Career Change

[lookout123]

Howdy y'all. It's been awhile and life has been busy. Good but busy. Now I've got a moment to breathe and a huge choice sitting in front of me so off to the cellar I go in search of advice. Cuz we all know that one thing the cellar is never short of is advice. or was it bullshit? or crude jokes? hhhmmmm... there does seem to be a shortage of labrat's nudie pics lately though...

huh? oh yeah, back to the advice part.

I'm an employee of a company, but work entirely independently and have no manager. We have a compliance department that keeps me out of trouble (and bugs the crap out of me), but other than that it is me, my assistant, and my clients. I come and go as I please, and really have it pretty good. I go months without seeing another employee of the firm. Without going into a lot of the details suffice it to say that I will leave this firm in the next year(ish) to do one of two things.

1) Go absolutely independent. My name over the door, my name on the checks, my ass on the line. but instead of taking home $.40 on every dollar (that's what I get now) I generate I would average $.90 on every dollar I make. Granted I would have to pay the rent and my assistant and everything else out of that but even at last year's numbers I would have come out about $25,000 in the positive all things being equal. and the numbers should go up each year.

2) Become an employee of a regional outfit that will set expectations (which are generally very low and laughably achievable), pay me only an average of $.35 on every dollar made, and put me back into the world of having coworkers. (although I would be the only one who does what I do, or is in my chain of command, so to speak) Generally, if I'm hitting my goals nobody will give me any more hassles than I have right now.

You might be asking why I would even consider a lower payout. That's easy. In addition to the clients that I go out and find and create this employer will give me access to thousands upon thousands of warm leads who are already clients of the company with millions held there. That's right - a bank. So although the payout is lower, the production numbers are much higher due to the nature of the beast. The people I know that have gone from my current firm to this bank format have usually doubled their production within 18 months and see a 10-15% increase annually after that. And they don't have to sign their lives away in the form of leases, bonds, equipment, etc.

I can make a comfortable living whether I choose 1 or 2, or for that matter, stay where I am. Option 1 provides a much higher POTENTIAL high end income but I'm more of a work-to-live kind of guy so it is unlikely that I'll ever hit those lofty heights anyway. I guess what I am asking is: given the opportunity -if the income was the same would you rather own your own business with no boss in sight and no limit on your potential earnings, and the top level of prestige within this industry that goes with it... or is it better to be an employee so that it remains just a job, not a life. Knowing that the sign over the door has someone else's name, and desk and phone belong to them? And it always will. But they hand you clients in greater numbers than you could ever reach on your own. Hmmm? What would you do?

[lumberjim]

carpe diem

[wolf]

If you have the opportunity and can generate the necessary client base, go for it ... besides, you can always go for option 2 if it doesn't pan out quite the way you expected.

[Skunks]

If you derive satisfaction from the field that you're in, and if that satisfaction is important to you, then Option 1 on the grounds that it would be the only route to do it for yourself, to make in on your own.

If you just want money to pursue something else that you in fact derive satisfaction from, then go with the profitable one.

I think the real questions are: do you work for money? When will you quit? Can you leave a firm easier than you can leave your own business?

[Rexmons]

90¢ on the dollar working for yourself right? how much after paying the rent, secretary, etc...

[Griff]

If you go out on your own, will you be able to provide a better service in any way? Think about your customer relationships. You've always struck me as a guy who gets things done for folks, do you see yourself improving outcomes for them?

[DanaC]

I think the key question there is whether you work to live, or live to work. Running your own operation does take up a lot of time and effort and headspace. Beyond atually doing your job, there's all the other stuff that goes with running a business.

Tough call.

[Spexxvet]

What kind of lifestyle do you want. You'll probably make alot more money if you own your own business, but it will probably take up alot more of your time. Instead of having an infrastructure available to put out fires, it will be all you.

[Flint]

I can only tell you how I would go with this. I would value spending more time with my family over a few extra bucks. That is, unless I was able to do something I love, on my own. Sounds like you're already pretty much doing that. ... But, you're asking the question so there's something there.

