At Home Business

[marindependent]

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't Full Time run your insurance agency out of your house. You absolutely can. In fact if you are tech savvy you might find yourself asking Why do I even Need an Office?

Insurance Offices used to have three main purposes:
Advertise your business on the building
Store Paperwork
Meet Clients

Now in 2019 ask yourself this question: Are more people in my town finding insurance agencies online or by driving down the highway and stopping at a store front?

Do I need to store paperwork in a file cabinet (at least much of it)?

Do I need a place to meet clients, other than a coffee shop? Do you sell the type of insurance that requires this?

Each town, area, and Insurance Agent are different. It is absolutely possible to do this out of your house. There are issues, such as Google Local and Some Carriers. But most of these have work arounds.

One last note, consider using just 10% of the money you would on rent to create yourself a local online presence.

 

[NCAgent828]

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't Full Time run your insurance agency out of your house. You absolutely can. In fact if you are tech savvy you might find yourself asking Why do I even Need an Office?

Insurance Offices used to have three main purposes:
Advertise your business on the building
Store Paperwork
Meet Clients

Now in 2019 ask yourself this question: Are more people in my town finding insurance agencies online or by driving down the highway and stopping at a store front?

Do I need to store paperwork in a file cabinet (at least much of it)?

Do I need a place to meet clients, other than a coffee shop? Do you sell the type of insurance that requires this?

Each town, area, and Insurance Agent are different. It is absolutely possible to do this out of your house. There are issues, such as Google Local and Some Carriers. But most of these have work arounds.

One last note, consider using just 10% of the money you would on rent to create yourself a local online presence.

Realistically you can rent a cheap office and only use the address by appointment only.

 

[BADTROUT]

Tom, I don't currently do business in Ohio, but if its anything like Colorado where I started (in my apartment) I think you can be successful working initially from home. I would factor in a few things:

Getting a UPS Store address so the street address of your agency doesn't show up on ID cards and you get unwanted/unplanned visits from clients or carriers.

Finding an accessible conference room you can use if you need from time to time. Community centers and business incubators and chambers of commerce often have free or cheap options available if you need to meet someone. I mostly met them at their home or business.

It will be slightly more difficult to contract with some carriers not having a brick and mortar exposure, however... Many carriers are getting more liberal with the idea of having remote producers so it wouldn't be hard to get at least a handful of carriers to start working your business.

Lastly, you will thank yourself when you do find that little office to start off in. October 10, 2006, I moved into my first office, and I had no clue how I was ever going to be able to afford my $300 a month rent. I wish rent was still $300 but I happily pay far more than that now for our office because it feels more professional and validating when you can hang a sign up... but until you can afford that first office, you have to make sure you have a business... do what you need to just to keep the doors open, and grow. At the end of the day people are buying security, and peace of mind... they don't care if you live with your mom and do their quotes between Judge Judy episodes, or if you are in a spiffy suit... Do good business, and you'll be outta the house before ya know it. Feel free to hit me up if you need anything.

 

[Tom_Insurance_Guy]

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't Full Time run your insurance agency out of your house. You absolutely can. In fact if you are tech savvy you might find yourself asking Why do I even Need an Office?

Insurance Offices used to have three main purposes:
Advertise your business on the building
Store Paperwork
Meet Clients

.

Exactly, I am pretty tech savvy and as we are heading to virtual reality, who needs an office. If anything until I make some good money, I just need an office to meet with clients. Everything is all online stuff like a website, quoting, etc.