I’m in one. What would you like to know?

Many in my town wish we had one of these.  We have many little solo attorneys, CPA’s, architects, and advisors that could benefit from it.  We have one small building with like 6 little one-room offices.  No receptionist or anything, but it seems to work well for the popele there.

Yeah we are currently splitting and he wanted to keep the high rent office(not that nice, he signed a bad deal during the whole real estate hoopla)…



So I am looking for space… Found 3 today average size 200 square feet all with access to free large conference room(T1 internet,phone already wired throughout the entire building…)



Any issues with it just being an office, not really room for a waiting area, or people wondering why you don’t have an assistant(that is one $40K expense I will be glad to shed)… Also have to think of a new firm name.



Hank Moody- what are pros and cons of what you are in?

I have a good friend that’s a solo/no assistant/about 200 sq.ft. office, MAX.  He does fine.  He’s been at it about 15 years.  Sells ONLY American Funds A shares, nothing else.  So his business model is very, very simple.  I don’t think not having an assistant/waiting room is a bog deal, as he probably isn’t ADDING many clients anymore, and you can control when you meet with existing clients.

How much do executive suites usually cost?

Does EDJ allow you to rent this on your own until you get an office, instead of using your home?



THX

[quote=Squash]Yeah we are currently splitting and he wanted to keep the high rent office(not that nice, he signed a bad deal during the whole real estate hoopla)…



So I am looking for space… Found 3 today average size 200 square feet all with access to free large conference room(T1 internet,phone already wired throughout the entire building…)



Any issues with it just being an office, not really room for a waiting area, or people wondering why you don’t have an assistant(that is one $40K expense I will be glad to shed)… Also have to think of a new firm name.



Hank Moody- what are pros and cons of what you are in?[/quote]

No cons. I’m in a really nice building. Hi tech conference room, receptionist answers my phone, etc. Lots of professionals, some LPL guys and some RayJay guys. Good camaraderie with the other brokers.

Look up Regus on the web to see if they are in your city.

They are fantastic.   I pay about $2300 all in each month for about 230 sq feet.  Never have to worry about equipment, T1 going down copiers shredders receptionist etc.

In fact I get more compliments from clients on my receptionist than I ever had in 25 years at AGE.

No luck with Regus, not in the area I want my office to be… Found brand new building with T1 throughout and VOIP telephone service. 200 sq ft,unlimited phone,internet and fax, access to conference room. $600/month…(Midwest area)



I think this is going to temporary while I rename my firm and reevaluate what I want to do with my business model… There is another office(not just a suite) down the hall corner space with windows wrapping around that maybe my permanent spot eventually but I want to get set up and running again…

At one time I looked at "Executive Suites" and dropped the idea when I considered the potential problems, specifically, lack of confidentiality.   While the "Suite" has someone who answers your phone, how can you be sure that the identity of the person who calls you will not be compromised, and that privacy is maintained with respect to any correspondence which is handled for you.  While ES offer low cost, all-in-one options, you may find a small office with a front room for a secretary gives you room for growth, and an answering machine will give you the privacy and certainty you get all the calls which are due you.

[quote=DesertSoul]

At one time I looked at "Executive Suites" and dropped the idea when I considered the potential problems, specifically, lack of confidentiality.   While the "Suite" has someone who answers your phone, how can you be sure that the identity of the person who calls you will not be compromised, and that privacy is maintained with respect to any correspondence which is handled for you.  While ES offer low cost, all-in-one options, you may find a small office with a front room for a secretary gives you room for growth, and an answering machine will give you the privacy and certainty you get all the calls which are due you.

Unless you have a client of some notoriety, I can’t imagine that there is really a privacy issue. I am in an ES setup where there are 2 receptionists who answer for about 30 offices. They are rarely on the phone longer than 30 seconds with my clients, and know better than to ask personal  questions.

I have my office, plus 3 conference rooms, T1, dedicated phone line, dedicated fax line, and all utilities/ cleaning services included for 750 a month.

My office is  about 200 ft2 which, incidentally, is larger than my old office with AGE/Wach. I’m delighted with the location (across the parking lot from wachsec, sb, ml, and a handful of boutiques) and most clients have been very complementarity about the set up.

[quote=Indy@last] Unless you have a client of some notoriety, I can’t imagine that there is really a privacy issue. I am in an ES setup where there are 2 receptionists who answer for about 30 offices. They are rarely on the phone longer than 30 seconds with my clients, and know better than to ask personal questions.I have my office, plus 3 conference rooms, T1, dedicated phone line, dedicated fax line, and all utilities/ cleaning services included for 750 a month. My office is about 200 ft2 which, incidentally, is larger than my old office with AGE/Wach. I’m delighted with the location (across the parking lot from wachsec, sb, ml, and a handful of boutiques) and most clients have been very complementarity about the set up.

[/quote]



What area are you from? 750 sounds decent, but Im not sure what they normally run here in Los Angeles, South bay.

Signing today. found an ES for 650/month, includes, 225 sq ft,T1,2 phone lines,1 dedicated fax, all utilities and a cleaning service(optional at no cost), access to 2 conference rooms, no secretary to answer phones, but I think I am ok with that(possibility to add later for $200/month). Huge parking lot for customers in the building only…



Also provide a seminar room(hold up to 150 standing with catering from the restaraunt on first level, only $100 to rent)



Thinking about using a fax line through the computer though, looking at efax, and saving myself some money(dont fax that much). Anyone not using a traditional feedback, looking for feedback…

If I may ask you a few ?'s, because me and 2 other colleagues are thinking of leaving our current firm and opening up our own company.

I went through a B/D.. Start up $$ depends on what you have and what you need...(Office furniture, computers, website setup and design, plus all your tools(CM software, portfolio software etc...) plus logo design, letter head, envelopes stamps, printers, copiers...)

I HIGHLY doubt that EJ would let you use such a set-up before you get your office (which they will tell you takes about 6 months but usually takes more than a year…).  They will say that there is a FINRA rule that prohibits it.

There are two situations i n my market: 1) a 250 sf space in a class A building, w/ stuff like modern art in the lobby, a coffee shop, valet parking, the ex suite itself has a couple of receptionists (they’ll run interference and anser all your calls for an additional $150/mo), they have 3 - 4 cdonference rooms, one large enuf for seminars, fresh flowers, more modern art. Note that these places charge for every little thing tho - faxes, xeroxes at .15/pg, confernecxe room use. The rent is about $1,650 just for the space.