I need some advice. This could be longwinded so please bear with me. I am about to be a new IAR for an RIA firm in the Mid-Atlantic and will essentially be building a book of business from scratch. Some quick background info about me.  I have been in the industry as a licensed rep (7, 63, 66 life and health) for 8 years so I am not a rookie or a career-changer. I went through licensing and training with a bank, now Wells Fargo Advisors. Things were great for a couple of years but the bank was making changes, more mergers, new production goals, reassigning territories, etc.  It was a tough call but I decided to look for another job before the major changes took place. I relocated and got an internal job for a large insurance/pension  firm. My plan was to just use this firm to regroup and start back as an advisor as soon as I found a new firm. You know the rest of the story, cushy job, good benefits, bonuses and raises, all that corporate junk.  Six years later, now with three kids and a corporate salary approaching six-figures there was no way I could go back and start over. Ok, so the illusion of job security disappeared for me in the end of 2009 and I was now looking for a job. Of course my immediate reaction was I had to jump back in the corporate game, get my benefits rolling again and get my old salary back.  Anyway enough back story, here are the facts of my new firm and some info about me. I will be dually-registered to offer comprehensive services but will be focusing almost exclusively on fee-based and managed accounts. I will be working from my home, the RIA home office is in another city 150 miles away but I will only need to go there a few times a year for compliance meetings. My only expense to the firm is E&O insurance. To help cover some costs they have a 60/40 split for business cards, marketing material, etc. Based on my experience as a pension advisor and consultant I have a very specific and detailed plan to get clients in what I believe is an extremely under-served niche market. I will not be collecting a draw or salary from the firm but I have financial resources to keep things going and pay the bills for about 12 months.  After I meet some minimum AUM goals my payout will be between 70-80 basis points. I shopped around and interviewed with about half a dozen firms and this was the only one where I really felt I could make work. I hate posts that ask “What are my chances of success?” because if you are asking that you have already failed. So without conceding to failure, based on the facts of my situation what are some thoughts or advice about my plan or my expectations of success. I know it is going to be tough, but I think if I work hard and stay focused I can at least replace my old corporate pay (60K-70K) within the first year to 18 months. Is that a realistic goal? What sort of things should I prepare for?