Solo Practice University® » Inspiration

What I’ve Learned My First Year Flying Solo

Rachel Rodgers — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:30:45 +0000

One year ago today, with great excitement and much trepidation, I launched Rachel Rodgers Law Office. There was no fanfare – no flashing lights, no balloons, no fancy office or website and not even fancy business cards. It was just me, my laptop, 3 precious clients who I still adore for believing in me and a whole lotta guts. As I sat at the same desk I had studied and worked at throughout law school, bar study and a judicial clerkship in my little, quiet apartment, my wildest dreams could not have imagined what would occur in the year to come.

So today, to celebrate with all of you, I want to do a couple of things. First, I want to tell you the things I wish I had known on that official launch day, so that hopefully it will help those of you who will be starting your own solo practices soon. Second, I want to tell you the things I’m glad I knew and did, also in the hopes that it will help soon-to-be-solos. Lastly, I want to encourage you to get past your fear and allow your own wildest dreams to come to fruition.

Things I Wish I Had Known & Things I’m Glad I Knew

1. Everything is a test. When I started, many of the decisions I had to make scared me. What niche do I want to focus on? Should I spend money on making my workflow more efficient? Should I charge for consultations or not? I was terrified of making the wrong choice. Over time I realized that there really is no wrong choice. Because in business, everything is an experiment. Try something new and see how it works for you. If it doesn’t work, you can scrap it and learn from it. If it does work, hurrah! Even then you may want to tweak it to make it work more efficiently. So remember that every hypothesis needs to be tested. And negative results of the test are not a failure on your part. Instead, the results are a win no matter what because now you know what works and what doesn’t.

2. Establish a good accounting system on day 1. This one is a hard lesson I had to learn. I used an excel spreadsheet to track my business expenses and income for most of the first year. I dabbled with one or two software systems, none of which seemed to really work for me. Eventually, I broke down and implemented QuickBooks in my practice and I have to agree with many who told me its the best accounting software there is for small businesses. This is something I definitely wish I had done from day 1. Of course, on day 1, I couldn’t imagine actually having real income and expenses that required such software but trust me, it will happen. And I want to spare you the hell I experienced when I had to enter every expense and every bit of income my business had in the past year into QuickBooks. Spend the $150 to get good accounting software now. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

3. Don’t spend a dime on marketing advertising. This falls mostly into the things I’m glad I knew category. Through surveying other solos, relentless reading on the topic and diving into the social media scene before I launched my practice, I realized that much of the high quality marketing I needed to do did not involve spending money but did involve substantial amounts of time. Luckily, as a new solo I had more time than money anyway. The time I have invested to market myself and my practice has not only been enjoyable (I really enjoy writing and connecting with people through social media) but has yielded great results such as new clients, press, expansion of my network and speaking engagements. In the past year, I have spent no more than $500 on advertising and that money did not result in any new clients. So save your money on advertising and start writing and connecting with people.

4. Have CEO days. Being a lawyer and being a CEO is almost like being a ballerina and being a truck driver. They are completely different roles! And its hard to put your CEO cap on when you are knee deep in legal work. Therefore, I have learned to create time and space for CEO days. These are days where I do a business assessment. I consider where my practice is in terms of various measures for growth and then research and/or implement new infrastructure, technology, services, etc. Sometimes these days just involve brainstorming new ideas for my business based on where I want it to go. CEO days are hugely important so I highly recommend blocking off time for this in your calendar from day 1.

5. The less start up money you have, the better off you are. During my researching days, before I started my practice, I talked to solo and small firm lawyers who had spent large amounts of money on things like Westlaw accounts and radio ads. These lawyers shared with me that they regretted spending the money after realizing there were less expensive ways to do research and marketing (and probably everything else). When you have start up money, you spend start up money, usually on things you don’t need. So rejoice if you have little to invest in your practice, you are better off. There is very little needed by way of start up funds for a new law practice, anyway. You’ve already spent large sums of start up capital on law school tuition and taking the bar. Better to focus on getting those first few clients and bootstrapping.

