Relocating

Divorce your wife. I’d rather lose my wife than start over in this biz. I don’t care how hot or how much sex she gives you.

Preluder, I have to guess that you are currently not that successful.  I say that simply because I couldn't imagine a spouse who watched her husband go through years of hard work to build a practice would suggest that they move and have him start over. 

That being said, I moved to a new state.  I then switched firms and lost most of my clients.  This was intentional because I didn't want a practice in two states, and quite frankly, my clients from early in my career weren't worth keeping.  I moved to a place where I knew absolutely nobody. 

So basically, I started from square one, but at least I had the knowledge of how to succeed.

Speaking as somebody with lots of experience, I think you'll find that the move is not that big a deal as long as you present it right.

Remember that your clients are always just a phone call away.  I assume you're going to stay with the same broker/dealer so your clients will still have a local branch in case they need to stop by to drop something off.

Lots of very successful brokers have clients in different states, you'll be the same as them.

Now, let's talk for a moment about the wisdom of leaving a network of friends and contacts.  If you live across the state you won't be able to exploit the network--on the other hand, perhaps your wife's family is there and they may have an even bigger network who would want to help out a broker trying to relocate for family values and all that.

Try coming back to that side of the state once per month for client reviews

I have a friend at my old firm that lives in New York and Naples, FL.

He is domiciled in NYC, however when he is in Southwest Florida he is allowed to use an office in the branch down there.

I believe he picks up the tab for their Christmas party as a way of saying thanks to the Naples branch for putting up with him.

If Preluder plays his hand right he could arrange to use an office in his old branch for client meetings every so often.

I have a Smith Barney friend in Palm Springs, CA. He’s from St. Paul, MN originally. He does the same thing. During the summers he works out of some suburban office near the Twin Cities. Palm Springs summers are too hot for him.

I agree with NASD Newbie (I mean Knows Wall St.) - it’s not the move that’s the big deal.  You can run your business from anywhere.  The hidden message here is that you may not be getting the support from your wife that you need.  If the nagging begins to increase, and there’s unhappiness with the status quo - look out.  Without support from your spouse - you’re finished.

The fact of the matter could come down to how comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won't be a huge deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the phone. 

[quote=BrokerRecruit]

The fact of the matter could come down to how
comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours
away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won’t be a huge
deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the
phone. 

[quote=anonymous]

Preluder, I have to guess that you are currently not that successful. 

[/quote]

Do you come to these boards to find out if or if you're not sherlock holmes? I mean seriously, answer the question and stop trying to act you can read between the lines.

[quote=preluder]

My wife wants to move to another part of the state that is 4 hours away. 

Anyone gone through a move before? 

I'm curious as to the impact on production, clients leaving and getting the ball rolling again in a new area?  Any comments are appreciated. 

[/quote]

You don't want to do this. The toughest part of this business is getting started and going back to square one because your wife wants to move, well, try to get her to understand what she's asking you to do...

anabuhabkuss,

We're dealing with a very different set of circumstances depending on whether he's successful or not.  Would you not agree that the situation is very different based upon whether the person is successful or not?

Moving 4 hours away to make your spouse happy could be a no brainer for someone just starting out or it could be a terrible move for someone with a large practice that is growing based upon their wonderful community presence.

I had my own reasons for moving, but would have never done so if I had a strong well established practice.

[quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit]

The fact of the matter could come down to how comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won't be a huge deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the phone. 

[/quote]

I've found the telephone to be the most effective way to talk to people who are at a distance--sometimes smoke signals, but you must check local ordinances.
[/quote]

Good one.

[quote=BrokerRecruit][quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit]

The fact of the matter could come down to how comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won't be a huge deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the phone. 

[/quote]

I've found the telephone to be the most effective way to talk to people who are at a distance--sometimes smoke signals, but you must check local ordinances.
[/quote]

Good one.

[quote=Knows Wall St.]

Speaking as somebody with lots of experience, ...[/quote]

Says the guy that washed out as an FC....

