This is going to be a short post today, mainly because I can't think of much to write about. But, since tax season is fast approaching, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about what I do along those lines. Here's a hint - not much.
When you are starting a law firm there are two things that you can be pretty sure of. First, you aren't going to be making a ton of money your first year. Second, especially if it's just you, there are going to be basically two line items, income and expenses. Amortization, depreciation, and capital expenditures probably aren't going to be entering the mix much.
So why make it more complicated than it needs to be? For me,up until this year (2011) I didn't even use quickbooks. I just had a spreadsheet. When money came in I noted it. When I paid a bill or incurred an expense I noted it. Then at the end of the year I added it all up and figured out what my tax liabilities were (if any). And there weren't many.
I haven't done my taxes for 2010 yet, but I must admit I'm a little bit nervous. I made a little bit of money ($45,000 or so - net) so I know I need to be paying some tax on that. But I don't know exactly how much. That's what's making me nervous. I could end up owing some decent money, which is going to be painful to part with.
This year, in hopes of lessening that burden, I'm putting money away every month into a money market account. I'll make a little bit of cash on it and then have it available when it's time to pay Uncle Sam. Better that than to reach the end of the line and realize I don't have enough to foot the bill.
What are your tax strategies? When do you think it's time to hire on a CPA to help you out? For me, that's probably coming up soon. But the thought of it's a little scary.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Marketing a Law Firm | Avvo.com, Social Media, "Networking" and You
Before I get too far into this post, I want to put it into context. I am not trying to be mean. I am not trying to be harsh. I am trying to give you the information you need to start and run a successful law firm. I'm not really that good at sugar coating things (ask my mom and my wife!), so I'm just going to give it to you straight.
I'm not going to say any names, but I met with another guy last night over beers who is venturing out to start his own law firm. He was a great guy, pretty fresh out of law school (though with a lot of legal experience considering), who, because of the present economic state of the country, doesn't have many job prospects.
We sat down to talk and I asked him what I always ask people when I first meet them to talk about this stuff: (1) what is your practice area; and (2) what plan do you have in place to be successful. He knew what his practice area was, which was a good thing, but when we started talking about what his plan was I got the same look I probably gave when my contracts professor asked me a question about anything - sheer terror.
And that's okay. Most of us don't have a plan when we set out, particularly when, like this guy's situation, the necessity of starting a law firm is thrust upon us. So I decided to break it down a little bit further and ask what is really the most important question you need to be able to answer to be successful - what are you doing to get clients?
Now, before I tell you what his answer is, if you are seriously considering opening a law firm, I want you to do me a favor - take five minutes, right now, and make a list of the things you can think of to get clients. And the ideas can be as crazy as you can make them. Okay, go.
When you aren't thinking and working to get new clients, you should be thinking and working on the processes your firm is going to have in place to handle clients once the phone starts ringing. The best way to do this is to put yourself in the shoes of the client, from the very beginning of the process.
It should go something like this: client has a problem; client seeks out help for that problem (this is where you need to be); client finds your website or hears about you; client is looking for specific information to determine if you know what you are doing and if they can trust you (provide that information); client decides they want to talk to you, how do they do that; client calls, how do you answer the phone?; are you setting a meeting?; what information do you need from them?; what do you do when you get off the phone?; and the list goes on and on. Each time you think you've got all the answers, break it down into smaller pieces.
And, as you are figuring all of this out, write it down. That way you don't forget, and when you hire people to help you (which you will because you'll be busy with clients) they can hit the ground running by just reading the law firm manual you've created.
Oh boy.
I then asked the million dollar question - "getting any clients from this?" I already knew the answer.
Here's the thing about those three or four methods of "marketing." They make us feel really great, like we're really doing something. We're getting our name out there, we're answering people's questions, we are exchanging business cards. But the problem with that is that it's too easy. And generally, in business, when something is easy, it's ineffective. And easy and cheap, which all of those are, drops the effectiveness down to near zero.
The problem with all of those marketing ideas is that they don't do what marketing is meant to do - put you in front of your target client. All of your marketing efforts should be funneling people that need your business your way.
So, what is my suggestion? Here it is. Stop posting on avvo. Keep your profile and try to get your clients to review you. When you do something good, post it on your profile (when people google you, and they will, they can find out what a great lawyer you are). But other than that, stay away.
Have a facebook page for your business and try to get everyone you know to like your page. Don't expect to get new clients directly from it, but use it as a way to keep your former clients and friends informed about what is going on with your firm and to "remind" people what you do. The best thing that can happen from keeping up a facebook page is someone who likes it is sitting around the water cooler with a friend who talks about a problem they have that you can fix. They just saw your page, so you're top of mind, and they tell that friend to call you.
Networking events. Don't use these for business generation, at least for immediate business generation. Use these events as an opportunity to have a great time and get to know others in your community. Tell people what you do but then learn about them. Networking is all about building long term relationships. They do result in referrals, but months and years down the road after you've built up trust with people you've met.
So, what should you do? Easy. Take some time, sit down, and think of some ways that you can get in front of clients. I know one great place most people go for legal services - the internet. Figure out how to get seen on the internet and start working at it. Like I told the guy I met yesterday, anyone can do it, but it takes a lot of hard work. But that should be okay, because that's what's going to separate you from everyone else.
Another idea - hold a seminar. Invite your friends and talk about what you do in an interesting way. I've given presentations on how to deal with the cops. I put some funny videos in, tell them about myself, and answer questions afterward. Get everyone's contact information at the presentation, and then tell them you'll be giving another one in two months and if they know anyone that might appreciate it they should let them know about it.
Getting clients is only hard because we feel safe doing what everyone else does. Branch out, be creative, and do what other people aren't. Next thing you know, the clients will be rolling in.
I'm not going to say any names, but I met with another guy last night over beers who is venturing out to start his own law firm. He was a great guy, pretty fresh out of law school (though with a lot of legal experience considering), who, because of the present economic state of the country, doesn't have many job prospects.
We sat down to talk and I asked him what I always ask people when I first meet them to talk about this stuff: (1) what is your practice area; and (2) what plan do you have in place to be successful. He knew what his practice area was, which was a good thing, but when we started talking about what his plan was I got the same look I probably gave when my contracts professor asked me a question about anything - sheer terror.
And that's okay. Most of us don't have a plan when we set out, particularly when, like this guy's situation, the necessity of starting a law firm is thrust upon us. So I decided to break it down a little bit further and ask what is really the most important question you need to be able to answer to be successful - what are you doing to get clients?
Now, before I tell you what his answer is, if you are seriously considering opening a law firm, I want you to do me a favor - take five minutes, right now, and make a list of the things you can think of to get clients. And the ideas can be as crazy as you can make them. Okay, go.
Interlude - the Process
I wanted to make this exercise a little bit easier for you, so I'm trying to fill some space between the question and the answer. So we'll talk about something else for a minute, something that is law firm marketing related. The process.When you aren't thinking and working to get new clients, you should be thinking and working on the processes your firm is going to have in place to handle clients once the phone starts ringing. The best way to do this is to put yourself in the shoes of the client, from the very beginning of the process.
It should go something like this: client has a problem; client seeks out help for that problem (this is where you need to be); client finds your website or hears about you; client is looking for specific information to determine if you know what you are doing and if they can trust you (provide that information); client decides they want to talk to you, how do they do that; client calls, how do you answer the phone?; are you setting a meeting?; what information do you need from them?; what do you do when you get off the phone?; and the list goes on and on. Each time you think you've got all the answers, break it down into smaller pieces.
And, as you are figuring all of this out, write it down. That way you don't forget, and when you hire people to help you (which you will because you'll be busy with clients) they can hit the ground running by just reading the law firm manual you've created.
Law Firm Marketing - the Plan
Okay, back to the original question. I asked the guy "what are you doing to get clients," and he gave the answer I bet a lot of you immediately thought of. He said, "I'm doing a lot of social media stuff, participating on avvo.com, I'm active in the solo/small firm section of the bar association, and I'm meeting with a ton of attorneys."Oh boy.