6. Ask an absurd amount of questions. You may notice a theme on this list is that I learned some things by experience over the past year but I learned even more by asking questions. Maybe its the fact that I have a big sister whose mistakes I had the benefit of learning from that makes me insistent on learning from others. In any event, its really worked for me. So I encourage you to ask an absurd amount of people an absurd amount of questions! Ask questions of every solo and small firm lawyer as well as every potential client. It’s true that there are some things you can only learn by experience but there is a whole lot more you can learn from others who have done it. And you’ll be happy to know that solo lawyers are among the most generous people in the world when it comes to sharing their knowledge (yes, that is a fact). See for yourself!

What Are You Afraid Of?

One of the reasons I love writing this column is that I get to be a guinea pig for all the soon-to-be-solos out there. I hope that by sharing my experiences and showing you that I am still standing, that my life hasn’t imploded and that I haven’t been kicked out of the universe, you will be able to get past your own fears about taking the solo leap.

I know what its like to deal with paralyzing fear of taking a chance to make your dreams come true. I was terrified to go solo. I wondered what people would say. I wondered what I might lose. I wondered if I would fail. I still deal with fear all the time. Sometimes I am fearful that I’m taking my business in the wrong direction, that the phone will stop ringing, that (fill in the blank).

And then I think about not doing the things I really want to do. And that always looks way worse. I can’t imagine my life without being an entrepreneur. I can’t imagine my life without being a lawyer. I can’t imagine my life without writing about it. These things are so core to who I am, they’re my gifts/talents/superpowers, whatever you want to call them. I wouldn’t be living if I didn’t live the life I want to live.

So if you are a young lawyer considering starting a solo practice or anyone else considering going after your very own precious dream so you can share your very own precious gifts/talents/superpowers, don’t ask yourself only, “what if I fail?” Also ask yourself, “what will my life be like if I succeed?”

Here’s to many more years of living the dream for you and I, both!

Do you have any more tips you want to share after YOUR first year flying solo?

Written by Rachel Rodgers

Stop Telling Me What I 'Can't' Do!

Susan Cartier Liebel — Tue, 26 May 2009 11:24:28 +0000

When I was growing up my mother forbade my brothers and I to say, “I can’t.” Without fail, she would repeat her mantra, “Say, ‘you don’t want to’ or ‘you don’t know how’ or ‘you don’t have time.’ But never let me hear you say ‘you can’t.”

Therefore, I would like to officially strike the two word combination ‘I can’t’ from our lexicon. It has to be the most debilitating phrase in the English language. It serves no other purpose than to express fear at trying something new, encourages us to never challenge the norm, or, in the alternative, is a phrase we use to avoid doing what is requested of us.

When I was in the fourth grade, our class was going to put on the musical “The H.M.S. Pinafore, by Gilbert & Sullivan.” I wanted nothing more than to be the Monarch of the Sea, one of the lead male singing roles. When I told the teacher I wanted to audition for the part, she explained it was a male role and “you can’t.” I didn’t understand why? It made no sense to me.

I was getting my first lesson in blind, thoughtless, habitual sexism. I got off the school bus so upset I was inconsolable. Finally, my mother asked why I was so upset. I told her the story. She explained to me as only a mother can that the teacher was just buying into the norm. She was going along with “the rules” because it was easy. She lacked creativity and a mind of her own and wasn’t looking for the best person to fill the role, just looking for the correct gender to fill the role. Therefore, if I really wanted the part, it was my job to let her know in no uncertain terms that I had the right to try out for the role.

My mother asked me about the tryout process. I told her that none of the boys really wanted the role. They were told they didn’t have to memorize the words and they could even sing facing the wall, their backs to the audience, if they were scared. My mother said, “Go back to school, demand an audition, then memorize the lyrics and sing straight into the audience.” I did. I got the part. It was one of those life-defining moments.

As a new lawyer, when I started my own practice right out of law school, my two partners (also newly minted) and I had a running joke. If I suggested something legally innovative, they would say, “You can’t do that.” I would say, “Show me where it says I can’t?” And they would laugh, “The law according to Susan.” And this attitude won me many an ‘unwinnable’ case against the ‘experienced’ adversaries. From fourth grade on, the motivating principal in my life has been: Until someone shows me legitimately why I can’t, I’m going to assume I can.

