[quote=Duke#1]

I have found that operating as an indy rep is little
different from other professionals who have chosen to break away to
start their own businesses.  The same clients that seek me out to
do business are similarly using CPAs who left the “Big 5 (or 4 or
whatever)” accounting firms, and are using lawyers who broke away from
the biggest law firms in town.  Indies offer a similar boutique
environment for clients, and that is a huge appeal to many clients.

Will there be some prospects who have the bias that they only want to do business with the Mother Merrills of the world -- sure.  But, there's so large of a universe out there, that I don't need those types of clients.

[quote=Put Trader] 
There are virtually no prospects who will declare, “I’m sorry I won’t
do business with you because you are a Vice President of a major
brokerage house”–but there are those who will decline to do business
with you because you are not. 

[/quote]



You need to do a little fact finding before you address information as intelligence or in the absolute. It’s the  minority
of the affluent and  semi-affluent who continue to work
exclusively with one relationship manager for all their advisory needs.



Satisfied Affluent CLIENT = Problem
Identification w/Relationship Manager  + Solutions and
Implementation via {Investment Management Team [CFA]} + {Financial
Planning Team} +{Insurance Team [CLU]} +{Trust&Estate, Charitable
Giving Planning Team [Trust Attorney and Trust Officer]} + {Tax
Preparation Team [CPA]}



The missing link in Putty’s marketing myopia (look
it up) is his reluctance to admit that his “top shelf brokerages” don’t
have a car on the track that can currently win victories for the race
to commoditize the Affluent market. His crackpot designs (evolution
from horsetrack to formula racing is appropriate here) have all kinds
of cafeteria-style advicors/sharpshooters all trying not to cannibalize
the existing/prospective CLIENT. The kind of institutionalzed team
approach he knows his team will brand and run on the track for wins has
yet to be built (notice I didn’t say born, Put).



Put’s prestigious reps are all in the same horse race with horses from
all the other stables/handlers (B/D’s)…don’t buy into his
camelot-like meanderings. This is the USA not Sherwood Forest (I was
tempted to sub Shagwood Forex here) and Put is not the Sheriff of
Nottingham (knucklewood, maybe). Put, imagine yourself working with
Family Offices and Multi-Family Office’s…go ahead, squint, smile and
drool (ha, ha).

[quote=Put Trader]
I am a major fan of the idea of working for yourself--I am simply saying it's not all it's cracked up to be.

I have two attorneys who I turn to when I need one.  One is a sole practioner and I have used him to close real estate deals and to write my wills.

The other is a senior partner in a  firm with more than 1,000 lawyers.  He is who I turned to when I had inherited a business from a brother, and the business was sued--there are things that you just don't trust the little guy with.

[/quote]

I understand there are difficulites and roadblocks to working for yourself...however, like we've all said a million times....different things work for different people.  You can't generalize any of this with any accuracy.

Why do you not trust the guy who works for himself? Do you honestly believe that one is better than the other or one will work harder than the other because there's a 1,000 other lawyers just like him at the firm?  Please tell me you compared their LSAT scores before you made this decision?

[quote=sienna]

Why do you not trust the guy who works for himself?
Do you honestly believe that one is better than the other or one will
work harder than the other because there’s a 1,000 other lawyers just
like him at the firm?  Please tell me you compared their LSAT
scores before you made this decision?

Put, at the moment the only question I think you can answer with authority is:

Does being stupid hurt?