I then asked the million dollar question - "getting any clients from this?" I already knew the answer.
Here's the thing about those three or four methods of "marketing." They make us feel really great, like we're really doing something. We're getting our name out there, we're answering people's questions, we are exchanging business cards. But the problem with that is that it's too easy. And generally, in business, when something is easy, it's ineffective. And easy and cheap, which all of those are, drops the effectiveness down to near zero.
The problem with all of those marketing ideas is that they don't do what marketing is meant to do - put you in front of your target client. All of your marketing efforts should be funneling people that need your business your way.
So, what is my suggestion? Here it is. Stop posting on avvo. Keep your profile and try to get your clients to review you. When you do something good, post it on your profile (when people google you, and they will, they can find out what a great lawyer you are). But other than that, stay away.
Have a facebook page for your business and try to get everyone you know to like your page. Don't expect to get new clients directly from it, but use it as a way to keep your former clients and friends informed about what is going on with your firm and to "remind" people what you do. The best thing that can happen from keeping up a facebook page is someone who likes it is sitting around the water cooler with a friend who talks about a problem they have that you can fix. They just saw your page, so you're top of mind, and they tell that friend to call you.
Networking events. Don't use these for business generation, at least for immediate business generation. Use these events as an opportunity to have a great time and get to know others in your community. Tell people what you do but then learn about them. Networking is all about building long term relationships. They do result in referrals, but months and years down the road after you've built up trust with people you've met.
So, what should you do? Easy. Take some time, sit down, and think of some ways that you can get in front of clients. I know one great place most people go for legal services - the internet. Figure out how to get seen on the internet and start working at it. Like I told the guy I met yesterday, anyone can do it, but it takes a lot of hard work. But that should be okay, because that's what's going to separate you from everyone else.
Another idea - hold a seminar. Invite your friends and talk about what you do in an interesting way. I've given presentations on how to deal with the cops. I put some funny videos in, tell them about myself, and answer questions afterward. Get everyone's contact information at the presentation, and then tell them you'll be giving another one in two months and if they know anyone that might appreciate it they should let them know about it.
Getting clients is only hard because we feel safe doing what everyone else does. Branch out, be creative, and do what other people aren't. Next thing you know, the clients will be rolling in.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Can You Dress for Success?
This is a two part question that actually got me thinking after I read two separate blog posts (although to be specific it was one blog post that referenced another). The post was by the author of Simple Justice, a blog I think is fantastic (to translate fully, I'm suggesting you go take a look). It's a criminal defense blog, but it's more than that. Scott Greenfield, the author, discusses topics ranging from criminal defense to marketing to practicing law generally to a select group of individuals he describes as the "slackoise," which I might actually be a part of.
But I digress. The post I saw today was entitled "The Easy Answer: Change Clothes." Here's a quick recap before I give my two cents. Scott read a blog post by Susan Cartier Liebel, who runs Solo Marketing University (that, by the way, is not an endorsement - I don't anything about the business, how it's run, or if it's good). The gist of her post was that people are always judging you so it's better to be well dressed and presentable at all times - "Better they make a snap positive assessment" than a negative one.
That's all well and good, and the first point I'll talk about below. But Scott, as he is wont to do, takes the post a step further and discusses the story from a lawyering standpoint. His lesson from this story, which is the second point I'll talk about, only I'll bring it back to a starting a law firm perspective, is that we are communicators and persuaders. If you want to persuade you've got to know your audience and frame your presentation in a way that makes them understand what you are saying. His point is that it doesn't matter what you are wearing if you are just going to talk at someone or talk over them. If you aren't effectively communicating you have no chance of success.
Now that you have the background, here are my two cents to answer the question, "Can You Dress for Success?"
The same goes with being a lawyer. People have in their heads an idea of what an attorney is supposed to look like, what one is supposed to sound like, and how one is supposed to act. Going against those assumptions for the simple sake of being different, isn't going to help you get more clients. It's going to make people that meet you and are considering hiring you uncomfortable. You want to exceed client expectations not fail them.
Whether we want to believe it or not, we are being evaluated at all times on many different levels. Our looks are definitely one of those evaluation criteria. So why not control something you have complete control over and look your best? If I can instill an added sense of trust and competency with opposing counsel and the judge because I look nice, why wouldn't I do that? That's advocacy, whether you want to believe it or not.
My only point of disagreement with Susan's ideas relate to dressing well all the time. And I think Scott agrees with me a least a little because he tells a story about a guy that used to mow his lawn with a tie on. It's true that everyone out there may be a potential client for you - but it's also true that you are more than just a lawyer. You may be a rock climber or a golfer, a swimmer or a Harry Potter fanatic. Whatever it is, you may not always be able to wear a suit. And that's okay.
When people are meeting you as an attorney, they need to "see" you as an attorney. If I met someone at the grocery store on a Saturday and they were wearing a suit, unless they were coming from a funeral or worked at a hotel I'd think it was kind of weird. No one thinks you should be wearing a suit all the time. So don't.
His point is that being a lawyer is about sending and receiving (communication, in other words). If you are sending, but it's not being received correctly, then that's a you problem, not a them problem. You haven't tailored your message to sway the person you are talking to to adopt your point of view (or hire you).
While this is a critical skill as a lawyer when you are practicing law, it's also a critical skill when you are running a law firm. If you have an idea for the kind of message you want to present to the world about what your law firm stands for, then you need to make sure the signals you are sending are being received in a convincing manner.
What does that mean? In short, it means taking a step back, thinking about who your client really is, and then putting yourself in their shoes and finding out what it is they are looking from from a service provider like yourself. When you think you know what that is, assuming it's something you can provide, figure out how to demonstrate that your law firm has that ability and then go do that.
Have a great weekend! And, as always, if you have comments or questions, please let me know.
But I digress. The post I saw today was entitled "The Easy Answer: Change Clothes." Here's a quick recap before I give my two cents. Scott read a blog post by Susan Cartier Liebel, who runs Solo Marketing University (that, by the way, is not an endorsement - I don't anything about the business, how it's run, or if it's good). The gist of her post was that people are always judging you so it's better to be well dressed and presentable at all times - "Better they make a snap positive assessment" than a negative one.
That's all well and good, and the first point I'll talk about below. But Scott, as he is wont to do, takes the post a step further and discusses the story from a lawyering standpoint. His lesson from this story, which is the second point I'll talk about, only I'll bring it back to a starting a law firm perspective, is that we are communicators and persuaders. If you want to persuade you've got to know your audience and frame your presentation in a way that makes them understand what you are saying. His point is that it doesn't matter what you are wearing if you are just going to talk at someone or talk over them. If you aren't effectively communicating you have no chance of success.
Now that you have the background, here are my two cents to answer the question, "Can You Dress for Success?"
You Don't Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression
This saying used to be a commercial for some type of beauty care product - soap, deodorant, or something like that. The idea behind the commercial was if you stink, people aren't going to like you. And that makes sense.The same goes with being a lawyer. People have in their heads an idea of what an attorney is supposed to look like, what one is supposed to sound like, and how one is supposed to act. Going against those assumptions for the simple sake of being different, isn't going to help you get more clients. It's going to make people that meet you and are considering hiring you uncomfortable. You want to exceed client expectations not fail them.
Whether we want to believe it or not, we are being evaluated at all times on many different levels. Our looks are definitely one of those evaluation criteria. So why not control something you have complete control over and look your best? If I can instill an added sense of trust and competency with opposing counsel and the judge because I look nice, why wouldn't I do that? That's advocacy, whether you want to believe it or not.
My only point of disagreement with Susan's ideas relate to dressing well all the time. And I think Scott agrees with me a least a little because he tells a story about a guy that used to mow his lawn with a tie on. It's true that everyone out there may be a potential client for you - but it's also true that you are more than just a lawyer. You may be a rock climber or a golfer, a swimmer or a Harry Potter fanatic. Whatever it is, you may not always be able to wear a suit. And that's okay.
