Striking My Own Trail

Miscellaneous General
1

After much thought, and several lengthy discussions with my wife, I have decided that it’s time to start my own business. I have been doing the research on the requirements and have set aside most of the necessary funds to start my own independent insurance agency.

I’d like to know if anyone else on the forums has done the same thing, or something similar? Beyond the obvious pros and cons of working for yourself – own schedule, keeping accurate records, etc. – what have you encountered by being “your own man (or woman)”?

My goal is to take the licensing exams for Life, Health, and Property & Casualty this summer after my grad school courses are completed. I’m going to start as a part-time venture and build up my clientele. I have done some research on current competition and the economy of the immediate area where I live. I’ve been expanding my research to the surround areas of the state, as well as the states surrounding my region. After 2 or 3 years I would like to be operating my agency on a full-time basis.

That’s all. Just making a public statement in order to make my plans more concrete.

Striking My Own Trail
2

It is hard. Lots of people won’t understand or appreciate it. When you’re successful, people will treat you differently. It is rewarding. It is challenging. It requires a lot of discipline. It is, I believe, the best way to change the world. You have to be your own biggest fan while staying focused on the work ahead of you.

A few thoughts.

  1. Always pay yourself. If you aren’t being well rewarded (however you define compensation) for what you are doing, do something else.

  2. Fight one battle at a time. If you want to be a merchant, don’t try to be a politician or activist simultaneously.

  3. Your descendants will be able to follow your path in the commercial world. Conduct yourself with honor.

  4. You’re either moving up, or moving down. There is no status quo.

3

Sound advice, LS. Very sound advice. Thank you.

4

We need to start an Austrian businessmen’s group. I have been debating starting an Austrian-oriented business magazine, but I don’t have a lot of time, and I am not sure that the Austrian movement isn’t largely students and professors.

Danny Muffinberg might have some advice for you as well.

5

LS,

This is a great idea (starting the group, and a magazine). I only have a few posts here, but I do prowl and read a lot of the material. If you decide to go this route, I’d love out.

Ricape - You really should develop your marketing plan. Otherwise, you’re going to have more difficulty (getting and keeping clients).

Some of the best books on the subject:

  1. The Ultimate Marketing Plan by Daniel S. Kennedy (a minarchist, too)

  2. Successful Direct Marketing Methods by Bob Stone (this is the nuts and bolts of marketing - like a college textbook)

  3. Commonsense Direct Marketing by Drayton Bird (get the most recent edition, since it discusses marketing online, too)

  4. The Sticking Point Solution by Jay Abraham

The first and last have more expensive programs - I would avoid them until you’ve read the books.

Keep everything LS said in mind. And good luck!

6

I actually just finished a book that is perfect for you. See here. Don’t be fooled by the title. The entire theme of the book is venturing from a typical day job into the entreprenurial realm. He helps overcome those obstacles that plague a lot of people by making it practical and applicable to their situation. He shows how a transition to entrepreneurship can be made, and offers some invaluable advice on tax planning and asset protection along the way.

Seriously, read this one.

7

No kidding, some of these discussions get pretty stuffy and abstruse for my tastes. I appreciate intellectual rigor as much as the next guy but sometimes I think that Austrian discussions become little more than cheerleading in an echo chamber (yes, I enjoy a well-mixed metaphor).

Clayton -

8

@ LS: I am in a grad program, but not full-time; and I have no desire to become an academic – which is why I’m in a Masters program and not a PhD program. However, if such a group were formed I would assist in any way I can: including detailing my journey of self-employment.

@ AngelRS: Thank you! I will check them out.

@ John James: Thank you, too! I checked out the blog. I may purchase the PDF version since I’m looking at getting myself an e-reader of some sort. (On an unrelated note: the local library has many titles available to download and borrow electronically. I will take advantage of that.)

@ Clayton: I agree with you. When I have mingled with other Austrian enthusiasts, they all seem to be late teens and early twenty year old folks. Being slightly older and with a bit more “real world” experience, I take their enthusiasm with a small grain of salt because I wonder how many will hold on to that vigor and zeal as they progress through life.

I guess I will expand upon my original post here.

This is not some sort of a lark. I am 33-years old. I’ve worked for someone else all of my adult working life. I believe that it is time for me to accept the risks involved and begin working for myself.

