Customer service can mean more in some industries than others. For Susan Bengston, a sales representative/financial advisor for Mutual of Omaha, it means everything.

&uot;What I really, really love to do is help people,&uot; she said. &uot;I do everything I can for every client I have. The client relationship is very important to me.&uot;

Bengston had worked with AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans). When that company merged with Lutheran Brotherhood to make Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, she decided to go on her own.

On Dec. 1 she opened up a Mutual of Omaha office at Skyline Mall. With the new business she is her own boss, something which she loves.

&uot;I like the independence,&uot; she said. &uot;The responsibility and expenses can be a bit overwhelming, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know that if my business is a success, it is a reflection on me.&uot;

Bengston sells financial products; annuities, mutual funds, and investment and retirement vehicles. The products, she says, work to give security on different levels of an individual or family’s finances.

&uot;Financial and security planning is a lot like a house,&uot; she said. &uot;Making sure your family and yourself are protected is most important. They are the foundation of the house. You do this through disability and life insurances. The

investments are part of the house. But without a strong base, it isn’t worth building the house.&uot;

Bengston says she puts the customers first in her planning, she individualizes each financial plan for each customer.

&uot;I hate to take the cookie cutter approach. It is important for me to see that every person has different needs,&uot; she said. &uot;I like to focus on needs-based planning: Very customized, very individualized.&uot;

Bengston has worked in the field for four years, but her background before financial planning was in retirement and accounting, so she has a head for numbers and planning.

These experiences made it all the more important for her to focus on the customer.

&uot;I made a mission statement so people are aware of how I do my business,&uot; she said.

&uot;With integrity and respect, I will counsel my clients to reach their financial goals so they may find joy in peace of mind,&uot; it reads.

&uot;It’s really about the people,&uot; Bengston says of her business. &uot;It’s the relationships that turn me on, not the numbers, the relationships.&uot;