When people are meeting you as an attorney, they need to "see" you as an attorney. If I met someone at the grocery store on a Saturday and they were wearing a suit, unless they were coming from a funeral or worked at a hotel I'd think it was kind of weird. No one thinks you should be wearing a suit all the time. So don't.
The Art of Persuasion
If Susan's post was the frosting, Scott's is the cake. He delves a little bit deeper into the art of persuasion (which is our business and the business of running a law firm). Scott's post, however, feels like his viewpoint is not that of a marketer, but of a legal professional. And he's right and wrong.His point is that being a lawyer is about sending and receiving (communication, in other words). If you are sending, but it's not being received correctly, then that's a you problem, not a them problem. You haven't tailored your message to sway the person you are talking to to adopt your point of view (or hire you).
While this is a critical skill as a lawyer when you are practicing law, it's also a critical skill when you are running a law firm. If you have an idea for the kind of message you want to present to the world about what your law firm stands for, then you need to make sure the signals you are sending are being received in a convincing manner.
What does that mean? In short, it means taking a step back, thinking about who your client really is, and then putting yourself in their shoes and finding out what it is they are looking from from a service provider like yourself. When you think you know what that is, assuming it's something you can provide, figure out how to demonstrate that your law firm has that ability and then go do that.
Sorry if this Post Sucks
I'm not proofreading this post and I'm not changing it, even though I feel like it's really disjointed. I'm just too lazy. Hopefully you can cut through my bad writing to see that there are two really good points in there: (1) that you need to dress nicely (not extravagantly, but your suit should fit you); and (2) that ultimately you are trying to be persuasive in many different ways - a nice suit won't make you persuasive, it takes really getting to know your audience and then crafting your message so they can allow themselves to believe you are right - and this is a marketing and practical lesson.Have a great weekend! And, as always, if you have comments or questions, please let me know.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
How to Start a Law Firm | Two Marketing Ideas Shot Down
I can't help it. I think it's just in my blood now. But I am constantly thinking of ways to increase my conversion rate for potential clients (i.e. calls from the website) and thinking of ways to get more people to want to choose me over the other options out there. It might be obvious, but it comes down to being different from everyone else, in a good way, and also giving people what they are looking for.
I'm rolling out a new website in the next week or so, (and, by the way, you can see it here, and I'd love to hear comments from the perspective of a potential client - you have about 48 hours before it's set in stone) and that got me to thinking about things that I could add to the site to make my firm more appealing. And I came up with two ideas, which I'll share with you now.
But before I get to the ideas, I wanted to let you know I've been reading a lot about persuasion and marketing lately (two more books in addition to the two that I reviewed the last time - if you want to hear about them I'll review them, they are fascinating). The idea for this reading is twofold. First, I want to market my firm better from a general standpoint - I want to drill down what the identity of the firm is so I can make business decisions in the future based on that defined perspective.
And second, I want to make it easier to sign up potential clients. If you've just started working on opening your own law firm or are in the thinking stages I can tell you there is no better feeling than someone that walks into your office and just wants to sign up. They already know a lot about you and just want to take care of the formality of signing the paperwork.
Anyway, back to the subject. My two ideas were these: (1) limit the number of DUI cases a week that I take to two; and (2) provide a service based money back guarantee. I can feel all of you going bonkers right now telling the computer screen how stupid I am for dreaming up both of these ideas.
But you are in luck. Because the purpose of this blog is not to just tell you what I'm doing but to walk you through the thought process, I'm going to do that. You might still think I'm stupid, but at least you'll know it was reasoned stupidity.
I'm not finished yet, though. The idea isn't just to limit the number of clients to two per week, but to let all potential clients in the meeting know that this was the case. That means once one signed up all meeting for the rest of the week would be told that there is one spot left for this great service. If you call too late, we won't be able to take your case. It's a classic business device to help potential clients make sales.
I ran this idea by Kelsey, my assistant, because she's got a pretty good business sense, and she immediately didn't like the idea. I don't really remember why, but she didn't. So, like anyone that wants to have someone tell them their idea is good so they can run with it, I told someone else - RJon of starting a law firm fame (the big box on the right side of the page) - and he didn't really like it either. I remember his answer because I wrote it down, but it had something to do with the idea that my firm is already a boutique type firm - the exclusivity is inherent in its structure. There's no reason to ramp it up another notch.
Two nos is a sign, but this idea isn't completely off the shelf yet - it's just not going to be incorporated into the website.
"Aren't people just going to say they aren't satisfied so they can get their money back?"
"What if you end up paying out a bunch of money and working for free?"
For me, the bottom line here is I know I already provide great customer service - that is actually one of the things that separates me from other firms. So I'm not as worried about people asking for their money back, even with a DUI practice where things can go haywire from time to time.
Ask anyone that provides a money back guarantee and they'll tell you there are many more people that are convinced by that guarantee to sign up than scammers that will go back on you when the job is done. RJon so much as admitted this to me (he's got a money back guarantee on his services).
No, that wasn't the hang up for me. The hang up was a different thing RJon mentioned that got me thinking (and, for the record, Kelsey was against this two - rarely am I wrong - I'm the owner, right? - and rarely am I wrong twice in one day - I think she relished that just a bit) about a potential problem with this idea.
RJon mentioned the fact that contingency cases aren't allowed in criminal cases. Duh. His concern was that others might not see my service based guarantee any different than a results guarantee. I disagree, but that got me thinking about something else that might cause more headaches than it's worth.
If I offer a money back guarantee, there is an argument there that I haven't actually earned the fee until the matter is over and the client tells me they are satisfied with the work. That begs the question, do all of those fees go into an IOLTA account until they are "earned" or are they still "earned upon receipt" and only subject to be returned if the contract clause comes to fruition. I have my ideas but decided at the end of the day it wasn't worth the headache.
I'm on a big time marketing kick right now, which is good for you and good for me. After all, a big part of having a successful law firm is having enough clients to allow you to eat. You get that down and you can figure out everything else, right?
Please take a look at my site and let me know what you think. Your opinion matters to me (though no stealing, okay?!). And, as always, if you have any other questions, let me know.
I'm rolling out a new website in the next week or so, (and, by the way, you can see it here, and I'd love to hear comments from the perspective of a potential client - you have about 48 hours before it's set in stone) and that got me to thinking about things that I could add to the site to make my firm more appealing. And I came up with two ideas, which I'll share with you now.
But before I get to the ideas, I wanted to let you know I've been reading a lot about persuasion and marketing lately (two more books in addition to the two that I reviewed the last time - if you want to hear about them I'll review them, they are fascinating). The idea for this reading is twofold. First, I want to market my firm better from a general standpoint - I want to drill down what the identity of the firm is so I can make business decisions in the future based on that defined perspective.
And second, I want to make it easier to sign up potential clients. If you've just started working on opening your own law firm or are in the thinking stages I can tell you there is no better feeling than someone that walks into your office and just wants to sign up. They already know a lot about you and just want to take care of the formality of signing the paperwork.
Anyway, back to the subject. My two ideas were these: (1) limit the number of DUI cases a week that I take to two; and (2) provide a service based money back guarantee. I can feel all of you going bonkers right now telling the computer screen how stupid I am for dreaming up both of these ideas.
But you are in luck. Because the purpose of this blog is not to just tell you what I'm doing but to walk you through the thought process, I'm going to do that. You might still think I'm stupid, but at least you'll know it was reasoned stupidity.