As new lawyers, we are told over and over again that “we can’t” open our own practice right out of law school. Like my fourth grade teacher, these naysayers in the form of professors, career counselors, other lawyers, judges and family members are just projecting their fears upon you, maybe the very same fears that stopped them from venturing out on their own and pursuing their dreams. Find out why they are so fearful of you, so you can address the obstacles to the success they perceive to be insurmountable, one hurdle at a time.

You can open your own legal practice. Some perceived hurdles might present challenges you’re not willing to take on. That, however, is very different than saying, “I can’t.” If you’re just not willing to make those hard choices, that’s perfectly alright. But you absolutely can open your own law practice if you want to.

I’ve stricken the phrase, “I can’t” from my vocabulary and banished it from my household. If my husband says those words, I give him the raised eyebrow. If my five-year old says those words, I immediately say, “Don’t tell me you can’t. Tell me you don’t want to or you’re scared because you don’t know how. If you’re scared because you don’t know how, I’ll teach you how.” •

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

When Going Solo, Give Yourself the Freedom to Fail

Susan Cartier Liebel — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:30:52 +0000

This seemed like an appropriate post given the time of year, many law students newly graduated yet dreading taking the bar exam, not knowing if they will be employed or secretly coveting the idea of going solo but afraid.

I’m often asked, “Don’t most businesses fail? Shouldn’t I be concerned I will fail at building a solo practice? Why don’t you tell us stories about people who didn’t succeed?” No, I don’t think you should be overly concerned you will fail and I can’t tell you about people who did not succeed at solo practice because I don’t consider closing a solo practice a ‘failure.’

This terrific article from Lifehack called Welcome Failure basically requires you to have preliminary failures in order to meet with great success and it comes pretty close to explaining my attitude.

Many great successes started out as failures. Columbus failed when he set out to find a new route to India. He found America instead (and because he thought it was India he called the natives “Indians”). Champagne was invented by a monk called Dom Perignon when a bottle of wine accidentally had a secondary fermentation. 3M invented glue that was a failure – it did not stick. But it became the basis for the Post-it note, which was a huge success.

Tips for succeeding through failure:

Recognise and communicate that when you give people freedom to succeed, you give them freedom to fail too.

Distinguish between two kinds of failure – honourable failure where an honest attempt at something new or different has been tried unsuccessfully and incompetent failure where people fail for lack of effort or competence in standard operations.

Make sure people know that honourable failures will not be criticized.

Get people to admit to or even boast about failures they have had where they tried something innovative that did not succeed. Make these into learning experiences.

In a culture that is very risk averse and keen to apportion blame take the issue head on by rewarding honourable failures. Publicly praise and reward those who have had them.

Even if the failure does not lead directly to a success it can be seen as a step along the way. Edison’s attitude to ‘failure’ is salutary. When asked why so many of his experiments failed he explained that they were not failures. Each time he had discovered a method that did not work.

Striving to be an entrepreneur is honorable. I personally have always maintained that failure is not an option. It doesn’t necessarily mean I fully ‘succeed’ at everything I do. It simply means by virtue of the fact I have strived honorably for something, the very act of striving in an honorable way is itself the success and by extension this prevents the end result from being a failure. I’ve always taken great pride in the act of pushing myself into unknown territory and being able to figure out how to not only survive, but thrive. You should, too.

Going solo, literally building a business, something from nothing (and even the act of trying) is something you can and should be very proud of. Whether or not you succeed isn’t measured by another’s definition of success. Your success can only be measured against your personal yardstick, no one else’s. Having clearly defined goals, personal and professional, will help you to create this yardstick as well as help you create your personal business plan.

Yes, I remain a cheerleader for the honorable choice of going solo.

Links of Interest: “Stop Telling Me What I Can’t Do“

Another great Lifehack post: “How Fear of Failure Destroys Success“

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

"Tip of the Week" – Understanding What Powers Motivation

Susan Cartier Liebel — Sun, 17 May 2009 13:44:20 +0000

The tip of the week this week is to read this powerful blog post from one of my favorite blogs, ‘Pick the Brain’. (It also seems fitting given Ed Poll will be continuing his course this week at Solo Practice University with a live teleseminar on Tuesday, May 19th at noon EST on Setting Personal and Professional Goals).

