EXECUTIVE OFFICE OR STORE FRONT? Opinions for Independent

[DHK]

Just FYI - even Edward Jones has been transitioning from "store fronts" to executive suites in professional office buildings. If you're planning to transition to being more of a consultant/planner/advisor over P&C sales, you may want to "begin with the end in mind".

 

[GetThaTComish]

as far as traffic I wont be able to have an A-frame or signage on the outside. I can have signage on my door and window once inside.
http://images4.loopnet.com/d2/YY6batKmuZGDmxJy6fYVKnuUdlNwkS-mgAjIVjRLas4/document.pdf

The lease is a minimum of 1 year.

 

[LostDollar]

Just FYI - even Edward Jones has been transitioning from "store fronts" to executive suites in professional office buildings. If you're planning to transition to being more of a consultant/planner/advisor over P&C sales, you may want to "begin with the end in mind".

Two of those, one within 1 mile, one within 1 1/2 to 2 miles of me in strip shopping centers. One two doors from a Dollar Tree in what I suspect used to be a low rent large center. The rent ought to be going up so I don't know if I will continue seeing that office there. The other in a much smaller center between a Papa Murphy's and an AAA office.

If I was looking for that kind of help, I would much rather go to either of those locations than trek downtown to an office tower. On the other hand, the professionals that would use that kind of help are probably already downtown in the office tower.

 

[DHK]

My aunt is with Edward Jones and used to have a location like that, but moved within the last year to an office complex. I think as leases come up and they keep recruiting as they have, they'll keep moving out of shopping plazas.

 

[mudhound]

If you are a p and C you really need an office.
It might really depend on the size of your area/city

 

[VolAgent]

If you are a p and C you really need an office.
It might really depend on the size of your area/city

Yes, for P&C you are basically required to have an office. Companies and aggregators don't want an agent who works out of his home, or at least they like to be able to pretend it isn't happening. Plus it gives a business address that isn't a P.O Box or UPS store, so insureds that go ballistic don't easily get your home address.

But the reality is, fewer and fewer people ever step foot into the office of insurance or financial professional. Baring the non-standard auto market, anyone who believes foot traffic is still of value or insists on making people come to their office is going to be sorely disappointed. While there are always exceptions, it would be hard to build a viable business off it.

 

[RaymondGalla]

I started with a storefront next to the road, and initially, there were many clients. Over time, fewer and fewer clients were using my company's services. I decided not to give up and put a lot of effort into researching how to improve my situation. After looking through a lot of information on the Internet and some books on the topic, I realized that it would be better to rent an office in a modern business center. A professional-looking office makes customers more inclined to put their trust in you. Of course, I had to spend a lot of money on advertising and marketing to reach potential clients and convince them to use my company and its services. By the way, I ordered furnishings for my office here https://furnicraft-ae.com/. I figured that modern office furniture would make clients and employees feel more comfortable. I can't say that my business is thriving at the moment, but I think I'm on the right track!

 

[Gracekb]

I think that you should not rush to sell, as you can always give up your business. You can invest a little less money in the office. I lead a small team of freelancers. Now I have started to recruit employees and decided to create my ideal office. I decided to rent a small shared office space. I didn't rent the entire office because it's expensive.I only pay for the room, the rest of the expenses, such as utilities, maintenance, Wi-Fi and other fees, we pay together with other companies in this office. I want to say that I managed to increase the efficiency of the staff in one office, while the costs are minimal.

 

[HealthBroker]

I have a retail Health Life and Retirement office for years and have done very well with it.

 

[Newby]

As there are fewer and fewer brick and mortar offices for life and health those of us that have them get a LOT more traffic than ever. You can't just stick a sign out with no customer base or marketing. But once you have it going the referals, call ins and people seeking help keep you very busy with very little marketing efforts.