Limiting the Number of Clients I Take - aka Scarcity
There are two schools of thought out there when it comes to the number of clients your firm will take on at a time. The first is to take on as many as possible and figure out the details later (I would describe this as almost every firm - the fear of the phone not ringing is a large motivating factor here). The second is to take on a reasonable number of clients, maybe at a bit of a higher price, and do exceptional work for them. Limiting the number of clients is obviously in line with the second school of thought.I'm not finished yet, though. The idea isn't just to limit the number of clients to two per week, but to let all potential clients in the meeting know that this was the case. That means once one signed up all meeting for the rest of the week would be told that there is one spot left for this great service. If you call too late, we won't be able to take your case. It's a classic business device to help potential clients make sales.
I ran this idea by Kelsey, my assistant, because she's got a pretty good business sense, and she immediately didn't like the idea. I don't really remember why, but she didn't. So, like anyone that wants to have someone tell them their idea is good so they can run with it, I told someone else - RJon of starting a law firm fame (the big box on the right side of the page) - and he didn't really like it either. I remember his answer because I wrote it down, but it had something to do with the idea that my firm is already a boutique type firm - the exclusivity is inherent in its structure. There's no reason to ramp it up another notch.
Two nos is a sign, but this idea isn't completely off the shelf yet - it's just not going to be incorporated into the website.
The Service Based Money Back Guarantee
I can picture the horror on your faces at just reading this."Aren't people just going to say they aren't satisfied so they can get their money back?"
"What if you end up paying out a bunch of money and working for free?"
For me, the bottom line here is I know I already provide great customer service - that is actually one of the things that separates me from other firms. So I'm not as worried about people asking for their money back, even with a DUI practice where things can go haywire from time to time.
Ask anyone that provides a money back guarantee and they'll tell you there are many more people that are convinced by that guarantee to sign up than scammers that will go back on you when the job is done. RJon so much as admitted this to me (he's got a money back guarantee on his services).
No, that wasn't the hang up for me. The hang up was a different thing RJon mentioned that got me thinking (and, for the record, Kelsey was against this two - rarely am I wrong - I'm the owner, right? - and rarely am I wrong twice in one day - I think she relished that just a bit) about a potential problem with this idea.
RJon mentioned the fact that contingency cases aren't allowed in criminal cases. Duh. His concern was that others might not see my service based guarantee any different than a results guarantee. I disagree, but that got me thinking about something else that might cause more headaches than it's worth.
If I offer a money back guarantee, there is an argument there that I haven't actually earned the fee until the matter is over and the client tells me they are satisfied with the work. That begs the question, do all of those fees go into an IOLTA account until they are "earned" or are they still "earned upon receipt" and only subject to be returned if the contract clause comes to fruition. I have my ideas but decided at the end of the day it wasn't worth the headache.
I'm on a big time marketing kick right now, which is good for you and good for me. After all, a big part of having a successful law firm is having enough clients to allow you to eat. You get that down and you can figure out everything else, right?
Please take a look at my site and let me know what you think. Your opinion matters to me (though no stealing, okay?!). And, as always, if you have any other questions, let me know.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Book Review Friday | The Dip | It's Not About the Money
Something amazing happened to me last night. I was looking around on my local library's website and I found out that they have a ton of books in PDF format that you can download instantly to your computer! As I am apt to do whenever I discover a resource for books, I took advantage of it. Last night I went through two books, both related to business, and I thought I'd write about them today. Here we go.
The idea of the book is simple. If you want to have a successful business, you need to be the best in the world at it. And when I say best, I mean best for your client, right now, based on what they believe and know, and when I say world, I mean the client's world, what they have access to. This "best is subjective" in the sense that your clients get to decide what is best. And an important factor on clients thinking you're the best is you've got to think it yourself.
What The Dip is is that time between when you first start out and when you are the best in the world. It is that tough time, the time when you've got to slug it out, to "pay your dues" and rise above everyone else. Many people don't survive the dip, or at least get out of it. It is "the long slog between starting and mastery."
And I am officially in the dip right now. At two years into my business, the newness is over. I'm still excited to come to work and to do the work that I'm doing, but the freshness of being out on my own, of being able to do what I want, has worn off. Now I'm focusing on success. I'm thinking and acting in ways that are related less to survival and more to becoming the best DUI attorney that's out there.
But the road is not easy. There is a lot of work to do. Mastery of your craft, being the best, is a long and arduous road. You've got to be dedicated to making it there or you'll find yourself trying to walk up a down escalator. At best you'll be doing everything you can just to stay where you are at.
There are two main points to the book. First, when you hit the dip, you've got to decide if this is something you can be successful at. If not, it's time to get out. Quitting for success is I think the way he describes it. And second, assuming you decide that what you're doing can be successful, is to fight through hard part to get to the end. DON'T QUIT WHEN IT HURTS.
My two choices for facing this dip are to quit or to become exceptional. I think you all know where I'm headed on this one. And for me, exceptional means two things. First, it means becoming a true master of my craft. I've been practicing for five years, but I know I've still got a lot of learning left to do. Second, it means continually thinking about ways to let people who need my services know I'm available and let them know why I am right for them.
I'd highly recommend this book. It's only 80 pages long, it's filled with a lot of anecdotes, and it's a great motivator to get you working hard to be successful.
The premise of "It's Not About the Money" is this: we all have our own experiences with money and we are all hardwired, biologically, to always want more. This underlying foundation of "not enough," however, undermines our life right now. It keeps us from enjoying the experiences we are a part of now, and if not acknowledged can cause us to make bad decisions.
One important aspect of taking control over your subconscious desire to want more is to understand what your core story is when it comes to money. Typically this core story is formed at a very early age by your life experiences. For example, in the book, the author tells a story about a guy who's family was very poor. They had some cousins who were comfortable financially and it was a visit to their house that cemented his core story - that he would do whatever it took to not be in the situation he and his family were in. The result was, when he was older, that he was great at saving and spending his money wisely, but he was always anxious that at some point it could all be lost.
I'm not necessarily going to tell you about my core story, but I'll tell you this about me - I'm part guardian and part empire builder when it comes to my financial archetype. The book describes the pitfalls of a guardian archetype as worry and anxiety and the gifts of alertness and prudence. The pitfalls of the empire builder are greed and domination and the gifts are innovation and decisiveness. I must say I can see those things in my actions. Here's just one example.
I've told you a lot about my talks with RJon and I actually discussed this exact interaction with him in an earlier post. We met in person when he was in Seattle and we did a mastermind session. The exercise we did at the meeting was to write down our three biggest problems with our business. One of mine was wasting too much time doing administrative tasks.
As we discussed what I was feeling RJon just said "why don't you just hire someone to help you?" At that moment a palpable set of anxiety ran through me. My immediate thought was "what if I hire someone and then the phone stops ringing and I can't pay for them?" Any rational observer of the situation would point out that the money had been coming in pretty steadily and the chances of it drying up completely are almost zero. But getting over that hurdle for me was hard because of the inner guardian.
This is important information to know and understand as you are starting a law firm for a couple of reasons. First, there are good things and bad things with whatever archetype you determine you carry (and you can have parts of many). The important part is being introspective enough to recognize when something you are thinking or feeling may be based more on your "core story" than in reality. My example demonstrates this exactly. And, by the way, I immediately hired an assistant and it has completely transformed my practice, in a good way - and people are still calling!
Second, if you know what your strengths and weaknesses are you can take steps to accentuate the positive and diminish the negative. Part of being a Guardian is being prudent and alert. If I can use that to keep myself informed as to the actual financial state of my firm, I can reduce the anxiety and worry I fear when it's time to make a financial decision.
If you've got some free time I'd definitely take a look at this book, and I'd recommend doing the exercises within. They may feel a bit cheesy, and I'll warn you there is a lot of Eastern religious practice intertwined throughout (that is part of the idea of finding the freedom from wanting), but there is a lot of good information that you can use to help you as you venture out and start your own law firm.
Just to be completely forthcoming here, these are true book reviews. I'm not making any money on these, no one asked me to write these reviews, and if you check them out and buy them I don't make any money. I just thought they were helpful. Enjoy!
And, as always, questions and comments are welcome.
