Ok I went out and started the process of opening a New Brokerage, and in a down market to boot! Gasp!
Why? My current Broker is down sizing and has no need for all of the Brokers he hired in the boom years. He is upset he has to down size. So am I. I am loosing the over ride on several agents I poured 100s of hours of training into. But that is the way our business goes. Expand too fast and the market tweaks your wallet. Expand too slowly and the market misses your wallet.
So in the last 5 days I have....
- Registered a Trade Name
- Registered several urls
- Hired a Lawyer
- Started paper work on forming an S-Corp: an eligible domestic corporation can avoid double taxation (once to the shareholders and again to the corporation) by electing to be treated as an S corporation. Generally, an S corporation is exempt from federal income tax other than tax on certain capital gains and passive income. On their tax returns, the S corporation's shareholders include their share of the corporation's separately stated items of income, deduction, loss, and credit, and their share of nonseparately stated income or loss.
- Negotiated a 3 year lease in down town Hilo on Keawe Street. (It took about 36 hours of gentle but firm negotiations)
- Met with the tenants in the building.
- Assembled a sole source computer and printer equipment budget for Dell.
- Assembled an over head budget to estimate the hit to my pocket book for the next 3 years.
- Assembled a commission plan married with profit sharing.
- Hired a graphics artist to lay out the space, modify my existing business card, and create a company logo.
- Hired a good general contractor to implement the floor design.
- Ordered voice/DSL line + rotating phone lines + new handsets.
- Ordered the power to be turned on --- construction starts Monday.
- Ordered E&O forms for insurance.
Business Plan: (Hawaii Law requires a physical address so I must establish a physical address.) Market Hawaii Real Estate via location specific web sites thru my agents. Once I complete my local office with the reliable and redundant infrastructure (desks, computers, printers, secure internet and office supplies), I will go to next town. Each agent hired will be given exclusive use of a web site to farm that specific area or town. Each agent will also be a resident of that area or town. Provide each agent with photographic, 360 tour and sales brochure support. Use valid xhtml and css for each web site. Stream line the code for fast down loads. Correctly format each web site so it will be searchable by its location or city name and place in the 10 ten of the major search engines within 6 months. Commission checks will by direct deposit. Company files will be stored on CD. Meetings will be conducted via video on internet. I shall provide one on one training. My Company will offer only 4 commissions. 65%( new but must have a mentor who will collect 15% for 1st 5 deals), 70% (minimum requirements 2 yrs +12 closings), 75% (2yrs+ 12 closings + ABR), 80% (2 yrs + 24 closings + ABR + GRI). I shall collect a 5% override for my investment. 5% shall pay for the office overhead, the remaining 10% shall be distributed as profit sharing. Advertising funds shall not be spent on (OPTs) Over Priced Turkeys. My job is simple. Advise, enable and fully support my agents.
I will post progress as it happens, all suggestions are welcome!
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John - What made you decide that the agents needed to have the designations? For example, I can't work for you at the higher rates without an ABR. I don't work with buyers.
I am also trying to figure out structures for agents. I had thought that requiring specific licenses (auctioneer for example) or designations would hinder. I do agree on the number of transactions though.
R