How much cash should I have to start?

[Spin]

To start out I'll be working part time, only on the weekends, until I'm closing enough consistently to quit my job and focus on FE full time. I plan on buying fresh DM leads, and I'll need to rent a car to go on the appointments.

How many leads should I buy every week if I can only work 2 days a week?

I've go $10k set aside for the business so far, should I continue to save or is this enough?

 

[jdeasy]

To start out I'll be working part time, only on the weekends, until I'm closing enough consistently to quit my job and focus on FE full time. I plan on buying fresh DM leads, and I'll need to rent a car to go on the appointments.

How many leads should I buy every week if I can only work 2 days a week?

I've go $10k set aside for the business so far, should I continue to save or is this enough?

The more the better but that’s way more than I started with.

20 leads per week is a very good starting point. Then adjust up or down depending on how you do.

 

[Spin]

How much are leads, around $40 each?

 

[jdeasy]

How much are leads, around $40 each?

In that range if you find a lead vendor that will sell set price DM leads.

In most states RGI’s new price is $36 after the July 1 postage increase.

But you have to get with an IMO that has RGI available.

And that requires a weekly commitment from you too.

I would recommend doing 1000 piece mailers with TLC to start.

 

[DonP]

In that range if you find a lead vendor that will sell set price DM leads.

In most states RGI’s new price is $36 after the July 1 postage increase.

But you have to get with an IMO that has RGI available.

And that requires a weekly commitment from you too.

I would recommend doing 1000 piece mailers with TLC to start.

20 leads a week only working sat and sun ? Sunday will be tougher to get appts . I’d drop 1000 pieces a week with Tlc as jd said and work those hard . Call and knock every lead till they tell you yes or no . Depending were you live a 1000 piece drop will get you 6-15 leads a week on avg .Did Rgi raise from $34 to $36 ? That’s still cheap . In many tougher stats them and others in the $39-$44 range . At $50 a lead it becomes a problem .

 

[somarco]

How many leads should I buy every week if I can only work 2 days a week?

I've go $10k set aside for the business so far, should I continue to save or is this enough?

I haven't bought leads in years plus too many variables . . . what does the mailer say, what are the demographics, how many lead companies are buying & mailing the same list, how long does it take the lead company to turn around the reply card, is there a reply card . . . the variables are almost endless and do not reflect how hard you will work and how effective you will be in converting the lead to an appointment then a sale.

You can never have too much set aside to start your business.

The last time I started from scratch (30 years ago) I blew through $40k and did not take any commissions for personal use. All commissions were reinvested in my business. I lived off savings for a year before taking anything out to pay living expenses.

 

[Ksutton]

To start out I'll be working part time, only on the weekends, until I'm closing enough consistently to quit my job and focus on FE full time. I plan on buying fresh DM leads, and I'll need to rent a car to go on the appointments.

How many leads should I buy every week if I can only work 2 days a week?

I've go $10k set aside for the business so far, should I continue to save or is this enough?

Renting a car and only working on the weekend really sounds like a recipe for failure.... There is always an exception the rule but this business takes an immense amount of effort upfront, especially face to face. If you were my friend or family I'd tell you not to continue with your plan until you are ready to commit 5+ days a week and at least 40 hours to this business.

$10k is a great start, it's more than I had when I started. When I started F2F, I used with a credit card and had, maybe, a few hundred dollars in my bank account. I worked 6 + days a week for the first year dialing to set appointments and door knocking. I ran 20 DM leads a week (I started with 15 at first) - 20 was the sweet spot for me, but it took a full time (and then some) effort.

 

[DonP]

Renting a car and only working on the weekend really sounds like a recipe for failure.... There is always an exception the rule but this business takes an immense amount of effort upfront, especially face to face. If you were my friend or family I'd tell you not to continue with your plan until you are ready to commit 5+ days a week and at least 40 hours to this business.

$10k is a great start, it's more than I had when I started. When I started F2F, I used with a credit card and had, maybe, a few hundred dollars in my bank account. I worked 6 + days a week for the first year dialing to set appointments and door knocking. I ran 20 DM leads a week (I started with 15 at first) - 20 was the sweet spot for me, but it took a full time (and then some) effort.

100% agree . Very occasionally you hear somebody part time made it . But the problem also is the 2 days . I don’t think a lot of people will see you on Sunday . Of course you’ll see all the unicorns on the net work 7 days a week , write 30 policys a week and take 70 leads a week .Through all the decades nothings changed . 90 % plus fail .

 

[Travis Price]

friend or family I'd tell you not to continue with your plan until you are ready to commit 5+ days a week and at least 40 hours to this business

I disagree. You can definitely work part-time and make it work. I challenge people to have a full-time job, and start slow. This does two things:

Wash out is 90+ percent. This gives you a taste of what to expect AND reduces risk.
It gives you time to build a book, develop referral sources, etc.

I'd then move on when you feel this is a good fit AND you have a consistent workflow of 20+ hours. Maybe still consider a part-time job, but if you have the cash on hand... go for it.

10k is an okay savings platform.. but it'll be gone before you know it... especially starting from zero and full time. You'll need to learn how to hustle to stay afloat.

All these guys telling you "don't do it unless you work full-time" think their way is the only way. It's not. Adjust your expectations to meet your goals.

I will say one thing.. Renting a car every weekend is going to get pricey. You should just buy one if you can. That's my opinion, do you.

I did it for 3 years. My plan was to always work part-time because I enjoyed what I was doing. I came back to insurance (as a licensed agent) because my mom passed away due to cancer and couldn't quit working because she didn't have protections in place (life insurance, cancer insurance, nor money to weather the 6 months she wouldn't get disability)

I still diversify my income. I try to keep about a third in insurance commissions, a third in insurance content creation (I get paid by companies to be a subject matter expert), and a third in investments.

Have a plan. Temper expectations. Don't listen to people that haven't walked in your path.

I will also leave a disclaimer. I don't work FE. My goal is still not to work full time. I structured my business where I can work less hours and get paid multiple years full comm where I make enough money to pay my bills. So, like I said, take it slow.. learn your business (because you might not stay in FE OR insurance) and don't put all your eggs in one basket.

 

[LostDollar]

Caveat to op, I am NOT, and never have been, an insurance agent.

@kuhn123, post 5, here:
https://insurance-forums.com/commun...e-to-be-a-part-time-agent.94401/#post-1251412

I think kuhn123 is an agent/fmo whose knowledge and ability you can trust.

His comment in post 5 is one that I think of when the "can I do FE part-time?" discussions come up.

You will have to do the comparison evaluation of your potential situation and the successful agent situations he describes.