[quote=Knows Wall St.]
How did you know without one of those smile faces?

Oh wait, I know.  You're smart enough to get humor without it being sophomoric or having a laugh track.
[/quote]

I donno, but if I thought taking pictures of a dog in a sweater in various locales around the world was a good use of my time or was funny or cute, I doubt I'd pass judgment on what others thought was humorous...<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

[quote=ymh_ymh_ymh]I have a Smith Barney friend in Palm Springs, CA. He's from St. Paul, MN originally. He does the same thing. During the summers he works out of some suburban office near the Twin Cities. Palm Springs summers are too hot for him. [/quote]

You make a decent point here. That's not uncommon among senior FCs, especially those with teams. I made the assumption the questioner was rather new to the business, in which case a move could be a nightmare...<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

[quote=mikebutler222]

[quote=ymh_ymh_ymh]I have a Smith Barney
friend in Palm Springs, CA. He’s from St. Paul, MN originally. He does
the same thing. During the summers he works out of some suburban office
near the Twin Cities. Palm Springs summers are too hot for him.
[/quote]

You make a decent point here. That's not uncommon among senior FCs, especially those with teams. I made the assumption the questioner was rather new to the business, in which case a move could be a nightmare...

[quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=mikebutler222]

[quote=ymh_ymh_ymh]I have a Smith Barney friend in Palm Springs, CA. He's from St. Paul, MN originally. He does the same thing. During the summers he works out of some suburban office near the Twin Cities. Palm Springs summers are too hot for him. [/quote]

You make a decent point here. That's not uncommon among senior FCs, especially those with teams. I made the assumption the questioner was rather new to the business, in which case a move could be a nightmare...

[/quote]

Why would it be a nightmare under any conditions?
[/quote]

Never having been a successful FC this will be news to you, but someone who's just getting his career feet under him will lose a great deal of that book he worked to assemble along with the network of contacts he worked hard to establish. Then he becomes the "new guy in town" and has to start the process again...

[quote=mikebutler222]

Never having been a successful FC this will
be news to you, but someone who’s just getting his career feet under
him will lose a great deal of that book he worked to assemble along
with the network of contacts he worked hard to establish. Then he
becomes the “new guy in town” and has to start the process again…

[quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit]

The fact of the matter could come down to how comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won't be a huge deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the phone. 

[/quote]

I've found the telephone to be the most effective way to talk to people who are at a distance--sometimes smoke signals, but you must check local ordinances.
[/quote]

So, in one thread you find it effective to do business with remote clients and in another you claim that there is no way that Indyone could possibly be doing a good job with a client who lives 1000 miles away.  

Which is it?

[quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=mikebutler222] <?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Never having been a successful FC this will be news to you, but someone who's just getting his career feet under him will lose a great deal of that book he worked to assemble along with the network of contacts he worked hard to establish. Then he becomes the "new guy in town" and has to start the process again...

[/quote]

Oh I thought you were talking about something realistic.  [/quote]

Like you're someone to consult about what's realistic in being an FC, much less being one today...

[quote=Knows Wall St.]

Why do you believe he will lose a signficant portion of his book?  [/quote]

What’s “signficant”? You mean “significant”?

If he's new in the business he hasn't had the time to make the deep connections required to hold every client. He'll have some that simply want someone in town they can make eye to eye contact with whenever they wish. He'll be disappointed to find that others value more the firm he was with, than what he'd done for them himself. There will be a percentage who will use his move as an opportunity to make a change they otherwise might have put aside...

[quote=Knows Wall St.]

There are hundreds of guys who move around every year--and they take their books with them. [/quote]

Very, very few take the whole book and the less time you have in the biz, and with that specific client, the less you'll move with you. When you’re brand new, and getting each client was a fight, losing any is a harder punch to the gut.

[quote=Knows Wall St.]
Have you been in the business more than a few hours, Mike? [/quote]

No, I just got my Series 7 and hour ago, which gives me exactly one more hour as an FC in the current biz than you...