The Dip | Seth Godin
I'm not sure if you know who Seth Godin is. Though I don't know him personally, I do know he's written more than a few books about marketing and business. This is just one of them. "The Dip" is about how to work through that time that every business faces, when the going gets tough, there's a lull in business (or it's flat) and you need to decide the direction you are going to go.The idea of the book is simple. If you want to have a successful business, you need to be the best in the world at it. And when I say best, I mean best for your client, right now, based on what they believe and know, and when I say world, I mean the client's world, what they have access to. This "best is subjective" in the sense that your clients get to decide what is best. And an important factor on clients thinking you're the best is you've got to think it yourself.
What The Dip is is that time between when you first start out and when you are the best in the world. It is that tough time, the time when you've got to slug it out, to "pay your dues" and rise above everyone else. Many people don't survive the dip, or at least get out of it. It is "the long slog between starting and mastery."
And I am officially in the dip right now. At two years into my business, the newness is over. I'm still excited to come to work and to do the work that I'm doing, but the freshness of being out on my own, of being able to do what I want, has worn off. Now I'm focusing on success. I'm thinking and acting in ways that are related less to survival and more to becoming the best DUI attorney that's out there.
But the road is not easy. There is a lot of work to do. Mastery of your craft, being the best, is a long and arduous road. You've got to be dedicated to making it there or you'll find yourself trying to walk up a down escalator. At best you'll be doing everything you can just to stay where you are at.
There are two main points to the book. First, when you hit the dip, you've got to decide if this is something you can be successful at. If not, it's time to get out. Quitting for success is I think the way he describes it. And second, assuming you decide that what you're doing can be successful, is to fight through hard part to get to the end. DON'T QUIT WHEN IT HURTS.
My two choices for facing this dip are to quit or to become exceptional. I think you all know where I'm headed on this one. And for me, exceptional means two things. First, it means becoming a true master of my craft. I've been practicing for five years, but I know I've still got a lot of learning left to do. Second, it means continually thinking about ways to let people who need my services know I'm available and let them know why I am right for them.
I'd highly recommend this book. It's only 80 pages long, it's filled with a lot of anecdotes, and it's a great motivator to get you working hard to be successful.
It's Not About the Money
This book is a complete 180 in a lot of ways from the Dip. This book is about personal growth. It is about finding out what your relationship is to money so you can do two things: (1) enjoy more of what is happening right now; and (2) avoid some of the classic pitfalls that are associated with your financial archetype.The premise of "It's Not About the Money" is this: we all have our own experiences with money and we are all hardwired, biologically, to always want more. This underlying foundation of "not enough," however, undermines our life right now. It keeps us from enjoying the experiences we are a part of now, and if not acknowledged can cause us to make bad decisions.
One important aspect of taking control over your subconscious desire to want more is to understand what your core story is when it comes to money. Typically this core story is formed at a very early age by your life experiences. For example, in the book, the author tells a story about a guy who's family was very poor. They had some cousins who were comfortable financially and it was a visit to their house that cemented his core story - that he would do whatever it took to not be in the situation he and his family were in. The result was, when he was older, that he was great at saving and spending his money wisely, but he was always anxious that at some point it could all be lost.
I'm not necessarily going to tell you about my core story, but I'll tell you this about me - I'm part guardian and part empire builder when it comes to my financial archetype. The book describes the pitfalls of a guardian archetype as worry and anxiety and the gifts of alertness and prudence. The pitfalls of the empire builder are greed and domination and the gifts are innovation and decisiveness. I must say I can see those things in my actions. Here's just one example.
I've told you a lot about my talks with RJon and I actually discussed this exact interaction with him in an earlier post. We met in person when he was in Seattle and we did a mastermind session. The exercise we did at the meeting was to write down our three biggest problems with our business. One of mine was wasting too much time doing administrative tasks.
As we discussed what I was feeling RJon just said "why don't you just hire someone to help you?" At that moment a palpable set of anxiety ran through me. My immediate thought was "what if I hire someone and then the phone stops ringing and I can't pay for them?" Any rational observer of the situation would point out that the money had been coming in pretty steadily and the chances of it drying up completely are almost zero. But getting over that hurdle for me was hard because of the inner guardian.
This is important information to know and understand as you are starting a law firm for a couple of reasons. First, there are good things and bad things with whatever archetype you determine you carry (and you can have parts of many). The important part is being introspective enough to recognize when something you are thinking or feeling may be based more on your "core story" than in reality. My example demonstrates this exactly. And, by the way, I immediately hired an assistant and it has completely transformed my practice, in a good way - and people are still calling!
Second, if you know what your strengths and weaknesses are you can take steps to accentuate the positive and diminish the negative. Part of being a Guardian is being prudent and alert. If I can use that to keep myself informed as to the actual financial state of my firm, I can reduce the anxiety and worry I fear when it's time to make a financial decision.
If you've got some free time I'd definitely take a look at this book, and I'd recommend doing the exercises within. They may feel a bit cheesy, and I'll warn you there is a lot of Eastern religious practice intertwined throughout (that is part of the idea of finding the freedom from wanting), but there is a lot of good information that you can use to help you as you venture out and start your own law firm.
Questions, Comments, Suggestions? And Disclaimer
Have any of you read either of these books? What did you think?Just to be completely forthcoming here, these are true book reviews. I'm not making any money on these, no one asked me to write these reviews, and if you check them out and buy them I don't make any money. I just thought they were helpful. Enjoy!
And, as always, questions and comments are welcome.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Starting a Law Firm | Testing Your Assumptions
Hi! Welcome to another edition of how to start a law firm. I know the Wednesday post is typically about marketing, and I will talk a little bit about it at the end, but I wanted to start with something a little bit different. I want to talk about discovering your fears and questioning your assumptions to maximize the success of your business (and really anything else that you do).
If you can't tell from my writing, I love the business of running a law firm. I like thinking about ways to get clients to me, I like to think about ways to get them to sign up once they get here, and I like thinking about what to do to make my firm run like a well oiled machine. While this probably sounds fun to you too, there's a lot more to it than just having a check list to run down to get things done. We all do things to get in our own way and sabotage what might be a great thing. The key is identifying what those things are and moving past them.
To help me with this side of running a law firm, I read a lot of books about business, read a lot of blogs about business, and just think a lot about business. One of the blogs I read a lot is called "I will teach you to be rich." It's run by a guy named Ramit Sethi (pronounced Ram-meet, in case you were wondering - I did for a long time). He's a small business owner who's business is helping people make money. I've never bought any of his products, so I can't vouch for his paid stuff, but his free stuff is amazing.
I was reading one of his posts today, entitled, "Testing Your Assumptions" and I thought it would be a great thing to write about here today. I've linked to the post so you can go and read it, and I'm only going to briefly discuss what he's said. What I'm going to write about are some of my assumptions and the ways they may be holding me back. Like always, you are going to get a first hand look at what I think is holding me back.
Now, I know you, Mr. or Ms. Reader, don't internalize your fears and rationalize your way out of taking action. I'm talking about the other guy or girl. I know that when you find yourself saying these things like:
I'm going to tell you about some assumptions I have below and what I'm doing to test them out. What I want you to take out of this article today is this: Failure is Good. What I mean by that is you've got to be constantly checking your assumptions to see if they are reality or a result of your rationalization of fear of failure. Sometimes you'll find you're right, sometimes you'll find your assumptions were dead wrong. Failure is okay if it comes from testing your assumptions. That's the only way you can eliminate the bad and implement the good.
Assumption Number 1 - "I look too young for anyone to hire me."
I don't know if you've seen a picture of me, but I do look pretty young. If I told you I was 25 you'd probably believe me.
This assumption was holding me back in several ways when I first started. Although I didn't specifically address it, whenever I'd meet with a potential client, it would be running through the back of my mind. "Are they wondering how old I am?" "Are they just waiting to get out of here so they can go talk to an attorney with gray hair?" These were actually things I was thinking about.
