Page 89 - The UnCaptive Agent

62 THE UNCAPTIVE AGENT

office suite provider. These are all great ways of starting
off in a professional environment while conserving cash.
I do recommend that you avoid WeWork™ locations.
These locations tell everyone that you don’t have a real
office, whereas most office sharing businesses just give
you an address without the brand name that screams
startup and small. And there has been a lot of publicity
surrounding this company—much of it negative.
Be mindful that when you sign a lease for office
space, you’re expected to pay every dollar of the rent
you contracted for the entire term of the lease. Unless
you’re in a large building where the landlord can eas-
ily relocate you, you may have difficulty and expense
if you need to expand your office before your lease
term is up.
Many new agency owners coming from the exclu-
sive agent or captive ranks believe that it’s important
to have a high-visibility location for their office, like
in a shopping center. It is not. The reason that captive
insurance companies locate in high-profile locations
is because they desire high visibility for their signage.
They spend millions of dollars every year to promote
their logo and their name. High-profile office locations
leverage their marketing investments.
The truth is, as an independent agency owner, your
agency name will not be well known to the general
marketplace. Only those people that you directly market
to will likely be aware of your brand. So, your location
doesn’t need to be an expensive high-profile place as it
does for captive agents. In fact, foot traffic business is
not the kind of business that a successful independent
insurance agency wants to build anyway. Save your-
self some money. Locate in a professional yet modest
building and spend the dollars that you save on rent on
targeted, focused marketing activities.