When he was in the NFL, Abram Booty of Shreveport, LA, was time poor. There were no Thanksgivings or Christmases. That’s when games are played. Days off were few and far between. Breaks were short. There were practices to hold. For a couple who had just had its first child, it was an emotional drain.
What Is Freedom Worth? Now, Abram makes more money each year with Primerica than he did in the NFL; and he gets to see his wife, Amy, and their kids whenever he’d like. “I was recently talking to a friend of mine who’s a professional golfer. I asked him how it was going, and his only answer was that he can’t spend any time with his family. He has kids in elementary and middle school,” Abram explained, “but he only sees them three to four times each month.” To Abram, it’s just not worth the sacrifice. With Primerica, he said, he can make the money of a professional athlete and still have a family life.
For him, that ideal life includes lunch dates with Amy and calls home when necessary. “I have friends who can’t take calls during the day. They have 30 minutes to eat their lunch. Their every moment is dictated. I would take half of what they make just to have freedom,” he said. To Abram, it doesn’t make sense to have your entire life dictated by someone else’s schedule.
Paying It Forward Before joining Primerica, Abram had moved on to coaching, so Primerica was simply a way to supplement his coaching income. Now, it’s a way to create an income stream that allows him to live his life. He says he feels like he owes it to others to help them do the same. That’s why his long-term goals involve getting more people to the level in which they can find financial independence, too. Especially now.
“I look back at people I was coaching with, and I see that there have been no pay raises in the years since I left coaching. There are freezes on pay raises all around, but there’s no freeze on inflation,” he said. According to Abram, what has been the toughest time of many peoples’ lives has been a great time for his business. He said that in 2009 his income was up a whopping 35% over 2008’s income.
He attributes his success to the fact that Primerica markets hope. Primerica shows people how to eliminate debt, generate income and save for the future, he said. That’s hope. Hope is just what he was looking for when he reached out to Primerica in 2004, and he recommends that others take that same step. He said, “If you’re working with Corporate America, your goals and dreams are not at the top of their agenda.” For him, those goals and dreams were seeing the smiling faces of his children each day and knowing that their dad could provide for them and still be there to witness their lives each and every day. Dream achieved.
He’s smart, charismatic and was born to play in the “big leagues.” She’s smart, beautiful and a partner with her head in the game. Meet Collis and Britney Temple — just two of many young Primerica entrepreneurs who believe they can have it all — and are proving they’re in it to win it.
“I didn’t want to get a ‘job’ and I never wanted to work for someone else,” Collis says. “My parents have always been entrepreneurs. They set a great example for me.”
Collis, a 30-year-old from Baton Rouge, LA, is a born competitor. He graduated from Louisiana State University in three years, and was already working toward a Ph.D. He was a star player on LSU’s winning basketball team and had a bright future ahead of him in the NBA playing for the Detroit Pistons before a pre-season injury changed the course of his future.
For most people, the loss of a pro basketball career would be devastating … unless you had the true mind of a champion like Collis. He rebounded — in a very big way. He joined Primerica and made the decision to become an entrepreneur.
Collis saw that with Primerica, he’d still have the opportunity to live the lifestyle he’d always dreamed about and could still tap into his competitive spirit and be a winner. “I knew immediately that Primerica was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” he says.
With the same work ethic and focus that kept him on top in class and in sports, Collis’ fierce competitive spirit rose to the forefront. He built a successful Primerica business and was living his new dream.
A couple of years later, he met his match: Britney. “Britney owned a modeling agency and had moved back to Baton Rouge from Chicago to establish her business,” recalls Collis. Once she learned more about Collis and his Primerica business, Britney didn’t hesitate to join the business.
“Learning about Primerica was surreal,” says Britney. “I graduated from college with a degree in finance and had interned at a big finance company. I wanted to study finance because I grew up with a single mother who struggled financially to raise two kids.
“I wanted to learn about money and change my family’s legacy. I believe the company I interned for wouldn’t have anything to do with you unless you had a large amount of money to invest,” she remembers. “Primerica helps middle market families learn how to become financially independent. What they do for everyday families blew me away. I knew I wanted to be part of this.”
Being able to partner and grow a business together with Collis was another deciding factor in joining Primerica. “Partnership is everything,” Britney enthuses. “I’ve played competitive sports and worked in corporate America — both encouraged me not to work with someone but to work against them.
“Our business has grown because we work together,” she says. “It’s the key to success in any business but few companies actually realize and utilize partnership.”
Collis and Britney’s partnership has made them more successful and competitive than ever. They’ve aligned their goals and are on their way to fulfilling their dreams.
“The opportunity here is unlimited,” Collis says. “The younger you are, the more focused you can be. As long as you’re coachable, focused and put the effort in, you can collapse timeframes and realize success much sooner than you ever could in the corporate world.”