The first great step for me here was identifying that I was making an assumption that was holding me back. I assumed that people didn't want an attorney that looked young. And even though I wasn't actually discussing it in my potential client meetings, I think that self-doubt was creeping through on a sub-conscious level and affecting my meetings.
So I talked to some people about it. I talked to RJon (who I've referenced here several times) and I talked to a colleague that was in a similar situation. I quickly realized two things. First, not everyone is looking for an old attorney. In fact, the people I'd probably most like to have as clients (younger professionals) probably are looking for someone just like me (a go getter who knows his stuff, has enough guts to go out on a limb and can relate to their situation). I'd never thought of that because I'd been so locked in with my assumption.
When I talked to my friend about it with the same problem, she just said "it's not a problem for me. I've got my sales pitch down and it works more often than it doesn't. You just have to go in there like you deserve to be their attorney." Light bulb moment.
Although I wasn't completely sold on what she'd told me, her and RJon seemed to be making a lot of sense. So I tested out my assumption by mixing up my sales presentation. For some potential clients I'd bring up the fact that I looked young and talk about it. For others I would simply talk to them like I knew I belonged to be there and they deserved my help. Lo and behold, when I didn't talk about it and projected confidence, people started signing up. When I talked about my youthful appearance they didn't. I think at the end of the day people don't think about it as much as I thought they did. My assumption as really hurting my business!
Assumption Number 2 - "People Don't Have Enough Money to Pay My Fee"
I'm not going to lie to you, this is one I'm dealing with right now. It doesn't really require that much background. I'm just not signing up as many people as I think I should be, and I'm getting a lot of "I don't have enough money." It's easy to assume that that's the case, but I think there's more to it than that.
I'm assuming it's a them problem, when, at the end of the day, it's a me problem.
Bottom line here is that I haven't demonstrated to them that I'm providing the value for the fee I'm proposing. I need to do a better job showing them what I'm going to do for them, why I'm the one to do it, and why my fee is a reasonable fee for it.
My assumption that people don't have enough money to pay me is keeping me from realizing the full potential of my business.
So, I'm going to test this assumption by completely revamping my potential client meeting process. Not only am I going to come up with some new ways to demonstrate value to them, I'm going to come up with some ways to help my potential clients find the money to pay for my services that they didn't know they had. No, I'm not going to be pushy, I'm not going to give the hard sell, I'm just going to be prepared to educate them so they can make an informed decision.
I'll keep you in loop on what I'm doing.
Assumption Number 3 - "I don't have enough time to do everything I want"
This is probably something that we can all relate to. There is this constant feeling that time is running out, that nothing is ever going to get done, and that deadlines are always looming.
This assumption, for everyone, is wrong. I don't care who you are.
To test this assumption out, I want you to do a few simple things. First, make a list of all the things you do in a day. When you check your email and facebook write it down. When you post to twitter write it down. When you work, write it down (and write down what you are working on). When you surf the internet, write it down.
Do this for one week and then take a look at all the time you are wasting. Now, I'm not suggesting you should stop checking facebook and your email. That's something even I couldn't do. What I'm suggesting is coming up with a system that maximizes your time.
What I've tried to start doing is checking my email only every 2 hours. I check it when I get to the office, at 10:00 a.m., at noon, at 2:00 p.m., and at 4:00 p.m. Trust me when I say if you're checking it every two hours you aren't going to miss anything. Same with facebook and twitter. Figure out all the time you are wasting and stop wasting it.
The second thing you should do is stop doing the minutia and anything that isn't productive. For example, are you doing all of your own filing and stuff like that? Why? Get someone in there to do it. Pay them or have them work for free (there are a lot of people out there that would work for free to put your law firm on their resume). But stop doing the things you have no business doing.
And stop making yourself busy just so you feel good. For example, in the last two days I've said no twice and it's felt amazing. The first no was to a request to be on a committee. I won't get into details but it was not going to be productive. After the first meeting I went to I told the person I couldn't be on the committee - my time is too valuable and I didn't think I'd be able to contribute anything worthwhile. The second thing was a meeting of small firm lawyers. I thought the topic of discussion was interesting, but I knew I wouldn't get anything new out of it because of the precise details of this meeting. So I didn't go. I'm writing this instead!
Telling yourself you don't have enough time to do something is the easiest way to rationalize not doing something. I bet if someone offered to take you on an all expenses paid vacation you'd find the time to do it. Make the time for these things too.
I know I said I was going to talk about something marketing related at the end, but this post is already too long. What I can promise you is that coming up very soon I'm going to let you in on the secret to my reaching number one in Google for my search terms. Hope that's got you excited!
If you can't tell from my writing, I love the business of running a law firm. I like thinking about ways to get clients to me, I like to think about ways to get them to sign up once they get here, and I like thinking about what to do to make my firm run like a well oiled machine. While this probably sounds fun to you too, there's a lot more to it than just having a check list to run down to get things done. We all do things to get in our own way and sabotage what might be a great thing. The key is identifying what those things are and moving past them.
To help me with this side of running a law firm, I read a lot of books about business, read a lot of blogs about business, and just think a lot about business. One of the blogs I read a lot is called "I will teach you to be rich." It's run by a guy named Ramit Sethi (pronounced Ram-meet, in case you were wondering - I did for a long time). He's a small business owner who's business is helping people make money. I've never bought any of his products, so I can't vouch for his paid stuff, but his free stuff is amazing.
I was reading one of his posts today, entitled, "Testing Your Assumptions" and I thought it would be a great thing to write about here today. I've linked to the post so you can go and read it, and I'm only going to briefly discuss what he's said. What I'm going to write about are some of my assumptions and the ways they may be holding me back. Like always, you are going to get a first hand look at what I think is holding me back.
Our Assumptions - a Little Background
A funny thing about human beings is that we are pretty scared a lot of the time, but we aren't really great about identifying those fears and figuring out how to move past them. What we are great about doing is internalizing those fears and rationalizing our way around them. The good news with the way we handle fear is that we often don't have to face them. The bad news is we don't get to accomplish everything we should be.Now, I know you, Mr. or Ms. Reader, don't internalize your fears and rationalize your way out of taking action. I'm talking about the other guy or girl. I know that when you find yourself saying these things like:
"I shouldn't pick a niche area because the money simply won't be there" orthat you just move right on past them and actually test your assumptions instead of letting them control you.
"So many people fail when they start out I probably shouldn't do it" or
"You've got to have a lot of money to start and I don't so..." or
"I don't have enough experience to open my own law firm"
I'm going to tell you about some assumptions I have below and what I'm doing to test them out. What I want you to take out of this article today is this: Failure is Good. What I mean by that is you've got to be constantly checking your assumptions to see if they are reality or a result of your rationalization of fear of failure. Sometimes you'll find you're right, sometimes you'll find your assumptions were dead wrong. Failure is okay if it comes from testing your assumptions. That's the only way you can eliminate the bad and implement the good.
Three of My Assumptions and How I'm Testing Them
When I first started out I had a lot of demons following me around. A lot of tiny voices in my head telling me why I wasn't going to be successful at what I was doing.Assumption Number 1 - "I look too young for anyone to hire me."
I don't know if you've seen a picture of me, but I do look pretty young. If I told you I was 25 you'd probably believe me.
This assumption was holding me back in several ways when I first started. Although I didn't specifically address it, whenever I'd meet with a potential client, it would be running through the back of my mind. "Are they wondering how old I am?" "Are they just waiting to get out of here so they can go talk to an attorney with gray hair?" These were actually things I was thinking about.
The first great step for me here was identifying that I was making an assumption that was holding me back. I assumed that people didn't want an attorney that looked young. And even though I wasn't actually discussing it in my potential client meetings, I think that self-doubt was creeping through on a sub-conscious level and affecting my meetings.
