I would have left sooner.  Timing after a large quarterly payout helps.  I left on 7/12/06 and had 270 accounts in various stages of acat by 8/8/06.  I started to get regular checks on 8/31/06 that were substantial.  It helps to have a cushion for start up costs because you do not want to worry about buying a ream of paper from Staples when you run out lol.  6 months seems extream to me.  Sole earner in the family, I have fee based practice already and planned my furniture purchase and copier etc.  I was all set up in new office before my 2 week notice was over.

Your post sounds awesome.  I like the idea of setting up before hand and that’s what I would do.  I would start working on all of my acats before I acutally left my wire.  On your regular checks 6 weeks after your start date, was that from commissions or fees?

BiLo,

Bilo
You are either joking, or insane

BiLo has repeatedly demonstrated that he is too clueless to even understand when told that he is clueless, and responds to the truth by calling those who speak the truth names, as if that helps him at all.  Like a child, he refuses to exert even minimal effort on his own to learn, yet demands that others spoon feed him.  He is headed for self destruction and picking up speed along the way, like a slow motion train wreck.

It’s sad, but you can’t save those who won’t help themselves.

B24, I wouldn’t date them but I would go ahead and do the grunt work and when the move was made, I would go to work on getting them signed and dated.  By the way does anyone like Morphius?

With comments like his… more and more everyday. I don’t even know you or what he is talking about, but I am laughin my ass off

[quote=BiLo]B24, I wouldn’t date them but I would go ahead and do the grunt work and when the move was made, I would go to work on getting them signed and dated.  By the way does anyone like Morphius?[/quote]
Yet more evidence of your immaturity.  Who cares about who might “like” who?!  This isn’t junior high - this is your career and livelihood being discussed!    

Those who are serious about their careers are willing to do some work themselves, and would rather be corrected on an anonymous forum than screwing up in real life and finding out the hard - and expensive - way.   You, on the other hand, seem bound and determined to remain in blissful ignorance so as not to disturb your imaginary fantasy notion of what you think it means to be an RIA.     Ready, fire, AIM!!

So be it.   It’s your life.   There are just a small handful of us on this forum who have already successfully transitioned from a wirehouse rep to an independent RIA, and who therefore have the actual experience and knowledge to help you.  But if you’re too thin skinned to accept being corrected or helped, you will have only yourself to blame for the very real problems that will inevitably result. 

And when that happens, it won’t matter a bit whether you “liked” someone on this forum or not. 

Keep doing what you’ve been doing and you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting.

Okay.  Wow, are you insane?

[quote=BiLo]

Okay.  Wow, are you insane?

You.

I don’t know what makes you so dumb but it really works.

I like Morphius. 

You sound like a 22 year old kid without a pot to piss in.

hmmm. 

In all seriousness, I’m sure he is a good guy but I’m not asking stupid questions there legit and Morphius has been a pretentious dic*.  I’m glad you guys like him so much but I’m very good at what I do and will do this the rest of my life.  I’m sick of giving a firm 65% of my commissions for not much in return, so excuse me if I’m trying to plan for a future as an independent. 

BiLo
Your interest in going indie and building somethign for yourself and no longer taking it up the a hole is admirable.
Unfortunately, i think that what earned you the reputation as an idiot is the following quote from your second post in this thread which reads…
"I would start working on all of my acats before I acutally left my wire."

Only an idiot would do such a thing. And only a B/D that is not real, would allow it.
Be careful…its dangerous out there
No disrespect meant to you, just trying to help

[quote=BiLo]In all seriousness, I’m sure he is a good guy but I’m not asking stupid questions there legit and Morphius has been a pretentious dic*.  I’m glad you guys like him so much but I’m very good at what I do and will do this the rest of my life.  I’m sick of giving a firm 65% of my commissions for not much in return, so excuse me if I’m trying to plan for a future as an independent.  [/quote]
I’ll repeat myself again.  It doesn’t matter at all if you “like” me or not.  Your problem has nothing to do with me, despite what you might think.   Your real problem is you: your attitude and your distorted idea of what it really takes to “plan for a future as an independent.” 

Does this ring a bell at all?
<span =“Apple-style-span” style=“border-collapse: separate; color: rgb0, 0, 0; font-family: -webkit-monospace; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-trans: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;”> [quote=BiLo] I know I’m probably going to catch grief for this question but what are the differences between RIA and being Independent? Is it that RIA’s don’t do individual securities and only mutual funds and wrap accounts?[/quote]
[quote=Morphius] Maybe if you would take the time to at least search old threads here you might find people more inclined to fill in the gaps in your understanding. Suffice it to say your understanding of the distinction between RIAs and “being independent” is completely wrong.[/quote]
[quote=BiLo] Since I’m lazier than you and or maybe dumber can you enlighten me? [/quote]
[quote=Morphius] I can enlighten you, but if you don’t care enough about getting an answer to your question to put forth even minimal effort, why would you expect others to care more than you? How hard is it to use a search button?

You may think I’m just being a jerk, but the fact is that if you are unable or unwilling to do anything for yourself, then for you it really doesn’t even matter what the distinction between RIA and “independent” is, because you don’t have the mindset or initiative to pursue either.
[/quote]
[quote=BiLo] Hey dip k Morp I could find out in about 5 minutes of reading online but it took me 10 seconds to ask the question. If you don’t want to answer that’s fine dic h*.[/quote]

If that is your idea of “planning” to go independent, then you don’t stand a chance, not just because you are completely ignorant about the entire process - we are all ignorant to varying degrees - but because you actually expect others to do your homework for you so you don’t have to exert yourself.   If you can’t be bothered to do some basic work on your own behalf to answer your own questions about your own future, why does it surprise or upset you that a stranger does not care more about your own future than you do yourself? 

I bet you’re also still pissed off at all those “dic* h***” teachers you had growing up who meanly insisted that you learn how to add and subtract and spell all by yourself, when they could have easily just given you the answers.  Worse yet, I bet you don’t “like” them!

The biggest favor anyone could do for you at this stage is not to simply answer your questions, but to help you learn what you would really need to know and do if you actually went independent.  First and foremost among those things is the recognition that being indepependent means that you have to become indepependent in the sense of accepting that you have to primarily rely on yourself for almost everything you need.  Not your branch manager, not your b/d, not some stranger on a forum, not your partner - you.  Personally.

That is why the first litmus test is if someone is willing to spend a few minutes from the very beginning to find the answers to some of their questions themselves - with some prompting -  or do they insist that someone else simply provide answers for them? 

If it’s the former you might receive plenty of help here; if it’s the latter, not so much, but that hardly matters because it’s not really about the answers to these original basic questions most ask, which really aren’t even the critical questions.  It’s about having the motivtion and initiative and attitude necessary to successfully function independently.   The old adage about fishing applies very well here: give a man to fish and you he eats for a day; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. 

Stop looking for someone to give you fish, and start looking to learn how to fish.  Until you grow up and start taking responsibility for your own future your prospects of successfully reaching your goal are not good.  Perhaps you can convince yourself that posting a few random questions here rises to the level of “trying to plan for a future as an independent,” but the only one you’re fooling is yourself.

And that’s not someone just being mean - that’s simply reality.  

Sportsfreak, no disrespect for calling me an idiot and admiring for not taking it up the a-hole.  I’d say something but I will show you a little respect although I doubt it warranted.  I’m laughing my as* right now. 

BiLo, 500 clients and you are using words like “wierdo”?  You sure about that?  You sound like you are 15.  Seriously man, get a grip.  This is one strange thread.