Correction: Primerica was wrongly listed as the parent company of Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Resources, Inc. is a publicly-traded company that operates as Franklin Templeton Investments, and the firm has a relationship with Primerica to distribute its investments. 

VALDOSTA — Dwayne Hart has been in business for almost 20 years and has recently won several awards from his parent company, Primerica, during the years.

Hart is the owner of Generational Global Networking but GGN has a partnership with Primerica where GGN acts as a point of sale for Primerica products.

Primerica is the parent company of several businesses including Financial Answer, National Benefit Life Insurance Company, MetLife, American Century Investments and Primerica Legal Protection Program.

While Hart has a wall filled with awards, he has most recently earned the top builder, most valuable player and top earner for Georgia.

Hart started GGN and his partnership with Primerica after leaving law enforcement in 1997 to spend more time with his family.

“I missed my daughter and my wife was pregnant with my son,” Hart said. “I decided I needed to do something different.”

So, Hart buckled down and started GGN.

When Hart started the company, he wanted to find a way to help build up the next generation of business owners, while simultaneously empowering young adults to be financially independent.

“Generational Global Networking’s mission statement is to break down generational curses that have deprived families of living their goals and dreams, and we will build it on a global scale,” Hart said.

During the last 20 years, Hart has worked towards his mission statement.

Hart’s goal with GGN isn’t to add employees to the company but to help each employee build his or her company and partner with Primerica, as well, he said.

Through the last 20 years, GGN has had its ups and downs, he said. But Hart took advantage of the times in the valley and learned several lessons that have helped him achieve his goals.

One of the lessons Hart learned was to be abnormal.

“You have to go and do abnormal things to be successful,” he said.

Hart shared a story of how several years ago he had a family member pass away but he had an appointment that morning with a customer. Rather than canceling the appointment, Hart stayed and helped the customer and secured the sale.

Which led to Hart’s next lessons: Timing is everything and 90 percent of business is in the follow up, he said. Hart has worked with several customers during the years where the first time he spoke with the customer wasn’t the right time, but the next week, month or even year was.

If you don’t follow up and make a strong connection, the client won’t remember who to reach, Hart said.

While part of Hart’s business model is to recruit employees that eventually have their own businesses, at its core, Hart’s business sells insurance and financial services.

Hart’s aim is to help his customers save money on insurance and invest the difference for the future, he said.

He looks at a client’s current life insurance policy and breaks down where the money is going and how much money the client actually receives from the insurance plan.

Hart has discovered many whole life insurance policies leave families with less money than if the client had purchased term life insurance.

“The most important thing is to get insurance costs down and protect (the client’s) income,” Hart said.

Once Hart has helped a client minimize costs and maximize returns with new insurance policies, he helps the customer set up a game plan for retirement, Hart said. Once the plan is made, Hart can help the client set up a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA or some other system to help the client prepare for the future.

Hart’s Primerica office is located at 509 N. Patterson St., Suite 311. For more information call (229) 469-0945 or visit http://www.primerica.com/dwaynetraciehart. 

Jason Smith is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1256.