Gabriel Frazier will never forget the day he realized for certain he was meant to spend the rest of his career in the insurance world. It was back in 2013, the day one of his customers experienced the total loss of his home in a fire.
“I got a call early Sunday morning and the voice on the other end informed me that his house had burnt down early that morning,” he said. “My heart sank. I was new in business and had no idea what to expect. I’ll never forget driving up his driveway early Monday morning to see the charred pile of rubble that once was his house.”
When the customer asked him what to expect, further adding that he had been told to expect the worst, Gabriel said he turned to his adjustor for help in answering the customer’s question. He said, “We’re going to write him a check today.”
“That simple phrase changed my view on insurance,” he explained. “In less than 24 hours we solved a $250,000 problem for his meager premium of $1800 a year. This was the moment I knew I would be in the insurance business for the remainder of my career.”
To that note, Gabriel, who is married to Monica Frazier, believes a person’s life is shaped by experiences. “I took a long winding journey to my current role as owner of The Frazier Agency, as I landed in the insurance business shortly after selling a home security company that I had started in Franklin,” he said. “The lessons I learned through starting and running that company as well as two others throughout my working career really created a solid foundation for me as I ventured into the insurance world.”
Gabriel credits his wife for supporting his non-traditional entrepreneurial spirit and also for being the backbone of their family, which includes two young children, Alisha and Jameson. “I cannot imagine trying to manage the many facets of life without having the supportive foundation Monica provides,” he said. “The way your perspective on life changes when you have children is powerful, and there isn’t a day that passes that I’m not thankful to have a happy, healthy family with which to experience life’s journey.”
Life is indeed busy for the Fraziers, but both Monica and Gabriel believe that giving back to the community is imperative in terms of setting a good example for their children. They both enjoy serving some of Murfreesboro’s incredible non-profit organizations.
Like everyone, Gabriel faces challenges every day. He believes the number one challenge he faces daily is, quite simply, failure. “It’s probably the one piece of advice I’d give to any new entrepreneur: fail,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to fail. This is a lesson that I’ve learned from my friend and mentor, Warren Tormey. He has taught me that there is often an unforeseen silver lining in the times that you feel like you’ve lost. Failure is not a destination, it’s just part of the journey.” Every day, he says, he fails in some capacity.
“The key is learning to respond to that failure — to use that failure to fuel you and grow you,” he said. “I see so many business owners that consistently face (seemingly) insurmountable challenges. Human nature in this scenario is to take the path of least resistance and quit. I believe the ones that succeed are the ones that embrace failure as part of the process and refuse to quit.”