Location, Location, Location

When companies look to open new offices or establish where their first office is going to be, it is important to analyze the location and make sure it can benefit their businesses. The same can be said for agents and their locations.

Some agents choose their location depending on where they live, others select location based on where they can recruit the best athletes and others where they can take advantage of the resources around them.

For example Joby Branion of Athletes First has recently moved his operation from California to North Carolina. This move gives Athletes First an office on the west coast and the east coast. While most agents recruit nationwide, it is sometimes smarter to target a certain area and go after it hard. Now Athletes First can keep bringing in their west coast athletes and start making a stronger name for itself with the east coast athletes.

Also look at Drew Rosenhaus as an example. He lives in Florida and definitely made his niche in his home state. He is one agent that has taken advantage of where he went to school (University of Miami for undergrad) and where he lives. Drew doesn’t even have to leave the state of Florida to make a living. But this is a very rare case.

Then there are agencies like Sportstars, which is located in Manhattan, New York. It may not be the best place if you are looking to recruit nationwide because of the distance from the hotbeds of recruiting, but in regards to having the New York City resources such as Wall Street, advertising firms, marketing firms and various other types of businesses they can utilize to benefit the careers of their clients, being stationed in NY is a huge advantage. The lack of competition in their area could be an advantage to the company as well.

I am not saying that it is easy for a company like Sportstars to recruit, but when you see the concentration of agents on the west coast and down south and compare that to the Tri-State area, there is no competition. For a small agency like Sportstars it is a lot more affective to make a name for themselves in one market instead of attempting to recruit nationwide. Their recent success in Tri-State area has led to their ability to now recruit throughout the U.S. Maybe the key is to start off small, focusing on your particular region, and expand once you are ready to build on more resources.

It’s all about Location, Location, Location…..

-Paul Schackman