My current business plan includes training – which Kaplan Financial Education offers online for a reasonable fee for all insurance types. I live in the Commonwealth of Virginia (USA), which does not require a certificate of completion for training except for title insurance (requires formal training). I plan on taking the online courses one at a time and then taking the examination at the local PearsonVUE testing center. If I pass, I file the proper paperwork for registering my license with the Commonwealth of Virginia. I will repeat this process until I am able to act as a broker for all insurance types.

This being a part-time venture to start with, I think it will take me about 2 to 3 years of dedication to actually come close to the point where I may be able to leave my current job. By that time, I would like to have a decent clientele list. Within 5 to 6 years, I would like to have the requirements of experience and education in order to take the examination for the Series 7 & 63 exams and expand my business to financial advising and brokering.

Besides the training and licensing costs (insurance side will be approximately $1,200.00), there are other costs involved. To start, I would be working from home. I would probably get myself a new laptop, but I think my old Dell Lattitude powered by Ubuntu will work fine in the beginning. I’ll need Errors and Omissions coverage, which is roughly $3,000.00 per year for newer independent agents from what I have been able to find. There is also an association of independent agents that provides some services at a discount, aids in continuing education requirements, and offers other services for independent agents that I would join. They have an annual dues of approximately $550.00 per year, but that changes based upon the number of employees.

I have made a few contacts in my research on the area. Not only can I provide the typical insurance products that everyone is familiar with, but there are also some niche markets that are available to get involved with: the timber industry, the transportation and logistics industry, the construction industry to name a few.

It really all starts with taking those first steps. At the moment, my wife and I are still paying off some expenses from our recent home purchase. Once we know it’s safe financially for me to spend that initial outlay for the training and licensing – which we both know is an investment – I’m going to let things roll from there.

As I have been told by an independent agent that I’ve been speaking with and who has been assisting me with getting started, this endeavor will be what I make of it.

9

Be careful with investing your life savings. Depending on the business, you may not need to invest tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. You have to test the market before you go all out.

Also, try not to get emotionally attached to the business. This is not to say you shouldn’t have passion. It means that you should not let your emotions blind you the fact that your business may be failing or that your success might not continue indefinately. You have to be willing to cut your losses and accept failure.

10

This is very important. People, including friends and family, will treat you differently. Some might event talk crap and envy you but you can’t let it get to you. When you’re making a lot of money and you make it look easy, people will tell you that you’re not making a living doing “real work” – which usually means doing anything that the other person is doing.

11

LS: “We need to start an Austrian businessmen’s group.”

Interesting.

Btw, there’s the “Austrian in Finance” LinkedIn group.

12

“Be careful with investing your life savings. Depending on the business, you may not need to invest tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. You have to test the market before you go all out.” -Daniel Muffinburg

Agreed. Luckily, that is not the case here. I have no overhead to purchase: no merchandise, no store front. Nor am I purchasing or buying out someone else’s business or clientele list. This is going to be a sweat-of-my-own-brow effort. I can’t plan for every contingency, but it looks like the initial outlay in cash will be around $5,000.00.

“Also, try not to get emotionally attached to the business. This is not to say you shouldn’t have passion. It means that you should not let your emotions blind you the fact that your business may be failing or that your success might not continue indefinately. You have to be willing to cut your losses and accept failure.” -Daniel Muffinburg

I agree with you here, as well. No venture is without risk. Nor can one allow emotion to blind judgement. I’ve been talking to a few people who have gone out on their own: two who have been successful and one who has not. The two individuals who have been successful in their own business – one is in insurance, the other in information technology – have constantly re-evaluated their performance and efficiency, and strive to improve their business operations. They also make a habit to keep up-to-date on developments in their respective fields and invest in their own business instead of taking their success for granted. Lots of long hours and several hardships have been suffered, but they are all the better for it from what I have been able to see.

The other individual is the proverbial example of what not to do. Poor accounting, poor follow-through, taking a successful “job” for granted and actually losing customers because of it. The list does go on. If there was ever a person who should never work for themselves, it’s him. A lot of the money he has lost was loans from family members and banks. He once jokingly said that he’ll just “Donald Trump his way out” by declaring bankruptcy every time he’s in trouble. I’m not saying that I will never make a mistake or miss an opportunity, but I hope to never waste money or opportunity the way this person has. Five different business, all of which failed; money owed to many different people; investigated for fraudulent banking activity. No thanks.

13

As a side note: how were you able to get quotes to work? When I try, nothing pops up in the post.

14

Do this.

15

Thank you, sir. I was trying to quote without using the ‘user’ part. Now I know.