Don't do it because of a higher payout.  I work in a bank and get a lower payout than most people in this business, however, my volume is HUGE.  I don't spend any time prospecting only selling.

Now if you want to do it for your family that is a good reason, just test the waters and make sure your going to make similar money to where you are now.  Sure double the payout, but will you write at least half the business you did downtown?  Alot of people are tempted to leave their current positions because someone is waving a carrot in front of their face, then they realize they screwed up by leaving a good thing.

Thanks for the advice.  I don’t think it will effect the amount of business I can bring in.  I am by no means a large producer, in fact I’d like to get to 250,000 and relax a little.  Thanks.

"I'd like to get to 250,000 and relax a little."

Put Trader...er, Big Easy Flood would tell you that with that attitude, you are perfect for the independent track.  I think he believes that we're all lazy underachievers because we don't make producing a million dollars a year the top priority.  I like family time too, so I understand where you are coming from there...just understand that you will have LESS time initially as you make the transition.  Only later will you be able to set your schedule.  MikeB would tell you that you are a fool to leave the supermarket for the corner grocery.

Honestly, if you are less than $250K now in a wirehouse, you might be borderline ready to make the leap.  It helps to have a transition package, but I doubt that you'll find it easier to produce in an indy setting, so your production may suffer a fair amount, at least initially, so the higher payout may be a bit of an illusion if your production suffers significantly.  I agree with BR...don't do it for the money...do it for the eventual quality of life improvement...that is a real possibility.  Contrary to my platform argument with Mike, you may find the indy platform more limited, so it pays to find out whether or not everything you use at the wirehouse is available at the independent office, and then decide whether or not you can live with what might be missing.  Frankly, my indy platform has considerably more than my old bank platform, and as near as I can tell, has just about everything that most wire platforms have, but not all platforms are created equal, so you'd best do some serious due diligence here.

As far as the carrot at the wirehouse goes, realize that it is only a carrot at this point.  Things can and do change, and what may be a strong possibility today, may be a distant memory tomorrow.  I left my firm because of a lot of lies and broken promises.  If that is the only thing holding you, you should seriously consider this offer.

That's a naturally biased opinion from an indy...perhaps one of the wireguys can give you a dissenting opinion...