Without motivation, true motivation, life and success can be a struggle. The most powerful phrase in this post (for me personally) is that which I have always said to those who wish to open a solo practice but who continue to get too caught up in listening to the negative chorus:

You will not find this happiness, productivity, motivation or inspiration if you are trying to achieve things based on others’ standards.

This is true in all aspects of life. But it is especially true when trying to create your own business. You are going against professional convention while others try to impose their own fears upon you. Or worse, try to tell you that what you are trying to do is harmful to your clients, especially if you are newly minted from law school.

I’ve always trusted myself to make the right decisions. And as a new lawyer right out of law school starting a practice, the only one who was ever harmed when I was wrong (and usually financially from a client who would not or could not pay) was myself, never my clients.

It takes hutspah to believe in yourself, your goals, and your ambitions in the face of those who don’t believe in themselves. It’s easy to take the path of least resistance, to cave when facing those wagging fingers warning you of the perils of starting a solo practice.

All I can say is this. If you are motivated, passionate and committed to the solo option forge ahead. It’s not as scary or dangerous as others would have you believe. Not by a long shot.

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

There Is No Competition. That's Right. No Competition

Susan Cartier Liebel — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:00:07 +0000

When I saw Carolyn Elefant’s new post, it reminded me how much she and I share a brain I resurrected this post because it couldn’t be more timely in this current legal environment:

There Is No Competition. That’s Right. No Competition.

That woke you up, right? Well, a good friend of mine and I had this discussion recently and we realized we share a brain on this topic. We have never believed in external competition. We have always believed in internal competition, competing with just ourselves to be better than we were the day, month, year, decade, before. Yet, ironically, in doing so this triggers others to compete with us as we excel. In essence, we become the ‘enemy.’ (see below)

This philosophy has propelled me throughout my life because it is not about winning at the expense of another (yet, when someone wins, in a strictly competitive world another loses) but simply to better my experiences, to rise to the next level of skill and success.

This ‘no competition’ attitude is key to successfully marketing your solo practice. Let me explain.

Observe then Ignore the competition – That’s right, observe then ignore them. There are no shortage of clients, just lack of attraction tools which makes you feel like there are no clients. Trust me, they are out there.

Conventional wisdom says that to beat your competition you need to one-up them.

This sort of one-upping Cold war mentality is a dead-end. It’s an expensive, defensive, and paranoid way of building your (solo practice). Defensive, paranoid (law firms) can’t think ahead, they can only think behind. They don’t lead, they follow. (Getting Real by 37 Signals)

However, do have an enemy. That’s sounds just the opposite of what I said above. But it isn’t. Sometimes the best way to know how to construct your legal services business is to know what it shouldn’t be. Figure out what type of legal practice is opposite of what you want to create and you’ll discover where you need to go. Instead of fearing ‘the enemy’ use it as a muse, a motivator.

One huge benefit of identifying an ‘enemy’ is the ability to fashion a very clear marketing message. If your ‘enemy’ is a huge, over-priced, ivory tower, partner heavy Big Law firm or a high volume, churn and burn client mill (even another solo) then position yourself as the opposite. Clients are very good at drawing comparisions and it enables them to understand your position in relationship to others. Not only will they understand quickly how you have differentiated your services, they will have a definite opinion about which type of service they prefer.

But DO NOT get obsessed with the ‘enemy’. If you over analyze and stay focused on what they are doing, you will start to limit your own thinking. Look, analyze and then move on to your own vision of the perfect solo practice and cultivate your own ideas. The ‘enemy’ is just a foundation from which to start your development.

Don’t follow the leader.

Marketer’s (and all human beings) are well trained to follow the leader. The natural instinct is to figure out what’s working for the competition and then try to outdo it – to be cheaper than your competitor who competes on price, or faster than your competitor who competes on speed. The problem is that once a consumer has bought someone else’s story and believes that lie, persuading the consumer to switch is the same as persuading him to admit he was wrong. And people hate admitting that they are wrong.

Instead, you must tell a different story and persuade listeners that your story is more important than the story they currently believe. If your competition is faster, you must be cheaper. If they sell the story of health, you must sell the story of convenience. Not just the positioning x/y axis sort of “We are cheaper” claim, but a real story that is completely different from the story that’s already being told. – Seth Godin, author/entrepreneur (from Be a Better Liar)

And to complicate this post yet further, you don’t have to fabricate a story.