[lookout123]

OK. I like what I do. What do I do? I'm glad you asked - I help people identify and solve their financial issues. or as TW always put it - i'm a shiny shoe whore. anyway, i make a decent living. i can make a phenomenal income right where i am. the problem is that i'm not satisfied with the direction i see my firm taking. what i love about it is that, up to this point, all i had to do was be ethical and profitable and nobody would bother me for months at a time. that is still what they are saying but they thanks in part to an overreaction to that political hack elliot spitzer and partly due to corporate greed things are changing behind the scenes. new rules. incredible restrictions. in word they are "for the benefit of the client", but the problem is they don't benefit the client - they do benefit the company's bottom line. profit is good, but if i have my choices of investment selection limited so someone else (other than the client) profits? uh-uh, i'm throwing the bullshit flag.

anyway, there are reasons to leave my firm. strictly speaking money isn't it. i'm ok where i'm at.

the two avenues are independent or employee. so far i've technically been an employee but operate as an independent. yeah, confusing but that's the way it is.

as an independent i will keep about $.90 on the dollar but have to pay rent, salaries, benefits, etc out of that. last year would have been slightly more profitable to me than where i am. i would have had about $25K extra in my checkbook at the end of the year. as my business grows the expenses take a smaller and smaller percentage of revenues as they are fixed but income isn't. make sense? in the long run this is the golden egg. the single most profitable way of doing what i do. BUT. every broken desk, fritzed computer, customer issue, benefits increase, employee issue, lease issue, etc. is mine. all mine. want to go on vacation? better make sure i can always be in contact in case Mr Smith wants to sell some something.

The other route is an employee of a regional bank. ( i won't go to one of the grindhouses that are nationally known in this business) I have a regional sales director, national sales director, etc. I'll see them a couple of times a year. hear from them a couple times more, but generally will be left alone as long as i'm ethical and profitable. my payout (percentage of revenue I get to keep) is much much lower, but the production is much much higher due to the very nature of the bank structure. call it low hanging fruit, call it small accounts, call it what you want. but when people get money they don't know what to do with they first take it to the bank to deposit it. i have access to deposit information and can discuss their options with them. this is a huge plus. the hours i spend prospecting at civic and social gatherings, cold calling, etc, to produce one good client can be whittled down due to dealing with A) existing clients of the bank, B) who have money, C) aren't sure what to do with it.
it isn't magic or the ONE TRUE WAY.
the downside is it is harder to develop real client loyalty in that environment. the upside is that i actually like working with smaller accounts that are commonly found here ($1MM and below) because i don't really like prospecting with the ultra wealthy because A) they are the target of every advisor in america, B) they know it, C) they treat advisors like crap.

the rent, employee issues, equipment issues aren't mine.

[DanaC]

You sound like you may be leaning toward sthe employee route....

[Cyclefrance]

Well, maybe you could do something similar to what I do - a sort of 'hedge your bets' situation. In other words have the opportunity to make good money when that opportunity presents itself, but backing up that scenario have something that delivers a regular (albeit lower) income. You may have to work more hours to get the cream stuff but you won't fall over and lose everything if it doesn't work out the way you'd hoped.

The 'go-alone high return' scenario always looks attractive, but remember that you never have the control over your destiny that you think you will have. Hit a recesion and you will find it difficult to do business. If a major client/person moves away you may lose them for good. You need to keep on your toes and build a strong and healthy portfolio of clients to be able to weather these storms. Having said that your opportunity to reap the bigger slice is so much greater if you are on your own and in the right business.

Alongside the above you need to assess your other responsibilities and how much at risk your gameplan puts these. If you don't have a mortgage or family to care for then you can probably afford to brave and weather a negative downturn. Be confident that your personality is the type that is optimistic and able to cope with negatives.

And last but not least - if you don't try now when the opprtunity is there, be sure you you don't have regrets later - the 'if only' is something hard to get over further on down the line when friends are successful but you failed to have a go yourself.

Of course money isn't everything - maybe quality of life holds a higher value than the $ in your pocket....

Good luck, whatever you decide

[Clodfobble]

Well, I thought at first that being independant would give you more freedom (like vacations, for example) but it seems that is actually not the case? I voted for the employee situation because for me a job's a job. Being self-employed is very appealing to me, but running a business is not, if that makes sense. One question, what happens to your assistant in these various scenarios? I think you've mentioned a certain loyalty and good relationship with her before--does she stay with the old employer and just get reassigned, or would the bank hire her as well as you...?

[glatt]

If it were me, I'd go with the employee choice. Only because I wouldn't want the stress of running my own business. And I think I'd be able to spend more time with my family as an employee.

But we aren't talking about me. We're talking about you. I've gotten the impression over the years that you are a go get 'em kind of guy. I think you would probably be fine on your own. But on the other hand, you've posted a lot about how much your son means to you. Time with him is what this is all for, right? So damn if I know.

One thing I do know is that it's a nice place to be for you. Both choices are good ones.

[xoxoxoBruce]

If you strike out on your own, how much of you're current list would go with you? Do you think many would be more comfortable with the current company's name on the forms?