Katie Gilkey was a dental hygienist for 25 years, but she wanted to be the person calling the shots at work. She was planning to change direction within the medical profession when she found out about an opportunity at Farm Bureau. Here’s her story, and how the skills she honed in health care are helping her succeed.
She Aimed for Medical School
In 2020, Gilkey finished her college degree online, planning to go to medical school. “Then I decided to I was too old to take on that kind of debt,” she says. She applied to chiropractic school instead, and was set to start in Kansas City, about a four-hour drive from her home in Hutchinson, Kansas. She was going to stay in Kansas City during the week and come home for weekends.
“About three months before I was supposed to start, my husband had a massive heart attack at the age of 47,” she says. She withdrew from the program so she could be with him. “I couldn’t live far away at the time when he needed me the most,” she says. While that was the right decision for her family, she wasn’t sure what she would do next professionally.
In March 2024, a Farm Bureau district manager who was a classmate of hers reached out. He wanted to see if Gilkey’s husband, who was successful at selling farm equipment, wanted to be an agent. Gilkey, her husband and her adult son met with the district manager together as a family.
“We got out of the meeting, and my husband said, ‘I don’t think it’s for me.’ But the whole time we were in that meeting, it was checking boxes for me. That started the process,” Gilkey said.
An Opportunity Close to Home
Gilkey spent the summer and fall getting her licenses and passing her securities exams. “That was the best decision I made, because I was able to walk into my contract fully licensed and registered. Everything was done. I could just focus on opening a business and being an agent,” she says.
She planned to contract in October 2024, but she would’ve had to take an opening an hour away from her home. Instead of moving, she reached out to the district manager in her town. There was an opportunity coming up where an agent would be retiring. She started working in that region, met her goals and metrics, and was able to work with that agent through 2025 and take over his books in 2026. She also retained his office staff. Since then, she’s added more employees, too.
One of those employees is her son, who was also impressed with the options at Farm Bureau during that meeting with the district manager. He’s working with her as a crop sales associate.
Patient Care Skills Foster Client Connections
Gilkey’s relationships with her patients were what kept her working as a dental hygienist so long, and she was worried that would be something she would miss as an insurance agent. But she realizes she’s able to help her clients the same way she could help her patients.
One experience drove that point home for her. “One of my clients called me and told me he lost everything. His home had burned to the ground overnight. I got to go shoulder-to-shoulder and stand there with him,” she says.
“When I was trying to gain his business, the biggest conversation we had was about insuring his house for double what his current policy had him insured for. He thought it was silly to go higher and pay more. But he ended up going with me, and the first thing he said to me after the fire was, ‘I wouldn’t have had enough to rebuild my house if I hadn’t switched to you.’ Right in that moment, it made me realize how important it is that we write our business correctly. And I also realized that I got to be the one to help put him back together. It’s almost even more rewarding than what I had in health care,” she says.
Running Her Business Like a Dentist’s Office
Gilkey loved the systematic structure of checking patients in and out, which reduces the risk of mistakes and oversights. So, she adapted it for her insurance business.
First, clients fill out a form when they come in, updating their addresses and phone numbers. She uses face sheets for taking notes, just like in dental charts. And then the front desk schedules any needed follow-up appointments. They scan and then shred the face sheet, since Gilkey is working toward a paperless office.
“I run the business like I always have, just in a different type of office,” she says.
Reflections on Her Change
From finding her dream office space at a bargain price to hiring a front desk person so she didn’t have to lock the door when she was out in the community, doors have opened for her.
She earned Blue Vase Elite and Heritage Elite status in her first year, and she made the alternate list for All-American. Because some other agents can’t take the trip, she’s going to Italy in April 2026.
“It’s been everything I expected and more really, blessings upon blessings. It's abundantly clear to me that this was exactly where I was meant to be,” she says.
Take the Next Step
If, like Katie, you’re ready to make a change, consider a future with Farm Bureau. Reach out to learn more today and explore the opportunities.