You need to care about it

When you write a book, you need to have more than an interesting story. You need to have a desire to tell the story. You need to be profoundly invested in some way. If you’re going to live with something for two, three years, the rest of your life, you need to care about it. – Malcolm Gladwell, author (from a Few thin Slices of Malcolm Gladwell)

And when you decide to build your own solo practice you are making a long term commitment. Caring about your story comes from being genuine, authentic…being who you are, making your own unique footprint. If you except this can you now understand why there IS no competition?

What do you think?

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

"Tip of the Week" – How To Deal With Indecision

Susan Cartier Liebel — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 12:00:48 +0000

This may sound contradictory, but it’s not. Often, those who believe they would like to go solo think if they make this choice it is a ‘forever’ choice. Therefore, they fret and worry and think it must be done at an absolutely perfect time or they will be doomed professionally and broke. Same goes for those who believe they must get employment first or be forever branded as inexperienced or ‘failing to gain employment’ as a lawyer. This mindset in either direction is debilitating.

You’ve heard the adage, “It’s not the choices you make but what you do with the choices you make.” This is as true with the decision to go solo as any other choice.

In another great Tejvan Pettinger piece he discusses indecision:

“Ummm… I’m not sure…” We all suffer from indecision at times. If we
are not careful, this can become a debilitating problem which feeds on
itself. Indecision is often related to lack of self confidence and a
tendency to worry about potential problems. To overcome indecision we
need to have the faith to follow our intuition, bearing in mind that
sometimes it is not what we do, but rather how we do things that is
important.

Both Options Can Work

“Indecision is often worse than wrong action.” – Henry Ford

Sometimes we feel that it is of vital importance to choose the right
course of action. We feel that one choice must be the ‘right’ one and
the other option ‘wrong’. However, this is often a mistake. What is
important is how we make use of our choices. Maybe we have a choice
between going to two different places (employment or self-employment); as long as we have the right
attitude we can cultivate happiness wherever we go. If we are
constantly worrying about our decision, then we will not be able to
enjoy life even if we choose the so called ‘right action’.

For many, the traditional ‘right’ action is working for another first because this has become the party line for both good and bad reasons. For others, they know being employed by another is categorically the ‘wrong’ action.

Once you make your decision, be peaceful with it until such time as you need to make another decision. It’s that simple really. Talk to others openly and candidly about how they arrived at their current destination. You’ll realize you are not alone.

Make a decision. Move forward.

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

A Little Something to Just Make You Feel Wonderful

Susan Cartier Liebel — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:38:13 +0000

I can’t resist posting a link to this extraordinary video. It belongs on this blog for so many reasons.

Please watch from beginning to end especially including the commentary afterwards. You’ll understand why

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

"Tip of the Week" – 10 Things That Won't Matter in 10 Years; 10 Things That Will

Susan Cartier Liebel — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:57:08 +0000

Life is about perspective and everyday we have to remember to keep perspective. As always, a huge fan of Pick the Brain for inspiration, I came across this post Ten Things That Won’t Matter in Ten Years’ Time and Ten Things That Will.

I don’t know about you but I sometimes live too much in the existing 24 hours and its ups and downs and lose sight of the bigger picture and in doing so lose sight of what really matters.

You’re stressed, overworked, and tired. You feel like you’re dropping the ball on so many things. You find yourself lying awake in the early hours, thinking about those items still on your to-do list, those emails not yet cleared.

Have you ever heard the phrase “don’t sweat the small stuff”? There are so many things that we waste huge amounts of energy on (and worry is always wasted energy), which just won’t matter in a week, let alone ten years.

And in doing so what ‘important’ things, those things that will matter 10 years from now, are you forgetting to take care of?

I’ll make my list.