[quote=Knows Wall St.]
Also it would be fun to hear how you figure I am a failed FC--care to elaborate on that?
[/quote]

No, by all means you succeeded. I mean, that's what you told yourself when you moved from being a 4th quintiler, with management breathing down your neck to perform, to taking refuge in the manager's office, right?

After all, every FC would rather make less and spend his days worrying about the coffee service and paper clips, wet nursing a crowd of FCs who, rightfully, look down their noses at the drag-on-the-bottom-line-manager who washed out at being an FC. Isn’t that so, Putzy?

[quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit][quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit]

The fact of the matter could come down to how comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won't be a huge deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the phone. 

[/quote]

I've found the telephone to be the most effective way to talk to people who are at a distance--sometimes smoke signals, but you must check local ordinances.
[/quote]

Good one.

[/quote]

How did you know without one of those smile faces?

Oh wait, I know.  You're smart enough to get humor without it being sophomoric or having a laugh track.
[/quote]

Bingo.

[quote=BrokerRecruit][quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit][quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit]

The fact of the matter could come down to how comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won't be a huge deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the phone. 

[/quote]

I've found the telephone to be the most effective way to talk to people who are at a distance--sometimes smoke signals, but you must check local ordinances.
[/quote]

Good one.

[/quote]

How did you know without one of those smile faces?

Oh wait, I know.  You're smart enough to get humor without it being sophomoric or having a laugh track.
[/quote]

Bingo.

[quote=babbling looney][quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit]

The fact of the matter could come down to how comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won't be a huge deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the phone. 

[/quote]

I've found the telephone to be the most effective way to talk to people who are at a distance--sometimes smoke signals, but you must check local ordinances.
[/quote]

So, in one thread you find it effective to do business with remote clients and in another you claim that there is no way that Indyone could possibly be doing a good job with a client who lives 1000 miles away.  

Which is it?

[/quote]

He will never repond to this...it calls him out point blank, and his only way out is to ignore it.

[quote=babbling looney][quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit]

The fact of the matter could come down to how comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won't be a huge deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the phone. 

[/quote]

I've found the telephone to be the most effective way to talk to people who are at a distance--sometimes smoke signals, but you must check local ordinances.
[/quote]

So, in one thread you find it effective to do business with remote clients and in another you claim that there is no way that Indyone could possibly be doing a good job with a client who lives 1000 miles away.  

Which is it?

Again, ladies & gentlemen, consider the source and the credibility of that source.

I think the answer to the original question depends a lot on the circumstances.  If these are clients you have had for a while and you have done a good job servicing them, they will be more loyal.  If they are clients you prospected and brought to the current firm, they will be more loyal.  If these are newer clients, or clients you inherited, they will not be nearly so loyal, and most will not follow.  The fact that you asked the question leads me to believe that the latter is probably the case, if these were long term clients you developed personally you would know that they would follow.

I did something similar recently, and lost most of my book.  It was a difficult choice, but I was not happy with where I was geographically, and an opportunity came up to take over an existing book that was nearly the size of what I was leaving behind.  If I had waited a couple of years, I would have taken more of my clients, but I hadn't been with them long enough for them to develop any loyalty to me yet.  Basically I had made a mistake moving to my old city, and this was a chance to correct the mistake and start over with an existing book, rather than starting from scratch.  I didn't want to waste more time developing contacts in a city far from where I wanted to live long term.

My 2 cents.

thanks for all the feedback - it's all food for thought. 

If it provides any perspective I went indy 3.5 years ago from Amex and had to start from scratch.  I'm at $250k trailing 12 with $21,000,000 in mgt,  all clients I developed from seminars and referrals.  I wondering if I'd be better selling my practice and using the funds as seed money in the new area or try to retain my book as much as possible.  If I were to move I would do it in the next 12-18 months - and try to shape my book to be attractive to a prospective buyer. 

Any thoughts of this as a strategy?