Just an update.


Thanks to all of you for your great responses.  I’m just gonna sell STL on the location I want and push until I get it.

You guys are right about staying on top of them.  I finally got in contact with the branch leasing coordinator.   In the wire he said he would be contacting me in the next few days.  I had been more than two weeks so I tracked him down.  All of a sudden he’s in contact with a real estate agent here in town.  I couldn’t tell you what he’s been doing for the last two weeks except maybe eating his lunch on top of my file.

The real estate agent contacted me within a few hours and it sounds like he’s on the ball big time.  He says he’s done almost ten EDJ offices in the last year in the greater metro area of where I’m located.  He said, "What is most important is that we find a location that you are comfortable with.  If we do that Jones will pretty much sign off on anything as long as it is within the ballpark of their parameters."

Thanks again everyone.

10 EDJ offices in your area?  Is that a GOOD thing?

[quote=rankstocks]Other ideas:

10 new offices in one year.  Metro area population around 2.2 million people.  Yes, there are Jones offices nearby, the closest is probably two miles or so, but I don’t feel like I’m tripping all over their clients or anything.

I opened my office last April and the new colors are not bad.  I have the Green and cream colored walls with a tan toned carpet.  You will get a flat screen tv for the conference room ( at least I did).

Like others have said, stay on top of the leasing agent to make sure things are moving along.  If you don’t like the layout, change it to you liking (I was able to move walls, doors, and hallways).  Don’t settle for their idea of a good layout.

Keep in mind if you have a supply room or break room Jones will not finish it(considered extra space) so the cost is on you.  I spent maybe $100 to carpet my supply room by doing it myself and about $750 to tile my entry way and breakroom again doing the work myself.

Eyetattoo how big is ur office? Do you have room for a legacy in there? I’m looking at 1400 sf suites now and I would like to eventually host a legacy and still have a decent conf room and break/storage area. Do you think that’s enough space?

fa09, 1400 sqft is a WHOLE LOTTA space for one FA.  Just remember, it makes it that much harder to hit your bonuses if you’re paying a ton for rent.  And you don’t get much credit for hosting a Legacy.  Don’t get all wrapped up in thinking you need a room for everything (break room, storage closet, “Legacy” office, conf room, etc.).  3 years from now, you will be bitching about why you aren’t profitable enough for bonuses and how evil Jones is.

I just remodeled my office last fall. Jones told me that I had NO CHOICE and that I had to go with the new Jones colors - green and beige. They are not too bad. Jones paid for paint and carpet because it had been 10 years since a paint job. I paid about $1K out of pocket for a chair rail and baseboard (they were only going to pay for carpet base, ugh…). I painted all the trim myself and had my husband install it for me in the office.   It looks great and I get compliments all the time, and also the “I guess you’re staying” sentiment as well.  I put the green paint above the chair rail, beige paint below as well, and I’m happy with how that looks. The carpet is gross, terrible pattern and the weird smell from it gives me a headache. (No choice from Jones in the carpet either…) I would love to have hard wood floors instead. Maybe someday. I asked for a flatscreen for my conference room and they laughed at me. I must not be a good enough producer for a flat screen! I bought my own extra monitor at Costco for $150 and it has paid for itself 10 times over. My clients love looking at the extra monitor for FAST and morningstar hypos etc.  I’m hiding the “required” Jones artwork and buying my own piece one at a time. And believe it or not, I paid $500 for an indoor plant company to outfit my office in beautiful plants, and I even pay them $50 a month to water them! Sounds crazy, but I’ve never been able to keep plants alive, and now everyone loves my plants. Bought three nice big clocks for local, NY and St. Louis times, everyone loves the clocks. Now if I can just reach my goal of 5 million in Advisory by the end of 2010, perhaps my remodeling costs won’t hurt so much.

The plant service sounds pretty cool.  Different plants need different amounts of light and some need special types of fertilizer and different amounts of water.  It’s a good idea to just let someone else do it and if the plants start looking shabby I’m assuming they’ll replace them at no charge?

YES, Bull. They take care of the plants, and if they start to look shabby then they will replace them for free (hypothetically, as all of the plants are still looking good). I know it seems indulgent to pay them to water the plants, but honestly I don’t think I could keep them alive and attractive. The only thing worse than having no plants at all is having dying plants.

Richchick, you really thought that when Jones said you HAD to use JOnes’ gang-green color, that you really needed to?  You can do whatever you wqant, as long as it’s tasteful.  You should see some of the offices in my region - wooden floor, chair rail, beige, burgendy, all different colors.  Jones just wants consistency, that’s why they tell you that.  And obviously they are not going to customize your office on their dime.  Also, regarding the flatscreen…lots of people in my region have them, but they all paid themselves.  I don’t think they actually buy them for anyone.  It’s just easier fo big prodcuers to get things approved.