So I talked to some people about it. I talked to RJon (who I've referenced here several times) and I talked to a colleague that was in a similar situation. I quickly realized two things. First, not everyone is looking for an old attorney. In fact, the people I'd probably most like to have as clients (younger professionals) probably are looking for someone just like me (a go getter who knows his stuff, has enough guts to go out on a limb and can relate to their situation). I'd never thought of that because I'd been so locked in with my assumption.
When I talked to my friend about it with the same problem, she just said "it's not a problem for me. I've got my sales pitch down and it works more often than it doesn't. You just have to go in there like you deserve to be their attorney." Light bulb moment.
Although I wasn't completely sold on what she'd told me, her and RJon seemed to be making a lot of sense. So I tested out my assumption by mixing up my sales presentation. For some potential clients I'd bring up the fact that I looked young and talk about it. For others I would simply talk to them like I knew I belonged to be there and they deserved my help. Lo and behold, when I didn't talk about it and projected confidence, people started signing up. When I talked about my youthful appearance they didn't. I think at the end of the day people don't think about it as much as I thought they did. My assumption as really hurting my business!
Assumption Number 2 - "People Don't Have Enough Money to Pay My Fee"
I'm not going to lie to you, this is one I'm dealing with right now. It doesn't really require that much background. I'm just not signing up as many people as I think I should be, and I'm getting a lot of "I don't have enough money." It's easy to assume that that's the case, but I think there's more to it than that.
I'm assuming it's a them problem, when, at the end of the day, it's a me problem.
Bottom line here is that I haven't demonstrated to them that I'm providing the value for the fee I'm proposing. I need to do a better job showing them what I'm going to do for them, why I'm the one to do it, and why my fee is a reasonable fee for it.
My assumption that people don't have enough money to pay me is keeping me from realizing the full potential of my business.
So, I'm going to test this assumption by completely revamping my potential client meeting process. Not only am I going to come up with some new ways to demonstrate value to them, I'm going to come up with some ways to help my potential clients find the money to pay for my services that they didn't know they had. No, I'm not going to be pushy, I'm not going to give the hard sell, I'm just going to be prepared to educate them so they can make an informed decision.
I'll keep you in loop on what I'm doing.
Assumption Number 3 - "I don't have enough time to do everything I want"
This is probably something that we can all relate to. There is this constant feeling that time is running out, that nothing is ever going to get done, and that deadlines are always looming.
This assumption, for everyone, is wrong. I don't care who you are.
To test this assumption out, I want you to do a few simple things. First, make a list of all the things you do in a day. When you check your email and facebook write it down. When you post to twitter write it down. When you work, write it down (and write down what you are working on). When you surf the internet, write it down.
Do this for one week and then take a look at all the time you are wasting. Now, I'm not suggesting you should stop checking facebook and your email. That's something even I couldn't do. What I'm suggesting is coming up with a system that maximizes your time.
What I've tried to start doing is checking my email only every 2 hours. I check it when I get to the office, at 10:00 a.m., at noon, at 2:00 p.m., and at 4:00 p.m. Trust me when I say if you're checking it every two hours you aren't going to miss anything. Same with facebook and twitter. Figure out all the time you are wasting and stop wasting it.
The second thing you should do is stop doing the minutia and anything that isn't productive. For example, are you doing all of your own filing and stuff like that? Why? Get someone in there to do it. Pay them or have them work for free (there are a lot of people out there that would work for free to put your law firm on their resume). But stop doing the things you have no business doing.
And stop making yourself busy just so you feel good. For example, in the last two days I've said no twice and it's felt amazing. The first no was to a request to be on a committee. I won't get into details but it was not going to be productive. After the first meeting I went to I told the person I couldn't be on the committee - my time is too valuable and I didn't think I'd be able to contribute anything worthwhile. The second thing was a meeting of small firm lawyers. I thought the topic of discussion was interesting, but I knew I wouldn't get anything new out of it because of the precise details of this meeting. So I didn't go. I'm writing this instead!
Telling yourself you don't have enough time to do something is the easiest way to rationalize not doing something. I bet if someone offered to take you on an all expenses paid vacation you'd find the time to do it. Make the time for these things too.
I know I said I was going to talk about something marketing related at the end, but this post is already too long. What I can promise you is that coming up very soon I'm going to let you in on the secret to my reaching number one in Google for my search terms. Hope that's got you excited!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
How to Start a Law Firm | Where I Get My Help
I'm going to cover several topics here again today, so I thought I'd give you a little preview here in the first paragraph before diving in. First, I'm going to talk about where I get my help from. Second, I'm going to answer a reader question about data backup and storage. And finally, I'm going to talk about what to do if clients won't pay (another reader question). So, here we go!
If you've read my past posts, you know that when I started out I had someone there to help me answer a lot of these early entry questions and give me some materials to help me start out. His name is RJon Robins and he runs a program called, surprisingly, how to start a law firm. When I started out I bought his program and it was worth every penny.
I was talking to him the other day (we talk about once a month) and I was telling him about how much fun I was having helping all of you. He then asked a very obvious question, "are you telling them to come and check out all of the free material I have" and I sadly had to say no. So I'm doing that again today. You should go and check out his material. There is a lot of free stuff out there and some paid stuff too. I've also put a link on the sidebar to one of his free publications, something that I think all of you should read.
Here's my disclaimer about this though. Remember in my post a few posts ago when I told you about taking down the adsense garbage that was up and pointing you toward things I thought could actually help? Well, I only have two things I'm going to recommend, and this is one of them.
In all fairness to you, though, if you end up buying anything from RJon I'm going to get a little bit of a cut from that. That's just the way the world works. But I wouldn't be recommending this product if I hadn't tried it myself (and I actually still use it). There's no obligation to seeing any of the free stuff, and I think you'll start to see the value he can provide you immediately, so go check it out.
If you hadn't read my previous posts about RJon you can see them here and here and here and here.
The other product I'd like you to know about I'll talk about next week.
I use dropbox and that's it. Here's a great post about dropbox that tells you everything you need to know.
Before we get to what to do with clients that won't pay, what I'd suggest you do is try to set up a system where clients have no choice but to pay. If they don't make it past that initial hurdle, they don't even make it onto your client list. The system will be slightly different depending on what type of fee arrangement you have set up, so here's a brief overview of two.
If you charge flat fees (like I do) then it's important to do two things, first, agree upon a flat fee, and second, secure a method of payment to ensure that fee gets paid (if you are going to allow payments). What I do is typically ask for about a fourth of the fee up front and then set up a payment plan where the payment method has already been provided to me (post dated checks or a credit card number). I haven't had any problems with this way yet, though I know if people want to weasel out they can. If you don't have to track people down for payment then it's typically much easier to get paid as agreed.
If you charge by the hour, I would suggest getting enough up front to cover at least the first portion of the case (investigation and demand letter, filing of complaint, etc.). Then, in the fee agreement, you have a clause in there that when the retainer amount gets at or below "x" they've got to re-up to keep the representation going.
Now, here's the key to making both of these work, which answers the question "what do I do if clients aren't paying?" - if they don't pay you don't work. Simple as that. A check bounces or they fail to re-up their retainer, you simply write them a letter and tell them all work is suspended until they hold up their end of the fee agreement. Give them a week or so to comply, and if they don't you send them a letter letting them know the representation will be ended unless they get it in gear.
The key here is to have the guts to stop working if you aren't getting paid. For some reason that's a tough thing for lawyers to do (though it isn't tough for anyone in any other business), particularly when you are first starting out and maybe don't have a bunch of other work to fall back on. Just remember that just because you are busy doesn't mean you are running a successful law practice.
That's it. It's that simple.
I'm a bit biased this year because my brother is a big Green Bay Packers fan, though I have no idea why since we grew up in Kansas and I'm pretty sure he's never even set foot in Wisconsin. So I think I've got to root for them, even though I probably would anyway. Put that team in a dome with turf and they are dangerous.
My score prediction, Packers 35, Steelers 24.
Have a great Super Bowl Sunday!! And, as always, if you've got questions, let me know.