Ten Things that Won’t Matter in 10 Years

1. A sink full of dishes even though the dishwasher is empty.

2. Answering every e-mail quickly

3. Less than ideal internet speed

4. Saving a few dollars instead of saving time.

5. Being somewhere on time but at the cost of making everyone around me crazy.

6. Getting stuck behind a slow driver.

7. Circling for ten minutes to find a parking space

8. Getting a bad meal at a restaurant

9. Feeling guilty I don’t make gourmet meals every night. (Thanks @nikiblack)

10. Someone bumping into me and not even saying ‘excuse me.’

Ten Things That Will Matter

1. Calling my parents everyday, sometimes two or three times a day

2. Telling my son and husband I love them for no reason everyday, all day long

3. Making sure my son eats ultra-healthy and explaining why broccoli is good for his body as he gags on it.

4. Always finding the money to take vacations and gain perspective

5. Keeping my brain stimulated

6. Not being materialistic

7. Rescuing a chipmunk (rabbit, mouse, baby squirrel) from my cat’s jaws of death

8. Dropping everything to kiss my son’s boo boos

9. Recycling

10. Buying organic and fair trade whenever possible.

Keeping perspective on your solo practice as you ride the 24 hour cycles are just as important. Those days that go south and make you want to chuck it all are the days you need to step outside, take a breath of fresh air and say, ‘will what is bothering me today and seem so critical or earth-shattering or annoying matter in 10 years?’ And then keep sight of the goals you have for yourself in ten years, both personally and professionally. You’ll be able to find your priorities fairly quickly and expend your energies accordingly.

It’s a habit that must be learned, nurtured and respected. It will make your day, week, month and life better.

So, what’s on your list?

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

Passed the Bar – Hung A Shingle – Elizabeth Meehan

Susan Cartier Liebel — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:28:35 +0000

Regardless the profession, many spouses are living their entrepreneurial dream by working together. And there are certainly unique challenges in building a law practice together. Yet more and more lawyers are doing just that. I myself have known several couples who practice together. Here is one new solo’s commentary – Elizabeth Meehan

To Have & To Hold (& to Hang a Shingle With)

When I met my husband, we were in our first year of law school. He was driving me home from a party, and we started talking about where we wanted to practice after graduation. He said, “I really like the Southern California region–you can’t beat the weather.” I was elated, as that’s the location I wanted to work in too. Later, we chatted about what type of law we wanted to practice, and what type of jobs we hoped to secure after graduation. Both of us are entrepreneurial, and eventually the conversation turned to the idea of opening our own practice. Half-way through law school, we were in love. Two years through law school, we were in love with opening our own practice–and furiously started researching and talking to solo practitioners as well as married couples who practiced together. After graduation and the bar exam, we tied the knot, then drove to California in a car loaded with business suits and computers.

Practicing with your spouse has been a unique experience. One of the biggest hurdles is “turning it off.” This means stopping the chatter about the firm which occurs constantly. Many times we’ll be driving home and Paul will say “Enough! No more talking about the firm! Let’s talk about anything else.” We drive for a few minutes in silence, then I can’t help myself, “Sorry, can I ask one more question? Just one more, I promise.” Similarly, we’ve found it difficult not to work on the firm seven days a week. But we were getting burned out and irritated with each other when we go too long without a break. Now, we aim for one day off per week.

Although there are some challenges, the benefits are enormous. Being that there are two of us, we can “divide and conquer.” For example, I’ve joined the local Rotary Club. I’m also very involved with my college alumni groups here. I go to networking events as often as I can. I make and take the majority of our phone calls, and schedule meetings. Paul is very talented with computers. He is building our server from scratch, researching the best methods to keep time, scan documents, streamline client intake, and the like. Hence, while I’m out beating back the bushes, Paul can be working on the critical systems which make our firm work.

One of the best things about opening shop with your partner is having a sounding board with whom you can be authentic. We don’t have to watch our language when we’re frustrated, don’t have to make an appointment to see each other, and don’t have to worry about coming off to whiny. When Paul wants to throw the computer out the window, I listen. When I want to chuck the phone in the road, he listens. Our practice is very demanding and all-consuming. Things are much tougher than we originally thought they would be, thanks to the economy. That being said, I am incredibly grateful to have my husband as my partner in this venture. There are few things I feel I would be happier doing. Hokey as it sounds, I can honestly say we are living our dream.

Elizabeth Meehan, Esq.

Green Street – A Client-Centered Law Firm

Our Blog: Green Street

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel