SYNERGY - A Chat with Latalyia McKnight

Story By: Pamela Edwards

Part of Gainesville’s thriving cornerstone is the wide and varied collection of hard-working professionals. They are instrumental in the professional image and strong economical advancements among African Americans. Latalyia McKnight is an example of such a professional.

A native of Gainesville, Latalyia, graduated from PK Yonge High School. She then graduated from the University of North Florida (UNF) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, with a concentration in marketing, in 2010. But even before this time, Latalyia was developing an interest in the insurance field as a result of her father’s great example.

Latalyia’s dad worked for Allstate Corporate for thirty years, retiring in November, 2020, while her mother worked in the banking industry. After graduating from the UNF, she worked at Avis, but it just wasn’t a good fit for her. She called her dad, who gave her tremendous encouragement and guidance. He said, “Kiddo, it’s okay. You lost the job to gain a career.” It was then that her interest in the insurance industry was piqued, and her father taught her more about insurance and helped her to take advantage of the Allstate opportunity.

Today, Latalyia is not only an insurance professional who is licensed in property and casualty, life, annuities, and more, but she is also the owner of an Allstate insurance center. In fact, this August, she will celebrate the 10th anniversary of her office opening. And, as if that wasn’t enough to celebrate, at that time ten years ago, she was the youngest agent in the state to own such an insurance agency.

It is no secret that so many business owners have had to maneuver the challenges presented by the pandemic. So many businesses did not make it. When asked how she was able to survive such challenges, Latalyia said, “Actually, I did not suffer as much as I thought I would! With the housing market and interest rates being so low, business actually increased. Allstate made a lot of provisions, such as special payment plans, to make sure my clients were taken care of.”

In a nutshell, the success of her business during this time boiled down to her simple, yet profound, declaration: “I kept at it and didn’t stop.” She also does regular business marketing to make sure that as many people as possible are familiar with her services. Some of her marketing efforts include workshops, seminars, and church appearances, as well as lots of national advertising.

In these efforts, she also seizes opportunities to not only market, but also educate individuals. She stated, “You have to have a personal relationship with a lot of people to really grasp that conversation of life insurance and estate planning. You have to make sure that you have everything in order in advance. Generational wealth does not have to just come from building a business. It can also come from life insurance. It’s making sure your partner or kids have a nest egg, or something to walk away with, when you are gone.”

When asked how she would want people to remember her, Latalyia shared, “I want to leave the legacy of just generally being a person that has a heart for humanity.” With such a legacy that she has already created, that is wonderfully shaping up to be the case.