Where I Get My Help From
It may seem like I've got my stuff together, like I've got all the answers, but the truth is, I still have a lot of questions about running a law firm as a business and how to continue to take what I'm doing to the next level. Granted, I've had time to think about and answer many of the questions you all have had, but you'll notice as your practice continues to grow and with it your understanding of business, that your questions become more nuanced and complicated.If you've read my past posts, you know that when I started out I had someone there to help me answer a lot of these early entry questions and give me some materials to help me start out. His name is RJon Robins and he runs a program called, surprisingly, how to start a law firm. When I started out I bought his program and it was worth every penny.
I was talking to him the other day (we talk about once a month) and I was telling him about how much fun I was having helping all of you. He then asked a very obvious question, "are you telling them to come and check out all of the free material I have" and I sadly had to say no. So I'm doing that again today. You should go and check out his material. There is a lot of free stuff out there and some paid stuff too. I've also put a link on the sidebar to one of his free publications, something that I think all of you should read.
Here's my disclaimer about this though. Remember in my post a few posts ago when I told you about taking down the adsense garbage that was up and pointing you toward things I thought could actually help? Well, I only have two things I'm going to recommend, and this is one of them.
In all fairness to you, though, if you end up buying anything from RJon I'm going to get a little bit of a cut from that. That's just the way the world works. But I wouldn't be recommending this product if I hadn't tried it myself (and I actually still use it). There's no obligation to seeing any of the free stuff, and I think you'll start to see the value he can provide you immediately, so go check it out.
If you hadn't read my previous posts about RJon you can see them here and here and here and here.
The other product I'd like you to know about I'll talk about next week.
Starting a Law Firm and Data Backup
I got a question about data backup and storage, and this is important so I thought I'd write a little bit about it. And actually, I'm going to write a very little bit about it. The same day I received this comment I saw a blog post from someone I follow that talked about the same product I used and did a great job of explaining it.I use dropbox and that's it. Here's a great post about dropbox that tells you everything you need to know.
What to do with Clients that Won't Pay
I'm not sure if I talked about this much, but it's always worth talking about. So, here we go.Before we get to what to do with clients that won't pay, what I'd suggest you do is try to set up a system where clients have no choice but to pay. If they don't make it past that initial hurdle, they don't even make it onto your client list. The system will be slightly different depending on what type of fee arrangement you have set up, so here's a brief overview of two.
If you charge flat fees (like I do) then it's important to do two things, first, agree upon a flat fee, and second, secure a method of payment to ensure that fee gets paid (if you are going to allow payments). What I do is typically ask for about a fourth of the fee up front and then set up a payment plan where the payment method has already been provided to me (post dated checks or a credit card number). I haven't had any problems with this way yet, though I know if people want to weasel out they can. If you don't have to track people down for payment then it's typically much easier to get paid as agreed.
If you charge by the hour, I would suggest getting enough up front to cover at least the first portion of the case (investigation and demand letter, filing of complaint, etc.). Then, in the fee agreement, you have a clause in there that when the retainer amount gets at or below "x" they've got to re-up to keep the representation going.
Now, here's the key to making both of these work, which answers the question "what do I do if clients aren't paying?" - if they don't pay you don't work. Simple as that. A check bounces or they fail to re-up their retainer, you simply write them a letter and tell them all work is suspended until they hold up their end of the fee agreement. Give them a week or so to comply, and if they don't you send them a letter letting them know the representation will be ended unless they get it in gear.
The key here is to have the guts to stop working if you aren't getting paid. For some reason that's a tough thing for lawyers to do (though it isn't tough for anyone in any other business), particularly when you are first starting out and maybe don't have a bunch of other work to fall back on. Just remember that just because you are busy doesn't mean you are running a successful law practice.
That's it. It's that simple.
Super Bowl Picks
I know you all are on the edge of your seat to get my Super Bowl picks. And if you aren't watching the Super Bowl in just about exactly two hours, then shame on you! Take some time off, at least watch the commercials, and have a beer or two. It won't kill you.I'm a bit biased this year because my brother is a big Green Bay Packers fan, though I have no idea why since we grew up in Kansas and I'm pretty sure he's never even set foot in Wisconsin. So I think I've got to root for them, even though I probably would anyway. Put that team in a dome with turf and they are dangerous.
My score prediction, Packers 35, Steelers 24.
Have a great Super Bowl Sunday!! And, as always, if you've got questions, let me know.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
How to Start a Law Firm | That's What Pros Do
Starting a successful law firm and running a successful law firm takes a lot of work and a lot of effort. There are a ton of things to do that you won't even have thought about as you get to work. But, if you are in determined to be successful, you'll get everything done that needs to get done and everything done that you want to get done. I saw a blog post today that reminded me of that and I wanted to share.
The author of the blog is a guy named Jonathan Fields. It's an entrepreneurship blog more than anything else. He's not a lawyer (though I think he maybe was in a former life). Now he just talks about what has to be done to be successful in work and in life. I highly recommend you read it.
The post I read today is titled "That's What Pros Do." The post begins with a rundown of what he did last month. Here's what he wrote:
Here's how Jonathan answered the question "How do you get so much done?"
We are constantly producing.
We are building long lasting relationships.
We are helping people with whatever time we have.
We are listening and devouring knowledge on a daily basis.
We are solving problems and adding value to our clients.
When you own your own law firm you aren't just another cog in a wheel. You aren't even the manufacturer of a "well oiled machine." In today's day and age you are the inventor of the machine. You are creating something from nothing in whatever way you see fit.
That takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of time. But that's what pros do.
The author of the blog is a guy named Jonathan Fields. It's an entrepreneurship blog more than anything else. He's not a lawyer (though I think he maybe was in a former life). Now he just talks about what has to be done to be successful in work and in life. I highly recommend you read it.
The post I read today is titled "That's What Pros Do." The post begins with a rundown of what he did last month. Here's what he wrote:
1. Published 17 blog postsThat's a lot of stuff. But that's what it takes if you want to be successful at what you do. It's probably a bit cliche, but you get out what you put in. Nobody gives you anything for free. Put in a little sweat equity, though, and the returns can be limitless.
2. Organized, promoted and conducted four conference calls
3. Processed more than 6,000 emails
4. Updated my Facebook status dozens of times
5. Tweeted hundreds of times
6. Read hundreds of posts, articles, and a few books
7. Had 14 skype/phone meetings and interviews
8. Attended 5 face-to-face meetings and events
9. Meditated, moved my body and played guitar every day
10. Ate breakfast and dinner with my family nearly every day
11. Wrote 25,000 words and completed the manuscript for my next book
Here's how Jonathan answered the question "How do you get so much done?"
Because that's what pros do.I loved this post because I think it really speaks to what it takes to be successful at anything you're going to do in life, even starting a law firm. And, by the way, if you think you make your living by applying the law to a set of facts, no matter what area of law you practice, you're destined for failure. What you and I do is in many ways exactly what Jonathan does.
There's no magic to it.
There's nothing superhuman or even exceptional about it.
Being prolific is how I earn my living.
Being ubiquitous is how I earn my living.
Building relationships, online and offline, is how I earn my living.
Helping people with whatever time I have is how I earn my living.
Listening and devouring knowledge is how I earn my living.
Solving problems and adding value is how I earn my living.
I get so much done BECAUSE IT'S MY JOB and I LOVE IT!
Tools, strategies, tactics, apps and vehicles are all great.
But, it starts with being willing to hunker down.
Day in, day out, regardless of the weather.
Show up. Dig in. Own the work.
Because that's what pros do.
We are constantly producing.
We are building long lasting relationships.
We are helping people with whatever time we have.
We are listening and devouring knowledge on a daily basis.
We are solving problems and adding value to our clients.
When you own your own law firm you aren't just another cog in a wheel. You aren't even the manufacturer of a "well oiled machine." In today's day and age you are the inventor of the machine. You are creating something from nothing in whatever way you see fit.
That takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of time. But that's what pros do.
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