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Lawyer by day, content creator by night

SolopreneurGrind

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Hey all,

Long time lurker and finally decided to make things official now that I'm reading TMF and loving it so far.

Long story short is I was given a unique opportunity to start a small new law firm under the guidance of a very experienced but semi-retired lawyer about 16 months ago. Fast-forward to today and I'm doing quite well revenue-wise and have carved out a nice little niche with our firm. It means good monthly income for relatively little time (about 30-40 hours per week depending on the week) and major flexibility (I am my own boss).

About 6 months ago I realized it's not what I want to do forever so I started a podcast talking to other entrepreneurs who were doing well for themselves (not necessarily millionaires, but average guys like me who were doing quite well and on their way up), which then turned into a Youtube channel and email list.

I don't have any products/services to sell there, I simply enjoy creating the content, digital marketing and documenting my own entrepreneurial journey. The goal is to continue operating/growing/automating my law firm so I can spend more time on my "side hustle", grow my email list (I love email copywriting), provide even more value to entrepreneurs/wantrepreneurs and eventually create an income out of it.

Anyway, happy to be here and hope to take part in some quality conversations. If you have any questions about starting/growing a professional services business, email copywriting or anything else that peaked your interest, let me know!

Cheers
 
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NMdad

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Welcome, fellow former lurker! Glad you came out of the shadows!

30-40 hours per week is "relatively little time"? Relative to 60-80 hours per week trying to make partner at a BigLaw law firm? 30-40 hours/week is still a full-time gig.

In any case, I've worked with ~200 small/mid-sized law firms, and I've met lots of attorneys who don't like practicing law, but feel chained to their current income/lifestyle treadmill.

That said, you have a fairly rare & valuable skillset: an attorney who's managed, grown, and automated a law firm, and who knows a bit about marketing.

Seriously, 90% of all firms I've worked with are super traditional, and 98% of them don't know how to market--whether they practice in B2B, B2C, or B2G areas. Despite being traditional, there's a segment of firms & partners who are receptive to innovation--they're generally "younger" (e.g., younger than mid-50's).

I see a ton of opportunity for helping firms with marketing, business development, operations automation, creating internal systems, etc. Lots of ways to deliver the value: training, consulting, infoproducts, done-for-them packages, outsourced services, etc.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Great intro, awesome to hear you are doing well and already branching out.

Welcome aboard.
 

SolopreneurGrind

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Welcome, fellow former lurker! Glad you came out of the shadows!

30-40 hours per week is "relatively little time"? Relative to 60-80 hours per week trying to make partner at a BigLaw law firm? 30-40 hours/week is still a full-time gig.

In any case, I've worked with ~200 small/mid-sized law firms, and I've met lots of attorneys who don't like practicing law, but feel chained to their current income/lifestyle treadmill.

That said, you have a fairly rare & valuable skillset: an attorney who's managed, grown, and automated a law firm, and who knows a bit about marketing.

Seriously, 90% of all firms I've worked with are super traditional, and 98% of them don't know how to market--whether they practice in B2B, B2C, or B2G areas. Despite being traditional, there's a segment of firms & partners who are receptive to innovation--they're generally "younger" (e.g., younger than mid-50's).

I see a ton of opportunity for helping firms with marketing, business development, operations automation, creating internal systems, etc. Lots of ways to deliver the value: training, consulting, infoproducts, done-for-them packages, outsourced services, etc.

Thanks!

Yes, meant relative to most traditional lawyers haha and also in terms of $$$/hour. Since I am super niche, I have systematized most of my service so my hours/file is now much lower, so I can put in 30 hour weeks and still have solid months of billing.

Wow, that is so eye-opening and such a low hanging fruit that I never considered... I agree 100%, especially because one of the main reasons I didn't go back to traditional law is because most firms are run by older partners who are not receptive to innovation and I wanted to change that (or at least do it differently).

I already am putting out content to help service businesses, maybe I niche down even harder to target professional service providers? Thoughts?

Thanks again for this great response! Would love to chat more about your experience working with firms.
 
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NMdad

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maybe I niche down even harder to target professional service providers?
I'd consider focusing on small/mid-sized firms (e.g., firms with 10-50 attorneys) whose managing partners are 35-50 years old, since they still have 15+ years before retirement, and know they need to grow their firm. There are thousands of these firms. As an attorney who's done what they want to do, you're well positioned to be an authority--even if your own practice area seems super niche.

And again, there are options for productizing & scaling whatever the deliverables are. There's also the potential to branch out beyond law firms to other professional services firms, since they're going to have similar problems & solutions.

Happy to chat--feel free to PM me.
 

SolopreneurGrind

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Feb 26, 2019
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I'd consider focusing on small/mid-sized firms (e.g., firms with 10-50 attorneys) whose managing partners are 35-50 years old, since they still have 15+ years before retirement, and know they need to grow their firm. There are thousands of these firms. As an attorney who's done what they want to do, you're well positioned to be an authority--even if your own practice area seems super niche.

And again, there are options for productizing & scaling whatever the deliverables are. There's also the potential to branch out beyond law firms to other professional services firms, since they're going to have similar problems & solutions.

Happy to chat--feel free to PM me.

Great insight - will PM!
 

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