Tru Champions - Vol 6 - Jo Brewer

Welcome back to a very special edition of our Tru Champions series, we kick off the New Year in style with our good friend Jo Brewer.

If this is your first time here, this series is all about sharing the stories of the most influential people in our sphere. These are people who inspire us, challenge us, and who naturally live by our Tru Talent values of ‘Grow, Empower, Nurture’.

Jo Brewer joins the ranks of many past Champions such as Chandos Green who’s a public speaker, co-founder, campaigner, and advocate for disability rights. We’ve also stepped into the fast lane with Will StJames who’s an F1000 race car driver and marketing leader in the motorsport industry, and who could forget our heartfelt feature with Steve Cuss who is the leader of the AFC Bournemouth Community Sports Trust.

Jo's Story

We’re so excited to share with you how Jo supports us as a consultant and mentor here at Tru Talent but more importantly how her unique and organic approach has been the catalyst for greater growth and development. But first, let’s hear a little about Jo’s story.

Jo is the CEO and co-founder of Protect Line with her husband David. Protect Line is one of the UK’s leading fee-free Life Insurance Brokers, they have protected over 310,000 families from financial hardship to date. Their company mission statement is ‘Investing in Our People to Protect Yours’. Established in 2010, Protect Line grew rapidly in its first year reaching a total of 50 staff members by the end of 2011. 15 years later the company has grown to over 230 amazing staff members across offices in Bournemouth and London who deliver a multi-award-winning service for those in search of life insurance.

The continued growth of the business is driven by pure passion and entrepreneurial drive, Jo leverages her previous experience in banking, management, and past beauty ventures to continue the growth of the company. She credits her father for her entrepreneurial spirit, from an early age he demonstrated to her the value of hard work, the significance of effective problem-solving, and the importance of a resilient mindset which has served as a model for her approach to business today.

Jo shares that the growth of the business hasn’t been without its challenges over the last 15 years, it has come with the inevitable ups and downs and sleepless nights. Jo and David have managed to weather every storm the business has faced while always continuing the path of growth. They are one of those rare examples of a husband and wife who not only ‘can’ work together but can work so effectively together that they’ve built a multi-million-pound company that continues to help thousands of families every year.

How Jo Helps & Supports Us Here At Tru Talent

Jo supports our directors Toni and Ben with tailored consulting and mentorship across all touch points of the business from strategy and process to cash flow and training. Jo uses her unique and organic approach as well as drawing upon her experience and expertise to lead Tru Talent to greater heights.

Jo’s unique intuition-led approach is refreshing yet powerful. She believes that in most cases we already know the answers to the challenges we face, sometimes we just need a little help and guidance to uncover them. Jo uses the power of questions to challenge our thought processes and as a result, reframe our approach to the challenge itself. These insightful questions encourage critical thinking and deeper understanding by prompting us to reflect on our beliefs and assumptions. This has led us to the discovery of innovative solutions and improved decision-making by exploring different perspectives and possibilities. It has also helped foster a culture of open communication, collaboration, and self-belief, allowing our team to express their thoughts and ideas freely.

The Impact Jo has made at Tru Talent

Toni’s face lit up when we asked her how working with Jo has impacted her and the business as a whole.

Toni shared “Jo has such a natural and organic approach that it almost feels like she holds a mirror up to me and shows me the direction and answers I already know inside. Her subtle art of asking powerful questions has helped me to explore different perspectives, improve my ability to communicate on a higher level and balance emotional instincts with commercial reasoning, which has enhanced my effectiveness as a leader tenfold. Jo is also a figure of accountability and a role model female business leader. I can’t thank her enough for the time, energy, and wisdom she continues to pour into me and the team, she has been the reason for the continued positive change here at Tru Talent.

Jo’s Key Takeaways

We’ve learned so much from Jo that it would be impossible to capture it all here, but we’ve highlighted some of our favorite key takeaways:

• “The journey to success in business is rarely a path of steady incline - There are ups and downs on the journey and understanding this will help reduce anxiety and help you hold steadfast when met with challenges and obstacles. Weathering the storms in business will, more often than not, lead to greater learning, growth, and development.”

• “Become a master of asking questions of yourself and others. Questions can help stimulate critical thinking and self-reflection, allowing us to uncover our own insights and solutions. This approach not only enhances problem-solving skills but also promotes a culture of continuous learning and adaptability.”

• “Reframe your mindset to reframe your world. It’s not what happens to us in business but how we decide to think and respond to it that truly matters.” Jo encourages us to view challenges from different perspectives and foster a more positive outlook.

The Tru Champion Question

As is tradition, our previous Tru Champion leaves a question for the next. The champion doesn’t know who they are leaving it for which adds a lovely bit of mystery to the process. Our last champion was Steve Cuss, leader of the AFC Bournemouth Community Sports Trust, he left this question: “Who has been the most influential figure in your life and why?” 

Jo’s response: “I couldn’t put it down to just one individual, however, I can narrow it down to two people, my amazing parents. My Dad showed me what it looked like to work for yourself, to build something you can be proud of, and the value of always being solution-orientated. My Mum taught me the art of asking questions, I have adopted her curious, brave, and persistent technique as my own. 

Having the courage to ask questions others might find uncomfortable - whist trying to do so respectfully and thoughtfully - has greatly benefited me throughout my career.

Together their guidance about being in control of your own destiny and the power of working hard and playing hard has been a great lesson of how to live life well. They’ve shown me if you want something in life, you have to go after it and that hard work, perseverance and resilience are the best ways to secure it. I’m incredibly grateful for their inspiration and guidance.

You’ll have to stay tuned for our next installment of Tru Champions to hear the question Jo left for our next champion.

If you’d like to know more about Protect Line and the services they offer, you can find them at www.protectline.co.uk or on socials @protectlineinsurance & @protectlinecareers.

Thanks for joining us for another installment of our Tru Champions series, we can’t wait to share even more stories from the amazing people in our sphere in the year ahead.

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