accountable for how successful your business becomes”. These values I’ve learned over the years from observing my family literally OWN their business’s, made me realize that I too wanted to have my own business and be my own boss.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve worked in several different industries over the years from health care, government to hospitality. Each of these work experiences has helped me develop the skills I needed to become the successful person I am today. I absorbed as much information and learned as many different skills as I could from each job I held. This in turn, made me stronger at my job. Whether is was working on logistical parts of the business, day to day administrative tasks, coming up with new ways and processes to improve the flow of business and most importantly learning to deal with different personalities. All these are important when you are running your own business and are key to being successful. Yes, there were challenges during the transitioning times, when I switched from one industry to another and I felt like I would never find my niche, but I always made it a point to learn from those obstacles and adjust to task that was in front of me. Determination is what keeps me going and becoming an expert at everything I do, whether it was something I didn’t think I would do forever, at least I was gaining something from it that I knew it would help me later on down my career.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Orlando! What is there not to do! Of course, me being the type of person I am, I would want to make sure I plan activities that my best friend loves to do! For example, if she/he is adventurous and a thrill seeker, we would definitely need to visits some of our Disney theme parks, Universal or go on a jet ski down the Indian River, maybe paddle board or even parasail on the Gulf. I’ve lived in Orlando close to 5 years now so I have eaten at some pretty amazing restaurants, so if she/he is a foodie I would definitely recommend some of my top places to eat. For example, I found a gem when I first moved here, it’s a small quaint Italian restaurant called Fresca Cocina right off of Sand Lake. The restaurant is owned by an Italian family and if you call to make reservations, you will get the cutest Italian grandmother with the heaviest accent on the phone to help you schedule your reservation. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is great! The night life here is also a great time, so many places to go it’s difficult to mention them all but one of my favorite places is Grills Lakeside Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar. I love to eat and drink by the water front and on a beautiful sunny day the scenery at Grills is amazing!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Wow, this is a great question! There are so many people I would love to thank and show recognition to. I’ll start with my family, especially my mother for always pushing me to strive for the very best. My son Brandon, who I love with all my heart, he is my motivation and why I continue to push forward a be a better version of myself each day. My partner, Christine who has supported me all the way through this journey and has been the ultimate ride or die! Last but not least, my team especially my leaders who helped take my career to a whole other level, Danny Levine & Tyler Jackson. These two have provided me with all the tools I needed in order to become successful in the Health Insurance Industry and I am so glad they pushed me to come out of my comfort zone, take risks become a better at my craft each day!

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-rodriguez-90137b98/