For an experienced commercial broker, starting your own brokerage is rarely about whether you can do the job. You already know how to look after clients, understand risk and build relationships. The bigger questions are around what happens when you step away from employment and start building something of your own.
Year one is where those questions become real. How quickly will income build? When can clients move? What do your covenants mean in practice? Where will new business come from? And what support do you need around you so your time stays focused on clients and growth?
Start with a realistic picture.
The best place to start is with a clear view of where you are now. You may have strong client relationships, a clear idea of the business you want to build and a good sense of where future opportunities could come from. You may also have areas that need more thought, whether that’s personal finances, market access, new business or the practical impact of restrictive covenants.
Getting those points clear early gives you a much better foundation for the first year. You’re not trying to predict every detail, but you do need to understand the areas that could put pressure on the business once you start trading.
Plan for how the first year really works.
Cash flow is a big part of the first year. A salary is predictable, brokerage income isn’t. Clients renew at different points, some business may take time to transfer and new business takes time to win. That doesn’t mean the brokerage isn’t progressing. It means the financial plan needs to reflect how income will actually arrive.
Putting some numbers around the first year can help make that more manageable. Looking at personal outgoings, likely renewal timings, expected income and the costs around the business gives you a clearer view of what the first few months could look like and where any pressure points may sit.
It’s also important to be realistic about client movement. Strong relationships can give a new brokerage a solid foundation, but not every client will move immediately and some may not move at all. Timing matters just as much as the size of the book, which is why new business needs to be part of the plan from the start rather than something you think about later.
The same applies to the support around the brokerage. Running your own business doesn’t mean doing everything yourself. Compliance, systems, client money, placement, claims and marketing all need to work, but they don’t all need to sit with you. Through Momentum’s Appointed Representative model, Broker Partners run their own businesses and retain their client relationships while drawing on the infrastructure and specialist support around them.
The first year won’t follow the plan perfectly, and it shouldn’t need to. Some clients may take longer to move, new business may come from places you didn’t expect and certain ways of working will need to change. What matters is that you’ve got something solid to work from, review and adapt as the business develops.
Build for more than year one.
By the end of year one, the questions should start to change. You should have a clearer view of your client book, recurring income, pipeline and where your time is best spent. That’s when the focus moves from starting the brokerage to building it.
And that’s probably the biggest shift in thinking. You’re not simply trying to recreate your old salary somewhere else. You’re building a client book, recurring income and a business with value of its own.
Year one isn’t about removing every unknown. It’s about going into the decision with your eyes open, a realistic plan and the right support around you.
