JUNE NIBJ: From nap time to nationwide success

Malia Rogers did not plan to become a business owner. She was a stay-at-home mom with an MBA, trying to figure out how to earn a little extra money without leaving her kids.

Her first office was a desk at the foot of her bed.

"I just wanted to help people and make a little extra income," she said. "It wasn't glamorous."

Fourteen years later, Rogers runs MediGap Pros LLC, a fully virtual health insurance brokerage that serves thousands of clients across the country. Her team handles Medicare plans, individual health coverage, and everything in between, all from home offices, all at no cost to the people they serve.

The business started with a phone call she did not expect.

Years before, Rogers had worked in the mortgage industry and crossed paths with a woman named Jacklyn. One day, Jacklyn called out of the blue. Her parents needed more care. Her insurance business had grown faster than she could manage. She was thinking about selling it.

But every time she prayed about what to do, one name kept coming up. Malia's.

"It was a total God thing," Rogers said. "I was minding my own business, and this door opened."

She said no at first. She did not understand what she was being offered. But after talking it through with her husband, Chris, and praying about it herself, she said yes.

During nap time, she made calls. During open enrollment, she worked late into the night while Chris slept with the covers pulled over his head. Slowly, the work grew into something real.

"I focused on building relationships," she said. "That became the foundation of everything."

Today, her team includes three people who she credits as the reason the business works. Sue advocates for clients and makes sure every experience is a good one. Martina handles training, efficiency, and compliance. Becca brings creativity and a warmth that, Rogers says, lifts everyone around her.

Nearly 170 five-star reviews on Google back that up. One recent review read: "Malia and her team went above and beyond to get coverage for my 93-year-old mother-in-law. Every person we worked with was top-notch."

Rogers says the work is personal, often more than people expect.

"I can't tell you how many times someone has called me and said, I was sitting at my doctor's office when I got bad news, and you were the first person I thought of," she said. "We're usually the first to know things, sometimes even before family does."

She described one client who came to her skeptical. The woman had always handled her own insurance and was not sure she needed help. But a card at her doctor's office caught her eye, and she called.

Rogers reviewed her coverage and told her she had done a good job. She was already on a solid plan. But Rogers noticed something else. The woman was paying out of pocket for an expensive medication.

"Did you know you might be able to get that for free through the manufacturer?" Rogers asked.

A few weeks later, the woman called back. She had been approved for patient assistance. The medication would cost her nothing.

"Just by reaching out," Rogers said, "she got her medication covered."

That kind of work is what Rogers means when she says her services are free. Insurance brokers are paid by the carriers, not the clients. The cost to the person calling is zero.

"Might as well have someone go to bat for you," she said.

Rogers did not always know how to run a business. She understood people, but the operational side, financials, metrics, those were harder. A friend pointed her to the North Idaho Small Business Development Center, and she has been working with them since 2021.

"I've been telling everyone about it ever since," she said. "I didn't even know it existed. But it helped me think more like a business owner."

Her SBDC business coach, Deborah Dickerson, helped her stay accountable on the things that are easy to put off.

Along the way, Rogers wrote a book. Magnetic Allure debuted as a number one Amazon bestseller in several categories. It is built around one idea: when you become the kind of person others trust and want to be around, opportunities start finding you.

She used her first royalty check to take her family to Disneyland.

Outside of work, Rogers serves on both the local and state boards for the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals and will become the incoming state president. The local chapter raises money each year to deliver Christmas gifts to teenagers staying at Kootenai Health over the holidays.

They also support Family Promise of North Idaho, which provides temporary housing for homeless families. And Rogers serves on the board for Lemonade Day, a program that teaches children how to start and run a small business.

She said the first time she helped deliver gifts to those teenagers in the hospital, she was not sure the presents were exciting enough. Notepads. Socks. Pajamas.

Then she saw their faces.

"Some of them said it was the most gifts they had ever received," she said. "It changed my perspective completely."

When asked what advice she would give other business owners, Rogers did not hesitate.

"Put yourself out there," she said. "It used to be about who you know. Now it is also about who knows you."

She paused, then added: "And never overlook the unexpected people. The ones you would never guess could change your life. They always do."

The NISBDC's mission is to help accelerate your business success. Our team of retired executives provides no-cost, confidential business coaching to owners to improve performance and profit in every area of business. Reach us at 208-665-5085, [email protected], or visit NISBDC.com.