Eugene Houchins is an experienced insurance broker and life settlement investment executive currently serving as Founder and President of the American Life Fund Corp. With many years of prior experience in the field of engineering, he has achieved a great deal of success when it comes to working with clients, all with varying backgrounds and needs. As far as his educational background, Eugene Houchins holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Auburn University as well as a Master of Science Degree in Environmental Engineering from Georgia’s Institute of Technology. Going through these two powerful programs enabled him to start his career on a high note in the oil-and-gas industry. Nowadays, he is considered to be one of the top authorities in the life settlement private equity market where he assists life insurance policy owners to liquidate their existing policies for immediate cash. Ultimately, Eugene Houchins finishes off every day by being an outstanding father and husband who values his family above all else.
Do you think that being a president of a decade-old company enables you to have a good work-life balance?
It does when you organize your schedule and daily agendas properly. It took me a few years to figure out all the ins and outs of being in an entrepreneurial position when it comes to time conflicts. When I became president of American Life Fund, I obtained the means to delegate many responsibilities I no longer had time to execute efficiently. To do this, you must first realize that it will be hard to walk away from these tasks and that you may never perceive these tasks to be done as well or better than you would have done them. But once you’re able to master the fine art of delegation, your work-life balance will be much better off.
What are some of the main things that you like doing when you are not working?
One thing that comes to mind immediately is playing basketball with my son. He is 10 years old at the moment, so I still have some unfair advantages. Nonetheless, he is in a lot better shape than his dad, and that somewhat balances out the size difference. Overall, we have had some very competitive games which have helped me stay active in his day-to-day life and know how things are going with his school, friends, sports teams and even video games.
Have you ever done things outside of the scope of life settlements and life insurance policies?
Absolutely. I went to school for engineering, and I had a chance to travel to some of the most beautiful spots in the world in pursuit of growing a company in the oil-and-gas industry. Nowadays, although my job consumes most of my time, I do engage in personal investing whenever possible. Personally, I love coaching little league sports, as well as jumping on the bike every chance I get. Business wise, I like listening to self-help podcasts and watching Ted Talks. It helps keep my mind sharp, and my mind opens to new business ideas.
How has technology helped you run your business?
It has made my life easier in a few different ways. First, I enjoy simple things like being able to access my calendar on my phone and load all of my upcoming meetings as well as the attendees. This helps me stay on track with my day as I tend to digress and spend too much time working on the “fun” things. As far as the actual work, technology has made it easy to track market trends, keep a running portfolio analysis that showcases all our life policies in real time, get in touch with clients effortlessly, and much more.
Having been in the field of engineering and insurance investing, do you have any preference?
Not really. These two fields are completely different and comparing them does not seem fair. There are areas of business that are a lot more interesting than certain things in engineering and vice versa. However, I do wish I had taken more business courses in engineering school. I guess the seventh calculus course is overkill for us engineers. But it is up to each individual to figure out what they would like to work on through a trial and error process, find their passion and then devote the hard work and dedication to be successful.
