This is a terrific Geico commercial starring Warren Buffett as Axel Rose.
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Happy Saturday! Every Saturday I publish links to some of the things I’ve come across that might interest you. These are things that caught my attention this week. I’m publishing these links without much comment so you’ll have to click on them if you’re curious. I also include a picture I like.
Pixability: You Have the Vision, We Have the Camera – interesting possiblity for having putting some video on your website.
Doctors: Welcome to the World of Word-of-Mouth
Smartphone Market will eclipse computers by 2012
YouTube Embracing Mobile Marketing
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Welcome to the final day of New Solo Week. While it won’t be New Solo Week next week, I’ll keep thinking about you and I’m confident that you’ll find value in every article going forward. It’s tough to build a family law practice, but it can be done. Welcome to the club and I hope to be of use to you as the days, weeks and months go by.
Every new solo I’ve ever met is operating on limited resources. They are consistently undercapitalized and frequently unprepared for the length of time it takes to generate profits. Unfortunately, many new family law practitioners spend money on things that don’t help them with long-term success. When cash is in short supply it’s critically important to analyze every expenditure and be certain that it gets you closer to the goal of profitability.
Here’s my list of priority expenditures for a family law practitioner -
1. Low cost blog/website with your own domain name (consider SquareSpace)
2. Lunch and coffee with referral sources
3. Pay per click advertising (Google adwords)
4. Substantive family law booklet for referral sources and prospective clients (repurpose this material on your website)
5. CRM system for referral sources (Highrise)
6. Google apps for email, word processing and spreadsheets
7. An executive suite or shared office for full or part-time use (Regus)
8. Laptop computer (Macbook Pro)
9. Internet connection
10. Cell phone (Nexus One, Motorola Droid or iPhone)
11. Scanner (Fujitsu Scansnap)
12. Printer (Brother)
13. Client Seminar invitations (to referral sources)
14. Seminar room rentals
15. Autoreponder email service (Aweber)
16. Hosted case management system (Advologix, Clio or RocketMatter)
17. Business cards
18. Legal research (Fastcase)
There are lots of other things to spend money on, but these are the highest priorities. You need to be up and running, marketing and meeting client needs. You need to be able to communicate with clients, get the work done and stay organized. I’m sure I’ve overlooked a few things, but these are the critical, priority needs and you should preserve your capital so you can keep going without feeling pressure to take work you shouldn’t, to cut fees to get work and to bail out before you’ve given it a chance.
If you find yourself with extra money use it to expand your marketing efforts. Stay focused on generating business. That’s the primary priority for your spending.
While we’re at it, here’s my list of very low priority expenditures. I wouldn’t spend money on these things until I had more than enough extra income. I might not ever spend money on these things.
1. Firm logo
2. Letterhead
3. Window blinds (don’t even ask)
4. Yellow pages, TV, Radio or print advertising
5. Brochures
6. Frames for diplomas or law licenses
7. Color printer
8. Fax machine (use MyFax instead)
9. Phone system
10. Copier
11. Art
12. Server
13. Accounting software (use Freshbooks)
14. Books
15. Postage meter (use Stamps.com)
16. Staff
17. Bar Associations (unless you really plan to attend meetings to grow referral network).
These are the things I thought of quickly based what has worked for me and what hasn’t. The bottom line is that you should spend on things that allow you to grow your practice and avoid spending on things that won’t help you now or maybe ever.
Are there things you would add to either list? Let me know in the comments below.
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All week I’ve been talking to lawyers new to starting a family law practice. I’ve been getting quite a few comments here on the site and even more feedback via phone calls and emails. Hopefully, you’re getting some value from these posts. I’ve been told, repeatedly, that these New Solo articles are applicable to practitioners with experience and aren’t strictly applicable to newbies. Lets get going with Day 4…
How much should you work? That depends on your goals. Truth be told, I’m not really talking to family law hobbyists or those looking for a lifestyle business. I’m talking to attorneys that need to generate an income to support themselves and their family. If you’re a “Gentleman Family Law Practitioner” I’m sorry, but we probably won’t relate. I practice family law in order to trade a valuable service for a reasonable fee and that’s the kind of business I understand.
It really is important for you to decide what your goals are before you can know how much time you’re going to have to spend working. If your goals are to build a thriving business then I have an answer for you. If , however, you have other goals then you’re on your own, sorry.
To build a solid practice that will generate a good income your going to have to work hard. Your likely going to work more than you did in law school. Your going to spend many, many hours at your desk and many more hours out in the community engaged in business development activities. Your going to work early in the morning, late in the evenings and on many weekends. You’re going to have a hard time finding time for yourself or your family and it’s going very tough.
My hazy memory of the first few years of my practice involved getting to work at 6 in the morning and staying until 8 in the evening most days. If I was getting ready for a trial, I often left the office after midnight. I remember driving a client home one night at 2 in morning after working on preparing her property division trial.
My practice grew quickly. I took $700 home that first year and invested most of my funds in marketing. I gained lots of sweat equity by building systems, meeting referral sources, speaking in public forums and delivering excellent service. I suppose I could have backed off some and grown more slowly, but I knew I needed to make more than $700 in the second year. I had just married my wife, she was in graduate school and $54 a month wasn’t going to meet our needs even in 1987.
How much will you have to work? Probably more than I did if you’ve got the kind of goals I had. It’s more competitive now than it was then and clients are having a touch time paying fees. It’s very tough out there, you already know what I mean.
What if you don’t want to invest all those hours? Well, maybe family law isn’t for you. Most of you will, however, invest the time. I’ve developed a feel for the people visiting this site and you’re a driven group. You’re committed to your own success. The folks that aren’t willing to work also aren’t willing to read these articles. They aren’t here. They aren’t like you. They’re sleeping now, or playing Farmville or watching TV. You are different.
Now, get back to work.
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Lee has practiced family law for more than twenty years. With three offices, 