Business in Boston (Waltham, Burlington: sales, insurance, to live in)

[puffle]

My husband is an executive recruiter in the Federal Space, as he puts it. We are moving to Ma. next month. He wants to open an office and is convinced that the city, Boston, will draw the most talented people/recruiters. In order to do well, be seen and hire the best, do you have to have an office in Boston or will neighboring areas maybe 10 to 20 miles away in Ma. do just as well?

[puffle]

Oh come on. Any opinions are valued,please?

[Parsec]

The short answer would be yes, if he can afford the office rents in Boston then it's definitely worth the extra value added. Many larger companies might have a small corporate office in downtown, then have a second larger office that deals w/everything else (customer service, research, etc.) in Waltham or Burlington. If image is everything like in finance or law, then a downtown office is vital to operations. If he will have many out-of-state clients, then office space near the airport is important too.

[pjscdn]

Hi again puffle,

I'm no expert here, and I think this is a tough call, in my opinion. I think it depends on his target clientele, and whether he feels it is a necessity to be downtown to make a good impression. I'm not sure exactly who he might consider his competition to be, but some of the major players (Adecco, etc.) don't all have offices downtown. How does he plan to recruit people? Cold calls? Does he have partnering arrangements? Are face-to-face meetings a necessity, or is it more phone communication? The rents downtown can be expensive, something to keep in mind.

Have you narrowed down a town or area to live in? That may help in determining where to set up shop.

[puffle]

Originally Posted by pjscdn

Hi again puffle,

I'm no expert here, and I think this is a tough call, in my opinion. I think it depends on his target clientele, and whether he feels it is a necessity to be downtown to make a good impression. I'm not sure exactly who he might consider his competition to be, but some of the major players (Adecco, etc.) don't all have offices downtown. How does he plan to recruit people? Cold calls? Does he have partnering arrangements? Are face-to-face meetings a necessity, or is it more phone communication? The rents downtown can be expensive, something to keep in mind.

Have you narrowed down a town or area to live in? That may help in determining where to set up shop.

The office he had before had 20 recruiters and two office managers. Rarely did a client come to the office. Ocassionally, my husband would meet with clients but where the office was located in, a bedroom community, there weren't many people to see.
He is not like Adecco. He only recruites sales executives that sell national security software to the government. These people on an average make about $120-150k without the bonuses. To sum up, no, he would not be meeting with clients in the office much, but the key to being in the city is the quality people he could find to work for him, experienced people. Not that you need all this info, but most of his clients and sales people live in Virginia. Some are in Boston, but he wants to branch out into Hi Tech, Software,Finance and maybe Insurance which is why Boston is good, he says.

[pjscdn]

Originally Posted by puffle

The office he had before had 20 recruiters and two office managers. Rarely did a client come to the office. Ocassionally, my husband would meet with clients but where the office was located in, a bedroom community, there weren't many people to see.
He is not like Adecco. He only recruites sales executives that sell national security software to the government. These people on an average make about $120-150k without the bonuses. To sum up, no, he would not be meeting with clients in the office much, but the key to being in the city is the quality people he could find to work for him, experienced people. Not that you need all this info, but most of his clients and sales people live in Virginia. Some are in Boston, but he wants to branch out into Hi Tech, Software,Finance and maybe Insurance which is why Boston is good, he says.

I work in a High Tech Sales environment, more in a technical capacity, including security software. So, your description helps a bit. From my perspective, I don't think it's mandatory to be downtown. We don't sell to the public sector, but outside of that, we'd be looking for the same people. The recruiters generally don't work in the city. Many, in fact, work from home. It's a virtual world. I'd suggest keeping expenses low, and then look into $$ office sapce after getting established.

Keep us posted..

[puffle]

Originally Posted by pjscdn

I work in a High Tech Sales environment, more in a technical capacity, including security software. So, your description helps a bit. From my perspective, I don't think it's mandatory to be downtown. We don't sell to the public sector, but outside of that, we'd be looking for the same people. The recruiters generally don't work in the city. Many, in fact, work from home. It's a virtual world. I'd suggest keeping expenses low, and then look into $$ office sapce after getting established.

Keep us posted..

Do you know any recruiters personally and do you know any executive recruiters that specialize in the Federal Space? My husband has been looking for a research assistant and a recruiter for a different industry other than federal. If you know anyone that would like to telecommute let me know and I'll tell you his website. Thanks...appreciate your advise.

[pjscdn]

Sorry Puffle, I cannot help you there. We do not do business in the Federal space. I cannot think of any recruiters off the topof my head whom I could refer to you right now. Nothing wrong with networking; I'll keep it in mind.

[LeavingMA]

My personal opinion is to stay out of the city unless you need or really want to be there. There is a business crowd there, but in this case it doesn't seem necessary to be there. Most workers come from outside of Boston anyways, so if they aren't meeting at his your husband's office, it might be easier for many to meet outside the city. Plus you would save money on expenses by staying outside the city.

[burbsbound]

If he wants to branch out to high-tech, it might be helpful to be near or around the 128 high-tech corridor (waltham - burlington area).