Tenacious.
That's a word oft used to describe Wendy Bourdeau, although her dad, Bob Bourdeau, refuses to use "bulldog." In typical fatherly manner, when discussing his daughter, Bob says, "She's more like a little puppy that grabs on to your pants leg and won't let go. She will not quit until she has exhausted every avenue. She's always been challenged by the male-dominated aspect of this business and goes beyond a normal effort."
Wendy helps manage the Farmington Hills, Michigan, office of Al Bourdeau Insurance Service, a six-office agency with 110 employees and a former Rough Notes Marketing Agency of the Month. A commercial lines producer, Wendy has a long history of dealing with and competing on an equal footing with males, at least as long a history as a young agent can have. With three brothers all close to her in age, she never tolerated the idea that there were activities that were just for them. (Wendy also has two younger sisters.) Her father admits that her brothers were teases who did wonderful things such as finding alternative uses for hedge clippers. (Great for removing pigtails.)
So it should not have been any surprise to the Bourdeau family that Wendy would enter the agency and begin to shake up the status quo. "The agency has been around since 1921 and has passed on through the male side of the family." Wendy was determined that that would not happen with the fourth generation of Bourdeaus. "It's been a struggle in a way to get the men to accept me as an equal," she admits, adding quickly that her path was eased by "people who broke the mold a lot earlier. It's been becoming more and more acceptable for women to work in every type of profession."
Wendy started working with the agency at the Lansing office while attending Michigan State University. "I worked there whenever my schedule would allow. The more I did it, the more I found it to be interesting. When I graduated in 1988, they needed someone to help out in the accounting department. I started there and found there were other things I wanted to do."
Wendy continues that "I like getting out and meeting people, and being a commercial lines producer affords me that opportunity. But when I first approached my dad about that, he was really hesitant about me selling. I guess he didn't want to send me out into the shark-infested waters."
Well, even hesitation, it seems, is enough to set Wendy to working at the task. She got her CIC, kind of a prerequisite for producers at Al Bourdeau Insurance Service; but then, in typical fashion, she went another step and became the first producer at Al Bourdeau to earn a CPCU.
"The bigger the challenge, the bigger the effort," describes how Wendy Bourdeau, a fourth-generation member of the family-owned agency, takes on tasks--even the sales process. "I pull together the best coverages and values, always trying to find the best way to provide clients the best value," she says.
Today, Wendy is accepted as one of the best. Her dad says she's a big reason for the success of the Farmington Hills office. "When we first acquired the office," Bob remembers, "the situation was a lot different than we anticipated. We purchased that agency quickly following the death of the owner. It was done in a matter of days and we did it almost sight unseen. We brought Wendy down there to get a grip on things, and it probably would have been a disappointing deal if we hadn't brought her in. It was a difficult task which was perfect for her--the bigger the challenge, the bigger the effort."
Wendy's sales style is interesting. She admits that she approaches the process kind of like a game where she has to do everything to gain an advantage over the competition. "I pull together the best coverages and values, always try to find a better way to put the puzzle together than the next person. It makes it fun because I love challenges." It also benefits clients because she's always looking for ways to provide them with the best value.
As her dad says, "Clients have to be delighted to have Wendy as their agent. They win big."
Of course, she doesn't always get every client she goes after, but Wendy accepts that philosophically. "If I know that I have done the best that I can do, it's easier to take the defeat. And there's always next year."
In her spare time (whenever that is), Wendy serves on the communications committee for the Michigan agents association.
Wendy's personal life has been equally challenging. It seems that she's always pushing that envelope. When she married Andrew Hepburn, her family suggested it might be fun to go somewhere different for the wedding. They were probably thinking about warm climes, like Bermuda or the Caribbean. Wendy chose Scotland.
Andy is first-generation American from a Scottish family. In fact, his first four siblings were born in Scotland before the family moved across the pond.
So Wendy and Andy went to Scotland and found a castle in which to have the wedding, assuring the trust that owned the castle that only about 80 people would be attending. The invitations went out and more than 130 people flew to Scotland from the United States to attend the wedding. And when those ranks were swelled by Andy's relatives who still resided in Scotland, more than 200 people squeezed into a room designed for about half that number--squeezed together, knee to knee, in rented kilts. It was a complete success. Pipers piped and everyone had a wonderful time. Wendy and Andy's honeymoon was spent in rain gear and smiles--sailing the western Hebrides.
The castle, by the way, was used by General Dwight Eisenhower and was given to him for his personal use as a thanks for D-Day. It now is owned by the Scottish National Trust. Wendy and Andy slept in Eisenhower's bedroom on their honeymoon. And while they were there, an MSU flag flew over the ramparts.
The Scottish wedding is now a tradition that has caught fire. "One of my brothers-in-law hadn't been back to Scotland since they moved--until our wedding. Now he's turned into this huge Scot. He went back and got married in Scotland last October."
In addition to traveling to faraway places for a honeymoon, Wendy runs, skis and flies airplanes. "Last summer, ten of us from the agency got on this running kick. We trained and ran races all summer getting ready for a 10-mile race in August. We all finished."
And right now, she's taking outside emergency care training so she can serve on the ski patrol. She also has a pilot's license, but it's not current right now. She doesn't have enough hours. Even for Wendy, there's only so much time available.
But the real adventure is yet to come. Wendy and Andy are about to experience a major disruption in their lives. They're expecting their first child in October. Andy, who is a vice president of national accounts with Arjo in Chicago, travels all over the place. (The company makes ergonomic type products.) And, as we have already seen, Wendy is pretty active as well. She's already working on setting up a "virtual" office at home.
According to the completely unscientific method of ring on the end of a string and seeing which way it moves when held over her stomach, the child will be a boy. And he'll probably be fighting for his place in a female-dominated world. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how Wendy handles the balancing act. Best of luck. *
©COPYRIGHT: The Rough Notes Magazine, 1999