Office Location
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There goes Windy again, the man with all of the answers. And again he is wrong. You can basically pick out the exact location where you want your office to be. You do the leg work, meet the realtors, get their contact information, do the walkthroughs and when you have decided on a spot that also works for EJ they finish the build out and paperwork.You won’t work with anyone. The home office does all that. You can suggest places and maybe do walkthroughs at certain times, but they are in all the real estate stuff, you sit back and wait for a phone call. How far are you in the game fa09?
What are the limitations on office location, size, and price that EDJ will be ok with when you qualify for one and are working with a realtor?
Why not call St. Louis and ask? That’s an internal business question if I’ve ever heard one.
No offense Windbag, but I think your process may just be the Sooner-State way of doing things.
I found my real estate/landlord through another Jones Vet. I called ST Louis and told them where it was and what it was going to be. We also used a local contractor, not the Jones Company, (don't remember the name). But I did all the work. The myjonesoffice.com thing is accurate though. FA09, home office mentioned that they are very strict about approving new offices over 1300sq ft these days.I would also mention EDJ will not lease from a building the FA owns until the FA is profitable.
Wind, I have to agree with Underminded. Your advice is bad, and although your advice is well-meant, you are obviously too inexperienced to know what you are talking about. You should be the one driving the process, not St. Louis and not Colliers (I guess they are the new firm doing it?).
FA09 - Jones will tell you that you don't have to do anything, BUT, DO NOT let the real estate agent or leasing coordinator dictate location, terms, etc. MAKE SURE you find a location you are happy with. Stay on top of the leasing coordinator and real estate agent, and request to review lease agreements and terms. I am telling you, they WILL F' it up if you don't stay on top of it. And you will end up with a less than desirable location than you want. I could go on endlessly about this, but I have experienced this 3 times, and I have witnessed others that have experienced this. Because of my background in real estate, I just steamrolled the process. And remember with the Leasing Coordinator, they are NOT Jones employees, and could care LESS about you or your business. The squeeky wheel will get the oil. Remember, this is the place you will run your business for at least the next 10-15 years. Don't screw it up by being passive. And ignore Wind's post about Sq. Footage. My space is 1200 sq ft, and they didn't blink an eye at it. The cost has 2 componants: buildout costs ammortized over 60 months plus monthly lease/CAM charges. If you can keep that monthly total below their "magic number" for your market, you can have 5000 sq. ft. and they won't care. So if you can find a "move-in-ready" space, they will allow a higher monthly lease cost. If you move into a "white box" that needs walls, floor, paint, hot wires, cooling/heating, ducts, etc., then that will eat into what you can afford. Problem is, I can't remember the "magic number" for my area, let alone any other area. As point of reference, my lease+CAM is about $2500/mo., plus $550/mo. ammortization. So $3050 per month. But I am in a very high-cost area in New England. One final thing...they are not looking for smaller spaces, they are looking for LARGER spaces (despite Wind's suggestion). They want spaces that have 2nd offices/conf rooms that can accomodate Goodknights/Legacy plans. Straight from a Regional Leader AND a GP that oversees GK plans. But maybe Windy knows better....I think they’re also flexible enough to know that it may be different looking at real estate in a town of 5000 people than a metro area with a lot of real estate options. It doesn’t suprise me that underminded’s experience is different than wind’s. Underminded - your space may have fit into the guidelines so there wasn’t any reason for you to be denied. I promise you though that if you would have come to them with some posh real estate that was really expensive they would have made you keep looking.
FWIW - wind's outline of the process was in place many years ago well before I left the comfort of the home office. At the pace Jones changes things it will be that way for the next 20 years.Rules are just rules. They are there for a reason…consistency, and to keep newbs off their backs. But one thing you learn from experience in the corporate world is that these are “rules” not “laws”. You don’t get much in life by being passive.
If you saw my office and the location, you would take my advice....Buck up camper!. Wind, use some of that “Star Power” you have! Don’t ask, just do. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t know real estate, just pretend you know what you are doing. You need to see the space and make sure it’s what you want. And you need to make sure they are negotiating in good faith with the landlord so that you don’t lose space over stupid details (it happens a lot). I will tell you, communication breakdowns happen. I would go and talk to the landlord directly. He doesn’t know that you’re not “technically” involved. Ask how the process is going. He’ll tell you. So if you get a different story from him than the LC and REA, then you can cry bu11sh*t. And make sure you are at the office almost daily during renovations (just stop in). I managed to get my conference room and storage room finished for free because it wasn’t part of the spec, just by making good with the contractors. What the he11 are they going to do with leftover carpet and paint?? “Oh, sure, I have a friend that’s getting his office re-done - I’ll recommend you to him…”
Tricks of the trade my friend. Don't take yourself out of the loop. Think of this as an addition to your house. How would you handle it? Remember, you are paying for the office indirectly, so you need to have some input (where do you think part of your 60% goes?).I think they have a proximity rule about location next to another Jones FA too. I may be wrong, but that has complicated a couple of the searches I’m aware of.
Yeah, they'll sign off on the proximity issue, but they have to call the other FA's and varify with them that they're ok with it. I'm literally 2 1/2 blocks from one Jones office, and 3 blocks from another.I think they have a proximity rule about location next to another Jones FA too. I may be wrong, but that has complicated a couple of the searches I’m aware of.