We speak with so many brilliant folks across dozens of industries and when those folks happen to be working for someone else, sometimes we can’t help but wonder why they aren’t working for themselves. How do folks decide between joining a firm or starting their own? We posed the question to the community and have shared some of their responses below.
Marcus Hammond
I considered joining an existing financial planning firm early on since starting a practice was difficult and required a lot of personal capital. The problem? Most financial planning firms are built to serve older clients who have already saved up a lot of assets to invest. I ultimately decided that if I wanted to serve my ideal clients – professional women and dual-income households (particularly millennial families where the woman was building a career in a male-dominated industry) – I would need to design a business from the ground up. Read more>>
Marcus Hammond
I decided to start my own firm because I wanted to do things my way: I wanted to make sure that I provided a valuable service, in a way that didn’t come with all of the traditional dysfunction of many businesses. The main driving force was to provide access to knowledge/information to persons who were having trouble finding it or lacked access altogether. Read more>>
Christy Bowie
Prior to starting my own firm, I was part of 2 distinctly different firms that gave the the ability to learn & grow under some of the best and smartest in the industry! I think sometimes entrepreneurs are very anti corporate America, but for me working in multiple other firms was the best thing I ever did! It allowed me to make mistakes & learn (on someone else’s time) when the stakes were low! Read more>>
Kristi M Spann
When I first started out as a real estate agent, I joined a large brokerage firm. This firm had what I was looking for in a brokerage, a sense of belonging, and lots of education. This was my first brokerage, so I knew I made the right decision. After a little over a year, I decided to switch to a smaller firm. I switched because they were more hands-on with their agents. They give me more insight and better on-the-job training. They are always there when I have any questions or want to share any of my ideas with them. Read more>>
Alexis LeDuc
Starting a photography buisness was never on the radar for me, starting off as a young women on the path to a medical career field. When I met my husband in college we decided to buy a house and start a family a year after getting married. That year was one of the best years of our lives as we started building a life together in Southern CA. Read more>>