Is Being a One Man Office Still Possible

[Fogline]

As mentioned before some carriers will want you to have some sort of office. See if you can find a part time office that allows you to book time blocks in advance to use if needed for meetings and has a business mailing address that you can give out and receive mail at. Some office buildings offer this where I live not sure if you have something like that available close to you. This is an inexpensive option compared to having a full time office and is usually month to month and furnished. It will help you look more established as nobody has to know its not a full time office and will give you a better chance to get appointments. Also its better to meet your cluster territory manager and or carrier territory managers at your part time office instead of your house or Starbucks. If you also don't have a business plan start making it because the cluster you go with or carriers you reach out to may ask you for one. If you can try to have a little money saved before you go out on your own as well. You will have to pay for all your own leads, systems etc. it all adds up. You can definitely do it as a one man shop starting out, but have a little plan to make sure it works for you. Hopefully this helps a little.

IF needed to there are plenty of spaces that I can get relatively cheep. I have used them in the past but I would prefer to keep overhead as low as possible until my book is solid enough keep the expense of maintain an office under 15% of renewals. I am fortunate that there is still some residual income from my prior business. Again I intend this to be a one man show and eventually a CSR (vacation). If the kids or latter the grand kids want it we can grow it for them but for the next ten years or so I just want to build relationships with the people I sell to.

 

[thomasm]

Also, in the P/C world, I forgot to mention some carriers require you to have a physical office location.

A virtual office address will work just fine as long as you have your mail delivered there.

I use a Regus location.

 

[VolAgent]

A virtual office address will work just fine as long as you have your mail delivered there.

I use a Regus location.

No it won't.

Carriers that require an office want a physical location where you can hang a plaque and are able to secure against unauthorized access. A virtual office will not satisfy them.

Not all carriers require one and sometimes a cluster or aggregator can help you get around that.

 

[BlockO]

No it won't.

Carriers that require an office want a physical location where you can hang a plaque and are able to secure against unauthorized access. A virtual office will not satisfy them.

Not all carriers require one and sometimes a cluster or aggregator can help you get around that.

VOLS, I have a question about that for you or anyone else who might know......

As I've told you before, I've worked P&C here at home for 7 years..... And yes, I've had several carriers turn me down for an appt. just because I don't have a separate office location.....

Several years ago, my wife suffered a major stroke. as a result, I can't leave her home alone for any longer than an hour or two.... so opening up a separate office is not an option for me......

I was wondering if any disability laws might come into play here, such as the ADA or any other laws to where carriers would have to make an exception because of my situation? I don't know if those laws only apply to me, or if they carry over to my spouse as well.

 

[VolAgent]

VOLS, I have a question about that for you or anyone else who might know......

As I've told you before, I've worked P&C here at home for 7 years..... And yes, I've had several carriers turn me down for an appt. just because I don't have a separate office location.....

Several years ago, my wife suffered a major stroke. as a result, I can't leave her home alone for any longer than an hour or two.... so opening up a separate office is not an option for me......

I was wondering if any disability laws might come into play here, such as the ADA or any other laws to where carriers would have to make an exception because of my situation? I don't know if those laws only apply to me, or if they carry over to my spouse as well.

That is an excellent question and one I wish I could answer for you. I will gladly give you my thoughts, just remember they are worth what you paid for them.

I suspect the answer is no. You are not disabled, it is your wife. She has not applied for and been denied an appointment. Even though, I suspect it still wouldn't apply.

Food for thought, just because you have an office doesn't mean you physically have to be there. Get an executive suite and still work for home. Better yet, put an employee in the office and everyone gets what they want.

 

[FL P&C Broker]

You can always try to find an accountant, realtor, lawyer, etc to sublease from. Depending on your market that might only run you $300 to $500 a month. Can probably break even on it if you can get some referrals out of it.