Signed the lease before I had a single agent. $14,300 to walk away from a brokerage that never opened

I'm writing this as somebody who did the entire buildout of a business that never took a client.

The plan was a small independent shop, eight to ten agents, in a suburban market where the two national franchises take most of the roster. I had my broker license and about $30k set aside. I found a 1,100 square foot office at $2,350 a month, signed a three-year lease with a personal guarantee, and paid first month plus a $4,700 security deposit. Then I spent $3,900 on signage, furniture from a warehouse store, and a decent conference table because I thought agents would care about the conference table.

Then I went recruiting. I talked to 19 agents over ten weeks. Every single conversation ended in the same place. They asked what I gave them that their current firm didn't, and all I had was a better split and a shorter drive. Three said they'd move if I brought them leads. I had no leads. One said she'd come if I paid her MLS and E&O, which would have cost me more than her split would return until she closed four deals, and she'd closed two the prior year.

I stopped at week eleven, negotiated out of the lease for the deposit plus two months, and sold the furniture for about a third. All in, $14,300 gone with no revenue ever generated.

What I'd do differently is simple and I wish someone had said it to me plainly. Recruit first, sign nothing. Get three written commitments from producing agents, then go find space, or find out you can't get the commitments and save the $14,300. A brokerage is agents. The room is optional.