Business owners get paid when they work.\u00a0 You\u2019ll no longer be collecting a salary and feeling comfortable about going online to shop at Amazon for a half hour in the middle of the day any longer.\u00a0 The name of the game is hustle.<\/p>\n
That being said, it\u2019s very easy to become overwhelmed when starting a law firm.\u00a0 One of the primary symptoms of that problem is the desire to do everything at once.\u00a0 It\u2019s frustrating to know that you\u2019re good at what you do, but that your business is taking time to take off.\u00a0 But, the key to building a new law firm, and what you should spend the vast majority of your initial time on, is letting everybody else know how good you are.<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t have a book of business, you need to spend 90% of your time \u2014 and, that is not an exaggeration\u2014 building one.\u00a0 While you may not want to be overly aggressive in year one in constructing a revenue projection model, there is no way you can be too aggressive in creating a marketing plan.\u00a0 In fact, if you think your marketing plan is too aggressive, you should up the ante.\u00a0 The sooner you can get that marketing engine in place, the sooner you meet and exceed your financial projection, the more likely it is that your business will succeed.\u00a0 Of course, it doesn\u2019t stop there; and, consistent business development is the watchword for every successful solo or small firm lawyer.<\/p>\n
If you do have a book of business, and it\u2019s not enough to cover your expenses and\/or a salary for yourself, revert back to the last paragraph, and read it again.\u00a0 If you do have a book of business that is comfortable for you, even for an extended period of time, note well that revenue is always a moving target for law firms, and you must continue to discover new referral sources and client generation modules to guarantee your future success.\u00a0 You should also keep in mind that your new brand will not resonate overnight; that will take at least two years to develop.\u00a0 The fact that you have shifted from (insert seven names) Law to (insert your own name or brand name) Law means that it\u2019s going to take time for people to associate you with your new business rather than your old business.\u00a0 And, frankly the more successful you were marketing yourself in your old job, the harder it will be to disassociate yourself from that brand, and to associate yourself with the new one.<\/p>\n
Marketing is job one for every new law firm owner; and, the truth of the matter is that it will likely remain job one for the remainder of the life of your practice, whatever form it takes.<\/p>\n
. . .<\/p>\n
If you want to start your own law firm, join me for an exclusive workshop, coming up in Boston (August 24-26) and New York (September 7-9).<\/p>\n
For more information, visit the official site:\u00a0www.buildyourownlawfirm.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Social media hashtag:\u00a0#BYOLF<\/a>.<\/p>\n Visit our Sponsors:<\/p>\n