John Jantsch wrote a terrific piece a few years ago called "7 Time-Tested Ways to Dig Out From a Recession". My position, however, is a little different. You should be doing these things ALL THE TIME. While you can read all seven ideas on John's great site, I'm going to highlight numbers three, six and [...]

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Last year when Hurricane Irene hit we had two 80 foot trees uproot and come crashing down completely destroying our deck. While our home had just superficial damage the loss of the deck remained a very significant financial repair. We immediately called our neighbor because the previous year we had watched their builder construct a [...]

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Selling is only icky if you're selling something you don't believe in to someone who doesn't need it. Your true goal is to deliver your services to clients who need them. So don't make it hard for your potential clients to buy from you. Focus on closing for your benefit and theirs.

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UPDATE 3/5/12 As a result of such a great experience, when someone asks me who my son's orthodontist is, I start telling everyone about how fantastic mine is.  Apparently, one of those people became of patient as a result of the recommendation.  I had no idea until I received a handwritten thank you card in the [...]

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One of the things that separate a solo from large, mid, or even small firms is the ability to control every aspect of the client experience…creating relationships that thrive, producing business that keeps flowing, and winning client loyalty…

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(Resurrecting an oldie but goodie…we so often forget the power of an apology.) I recently flew down to Florida for the holidays.  The day was unrushed and rather enjoyable. However, we flew Jet Blue and after we boarded our plane I heard one of the flight attendants say, "I don't know when the pilot is going to [...]

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Obviously, attorneys have had some bad experiences with the free consultation. Yet, some of the most respected solo practice authorities, such as Jay Foonberg, highly recommend that solos offer free consultations. Others say solos should never offer free consultations. Still others say it depends. To further murk up the waters, I'll share my experiences with (and without) the free consultation offer.

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Last Monday I posted this question and received a lot of comments on this blog and privately.  It struck a nerve because we've all been there.  Some of us have a finely honed sense of the 'right' client and can decline business easily.  Yet others are still feeling their way through this process.  And yet [...]

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In the spirit of Solo Practice University, many expert voices teaching you how to build and grow your solo practice, I am very pleased to announce that Solo Practice University has a new monthly columnist, Debra Bruce. She will be providing you excellent practice-building advice in her column 'Lessons From the Lawyer-Coach' appearing the third [...]

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The workplace is becoming more and more virtual, with meetings occurring across time zones and organizations and with participants who barely know each other, working on swarms attacking rapidly emerging problems. But the employee will still have a "place" where they work. Many will have neither a company-provided physical office nor a desk, and their [...]

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