We closed on the office condo on Friday! We live in a condo five blocks from a Costco and work in a condo five blocks from Sam’s Club. We started demolition on some items that need to go, e.g., this was formerly a medical office and we do not need the status lights above the doors or the 18 feet of receptionist counter space.The remodeling quotes continue to come back over budget so we are rethinking what we need to do versus what we what to do. We are leaning toward making a larger office (10×20) for each of us and moving access to a private restroom to the hall, installing new carpet and paint and then calling it a day. Or least calling it “Phase 1” and delaying “Phase 2” until our revenue catches up with our expenses.
Speaking of expenses, starting an independent insurance agency from scratch is not for the faint-hearted or cash poor. Our original business plan and proforma are proving to be accurate on the expense side but income is falling short. Until everything is in place it impossible to bring in new business.
Now that we have a location, telephone service has been ordered and we have selected an agency management system. The telephones will be through Mediacom and we are going with a hosted version of AMS 360. We hired a web designer to get the website moving beyond the prototype. The designer is using WordPress as a development tool, the same tool we use for this website.
Well, off to Menards to buy new toilets and sinks for the office. At least John Galt is paying for them.