If Your Answer Isn’t Yes to These 3 Questions, We Have Work to Do.
You’re an exceptional lawyer. You’re no stranger to hard work, know the value of investing in yourself, and have decided to grow your law practice into a successful business. So… is that it? Is that the secret sauce? You’ve decided you’re a successful business owner, so now you are? Not quite.
Let’s take a look at the
Top 3 Questions To Ask Yourself As A Business Owner
to make sure you’re on track to leveling up your practice into a sustainable business:
1. Do you cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset?
Mindset work isn’t just a buzzword of our time. It’s crucial for building and maintaining your business. Growing and evolving your business must start and continue WITHIN YOU. The right mindset is key to making the decisions that best serve the business.
How many times have you fallen into these mindset pitfalls?
a. You avoid adding people to your team because you don’t trust anyone else to do the work.
b. You avoid firing people because you fear their negative emotions or potential damage to your reputation.
c. You avoid marketing yourself for fear of other people’s judgement (“Who do they think they are?”).
d. You avoid following up with prospects because you don’t want to be seen as pushy.
Successful business owners put in the work to get to the bottom of these mental and emotional roadblocks. Motivation shifts from self-serving to service centered. They act from a place of inner trust and integrity. They stand firm in their ability to solve problems and the value they bring. They hold others accountable because they hold themselves accountable.
2. Is your business sustainable?
Before you say “yes”, let’s talk about what we mean by “sustainable”:
a. The business can run without you. That’s not to say it’s on autopilot, because every growing business needs a leader to set the course, but can you take vacation without everything falling apart?
b. Every person on your team knows what needs to be done in the business. Not only that, they correctly prioritize activity and act without direction. They could even onboard new people without you.
c. Everyone comes to the office knowing what to expect of their day. Barring the natural ebb and flow of litigation, systems are in place that allow everyone to know what they need to accomplish on any given day.
And if your law firm lacks the systems to function without you, we invite you to take an honest look at WHY. Truth time: Do you really want it to? Do you secretly feel validated when you are necessary?
The myth that
“I have to do it” is the number 1 reason why lawyers will stall in their growth or choose not to grow.
3. Do you have a consistent source of revenue?
Yes, we all want to make money and live a lifestyle we choose. But what many law firm owners get wrong is the idea that the amount of revenue is most crucial to their success. But it’s more the consistency than the amount that empowers you to grow and expand your business!
Let’s look at how:
a. When you have a solid idea of where things are coming from each month, each quarter, you gain an ease and comfort (that most lawyers don’t have), to do your best work and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
b. Confidence in your revenue stream is key to high decision-making values. Confidence in money leads to confidence in hiring, marketing, selling yourself to clients… all things that positively impact the growth of your business. It even impacts your ability to act in the highest interest of your clients, since you’re not simply chasing a check.
Yes, sometimes we have guesswork with our money. The trick is to focus on increasing our accuracy. Understand your finances. Learn how to read a profit and loss statement. Know how to create a cashflow projection over a 6-8 week cycle.
Where Do We Go from Here?
If you can still answer “Yes” to all three questions, congratulations! You’re well on your way to running a sustainable business and we salute you!
For everyone else: If you have a business that is dependent on you, a business that lacks systems, a business with unpredictable revenue: You don’t have a business. You have a practice. And that’s OK! There is no wrong choice between running a practice and growing a business. The important thing is for it to be a conscious choice so you can make decisions in alignment with your goals.
If you’re ready to learn more about how you can get to “yes” for each of these questions and start growing your legal business today,
let’s talk
about our annual programs. We also invite you to
check out how we’ve helped our other clients
do the same.