Q&A with 20 Under 40 honoree Blake Johnson II: 'Surround yourself with people who are better than you'

Editor's note: In partnership with The Acadiana Advocate, the705 is recognizing its annual Top 20 Under 40 Acadiana Leadership Award honorees, presented by Advancial Federal Credit Union. Honorees will be recognized at a March 24 banquet. For tickets, visit bit.ly/Aca20under40.

Blake Johnson II has been owner of Blake Johnson Agency LLC of Carencero and an agent with State Farm Insurance for five years.

Tell me about your life growing up. Where are you from, and who were the biggest influences on your life.

I was born and raised in Franklin. I attended a small school there and eventually went on the attend the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. My biggest influences on my life were my parents. They gave me a desire to work and always look to better myself. Whether it was sports growing up or summer jobs, my parents always expected the best out of me, which I believe, helped shape me into the person I am today.

You and 19 others are being recognized for your professional accomplishments. What's one thing you have learned as a professional that you wish you knew when you were younger?

Surround yourself with people who are better than you, they will bring you up. The people that you surround yourself with should inspire you to be better, personally and professionally. The people closest to you can have the biggest influence on your life, good or bad, without you knowing. Also, a closed mouth doesn't get fed. If you want something done, you must ask or do it yourself. Things don't just line up for a person to become successful. It all falls on your back. Stop waiting or wishing and put in the work to get yourself where you want to go.

Your bio lists significant accomplishments as you were first starting out, including No. 4 ranking in the country back in 2018. What was it like for starting out as an agent that same year? Did you just kind of hit the ground running? What worked for you?

Starting any new business, there are a lot emotion, anxieties and fear. Embodying all of them, I had no choice but to hit the ground running. My priority was recruiting a great team to help me accomplish our agency goals, and those great employees helped accomplish them. There was no option to fail, and if we didn't perform to our potential, I would have considered that as failure. We dove right into our community of Carencro, and with their open arms we have continued to have a great business there. In this industry, the harder you work, the more successful you can be, just as any business. We have and will always embody that message throughout our vison and goals.

You've been a member of The705 club. What do you like about that organization and why do you think it's important for young professional organizations to be active in a city?

What I like most about the 705 is the ability to join a group with likeminded individuals and connect with people. Majority of the people in the program want more for themselves and their community, a bigger purpose. Rather than just going to work and living life, people in the 705 know that they have more to give and have a bigger vision for Lafayette and our community. I feel the same way, and joining this organization allowed made to network with like-minded people and develop relationship for years to come as we grow to make Lafayette a great place to live and work.

Last month state of homeowners insurance was in the news with the Legislature holding a special session on it. Lots of homeowners have had to find new insurers with companies leaving Louisiana. You're in the insurance business: what is the biggest thing that needs to happen to remedy the situation?

This special session's goal is to incentivize insurance careers to enter and stay in the state of Louisiana to write homeowners insurance. The simple way to say it is that the more companies that are writing new business, the more competition, the better the rates should be. Lafayette and northward of the state doesn't have as big of a problem as our southern parishes below I-10, although we are still affected by it a bit. Our southern parishes may have only one or maybe two choices to acquire home insurance. In some parts, with the premiums are extremely high. They are stuck in between a rock and a hard place, which sometimes results on it just being completely unaffordable. Some end up not carrying any insurance at all. These people need more options, but the insurance companies need to find a way to make things profitable for them so they can stay here the long haul. There is no magic fix for it, but this is a step in the right direction.

What keeps you here in Lafayette? How can Lafayette make itself more attractive to young professionals to want to stay here instead of moving away?

What keeps me here in Lafayette is family, friends, food and culture. Being an outdoorsman, there is not a better place to live. With all those factors, I love to live in this area. I didn't truly understand how people here are different that other areas of the country, even in different parts of the state. We are a culture with love for others, core values of family and friendships, and we love to cook and eat. Nobody is a stranger here. I think we have what it talks to continue to attract young professionals to stay and move here. With our development of new businesses and restaurants, the draw of people from outside of Lafayette is working. When it comes to jobs, although we have recent great developments, I believe we are missing a gap in the tech space. A majority of the positions in that field around here are remote, and I see that as an area to improve to attach professionals in that field.